A Comment on Daniel McClellan's On Going Social Media Efforts

[StephenGoranson]

To rephrase. You tell us your view of Daniel McClellan, as if readers here should want to know that.
But I, for one, do not know who Daniel McClellan is nor what he claims.
So, not for the first time, please, if you post, give an indication what you are responding to.
Or, consider stop wasting time.

[Secret Alias]

Wasting time is your exclusive domain I guess.

[StephenGoranson]

Another try: what "crazy theories" of Daniel McClellan are to responding to?
Or: why this update on your unspecified opinions?

[Secret Alias]

You're not a tiktoker? I am surprised. There is a thing called social media which are like the radio programs with which you grew up with only with the added novelty of moving images. With social media anyone can be the host of their shows. Daniel reposts particularly foolish content creators and explains why what they are saying is complete nonsense or somewhat nonsensical.

https://youtube.com/shorts/-67rC0uV8Oc? ... DkfKSDHSze

The point here is that Daniel is a very good scholar. But scholars favor order. They have to because they want literary materials that "make it easy" for them to develop opinions about early religion. In the case of early Christianity the scholars interest is shared with Josephus when it comes to the Jewish War. He provides a window into the events of 66 - 72 CE. But surely a lot of his testimony is silly, like the transvestite rebels who occupied Jerusalem. In a similar way, scholars are naturally predisposed to the order that Irenaeus provides. They like that he "makes it easy" for them to provide insight into the development of Christianity down to the end of the second century. But is it true? It doesn't matter. It sounds like it is true. Why does it sound like it is true? Because Irenaeus is a γραμματεύς. I think he knows how scribes think and act. If you give them a story and prevent anyone else from telling other stories your story will win out. Hence Acts - a worthless pseudepigraphon - has become the official history of the Church and the canon is the way it is.

[Secret Alias]

My point is that Irenaeus has predisposed everyone toward certain ideas about religion. For instance that Christians believing in many different things is bad and an abandonment from the faith of the apostles. This dogmatic view carries over to scholarship. We are naturally predisposed toward secondary movements which re-organize "primitive faiths" into organized religion. But what if Paul wanted there to be heresies? What if Paul wanted there to be all sorts of beliefs about Jesus? What if he didn't have a plan?

[StephenGoranson]

You have still not explained the proposal of Daniel McClellan to which you decided that your reaction was something appropriate for others here to read.

[Secret Alias]

Some typical Tiktok content (the first things that come up in my feed) https://www.tiktok.com/@darkeyebrows/vi ... _device=pc https://www.tiktok.com/@tealoesrichoffs ... _device=pc

There is no proposal. I provided a link. He's like the volunteer policeman of Tiktok's reference to ideas to the Bible.

[StephenGoranson]

Try giving a reference first before giving your response next time?