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Jesus The Magician
''Jesus the Magician'' is a 1978 book by Morton Smith arguing that the historical Jesus was a Magician (paranormal), magician who "sprang from a Galilean strain of Semitic paganism" (p. 68). Background The idea that Jesus was a magician (paranormal), magician did not originate with Morton Smith. It was previously voiced by the philosopher and critic Celsus (''The True Word'' c. 200 CE) as we know from the rebuttal authored by the Christian apologist/scholar Origen: “It was by magic that he was able to do the miracles” (''Contra Celsum'' 1.6). Hans Dieter Betz (1994) observes that "from early on even Jesus of Nazareth was implicated in that he was said to be mad or a magician possessed by Satan" and R. Joseph Hoffmann writes (1987) that it is well attested that "the early Christian mission was advanced by the use of magic (paranormal), magic." Smith was featured discussing his theories in the controversial television documentary series, ''Jesus: The Evidence'' (1984: LWT ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morton Smith
Morton Smith (May 28, 1915 – July 11, 1991)Neusner, Jacob, ''Christianity, Judaism, and other Greco-Roman Cults. Part 1: New Testament'', ed. J. Neusner, ''Studies for Morton Smith at Sixty, vol 1, New Testament'' (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1975), p. ix.Calder III, William M. “Smith, Morton”, in ''Biographical Dictionary of North American Classicists'', Ward W. Briggs, Jr., (ed.) (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994), p. 600. was an American professor of ancient history at Columbia University. He is best known for his reported discovery of the Mar Saba letter, a letter attributed to Clement of Alexandria containing excerpts from a Secret Gospel of Mark, during a visit to the monastery at Mar Saba in 1958. This letter fragment has had many names, from ''The Secret Gospel'' through ''The Mar Saba Fragment'' and the ''Theodoros''. Biography Smith was born in Philadelphia on May 28, 1915. He received his bachelor's degrees from Harvard College and the Harvard Divinity School, a Ph.D. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Dieter Betz
Hans Dieter Betz (born 21 May 1931, Lemgo, Germany) is an American scholar of the New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of Chicago. He has made influential contributions to research on Paul's Letter to the Galatians, the Sermon on the Mount and the Greco-Roman context of Early Christianity. Biography Hans Dieter Betz was born and raised in Germany.Betz, Hans Dieter. ''The Sermon on the Mount. A Commentary''. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995. He received his theological education at Bethel and Mainz in Germany, and at Cambridge in England. Having studied with Herbert Braun, he graduated as Doctor of Theology and "Habilitation" at Mainz (1957, 1966); Dr. h.c. Erlangen. His list of scholarly publications includes New Testament literature, esp. on Paul's letters, as well as on Hellenistic history of religions, writing in English and German. He served also as editor of the lexica "Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart" (4th ed. 1998-2005) and "Religion Past and Present" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greek Magical Papyri
The Greek Magical Papyri (Latin: ''Papyri Graecae Magicae'', abbreviated ''PGM'') is the name given by scholars to a body of papyri from Graeco-Roman Egypt, written mostly in ancient Greek (but also in Old Coptic, Demotic, etc.), which each contain a number of magical spells, formulae, hymns, and rituals. The materials in the papyri date from the 100s BCE to the 400s CE.Hans Dieter Betz (ed), ''The Greek Magical Papyri in translation'', University of Chicago Press, 1985, p.xli. The manuscripts came to light through the antiquities trade, from the 1700s onward. One of the best known of these texts is the Mithras Liturgy. The texts were published in a series, and individual texts are referenced using the abbreviation ''PGM'' plus the volume and item number. Each volume contains a number of spells and rituals. Further discoveries of similar texts from elsewhere have been allocated PGM numbers for convenience. History Production The corpus of the ''PGM'' were not based on an an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million endowment in the hopes that his gift and the greater work of the university would help to heal the sectional wounds inflicted by the Civil War. Vanderbilt enrolls approximately 13,800 students from the US and over 100 foreign countries. Vanderbilt is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Several research centers and institutes are affiliated with the university, including the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, and Dyer Observatory. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, formerly part of the university, became a separate institution in 2016. With the exception of the off-campus observatory, all of the university's facilities are situated on it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, nonfiction, and young readers' literature. ''Kirkus Reviews'', published on the first and 15th of each month; previews books before their publication. ''Kirkus'' reviews over 10,000 titles per year. History Virginia Kirkus was hired by Harper & Brothers to establish a children's book department in 1926. The department was eliminated as an economic measure in 1932 (for about a year), so Kirkus left and soon established her own book review service. Initially, she arranged to get galley proofs of "20 or so" books in advance of their publication; almost 80 years later, the service was receiving hundreds of books weekly and reviewing about 100. Initially titled ''Bulletin'' by Kirkus' Bookshop Service from 1933 to 1954, the title was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bart Ehrman
Bart Denton Ehrman (born 1955) is an American New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the origins and development of early Christianity. He has written and edited 30 books, including three college textbooks. He has also authored six ''New York Times'' bestsellers. He is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Biography Early life Born on October 5, 1955, Ehrman grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, and attended Lawrence High School, where he was on the state champion debate team in 1973. He began studying the Bible, biblical theology, and biblical languages at Moody Bible Institute, where he earned the school's three-year diploma in 1976.Ehrman, Bart D. ''Misquoting Jesus'', HarperSanFrancisco. 2005. He is a 1978 graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois, where he received his bachelor's degree. He received his PhD (in 1985) and MDiv from Princeton T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Evidence
Evidence is anything presented as proof of an assertion. Evidence may also refer to: * Scientific evidence * Evidence (law), which governs testimony and exhibits presented in a case Music Artists * Evidence (musician) (born 1976), a member of hip hop group Dilated Peoples * The Evidence (band), a progressive-punk power-trio from Canada Albums * ''Evidence'' (Steve Lacy album), 1962 * ''Evidence'' (Mal Waldron album), 1988 * ''Evidence'' (Vincent Herring album), 1991 * ''Evidence'' (The Angels album), 1994 * ''Evidence'', an album by Karmacoda, 2003 * ''Evidence'' (Prime Circle album), 2012 Songs * "Evidence" (Faith No More song), 1995 * "Evidence" (Josh Baldwin song), 2020 * "Evidence" (Mia Wray song), 2022 * "Evidence", a song by Everlife from the 2004 album ''Everlife'' * "Evidence", a song by Marilyn Manson from the 2007 album ''Eat Me, Drink Me'' * "Evidence", a song by Tara MacLean from the 1995 album '' Silence'' * "Evidence", a song by Thelonious Monk from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magic (paranormal)
Magic, sometimes spelled magick, is an ancient praxis rooted in sacred rituals, spiritual divinations, and/or cultural lineage—with an intention to invoke, manipulate, or otherwise manifest supernatural forces, beings, or entities in the natural, incarnate world. It is a categorical yet often ambiguous term which has been used to refer to a wide variety of beliefs and practices, frequently considered separate from both religion and science. Although connotations have varied from positive to negative at times throughout history, magic continues to have an important religious and medicinal role in many cultures today. Within Western culture, magic has been linked to ideas of the Other, foreignness, and primitivism; indicating that it is "a powerful marker of cultural difference" and likewise, a non-modern phenomenon. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Western intellectuals perceived the practice of magic to be a sign of a primitive mentality and also commo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jesus Of Nazareth
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader; he is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religion. Most Christians believe he is the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited Messiah (the Christ) prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed historically. Research into the historical Jesus has yielded some uncertainty on the historical reliability of the Gospels and on how closely the Jesus portrayed in the New Testament reflects the historical Jesus, as the only detailed records of Jesus' life are contained in the Gospels. Jesus was a Galilean Jew who was circumcised, was baptized by John the Baptist, began his own ministry and was often referred to as "rabbi". Jesus debated with fellow Jews on ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Origen
Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early centers of Christianity#Alexandria, Alexandria. He was a prolific writer who wrote roughly 2,000 treatises in multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism, exegesis, biblical exegesis and biblical hermeneutics, hermeneutics, homiletics, and spirituality. He was one of the most influential and controversial figures in early Christian theology, Christian apologetics, apologetics, and asceticism. He has been described as "the greatest genius the early church ever produced". Origen sought martyrdom with his father at a young age but was prevented from turning himself in to the authorities by his mother ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Historical Jesus
The term "historical Jesus" refers to the reconstruction of the life and teachings of Jesus by critical historical methods, in contrast to religious interpretations. It also considers the historical and cultural contexts in which Jesus lived. Virtually all scholars of antiquity accept that Jesus was a historical figure, and attempts to deny his historicity have been consistently rejected by the scholarly consensus as a fringe theory.In a 2011 review of the state of modern scholarship, Bart Ehrman (a secular agnostic) wrote: "He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees, based on certain and clear evidence." B. Ehrman, 2011 ''Forged: writing in the name of God'' . pp. 256–257Robert M. Price (an atheist who denies the existence of Jesus) agrees that this perspective runs against the views of the majority of scholars: Robert M. Price "Jesus at the Vanishing Point" in ''The Historical Jesus: Five Views'' edited by Ja ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The True Word
''The True Word'' (or ''Discourse'', ''Account'', or ''Doctrine''; grc-gre, Λόγος Ἀληθής, ''Logos Alēthēs'') is a lost treatise in which the ancient Greek philosopher Celsus addressed many principal points of Early Christianity and refuted or argued against their validity. In ''The True Word'', Celsus attacked Christianity in three ways: by refuting its philosophical claims, by marking it as a phenomenon associated with the uneducated and lower class, and by cautioning his audience that it was a danger to the Roman Empire. All information concerning the work exists only in the extensive quotations from it in the ''Contra Celsum'' ("Against Celsus") written some seventy years later by the Christian Origen. These are believed to be accurate as far as they go, but may not give a fully comprehensive picture of the original work. Criticism of Christianity before Celsus Celsus was only one writer in a long tradition of Roman writers and philosophers who wrote and spoke out ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
