Simon of Cyrene: of how also the proto-catholics were insiders

[Giuseppe]

The episode of Simon of Cyrene is very fully dense of midrashical references (also with Quirinus mentioned in the incipit of Luke).

Even so, I agree with Robert M Price that the episode is directed against Basilides (Simon is only the bearer of the cross, then the suffering one is only Jesus).

The logical implication is that it is not true that the proto-catholics were mere litteralists who didn't know nothing about midrash. The midrashical and polemical character of the episode of the Cyrenaic proves that they were perfectly able to invent ex nihilo an episode in order to react against their sectarian enemies.

In the same time, they wanted that the readers had to believe blindly to the same episode invented by them to correct rival gospels.

Hence it is correct to talk about a collective "conspiracy in action", insofar the intellectuals of both the rival factions were insiders (=they knew to recognize/to invent the midrash in the gospels) while the rest of the Christians (again: of both the rival factions) were outsiders (=they were mere litteralists and invited to be such).

Justin precedes the insertion of the Cyrenaic episode in Mark (since Justin didn't know even Mark) hence Justin could well be an insider and therefore secretly a mythicist Christians.

That was not more the case with Irenaeus: the latter was very a credulous outsider.

[schillingklaus]

Christianity was invented by using midrash in order to justify the eucharist as fulfilment of scripture.