After reading several blogs and emails it appears that my profiling of NT bloggers and NT Buffs are shockingly accurate – or at least partially accurate in most cases. Hard to think that my Military Intelligence analysis skills have finally found a useful application. I must qualify, by request, what I meant by insinuating that many NT biblio-bloggers are “centrist right” on the political spectrum. By “centrist right” (in North American terms) I mean someone who would oppose the Iraq war, oppose Bush’s tax cuts for the top 1% of wage earners, oppose gay marriages, and enjoys the Simpsons. Someone “centrist right” (in British terms) might be a person who opposes the Iraq war, is terrified of the liberal democrats ever gaining power, and enjoys Blackadder.
I must correct my initial post: the greatest insult a NT buff can experience is being called a theologian! Or even worse, an evangelical Barthian Theologian who has clandestine sympathies for Bultmann like the type of person who operates that prosaic blog Faith and Theology! :)
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7 comments:
I've never quite seen the British centre-right discussed in those terms. While I like Blackadder (and the Simpsons of course but as I'm not American that can't count, right?) I could never, ever allow myself to be described as centre-right. I'm also pretty scared whichever political party gets in here. But don't give up on this virtual science: getting most of it right is pretty good going, isn't it?
Yeah, seems most Brits are center to center-left, although with enough sense of responsibility to keep from becoming completely socialist like the continent.
Thanks for the clarification, Mike. Yeah, your version of center-right wouldn't describe too many of the Republican Christians (the main base actually for Bush, which is frightening; read Stan Hauerwas sometime if you're interested in a flip view) in USA.
Did something happen to the continent when I wasn't looking!!!
Sorry James, socialist viz. American standards. We hear all kinds of horror stories here about businesses not being able to fire workers, excessive wage and price controls, stagnant economies and very high unemployment rates as a result. But that's all hearsay--I can't say I know.
Okay, back to NT...James, I told one ofmy seminary profs about your work on Mark and the proposed date a few months back, and he asked what axe(s) you were grinding with an early date...hate to put it in those terms myself.
Given the early date, what do you think about Rikk Watts (another Aussie, Mike!), 2nd Exodus issues in Mark? Does this go back to hist Jesus/John the Baptist? Or is it there at all?
Thanks for clarifying that!
Ok NT(I hope you don't mind me responding on this Michael). Now while not denying presuppositions, influences etc. I have no theological axe to grind here, although people who go for early dates are sometimes doing so through conservative evangelical convictions (this isn't a criticism by the way). My argument was more one of historical interest if you like. I don't think early date necessarily means 'authentic' or anything like that. For one I think Mk 13 is almost entirely secondary. For two, I don't thing the other gospels were anywhere near as early. Overall, it matters little to me personally if a gospel was early or late or if a tradition is 'genuine' or not.
What led me to this date was the work I was doing on the historical Jesus and the Torah and Jesus and the Law in the synoptic tradition(esp. Mk 7) is what the bulk of my book on the date of Mark is about. It is based on the idea that the synoptic tradition has a consistently conservative attitude towards the law. I once thought that it was not that relevant for any theological position until a very conservative evangelical told me that it would fit nicely into his theological position which surprised me no end.
As for the 2nd Exodus theme. Yes, I think it's probably there in some form: there's enough imagery of wilderness, bread etc. and there are parallel things going on in haggadic traditions. So at least some people would pick up on this. I also think it could easily go back to hist Jesus and John. John's very location for example would surely allude to this as would Jesus at Passover. Given the importance of eschatology from Jesus and John onwards then I think it would be pretty difficult to avoid.
Does that help, JB?
Yes,
thanks for that. I was familiar with the contours of your argument (Law allegiance, etc) but didn't know that it was law per se that took you to it. Thanks for the comments on Second Exodus as well.
On another tangent, one Mike needs to learn about, I'm so sorry about Malcolm Glazer and sons. Not a good situation. I have ManU connections (my father-in-law works with Tim Howard's mother-in-law) and sympathies there, even though I think Arsenal and Chelski stand head and shoulders above them at the moment (potentially for a great while, too, I'm afraid). Don't discuss here, though--wouldn't want to start tainting Mike's blog with an unholy sport like football (European or American).
In fear of tainting it even more, Tim Howard connections, eh? Not bad. Agree on glazers.
Sorry from me too Michael.
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