Richard Carrier has enumerated, about the (universally recognized) elements of background, the claim that the Origins of the Christianity are Jewish, i.e. Judean/Samaritan (or at most Diasporic Jewish, I don't know if he concedes this latter point).
I have come to the conclusion, as a worthy balance of this end year, that the question about "what is the final implication on the historicity of Jesus if Paul was a marcionite invention" is based on the assumption or less of the Jewish Origins as premise.
Hence there are two arguments, respectively the best historicist case and the best mythicist case:
This explains definitely to me why two mythicists who have argued for Jewish Origins, i.e. Edouard Dujardin and Richard Carrier, have defended obstinately the historicity of Paul and the authenticity of the 6 epistles.
Vice versa, why only the mythicists who love to discuss about Gnostic origins are ready to give up willingly to a historical Paul.
NOTA BENE: this is Bayesian probabilistic knowledge. Like it!
I have come to the conclusion, as a worthy balance of this end year, that the question about "what is the final implication on the historicity of Jesus if Paul was a marcionite invention" is based on the assumption or less of the Jewish Origins as premise.
Hence there are two arguments, respectively the best historicist case and the best mythicist case:
| Best historicist case | Best mythicist case |
| Paul is a marcionite invention. | Paul is a marcionite invention. |
| Jewish Origins are assumed as premise. | Gnostic Origins are assumed as premise. "Gnostic" meaning in this context "gentile" and "anti-YHWH". |
| There is nothing in Judaism that could justify the birth of the belief that Jesus was crucified in heaven. | There is a lot in Gnostic texts that could justify the birth of the belief that Jesus was crucified in heaven (the best Detering's case in this sense here). |
| Therefore Jesus existed. | Therefore Jesus never existed. |
This explains definitely to me why two mythicists who have argued for Jewish Origins, i.e. Edouard Dujardin and Richard Carrier, have defended obstinately the historicity of Paul and the authenticity of the 6 epistles.
Vice versa, why only the mythicists who love to discuss about Gnostic origins are ready to give up willingly to a historical Paul.
NOTA BENE: this is Bayesian probabilistic knowledge. Like it!
Statistics: Posted by Giuseppe — Sun Dec 15, 2024 7:36 am