Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

So, a few more possibilities to keep in mind. Thanks, Roger. I am also thinking back to your comment in part 8 of your Simonian Origins series where you write: I have left out of my speculative proposal parts of GMark that are arguably later redactional additions, including the cast of named charac...

Could you accept that both Simon and Alexander (son of Simon - 'helper of man' literally) are references meant to establish the link to Simon (Peter), the brother of Andrew ('man' literally)? That would make more sense to me. Interesting. Where's Roger Parvus? I want to hear what he has to say abou...

Mary Helena, My first comment in this thread made clear that I was tentatively assuming the proto-orthodox heresy hunters give us some useful information about their earliest rivals. The reason I am working with that assumption is in order to see what new perspectives it might provide on the earlies...

Hi Mary Helena, I have duly noted that you do not think Simon of Samaria was a historical figure. My comment was intended for the benefit of those who are still open to the possibility that he was. As you know, there are a number of scholars who hold that opinion. So please understand that I was not...

Another speculative addition to my proposal that Simon from Cyrene was Simon of Samaria: It may be that the Cyrene in question was not the city, but rather the figure that the city—according to Greek mythology—was named after. As noted in my earlier comment, Hippolytus said Simonians “have a statue ...

Neil, You asked me for some references regarding use of Edom and Esau for Rome: The Jewish Encyclopedia entry for Edom says that “The name ‘Edom’ is used by the Talmudists for the Roman empire, and they applied to Rome every passage of the Bible referring to Edom or to Esau.” The article for Edom in...

Kunigunde Kreuzerin wrote: “I think the little story about Simon of Cyrene has 6 critical points. 1) Why Mark told the little story? What function has that story? 2) Why Mark called Simon a Cyrenian? 3) Why Mark mentioned the names of the sons? 4) Why Mark told explicitly that Simon is passing by? 5...

Understood that the proto-orthodox description of Simon is a non-starter for you. So my last word will just be one clarification. Welborn himself does not identify the “wrong” in question as an actual theft. He argues that the offender publicly accused Paul of embezzlement in connection with the col...

Hi Robert J, Simon is shadowy but he at least has one more early external attestation than Paul. That is, if the magician Simon Atomus in Josephus’ Antiquities is our Simon. And even when we first get to the point where an author’s name on a Christian writing is likely not fictitious (Justin), there...

Hi Robert J, Thank you for the explanation. If I understand correctly, when you wrote your reply you hadn’t read any of the other posts in the series. I’m assuming that’s why you connect my hypothesis with Robert M. Price’s scenario of “several competing factions acting over many decades in the comp...