With every passing day I apply scientific signals analysis triangulation techniques to study the Gospel parallels, the more patently obvious it becomes that Gospel of Marcion was a much earlier text that Late Luke (or what some scholars anachronistically call “canonical Luke”). Sure, there are lots of parallels between Gospel of Marcion and Late Luke. But why is it that Gospel of Marcion is usually missing distinctive Markan traditions and is almost always missing distinctive Matthean traditions that Late Luke incorporated?
Read More »Category: Luke-Acts
If only Harnack had
Time’s contingency is a real b****, isn’t it.
Adolf von Harnack was happily following F. C. Baur’s lead in moving Luke and Acts to the middle of the second century.
Harnack, simply because Acts ends in an unresolved fashion with Paul in prison, went from Baur’s position to put Luke and Acts in the 60s.
Read More »CANT 78.3, Hospitality and Perfume of the Bandit: Critical Edition in Progress
Always enjoyable to come back to paleography. Today’s task is to finish my critical edition of CANT 78.3, The Hospitality and Perfume of the Bandit, based on a collation of texts found in two manuscripts, Vatican Library Lat. 6300 and British Library Harley 3199. The story is likely 13th or 14th century, one among several medieval variations of the Good Thief’s hospitality to the Holy Family during their sojourn to Egypt.
This story is unique in that it ties the miraculous perfume the Good Thief receives from Jesus’ mother Mary to the alabaster-carried perfume that Mary Magdalene used to anoint the feet of Jesus.
Read More »Self-Archived Open Access Publications Uploaded and ORCID Updated
After obtaining or checking for permission with my publishers, I’ve uploaded open access versions of many of my recent publications. All of these self-archived publications now have DOIs and are linked in my ORCID record. This was also a good reminder to update my ORCID record more generally, so I added all of my missing presentations and service work. I’m almost up to 100 academic works!
Read More »Classical Models of the Gospels and Acts Featured in CSU Fullerton News
Campus news piece sent out by email today featured our recently edited book on Mimesis Criticism of the New Testament. Thank you to the most excellent team in Strategic Communications for sharing this publication and those of other faculty!
Classical Greek Models of the Gospels and Acts: Chapter Summaries
The first six chapters look with critical appreciation on MacDonald’s recent work, support mimesis criticism becoming a vital and standard methodology within New Testament studies, and sometimes propose new directions of mimetic inquiry. The final three chapters focus on close mimetic analysis of specific passages in the Gospels and Acts, while also tracing out broader literary and theological implications for the New Testament, early Christianity, and the reception of epic literature in late antiquity.
Read More »Book Blurbs for Classical Greek Models of the Gospels and Acts
Classical Greek Models of the Gospels and Acts: Studies in Mimesis Criticism. Edited by Mark G. Bilby, Michael Kochenash, and Margaret Froelich. Claremont, CA: Claremont Press, 2018.
The book is now available for purchase in print format on Amazon.
Read More »“The First Dionysian Gospel: Imitational and Redactional Layers in Luke and John”: Extended Summary
This chapter in my recently published Classical Greek Models of the Gospels and Acts proposes a novel solution to the synoptic problem. Noting the gradual expansion of classical/mimetic sources over time, as well as the key role of Marcion’s Gospel and Pliny the Younger’s correspondence as pioneering legal precedent, I summarize the history and interrelationships of the canonical Gospels as follows:
Read More »Table of Contents: Classical Greek Models of the Gospels and Acts
Thank you to all of the contributors to the recently published volume Classical Greek Models of the Gospels and Acts!
Read More »Shema / First Commandment / Great Commandment
An inquisitive, contemplative friend recently asked me, “Is it commonly cited in the first commandment, when they say to love the Lord, that they say with your heart, soul, and mind? All three things?”
Simply put, the answer is “sometimes.” 🙂 To be more precise, the answer is “it’s complicated.” 🙂
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