Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

Frankly, I would be very happy to abandon the possibility that “Paul Made It ALL Up”. I’ve already said that I do not believe it is the best or most likely solution for Paul’s letters. It is falsifiable. But unless clear evidence emerges that eliminates the possibility --- I believe it should be con...

to robert j, Paul did not say in his epistles that Apollos had been in Corinth. Granted, the statements are not explicit, but Apollos clearly influenced the congregation --- “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed … I planted, Apollos watered … each will receive hi...

to Cienfuegos, Chloe’s group identified divisions --- that different groups within the congregation preferred different spiritual leaders. According to the letter, both Paul and Apollos had been there, but there is no such evidence for a visit by Cephas. Paul did not say in his epistles that Apollo...

Slevin, To be clear, in my opening post I stated that I did NOT believe that "Paul made it ALL up" was the best solution for Paul's letters --- only that it should be on the table as a viable alternative based on the available evidence. As for your questions, no rudeness intended, but if y...

Bernard, Paul wrote --- "It was made clear to me about you, my brothers, by those of Chloe's group, that there are quarrels among you. What I am saying is this --- each of you says, 'I'm of Paul', or 'I'm of Apollos', or 'I'm of Cephas', or 'I'm of Christ'" (1 Cor 1:11-12). Chloe’s group i...

Bernard, There is no evidence in 1 Corinthians that Cephas had ever visited the congregation in Corinth --- only that Paul had told them about Cephas. And there is no evidence in Paul’s letters of Jewish Christians in Corinth to substantiate the tale in the mostly fictional Acts. That is, other than...

Skepticism of Paul abounds. Many see Paul’s letters as the result of multiple authors, with candidates often including Simon Magus, Marcion, Marcionites, Gnostics, and proto-orthodox editors. Some see the letters as the work of a Herodian lackey, or a wayward Essene, or even Flavian jokesters. There...

Tertullian claims that his [Jesus] birth records were in the main library in Rome. This could not have been an implausible argument otherwise the early Catholic apologists wouldn't have made them. To the suggestion that the Catholic apologists would not have made implausible arguments, let’s go to ...

Thanks for the link to Welborn. I briefly reviewed the preface and was pleased to see a discussion of the composite nature of the received 2 Corinthians. I certainly agree that 2 Corinthians is a composite of more than one letter, and not all compiled in chronological sequence. I look forward to stu...

Hi Roger, The passage in Josephus is rife with problems in relation to a Simon Magus. In Josephus ( Antiquities , 20.7.2), the magician is a Cypriot Jew, not a Samaritan --- a significant distinction. And the manuscript evidence is inconsistent and suspect. Some very good manuscripts of Antiquities ...