Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

Hence the Markan prioritists are obliged to assume that John the Baptist existed in real history. In my view, this obligation makes them to appear insane people. ( without offence ) :lol: And then my theory would still stand if John was just a tool invented by Mark to play the role of the forerunner.

Some Jews thought that Elijah would precede the Messiah because of Malachi's prophecy. Source? I would most appreciate it, but at present I have not found anything that is unambiguous until into the second century CE and beyond, well past the development of early Christianities. 1/ Malachie 3:2-24 ...

And the thing about him being the resurrected Elijah. That to me sounds like a messianic reference. Can't be to the Baptist as he's portrayed in the gospels. Doesn't mean that John didn't exist. But Elijah is more in line with traditional Jewish messianic expectations. Actually not. Rivka Nir's boo...

For me, Marcionite priority is a very weak theory. That’s why i stick with Mark. Nothing to do with any emotion or psychological problem in changing one's mind. I'd have been quite happy for Marcion to be the first, since I'm a mythicist. But I'm not convinced and will never be. I'm sorry. Marcionit...

So, there's no archaeological evidence that the Nazareth we know is Mark's Nazareth? This is very problematic imo.

This has been discussed often. Salm's claims do not match observations by archaeologists. Sepphoris, unlike Nazareth, is not mentioned in NT, but was a fast-growing city at the time, needing construction workers and agricultural supply. Sepphoris was a place said to have had minim there, or in subu...

Having studied the parallels, i think 2 Kings 5:1-17 is a better source for the narrative in Mark 1. There are more striking parallels and intertextuality in 2 Kings 5 than in Numbers 12.

Still an interesting comparison though.

the Problem with Paul, simply put, is that Paul's teachings in the Paulines are strongly opposed the those of Jesus in the synoptics, and yet his teachings are pushed forward by most Churches. On the contrary, I find that the letters of Paul and Mark are in perfect harmony. Basically, Mark is like ...

The connection Mark 1/Numbers 12 is really interesting.

But the parallels in the Gospel of Mark are not intended to show that Jesus fulfilled prophecy , rather they highlight the Jewish God's displeasure with the Jewish people. This is false and demonstrates a lack of understanding of Jewish messianic beliefs in the Second Temple period. As noted by Vor...