1 Corinthians 2:6-8 --- Archons as Demons? Nope.

[Giuseppe]

Poverty is not the only feature shared by both Stoikeia and Archons.
The second feature is: their being both enemies of Paul.
The third feature is: their being connected to cosmic reality (resp.: planets and aions).

Hence Occam prohibits the existence of two enemies of Paul with the same features in common.

Please do some actual exegesis instead of just picking out parts of the text that you can use to support your preconceived notions. I am not even certain that you are wrong in this case, but your method is wrong:

• Tigers (A) are mammals, (B) are strong, and (C) can hurt humans.
• Wolves (A) are mammals, (B) are strong, and (C) can hurt humans.
• Therefore, tigers are wolves.

Said by the same person who pointed out the fact that I have pointed out, differently from Robert_J, that the Archons are connected with a cosmological term (Aion).

Hence for you the stoikeia would be humans despite of their being connected with a cosmological context (planets).

[Ben C. Smith]

Poverty is not the only feature shared by both Stoikeia and Archons.
The second feature is: their being both enemies of Paul.
The third feature is: their being connected to cosmic reality (resp.: planets and aions).

Hence Occam prohibits the existence of two enemies of Paul with the same features in common.

Please do some actual exegesis instead of just picking out parts of the text that you can use to support your preconceived notions. I am not even certain that you are wrong in this case, but your method is wrong:

• Tigers (A) are mammals, (B) are strong, and (C) can hurt humans.
• Wolves (A) are mammals, (B) are strong, and (C) can hurt humans.
• Therefore, tigers are wolves.

Said by the same person who pointed out the fact that I have pointed out, differently from Robert_J, that the Archons are connected with a cosmological term (Aion).

Hence for you the stoikeia would be humans despite of their being connected with a cosmological context (planets).

No, the most probable alternate meaning of the stoicheia would be either "elements" (fire, air, water, earth) or "elementary teachings" (just the basics). Both of these meanings of the word are attested for Paul's time. The meaning of spirits or demonic powers is attested only later; Paul may be its first extant instance, but all avenues ought to be explored.

[robert j]

Highlighting mine ---

However, I have no problem with the concept that Paul would have seen some negative cosmic force (Satan or other similar demonic powers) influencing the actions of the human rulers that crucified his Jesus Christ (whenever in the past that death was seen to have occurred). I think Paul most likely did.

... given the fact that even the mythicist Robert_J needs humans in the service of demonic rulers.

I wish you would stop mischaracterizing what I have written.

I acknowledged that Paul may have seen Satan or other demonic forces as acting on human rulers that crucified his Jesus Christ. I think the ἀρχόντων (rulers/archons) in the passage in question were intended as human, not demonic.

In somewhat similar fashion --- about 7 times in his letters--- Paul implicates Satan as an entity acting on humans to deceive, hinder, or punish. I think Paul believed that Satan, and perhaps other demonic powers, held some dominion over human affairs in the current age/aeon, but only as far as those powers were able to influence human actions.

Try as you might to use what I have written to support your theory, I repeat, I think that in Paul’s system, Jesus Christ crucified in outer space by demons is by far the weakest option.

[Giuseppe]

Try as you might to use what I have written to support your theory, I repeat, I think that in Paul’s system, Jesus Christ crucified in outer space by demons is by far the weakest option.

No need of a size put to 150 (sic) to emphasize the your view as if it was an insult addressed against me.

I have simply observed that I don't know mythicists who have Jesus crucified by demons on earth. And you are among these guys.

I call this fact the evidence of an implicit general consensus that if the demons alone kill Jesus, then that death happened ipso facto in outer space (for Paul).

[robert j]

Try as you might to use what I have written to support your theory, I repeat, I think that in Paul’s system, Jesus Christ crucified in outer space by demons is by far the weakest option.

No need of a size put to 150 (sic) to emphasize the your view as if it was an insult addressed against me.

I have simply observed that I don't know mythicists who have Jesus crucified by demons on earth. And you are among these guys.

I call this fact the evidence of an implicit general consensus that if the demons alone kill Jesus, then that death happened ipso facto in outer space (for Paul).

No insult intended, only an emphasis on how much I disagree with your theory (and that of Doherty and Carrier) that Paul's Jesus Christ was crucified in the heavenly realm or "outer space".

I think the weak link in your argument is the assumption, "if the demons alone kill Jesus". Within Paul's letters, the earliest extant writings about a Jesus Christ, that's difficult to demonstrate.

I will leave you here to your opinions.