Paul, Christ, and Believing the Bible

[Mr. Premise]

Thanks, Laura, that's really helpful and makes a lot of sense. I'm halfway through a book that fits in well with this, Mark Canonizer of Paul, by Tom Dykstra. Dykstra argues that Mark is a fictional account of Paul's teaching written to support the Pauline tradition after Paul was no longer around to do it himself. It really accounts for a lot of the odd things about the gospel of Mark, including the fact that much is made of the crucifixion but not much about the resurrection and the fact that in Mark Jesus goes around saying how important his teachings are, but the text never outlines what those teachings were.

 

[Laura]

Thanks, Laura, that's really helpful and makes a lot of sense. I'm halfway through a book that fits in well with this, Mark Canonizer of Paul, by Tom Dykstra. Dykstra argues that Mark is a fictional account of Paul's teaching written to support the Pauline tradition after Paul was no longer around to do it himself. It really accounts for a lot of the odd things about the gospel of Mark, including the fact that much is made of the crucifixion but not much about the resurrection and the fact that in Mark Jesus goes around saying how important his teachings are, but the text never outlines what those teachings were.

Well, that's an interesting view. G. A. Wells shows pretty clearly in his book "Did Jesus Exist" the stages of the development of the myth of Jesus. He's well worth reading, all his books, because he's an academic outsider - not a theologian. I'm convinced that believers should NOT be given positions studying and teaching this stuff, paid for by tax dollars... like putting the fox to watch the henhouse.

 

[lilies]

[..]
Eph 3:9 and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; [..]

What is the plan?

I hope you have a compelling argument in store in the book, that will strike our hitherto held beliefs with the power of the Storm of the Century, transforming everything we knew about Jesus, Christianity and Caesar.

Because this was a fascinating couple of posts, I couldn't stop reading!