tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post7763327835622026279..comments2024-03-21T14:59:20.729-04:00Comments on NT Blog: Vermes on Ratzinger and the QuestMark Goodacrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05115370166754797529noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-16408801236450144862007-05-23T05:12:00.000-04:002007-05-23T05:12:00.000-04:00For example, one might question Vermes's simplisti...For example, one might question Vermes's simplistic literalist interpretations of Mk.10:18, Mt.10:5-6, and Mt15:24 in terms of what a Jewish prophet is likely or not likely to have said.geoffhudson.blogspot.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14724916983698195467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-6144619834500826252007-05-22T17:55:00.000-04:002007-05-22T17:55:00.000-04:00qptOne would have to question the Jewish understan...qptOne would have to question the Jewish understandings of someone who believes that the DSS were the product of Essenes at Qumran.geoffhudson.blogspot.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14724916983698195467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-9088967006156095792007-05-22T07:39:00.000-04:002007-05-22T07:39:00.000-04:00Good points anonymous. Vermes's credentials are ob...Good points anonymous. Vermes's credentials are obviously unshakable. But I do not think the general public for whom the review was intended will read it in light of Vermes's personal journey.<BR/>NathanNathan Eubankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13930202683520173941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-44611065908673696752007-05-22T03:41:00.000-04:002007-05-22T03:41:00.000-04:00Vermes is an outstanding scholar. To appreciate hi...Vermes is an outstanding scholar. To appreciate his review of Pope Benedict's book, one has to be aware of his background as a former Catholic priest. Read Vermes's prefaces to his own books and the way he responds to criticism from Frs. Fitzmyer and Meier. It's not just a matter of scholarly debate for Vermes, it's also a splendid example of the psychology of a convert.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-73965703374285317562007-05-21T22:31:00.000-04:002007-05-21T22:31:00.000-04:00Back to the review: I haven’t read Ratzinger’s boo...Back to the review: I haven’t read Ratzinger’s book but I thought Vermes’s piece lacked charity as a review. He spends more time giving his history of the various Quests than interacting with the book, and when he does his analysis amounts to little more than a complaint that Ratzinger hasn’t wised up and abandoned “the divine Christ of faith – the product of his musings” for the "authentic Jesus". Vermes also throws in a few unfair comments and exaggerations (e.g. Ratzinger’s claim to incorporate historical criticism is paraphrased as a promise to obey the rules of historical criticism, we are warned that canonical criticism will force Catholic Bible scholars to a preCopernican stage of history, Ratzinger’s arguments are denigrated as “papal claims” despite the fact that Ratzinger explicitly declares this book to be the work of a private scholar). <BR/>Nathan EubankNathan Eubankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13930202683520173941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-69752694219302906382007-05-21T07:53:00.000-04:002007-05-21T07:53:00.000-04:00So what is the fourth quest? Is it all this orali...So what is the fourth quest? Is it all this orality nonsense? May be it should not be a search for the illusive Jewish Jesus but for a real Jew, for example, referred to as a prophet in the Gospel of Judas. His name appears in various anachronistic interpolations in writings attributed to Josephus, and he was 'replaced' in his position of leadership after 'falling'.geoffhudson.blogspot.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14724916983698195467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-37816655824269327992007-05-20T16:37:00.000-04:002007-05-20T16:37:00.000-04:00Dumb question from a non academic. Why were works ...Dumb question from a non academic. Why were works by scholars like W.D. Davies on the Jesus' Jewishness ignored...wrong time? (i.e. the prevailing quest had not exhausted itself into a dead end so not many were open to ideas from the left field...?) Or?<BR/><BR/>Or to put it more generally, what contributes to creating a literary landmark/paradigm shift in biblical studies? <BR/><BR/>jsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-12037900663770666222007-05-20T14:21:00.000-04:002007-05-20T14:21:00.000-04:00Thanks, Doug. I missed your blog comment and it l...Thanks, Doug. I missed your blog comment and it looks like I didn't have Metacatholic on my reader, so I've now added it.Mark Goodacrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05115370166754797529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-88202698959981083662007-05-20T13:21:00.000-04:002007-05-20T13:21:00.000-04:00Mark, you're always so nice and reasonable. I must...Mark, you're always so nice and reasonable. I must say I found myself reacticting rather more negatively to the review <A HREF="http://www.metacatholic.co.uk/2007/05/vermes-on-the-pope-on-jesus/" REL="nofollow">here</A> yesterday. The crticisms from a scholar from whom I've learnt a lot felt disappointingly out-of-date.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10326403777027937887noreply@blogger.com