A different Christ has to be called with a name different from Jesus: John the Baptist

Discussion about the New Testament, apocrypha, gnostics, church fathers, Christian origins, historical Jesus or otherwise, etc.
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Giuseppe
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A different Christ has to be called with a name different from Jesus: John the Baptist

Post by Giuseppe »

When Mark (or the author of the Earliest Gospel) saw that a Christ was adored who was too much different from his own Christ, despite of his being adored/exalted also him as "Christ Jesus", then Mark (or the author of the Earliest Gospel) thought: this Christ has to be made the mere precursor of my Christ Jesus, hence I will reduce him to a mere (more or less) contemporary guy: John the Baptist.

Hence behind John the Baptist there is only a rival Jesus Christ adored by a rival sect.

In order to make this, the implicit assumption is that Mark (or the author of the Earliest Gospel) believed that behind an exalted "Christ Jesus" there was already an earthly man divinized as such.

Hence: who invented John the Baptist was already victim of the false view that the deity Jesus was existed under Pilate. And that therefore any rival Jesus had to be reduced to a contemporary of the "historical" Jesus.

Therefore:
John the Baptist can't come from the first gospel.
Giuseppe
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Joined: Mon Apr 27, 2015 5:37 am
Location: Italy

Re: A different Christ has to be called with a name different from Jesus: John the Baptist

Post by Giuseppe »

Again I am reminded the following words:


There’s a comment thread in your initial “Questioning the Historicity of Jesus” post that might be worthy of reply – the commenter “Peter Piper” suggests (by means of quoting an unfavorable review of your UNCG lecture) euhemerization was a way to denigrate a deity, rather than simply creating an earthly backstory. Euhemerization would therefore not be in the interest of early Christians (unless they were employing it against other deities).

https://www.richardcarrier.info/archive ... ment-10302

unless they were employing it against other deities...: Against the rival Jesus Christ (of Revelation?), Mark or Luke or even Marcion reduced that rival Jesus Christ to a mere man, as a way to denigrate him.

Not before of having called him with a name different from "Jesus Christ".
Giuseppe
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Re: A different Christ has to be called with a name different from Jesus: John the Baptist

Post by Giuseppe »

This confirms the genre of Mark (or of any first gospel in its place): etiology.

The investigation or attribution of the cause or reason for something, often expressed in terms of historical or mythical explanation.
Giuseppe
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Joined: Mon Apr 27, 2015 5:37 am
Location: Italy

Re: A different Christ has to be called with a name different from Jesus: John the Baptist

Post by Giuseppe »

The pattern is the following:
  • That Jesus adored by that sect X is too much different from my Jesus of the my sect.
  • That Jesus adored by that sect X is really the mere fruit of the confusion of the my Jesus Christ with a generic guy.
  • That confusion has to be corrected.
We have two times this pattern in action:
  • behind the creation of Barabbas: behind Barabbas there was the Marcionite Son of Father.
  • Behind the creation of John the Baptist: behind John the Baptist there was the nationalist Christ of Revelation.
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