Wednesday Bible Study: Failure to cite

Luke would get an F for plagiarism in my course. What's strange about chapter 5 is that the first 11 verses correspond to events in John, whereas the rest of it is more or less what is in Matthew and Mark. I haven't seen any scholarly commentary on this. John is usually considered sui generis but obviously there is some common source here. But who cares? 

 

5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,^[a] the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. ² He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. ³ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

⁵ Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

⁶ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷ So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” ¹¹ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy

¹² While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.^[b] When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

¹³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

¹⁴ Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

¹⁵ Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

¹⁷ One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. ¹⁸ Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. ¹⁹ When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

²⁰ When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²² Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ²⁵ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. ²⁶ Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners

²⁷ After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

²⁹ Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus Questioned About Fasting

³³ They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”

³⁴ Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? ³⁵ But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”

³⁶ He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. ³⁸ No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. ³⁹ And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”

Footnotes

1. Luke 5:1 That is, the Sea of Galilee
2. Luke 5:12 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.

 

Sunday Sermonette: Misquoting Scripture

 Sorry I haven't been blogging lately. I've been working on a magazine article and a proposal, as well as trying to lay in firewood and other chores, so I just haven't had the bandwidth. Anyway, everything is so fucked up it's scarcely worth commenting on, though I will get back to it, I promise.

 

Anyway, Luke 4 has considerable overlap with the other synoptic gospels, but as usual there are discrepancies. The most noteworthy in this case is that Jesus is rejected in his hometown at the very beginning of his ministry, right after the whole being tempted by the devil thing. In Matthew and Mark, that doesn't happen until much later, after the sermon on the mount, calling the disciples, a lot of healing, etc. 

 

The other noteworthy discrepancy is that in verse 18, Jesus pretends to read from Isaiah but he makes part of it up. The verses in Isaiah make no mention of restoring sight to the blind, and otherwise it's largely a paraphrase. Of course the Hebrew Bible had not been fully canonized at this time so it's possible he would have had a different version. Even so, what does that tell you about scripture?

 

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, ² where for forty days he was tempted^[a] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’^[b]”

⁵ The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶ And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷ If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

⁸ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’^[c]”

⁹ The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you carefully;
¹¹ they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’^[d]”

¹² Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’^[e]”

¹³ When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

¹⁴ Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. ¹⁵ He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

¹⁶ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
¹⁹     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”^[f]

²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

²² All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

²³ Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”

²⁴ “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. ²⁵ I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. ²⁶ Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. ²⁷ And there were many in Israel with leprosy^[g] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸ All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. ²⁹ They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. ³⁰ But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit

³¹ Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. ³² They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.

³³ In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, ³⁴ “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

³⁵ “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

³⁶ All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” ³⁷ And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

Jesus Heals Many

³⁸ Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. ³⁹ So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

⁴⁰ At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. ⁴¹ Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

⁴² At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. ⁴³ But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” ⁴⁴ And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Footnotes

1. Luke 4:2 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.
2. Luke 4:4 Deut. 8:3
3. Luke 4:8 Deut. 6:13
4. Luke 4:11 Psalm 91:11,12
5. Luke 4:12 Deut. 6:16
6. Luke 4:19 Isaiah 61:1,2 (see Septuagint); Isaiah 58:6
7. Luke 4:27 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.

 

Wednesday Bible Study: Partial convergence

Luke is considered one of the synoptic gospels because it has substantial material that overlaps with Matthew and Mark. As we have seen, however, the first two chapters of Luke are not only unique, they radically contradict Matthew. (Mark has nothing to say about the birth of Jesus or the events leading up to it.) With chapter three, however, Luke does start to present some of the synoptic material. Again, we aren't sure whether he cribbed it from Mark, or they both got it from an earlier, lost source. In any case, there are the usual weird discrepancies.

The events described here generally correspond to events described in Matthew and Mark, but the language is not identical. However, the genealogy of Jesus given by Luke is completely different from the genealogy -- I mean utterly, completely different. The only things they have in common are that they start with David and end with Joseph. Otherwise every single name is different, and in fact the number of generations is different -- 27 in Matthew and 42 in Luke. It is very difficult to understand why Luke would crib the John the Baptist story from Mark and then go on to report an entirely different genealogy from Matthew, which he must have gotten from somewhere else. We'll just have to let the mystery be.

 

BTW the Herod character who is introduced here is not King Herod who according to Matthew reigned when Jesus was born, and according to Luke was already dead by then, but a successor of the same name. It's a complicated and confusing story which I tried to straighten out when we discussed Matthew, but it really doesn't matter so I won't repeat it. 

 

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— ² during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³ He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁴ As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.
⁵ Every valley shall be filled in,
    every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
    the rough ways smooth.
⁶ And all people will see God’s salvation.’”^[a]

⁷ John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ⁹ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

¹¹ John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

¹² Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

¹³ “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

¹⁴ Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

¹⁵ The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. ¹⁶ John answered them all, “I baptize you with^[b] water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with^[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” ¹⁸ And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

¹⁹ But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, ²⁰ Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus

²¹ When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened ²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

²³ Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph,

the son of Heli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat,

the son of Levi, the son of Melki,

the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos,

the son of Nahum, the son of Esli,

the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath,

the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein,

the son of Josek, the son of Joda,

²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa,

the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel,

the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melki,

the son of Addi, the son of Cosam,

the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,

²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer,

the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat,

the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon,

the son of Judah, the son of Joseph,

the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,

³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna,

the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan,

the son of David, ³² the son of Jesse,

the son of Obed, the son of Boaz,

the son of Salmon,^[d] the son of Nahshon,

³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram,^[e]

the son of Hezron, the son of Perez,

the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob,

the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,

the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu,

the son of Peleg, the son of Eber,

the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan,

the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem,

the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch,

the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel,

the son of Kenan, ³⁸ the son of Enosh,

the son of Seth, the son of Adam,

the son of God.

Footnotes

1. Luke 3:6 Isaiah 40:3-5
2. Luke 3:16 Or in
3. Luke 3:16 Or in
4. Luke 3:32 Some early manuscripts Sala
5. Luke 3:33 Some manuscripts Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni; other manuscripts vary widely.

 

Sunday Sermonette: Doublethink

It is obvious that the people who thump the Bible the hardest have never read it. The blatant contradictions among the gospels, and between the gospels and readily observable reality, prove that. We've haven't even been enumerating all of them, as there are so many, but we're going to take a close look at the two nativity stories, of Matthew and Luke. (There is no nativity in Mark or John, Jesus first appears as a grown man.) It's not just that they present different details. They are completely contradictory and irreconcilable. It is impossible for both of them to be true. Actually, for reasons we will mention, it is impossible for either of them to be true.

The KJV has it that Caesar ordered that all the world should be taxed. The NIV translators think it's just a census. Either way, it never happened. In the first place, Quirinius became governor of Syria in 6 CE, nine years after the death of Herod the Great. But of course in Matthew, Jesus was born during Herod's reign. In the second place, if Caesar Augustus wanted a census for some reason, there would be no reason to make people return to their place of birth for the purpose. But in any event, there would be some historical record of it other than this single document, and there isn't. 

It's also rather strange that Matthew never heard of this, because according to him, Jesus and Mary already lived in Bethlehem and Jesus was born in their house. There was no full inn, no stable, and no manger. The Magi came and inquired where the house was, which tipped off Herod (who as we have noted above is long dead in Luke's telling), who had all the male babies in Bethlehem killed, which caused the holy family to flee to Egypt. However, there are no Magi in Luke, just as there are no Shepherds in Matthew.

Since, in Luke, Herod isn't killing any babies (he couldn't be, he's dead), the family doesn't flee to Egypt. They stay right at home in Judea, they take the baby to the Temple to be consecrated, and then they go back home to Nazareth, whereas in Matthew they don't go to Nazareth until four years later, after Herod dies and they return from exile in Egypt.  

At Christmas time you'll see what are called creches in churchyards, that inevitably assume the stable and manger version of the story, and typically include both Magi and shepherds. Churches also put on Christmas pageants which contain the same elements. But it's a mashup of two entirely different and contradictory stories, which conveniently ignores the parts that can't be reconciled. So you cannot believe both stories, unless you are insane. 

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

²¹ On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Jesus Presented in the Temple

²² When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”^[b]), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”^[c]

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss^[d] your servant in peace.
³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

³³ The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

³⁶ There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷ and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.^[e] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. ³⁸ Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹ When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

The Boy Jesus at the Temple

⁴¹ Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. ⁴² When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. ⁴³ After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. ⁴⁴ Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵ When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. ⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

⁴⁹ “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”^{[f] 50} But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁵¹ Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. ⁵² And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Footnotes

1. Luke 2:2 Or This census took place before
2. Luke 2:23 Exodus 13:2,12
3. Luke 2:24 Lev. 12:8
4. Luke 2:29 Or promised, / now dismiss
5. Luke 2:37 Or then had been a widow for eighty-four years.
6. Luke 2:49 Or be about my Father’s business

 

Mythology

 I "do" Columbus Day every year and I usually "do" Thanksgiving, but I skipped it this year because everybody already knows that the story about the Pilgrims and the Indians giving thanks together is total bullshit. Believe me, right then the Indians had nothing to be thankful for. Squanto, the purported protagonist, had just returned from being enslaved in Europe to find his entire community dead. 

 

Anyway, I'm going to "do" Christmas on Sunday, a bit prematurely but that's when it comes up on my personal liturgical calendar. All of this is occasion to reflect on the role and importance of mythology. A nation is in essence an imaginary community. The U.S. consists of more than 347 million people who you don't know, maybe a few dozen who you do, and however many more you see on TV. What makes them all people you have something in common with, maybe something you have a bumper sticker that says you're "proud" to be a part of, is a bunch of stories you believe in, or pretend to believe in. 

 

The U.S. is a pluralistic society, which means that people who consider themselves to be American (or we should better say United Statesian) don't necessarily all believe the same stories. Different groups of people can equally feel American even though they're narrative portfolios aren't all the same. It seems that many people just can't process complicated stories that make them feel uncomfortable, which is why the current administration is trying to purge them from our collective consciousness, to please its cultists who apparently cannot comprehend complexity. However, Keep It Simple Stupid is a command I am just not equipped to obey. So I'm going to keep it complicated.

Wednesday Bible Study: Two volume set

The Gospel of Luke is actually the first half of a document that also includes the Acts of the Apostles. For some reason, in the standard order of the New Testament, the Gospel of John has been inserted between the volumes. Scholars think it was written around 90 CE, by which time the ministry of Paul had begun and Christian proselytizing was mainly directed at gentiles. By this time, of course, the temple had been destroyed and the Jewish population dispersed. Nevertheless the author seems to take a lot of interest in the Jewish politics of the time of Jesus, having more to say about John the Baptist than any of the other gospels, and adding the story of Zechariah. That's just my personal observation, I haven't seen any scholarly commentary on that issue. Mary's visit with Zechariah and Elizabeth -- unmentioned anywhere else -- confirms that this is important to the author, but I can scarcely imagine why.

This is considered a synoptic gospel in that it has considerable overlap with Matthew and Mark. Again, it isn't entirely clear whether the author lifted material from Mark, or from an earlier common source. And, as usual, although there are commonalities there are also many discrepancies. His source for Acts is unknown, but if he was alive during any of that he would have been a very young child. The address to Theophilus may be directed to a real individual, but Theophilus means "lover of God" so it might also just be a generic dedication to whoever reads it and believes. There are various early versions of the book and, as usual, they differ in some respects.

 

The first chapter is all about Jewish politics before Jesus appears. Again, it strikes me as odd that he is so interested in this history (real or fictitious), since it has no evident importance to the people he is writing for. We'll just have to let that be a mystery.

 

1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled^[a] among us, ² just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. ³ With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴ so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

⁵ In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. ⁷ But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

⁸ Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹ he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. ¹³ But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. ¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸ Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

¹⁹ The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰ And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

²¹ Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. ²² When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

²³ When his time of service was completed, he returned home. ²⁴ After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. ²⁵ “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[b] the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary’s Song

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
⁴⁷     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
⁴⁹     for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
    holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him,
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things
    but has sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
    remembering to be merciful
⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants forever,
    just as he promised our ancestors.”

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹ On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰ but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

⁶¹ They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

⁶² Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” ⁶⁴ Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵ All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶ Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

Zechariah’s Song

⁶⁷ His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

⁶⁸ “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn^[c] of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David
⁷⁰ (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
⁷¹ salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
⁷² to show mercy to our ancestors
    and to remember his holy covenant,
⁷³     the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
⁷⁴ to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him without fear
⁷⁵     in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

⁷⁶ And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
⁷⁷ to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
⁷⁹ to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

⁸⁰ And the child grew and became strong in spirit^[d]; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

Footnotes

1. Luke 1:1 Or been surely believed
2. Luke 1:35 Or So the child to be born will be called holy,
3. Luke 1:69 Horn here symbolizes a strong king.
4. Luke 1:80 Or in the Spirit

 

Arrrggghhhh . . .

I was temporarily blocked from my blogger account due to some bizarre technical problems. Google does not provide any customer service -- there is no way to contact them, no way to talk to a human, and the FAQs they offered did not solve my problem. I finally figured it out with the help of IT support from my university, but it took the better part of three days.

 

This whole thing was ultimately the result of the enshittification of everything.  I'm not going to bother you with the whole back story but the basic point is, it's getting harder and harder to do anything, more and more costly, and you're getting less for your trouble and your money as Google, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft hoover up the planet. I'm not quite feeling helpless yet but I'll bet a lot of people are. What is to be done?

Sunday Sermonette: Fan fiction

The Gospel of Mark originally ended with verse 8. Somebody later decided that wasn't a sufficiently exciting end to the tale, and appended verses 9 through 20. Before we get to the fan fiction, we'll note the usual discrepancies with the other gospels. Here, three women came to the tomb, in John there were only two, in Matthew there was one, and in Luke there were at least five. In John, it was still dark when they came, but here and in Matthew it was sunrise or dawn. Here, they encounter a young man (perhaps an angel) sitting inside the tomb, with the stone already rolled away. But in Matthew, they see the angel descend from heaven, and roll back the stone. Here, the "young man" tells the disciples to go to Galilee, but in Luke, Jesus himself tells them to "tarry in Jerusalem." And so on, enough of that.

In the addendum, Jesus promises that the faithful can drink poison without injury. Sure. 

Luke comes next. It has an entirely different nativity story from Matthew, which is completely inconsistent. Both stories cannot possibly be true. The story depicted in pageants and creches is a mashup of the two stories that omits the contradictory parts. In other words, the Christmas story is incontrovertibly a hoax, and all you need to do to prove that is read both versions. We will do that. 

 

16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. ² Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³ and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

⁸ Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.^[a]

---

[The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.]

⁹ When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. ¹¹ When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

¹² Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. ¹³ These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.

¹⁴ Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

¹⁵ He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

¹⁹ After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. ²⁰ Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

Footnotes

1. Mark 16:8 Some manuscripts have the following ending between verses 8 and 9, and one manuscript has it after verse 8 (omitting verses 9-20): Then they quickly reported all these instructions to those around Peter. After this, Jesus himself also sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen.

 

Trashing Economics, continued

Recall the Economics 101 cartoon world of only two parties on an island somewhere, exchanging corn for chickens. So let us return briefly to the lonesome world of Alice and Bob. For the transaction to truly benefit both of them, it should be obvious that they both have to know exactly what they are getting – that’s called the assumption of perfect information. If Alice’s chickens turn out to be diseased and inedible, Bob is not happier after all. Asymmetric information is common throughout the economy– generally, sellers know more about the product than buyers – but it’s obviously an inherent feature of Medicine. After all, the product for sale is expertise.

Another assumption is that Alice and Bob both enter into this transaction freely and willingly. That’s actually hard to define. If Bob’s crop fails and he’s starving, is Bob really free to take or leave Alice’s chicken? You might argue that even if Bob gives Alice everything he possesses, and binds himself to her in servitude for life, he’s still better off because at least he isn’t dead. That may be so, but obviously this isn’t a world Bob wants to live in.

At the very least, to protect Bob in this situation, there have to be a lot of people selling food, they have to be competing with each other and not colluding to hold up the price, and Bob has to know what each of them has on offer at what price, and be able to choose among them. That way he’ll get the best possible deal. If Alice controlled all of the food in town, she’d be the dictator, and you could hardly getting away with calling that a Free Market. But that’s actually the case if Alice has a patent and exclusive marketing rights to a medication Bob needs to survive – a situation that exists for many people in the U.S. today. 

So we've looked at two basic assumptions behind the so-called Free Market™ and without needing to think about it very hard at all found that both are false. We'll go through them all and see if any of them hold up, even most of the time. But first, we need to talk about money. That's for next time.

Wednesday Bible Study: Three out of four

Mark's account of the trial and execution of Jesus is largely consistent with the other synoptic gospels, although as always there are some minor discrepancies. However, it is much less consistent with the gospel of John. The most glaring inconsistency is that in John, Jesus is made to carry his own cross, whereas in the synoptic gospels the cross is carried by a man named Simon. Evidently because the idea of Jesus carrying his own cross is more dramatic, that's the image Christians have decided to adopt, ignoring three of four accounts. Also, in the synoptic gospels, Jesus is silent during his trial before Pilate, but in John he has a lot to say.

 I won't say more about this, except that it is absurd to claim that any of this is the "divinely inspired word of God," or literally true, because you can believe one account or another, but you can't believe them all. We're about to come to Luke's nativity, and then it will be inescapably obvious.

 

15 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.

² “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

³ The chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴ So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”

⁵ But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

⁶ Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. ⁷ A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. ⁸ The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

⁹ “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, ¹⁰ knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

¹² “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.

¹³ “Crucify him!” they shouted.

¹⁴ “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

¹⁵ Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

¹⁶ The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. ¹⁸ And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” ¹⁹ Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. ²⁰ And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

²¹ A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. ²² They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ²³ Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. ²⁴ And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

²⁵ It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶ The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.

²⁷ They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. ^{[28] [a] 29} Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, ³⁰ come down from the cross and save yourself!” ³¹ In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! ³² Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus

³³ At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ³⁴ And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).^[b]

³⁵ When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”

³⁶ Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.

³⁷ With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

³⁸ The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,^[c] he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰ Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph,^[d] and Salome. ⁴¹ In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

The Burial of Jesus

⁴² It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. ⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. ⁴⁵ When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

Footnotes

1. Mark 15:28 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Luke 22:37.
2. Mark 15:34 Psalm 22:1
3. Mark 15:39 Some manuscripts saw that he died with such a cry
4. Mark 15:40 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph; also in verse 47