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Gospels
The end?
Wed, 04/14/2010 - 11:54 — Steve PankeyMost scholars tend to agree that the 21st chapter of John is an epilogue, added later. They argue over when it was added and by who, but I'm not really interested in that piece of the debate. What I care about is why it was added. Why, after the nice, tidy finish of Jesus appearing in the upper room, breathing the Spirit, sending his disciples, reappearing for Thomas' sake, and then John's closing editor's note, does John (or pseudo-John, honestly who cares) then choose to reopen the story?
It reminds me of sitting in a movie theater, seeing the credits begin to roll and saying, "you know what, I'm not leaving yet, something else is coming." And sometimes it does.... READ MORE.
Comprehending sight
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 13:46 — Steven WoolleyGospel healing stories amaze me, especially the ones where the blind receive their sight. Consider, for instance, the story in John where the man born blind and earned his living as a beggar was told by Jesus to go wash in the pool of Siloam. To be sure he received his ability to see, but what is more amazing is that he could see with comprehension. There is no indication that he had any trouble recognizing people or places; he had no difficulty adjusting to his new world of sight. He could see with comprehension, and I wonder if that is what we need to focus on.
Is that what Paul was getting at when he wrote about seeing in a glass dimly now but once fully in God’s presence seeing clearly? It’s not about seeing but about comprehension. The man born blind could see with comprehension once he had been touched by Jesus, but he could not comprehend everything.... READ MORE.
A well-known tale
Wed, 02/03/2010 - 15:17 — Steve PankeyThe story of Jesus and the miraculous catch is probably the best known fishing tale in history. It is a favorite of Sunday school programs, an easy teaching for youth groups, and it gets preached all the time. It is so well known that we barely know it at all. We've heard it so many times, we think we know it, but we know only bits and pieces.
A fellow priest and I were on the phone on Monday lamenting the translation of the NRSV when Jesus tells Simon from now on he'll be "catching people." Why ruin the pun of fishers of men, we both wondered. Well, mostly because that's Matthew's version, not Luke's. In Luke the Greek verb means "live catching" and not "fishing." Did you know that? I didn't.... READ MORE.
Messianic cause and effect
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 11:48 — James McGrathAcademic discussions of the subject of the place of Jesus' birth has been spreading Christmas cheer throughout the biblioblogosphere. Mark Goodacre's podcast started it off, and Doug Chaplin, +Wrong and I all responded in different ways. The +Wrong discussion is particularly interesting since it offered examples of individuals who became known as "NAME 0f PLACE" where the place was not where they were born; to which Steph responded by pointing out that in such cases the place they were associated with was a place they became famous, and it is not clear that "Jesus of Nazareth" fits that category. (An example that comes to mind from a later time is Rumi).
Historians are understandably skeptical and must consider the possibility that Jesus was associated with Bethlehem later. Because of the joint convictions that (a) Jesus was the Messiah, and (b) the Messiah has to come from Bethlehem, some Christians could well have drawn the conclusion that Jesus must have been from Bethlehem.... READ MORE.
Are the gospels historically reliable?
Mon, 11/30/2009 - 10:48 — Chris BrundageNew Testament scholar Craig Blomberg says they are, and he uses methods of critical historical inquiry to support his views. Although at some points he takes the argument farther than necessary, on the whole he presents a strong and compelling case, looking in a detailed analysis at the Synoptics and John.
The most striking aspect of his argument came at the end when he noted we assume the Gospels to be generally historically reliable unless it is demonstrated clearly they are not. This is the same assumption made for any historical document, especially ones so close in time and space to their events as the Gospels are.... READ MORE.
More on Marcus Borg
Fri, 10/03/2008 - 12:30 — G. AtkinsonSome of our CCbloggers have written about Marcus Borg in the past.
Drew Smith of has written an article on Marcus Borg for the Society of Biblical Literature. He tells us what happened the semester he put Marcus Borg on his student's reading list.
Bob Cornwall reviewed Borg's book "First Christmas."
My conversation with Marcus Borg
Thu, 10/02/2008 - 15:27 — Gordon AtkinsonAs an introduction to the conversation I recorded with Marcus Borg, let me briefly introduce his thinking and explain why he is such a controversial figure, certainly among conservative evangelical Christians, but for many mainline theologians as well. I'm doing this for the benefit of non-clergy who may read this and not know Marcus Borg.
A recording of the conversation is available at the bottom of this post.
It all has to do with how you read the gospels. Most Christians in the world read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as literal accounts of what happened in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
