NT Pod 47: Did Jesus Exist?

The first episode of the NT Pod in 2011 came out last night and it is headed "Did Jesus exist?"  It is a short series of reflections on the so-called "mythicist" case with specific reference to two mythicists I have met, George Wells and Timothy Freke.  I first met Tim on Channel 4's Right to Reply, in 2001, when he had recorded a piece critical of the BBC's Son of God  (Jesus: The Complete Story in the USA).  His piece criticized the BBC for not tackling the mythicist case head-on, and the article also featured short critiques of the series from Tom Wright and Judith Lieu.  I was in the studio with Right to Reply presenter Roger Boulton, co-producer of Son of God Michael Wakelin and Timothy Freke.

I also reflect briefly on an earlier appearance on Right to Reply, back in 1984, when I was just 17.  I was responding to the series Jesus: The Evidence, which featured several scholars of interest -- Geza Vermes, Helmut Koester, Dennis Nineham, Morton Smith.  I was a precocious schoolboy and I recorded my little piece in the "video box" in Charlotte Street in London and was amazed when they decided to include it in the programme the next day.  The video clip is long since lost (thank goodness), but the series itself survives in several scratchy Youtube versions, which I have blogged about on several occasions (previous blog posts on this series here).  It looks peculiarly dated for something not that old, but it retains a real fascination for me.  As far as I know, it is the only series ever to provide mini-reconstructions of the life of Rudolf Bultmann.

Anyway, the first episode of Jesus: The Evidence featured George Wells (Youtube excerpt of the Wells segement here) and I discuss that in the latest podcast.  Twenty years later, I got to meet George Wells in London when he graciously came along to listen at a lecture series day in London which I shared with John Barton and John Muddiman.  I greatly enjoyed our chat.

Wading into an area like Jesus mythicism is, of course, a risky business, but I think it is worthwhile, not least because it is something that can keep Historical Jesus scholars honest.  I think it helps us to reflect too on the nature of ancient history.  This episode came about because I am about to begin teaching my course on the Historical Jesus this week, and it's a topic that will be in my thinking.

If you are interested in other episodes of the podcast, please visit the NT Pod web page or subscribe in your preferred reader or subscribe via iTunes. Or, of course, you can follow the NT Pod on Twitter or on the NT Pod Facebook page.

Jesus: The Evidence, Episode 3, featuring Koester and Quispel

In several recent posts, I have drawn attention to the 1984 documentary, Jesus: The Evidence. The third and final episode is also available on Youtube. The uploader has mashed the aspect ratio horribly, but it's still fascinating viewing, especially if you are interested in the history of NT scholarship. The first three minutes is here and the main part is here:



The last three minutes is here.

The topic is the resurrection, Nag Hammadi and Gnostic Christianity (and the Gospel of Thomas), Paul, Marcion and the canon, and Constantine. It features lots of a young(er) Helmut Koester (in Jerusalem and a couple of other locations, one indoors) and, like The Gnostics (1987) documentary, the late Gilles Quispel (in Rome).

The Morton Smith segment of Jesus: The Evidence excerpted

Over on Salainen Evankelista, Timo Paananen follows up my post on Jesus: The Evidence, Episode 2 on Youtube (the one with Morton Smith) by helpfully excerpting the section of Jesus: The Evidence Episode 2 that features Morton Smith, at the same time correcting the aspect ratio. As Timo says, there is a lot in the episode of interest, for me not least in seeing footage of the late Werner Kümmel, but those specially interested in Secret Mark and Morton Smith may find the repackaged clip more accessible and helpful:

Jesus: The Evidence, Episode 2 on Youtube (the one with Morton Smith)

A little further searching on Youtube reveals that Episode 2 of Jesus: The Evidence is also available, though with an incorrect aspect ratio. This is the one I previously mentioned, featuring Morton Smith discussing Secret Mark. Smith first appears at the beginning of the 34th minute here, outside the Mar Saba monastery, so my earlier memory of the appearance turns out to be correct, and now one can see the whole context of the appearance:



There are other things of interest in this episode including more Geza Vermes and also Anthony Harvey. Ignore the "3 of 6" on the uploader's heading; this is episode 2, and the first few minutes of the episode are in a separate upload, headed 2 of 6. The character you see in the still above is Ian Wilson, the author of books on the Turin Shroud, who also authored the book Jesus: The Evidence that accompanied this series.

Jesus: the Evidence, Episode 1 on Youtube

I blogged recently about the 1984 Channel 4 documentary, Jesus: The Evidence, first in connection with Morton Smith's appearance on the programme, and then in relation to Geza Vermes's. Since then, someone has uploaded the entirety of the first episode of the documentary to Youtube. It makes fascinating viewing now over 25 years on, especially in giving us the chance to catch appearances from some famous scholars, Werner Kümmel, Dennis Nineham, I. Howard Marshall as well as Geza Vermes. There is attention to text-critical matters, Codex Sinaiticus and P⁵². There is a bit of discussion of P.Oxy. 1 and also Nag Hammadi and the Gospel of Thomas. There are re-enactments of Nicaea and of a young Rudolf Bultmann in the study and the pulpit, and also of the discoveries at Nag Hammadi in 1945 (with a terrible reconstruction of the codices with huge letters):



Fascinating viewing. As I mentioned previously, it is quite different from the contemporary style of documentary in that the scholars speak directly to the camera rather than to an off-screen presenter or director. Moreover, it is clear that they are speaking from a script and not arranging the words as they speak.

There is another version of the episode available here, but the aspect ratio is horrible, even if it is a bit less wobbly.

Jesus: The Evidence: Geza Vermes on the Testimonium Flavianum

I blogged recently on Morton Smith's appearance in the 1984 Channel 4 documentary Jesus: The Evidence. Here's another nice clip from the documentary featuring a younger looking Geza Vermes discussing the Testimonium Flavianum in a large library (anyone recognize it?). You will notice a curiosity of this documentary with the scholars speaking directly to the camera. We are so used these days to the expert giving his or her opinions looking off-camera at the director, that it is unsettling to see this alternative style. I wonder if this was unique at the time?

I remember attending a lecture given by Geza Vermes in Oxford a year or so after the broadcast, probably in early 1986. He talked about his own experiences in filming the documentary and the backlash against it among Christians in the media. I recall, in particular, his smiling at the repeated complaint about its one-sidedness, with only one minute given to I. Howard Marshall.

Update: Many thanks to Geza Vermes for emailing with the information that the library is Dr Williams' Library in London. The lecture I remembered is "Jesus, the Evidence and the British Press" and it is included in a collection of papers to appear on 4 January 2010 in SEARCHING FOR THE REAL JESUS published by SCM Press.

Update (10 September 2019): A recent Facebook conversation reminded me of this post but on revisiting it, I found that the link to the video above was dead, so I have uploaded a fresh copy here.

Morton Smith, Mar Saba and Jesus: The Evidence

Sometimes the intriguing stories of twentieth century discoveries can remind one of discussions about the first century. One of the big questions in Pauline chronology is: how many times did Paul go to Jerusalem? And now one of the questions that emerges in the discussion of Morton Smith's discovery of the Secret Gospel of Mark is: how many times did Morton Smith visit Mar Saba, the location of the discovery of the manuscript in 1958?

On Salainen Evankelista, Timo Paananen discusses whether or not Morton Smith went back to Mar Saba after 1958 and he posts a photograph of Morton Smith that recently appeared in Biblical Archaeology Review. The picture, which is from the archives of the Jewish Theological Seminary, makes it quite clear that Smith was there, and Timo speculates that "it was taken in the late 1970s, or even early 1980s".

I am pretty sure that I am able to provide the date and the occasion. I am lucky to have a good memory, and I can recall seeing Morton Smith on the Channel 4 (UK) documentary Jesus: The Evidence, talking about Secret Mark, in 1984. According to the BFI, the three-part series was broadcast in April 1984. My memory is enhanced not only by the fact that at the time my parents had recently purchased a Betamax video recorder, which I used to tape the series, but also by the fact that I had my first appearance on TV criticizing the series that same month, on the show Right to Reply (I was a precocious teenager, I am afraid!).

I think I remember seeing Morton Smith at Mar Saba on the documentary, and I also recall talking some years later to the researcher on the programme, who talked about filming with Morton Smith. Luckily, there is a short clip from the documentary available on Youtube (erroneously given as a "BBC TV" series, a common mistake):



(Ignore the title, which is the uploader's). Unfortunately, the clip does not feature Smith at Mar Saba. He is inside a library or an office, probably in America. But I am sure you'll agree that it is still fascinating. If I can get my hands on those Betamax videos I made twenty-five years ago, I can check the whole section on Smith.

In a comment on the above mentioned post, Allan Pantuck notes:

In one of the other photos I found, he appears on the same hill with what looks like a film crew, so it is possible he was being filmed for some kind of documentary.

So it seems all but certain that this is the occasion for Smith's last visit to Mar Saba.