Recent content by GrayMac

I think that Euhemerus describing Uranus and Zeus as human kings with human attributes is what euhemerization is (even if they were or are subsequently thought to have been deified humans ie. thought to have or portrayed as having undergone apotheosis). They were given tangible families, etc...

Hi Jerry. I'm with Carrier. And I think what you wrote there^ aligns with what he proposes, too. Let me elaborate. To euhemerize essentially means to anthropomorphize or to humanize the notion of a god or the notion of their origin/s. Which is what Euhemerus is said to have done about gods...

Hi Richard. I've been intrigued with Nazoreans and/or Nazarenes aligning with or having been followers of those 'worthy' of being Nazarites. I'm also intrigued that you suggest that its more likely the NZR comes from Egyptian roots for "prince". Nazirite/Nazarite, which comes from nazir...

Jason D. BeDuhn (2013) 'The First New Testament: Marcion's Scriptural Canon' Polebridge Press; Vincent M (2014) 'Marcion and the Dating of the Synoptic Gospels' (Studia patristica supplement 2) Leuven: Peeters. Matthias Klinghardt (2015) 'Das älteste Evangelium und die Entstehung der...

The start of The Gnostic Bible makes quite a few references to John the Baptist in terms of the Gnostics or Gnostic settings, eg. - "... according to the Lukan version of Q 7:35, Jesus refers to wisdom (personified) being vindicated by her children (John the baptizer and Jesus), but in the...

I think the terms and concepts around Gnosticism and Gnostics have been better defined since Yamauchi published "Pre-Christian Gnosticism: A Survey of the Proposed Evidences" (in 2003, I think). Birger Pearson, David Brakke, and others have published good discussions in books and articles. I...

Hi Jerry Certainly the Roman cult of the emperor being worshipped as a god is noteworthy, and of course that started with the first emperor Augustus either before 1 AD when he was still emperor or short after. I wouldn't call it Christian, though I could imagine that variations of 'Christos'...

Hi Jerry. Cheers (sorry, I forgot to say Hi as I was so intent on getting my first post right). I agree. I'm not sure much could be described as Christianity in the 1st century. I doubt we have the full story on what was happening with all the different radical, messianic and militant Jewish...

A key aspect is 'when?'. When were there two competing versions of Christianity? I doubt there were other well-defined versions when Paul's letter first circulated. Another aspect is what non-Pauline types of 'Christianity' were there first? Sethians? Essenes?? Simeonians? Hermeticism...