Applying the Useful Skill of Critical Thinking
All this jibber jabber about the Da Vinci Code (DVC) has highlighted for me two things: 1. People either do not read the Old Testament or, if they do, they don't read it carefully; 2. People have lost the ability to think critically. (Of course, this should not be a surprise to postmodernism because if all claims are masked power plays then there are only different appeals to different authorities, when you think about it. Why think critically when that helps not a whit against arguments from authority?) Anyway, here's the evidence:
1. The Messiah, King, for Jews was not about being taken out of the world or being personally forgiven for sin. Messiah was to kick the butts of foreign rulers who mock God. He was to bring God's justice as Kings always do. Such a person could have been married--it would have been no biggie. Contrary to DVC, there would have been no reason for a 1st century Jew to hide this. There would have been reason, however, to hide that Jesus traveled with both married and unmarried women in his entourage as Luke 8 records. That was controversial. So, seemingly, the Gospel writers have recorded the controversial part and left untouched the non-controversial; that's not the way to hide controversy!
Moreover, if Mary of Magdala was indeed married to Jesus, which would not have been a big deal 1st c. (i.e., not something to hide), but for some reason they wanted to hide it, they have not just let her slip into obscurity, but highlighted her as a specific person: She is Mary the Magdalene. It's quite strange to invent a controversial act with specific people to cover up a non-controversial one, if you ask me.
2. And now for critical thinking. The claim that the "secret/condemned" gospels, located in the Nag Hammadi desert in Upper Egypt (Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Philip, etc.), hold the earliest and true accounts of Jesus is completely backwards--just look at a map (and maybe a history book). It makes no sense that the "real" gospels would be found 300 miles from Jerusalem, where Christianity begins, and would have radical breaks with their foundational Scriptures (the OT) in teaching a gnostic Messiah (an oxymoron for most Jews; like I said, Messiah was to bring justice politically). It makes perfect sense, however, that a skewed version of a previous teaching would be found on the outskirts of the region where a religion began. That's where skewings take place--away from the action, outside the realm of readily available knowledge, near cultures that don't have the same history of religions.
So, if you want to buy a DVC code breaker, I suggest use the one you've already got: The Old Testament and the maps found therein. Happy reading!
1. The Messiah, King, for Jews was not about being taken out of the world or being personally forgiven for sin. Messiah was to kick the butts of foreign rulers who mock God. He was to bring God's justice as Kings always do. Such a person could have been married--it would have been no biggie. Contrary to DVC, there would have been no reason for a 1st century Jew to hide this. There would have been reason, however, to hide that Jesus traveled with both married and unmarried women in his entourage as Luke 8 records. That was controversial. So, seemingly, the Gospel writers have recorded the controversial part and left untouched the non-controversial; that's not the way to hide controversy!
Moreover, if Mary of Magdala was indeed married to Jesus, which would not have been a big deal 1st c. (i.e., not something to hide), but for some reason they wanted to hide it, they have not just let her slip into obscurity, but highlighted her as a specific person: She is Mary the Magdalene. It's quite strange to invent a controversial act with specific people to cover up a non-controversial one, if you ask me.
2. And now for critical thinking. The claim that the "secret/condemned" gospels, located in the Nag Hammadi desert in Upper Egypt (Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Philip, etc.), hold the earliest and true accounts of Jesus is completely backwards--just look at a map (and maybe a history book). It makes no sense that the "real" gospels would be found 300 miles from Jerusalem, where Christianity begins, and would have radical breaks with their foundational Scriptures (the OT) in teaching a gnostic Messiah (an oxymoron for most Jews; like I said, Messiah was to bring justice politically). It makes perfect sense, however, that a skewed version of a previous teaching would be found on the outskirts of the region where a religion began. That's where skewings take place--away from the action, outside the realm of readily available knowledge, near cultures that don't have the same history of religions.
So, if you want to buy a DVC code breaker, I suggest use the one you've already got: The Old Testament and the maps found therein. Happy reading!
posted by Aaron Perry at
10:49 AM
2 Comments:
I cannot believe the arrogance and ignorance of this post!
Everyone now knows, thanks to Tom Harpur, that Jesus couldn't have married Mary because Jesus never existed. He is the invention of S/Paul of Tarsus who appropriated Gnostic and Egyptian myths for Jewish audiences, and singlehandedly created a religion.
Now, back to reality. Of course you are right, AP. A similar line of argumentation--given that Matthew and Luke were penned within the lifetimes of at least some who knew Jesus, why would they invent the virgin conception, knowing that such would invite scorn from Jewish and Greek readers? (The former because it would make Jesus to be a bastard, the latter because they already had lots of "God has sex with a woman" hero stories). Answer--because this is what the earliest Christians believed about Jesus' origins.
Sometimes, reality really is simple. . . .
SGFMB
Good thoughts, AP, and you made me think about the issue in a way that I haven't already (not that I've been thinking much about it at all; I've pretty much ignored the hype so far). Thanks.
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