I really enjoyed that book. It's a shame I sold my library when moving between Norway and California; there are so many books I miss. The nice thing about Lüdemann's book is that he doesn't merely attempt to apply a set of wooden criteria, as there are also precious moments in which he veers off that questionable fad into some rather straightforward reasoning about why he thinks certain things are unhistorical and, occasionally, even why some things are probable to him (in ways that don't make the criteria lists).
"... almost every critical biblical position was earlier advanced by skeptics." - Raymond Brown
MrMacSon, let's not forget to mention what Lüdemann is perhaps the most famous for: He got in trouble with his university for denying the resurrection of Jesus/for not being a Christian. He wasn't sacked but he basically was pushed to the side. One of the reasons why one should hesitate before accpting what "the majority of New testament scholars believe".
hjalti wrote:MrMacSon, let's not forget to mention what Lüdemann is perhaps the most famous for: He got in trouble with his university for denying the resurrection of Jesus/for not being a Christian. He wasn't sacked but he basically was pushed to the side. One of the reasons why one should hesitate before accepting what "the majority of New testament scholars believe".
I agree. His personal webpage and the Wikipedia entry explain that the University of Göttingen renamed the 'Chair of New Testament Studies'
the "Chair of History and Literature of Early Christianity" on the basis of protests from the Confederation of Protestant Churches in Lower Saxony, that engaged, of course, the Theological faculty, the University President, and even the state government of Lower Saxony.
Of course he is not the only New Testament scholar to lose belief: others include Bart Ehrman, Thomas Brodie, etc.