Comments on Earliest Christian History: SBL in SD

Geoff: 'The question is almost at the level as tod...

2007-11-23T16:02:00.000Z

Geoff: 'The question is almost at the level as today's children who have learned there in no Father Christmas with his reindeer.
Rocket science it is not.'

This is one reaction I am trying to provoke without engaging in the questions of accuracy (you can work out the reasons why, and I am hardly unsympathetic with what you say). From the 'other' side, I would like acknowledgment that using the miraculous is just odd (irrespective of historical reality) and that this can hardly be used to describe 'doing good history'.

Again, I stress, I am discussing scholarly rhetoric and not questions of historical accuracy.

Steph: it's in the post.

bd1: very kind of you.

We have yet another example of 'glass bubble' acad...

2007-11-23T11:39:00.000Z

We have yet another example of 'glass bubble' academic mentality. Anyone might think that historians or theologians are the only ones interested in knowing if the so-called eyewitnesses saw miracles. The question is almost at the level as today's children who have learned there in no Father Christmas with his reindeer.
Rocket science it is not.

It is interesting to note that a number of the gospel miracles occur during unlikely journeys to Gentile areas. The same literary device is used in Acts leading me to conclude that these sorts of journeys never happened, and there never was a mission to Gentiles by the earliest 'Christians'. All of the prophet's activities were in the temple, Jerusalem and Judea.

Tintin - cringe. What happened to Moses - and if ...

2007-11-23T01:05:00.000Z

Tintin - cringe. What happened to Moses - and if it comes to that, maybe the miracles would be nice too. Please...

Compelled to respond: 'The Baukham session was par...

2007-11-22T23:11:00.000Z

Compelled to respond: 'The Baukham session was particularly well attended'. That's a major understatement. Your fans and enemies wre splilling out into the hall.

'I found myself going for a lie down'. At a major international conference?! Good move - you seemed particularly perky every time I saw you.

Thanks Michael: it was good to speak to you if onl...

2007-11-22T22:25:00.000Z

Thanks Michael: it was good to speak to you if only vriefly. Nice question btw!

Doug, I'll get back to you in more detail later but I deliberately distinguished between healings and miracles. Also, I'm thinking more about historians as historians in history depts. But your questions deserve more detail so it is probably not best to do that here.

Well, Jim, how could I possibly disagree with that?!

And, DtrH, I was very reliably informed, at SBL, that you didn't exist. Now I'm all confused.

The pleasure and joy was all mine. And, as an asi...

2007-11-22T22:10:00.000Z

The pleasure and joy was all mine. And, as an aside, you got the better of the argument in the Bauckham debate. It makes no sense to skirt the issue. If the Gospel authors were eyewitnesses then they saw miracles take place- or at least claim to. So to ask whether or not they really did only makes sense. It's what a historian- and a theologian- must do or they have abrogated their responsibility.

Although I'm aware I might have got this hopelessl...

2007-11-22T22:09:00.000Z

Although I'm aware I might have got this hopelessly wrong, since I'm only commenting on your brief summary of the questions to Bauckham, I did find myself wanting to probe the eyewitness and miracle question slightly differently.

'one who is a seriously good historian 'I didn't a...

2007-11-22T21:56:00.000Z

'one who is a seriously good historian '

I didn't attend that session!

DtrH

Thanks for your response--it was definitely my fav...

2007-11-22T18:12:00.000Z

Thanks for your response--it was definitely my favorite out of the bunch. Thanks also for being willing to make it available.

It was nice to meet you.