Being a Lover of Freedom...

"Being a lover of freedom, when the revolution came in Germany, I looked to the universities to defend it, knowing that they had always boasted of their devotion to the cause of truth; but, no, the universities immediately were silenced. Then I looked to the great editors of the newspapers whose flaming editorials in days gone by had proclaimed their love of freedom; but they, like the universities, were silenced in a few short weeks...

Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler's campaign for suppressing truth. I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly."

--Albert Einstein, Time magazine, December 23, 1940, page 38

If only the "church" still stood for intellectual truth and moral freedom... Sad how Hitler's morals, his trying to make everyone else follow them through legislation and government, and his creating of bubbles wherein only certain perspectives are welcome are exactly the same practices as those of most Christians here in the U.S. today.

The Lord Is There

סָבִיב שְׁמֹנָה עָשָׂר אָלֶף וְשֵׁם־הָעִיר מִיֹּום יְהוָה ׀ שָֽׁמָּה׃
--Ezekiel 48:35

Biblical Manuscript Downloads 4

Continued from 1, 2, and 3...

The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts has some great things on-line like Codex Washingtonensis, although most of them are more recent.

The Aleppo Codex has its own site in flash where you can literally thumb through the pages (although it seems to be down at the moment...perhaps so they can finish adding content).

Mark Goodacre's NT Gateway has links to several dozen papyri and a few other valuable sites.

The Goodspeed New Testament Manuscript Collection has two manuscripts (965, 972) on-line at the moment in extremely high quality flash and TIFF format.

Wieland Willker has a list of links to papyri and all sorts of other goodies here.

Muslim Agrees With History

I know. It doesn't happen often. Islam is by definition and nature Fideist. But every once in awhile, you'll get a Muslim willing to accept evidence, history, and reason...if they can get away safely:

Al Aqsa official: Jewish temples existed.

I believe the appropriate response is "No shit, Sherlock."

My Linux is a Jewish Stallion

Okay, so I don't pronounce SUSE correctly. It's not really a word, however, and the Germans who came up with it use a pronunciation unfamiliar to American English, so I think I'm okay saying "soos". After all, it sounds better than some of the other pronunciations ("suzi" or "suze") IMHO.

Anyway, I'm teaching myself Biblical Hebrew. The noun I learned today is samech shurek samech, S-U-S, or "soos". It means "horse" (specifically a male horse).

So if you ever hear me saying something like "I've gotta get back on the horse" or "SUSE is chomping on the bit" you'll know what I'm talking about.

Biblical Manuscript Downloads 3

One of my favorites is the Hebrew language scholar Fred Miller. Besides great links and commentaries on Isaiah and Zechariah which are a must-read for anybody studying those prophets, what makes his site essential are the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Read the entire Great Isaiah Scroll from scanned images of the DSS, in modern Hebrew translation, or in English translation, including commentary and notes with explanation on variants from the Massoretic.

Or read the entire Habakkuk Pesher from scanned images of the DSS, in modern Hebrew translation, or in English translation, including commentary and notes with explanation on variants from the Massoretic.

Don't leave without, at least, reading The Nazarene Branch; Isaiah's Use of the Word Nazar.

Biblical Manuscript Downloads 2

Another fun place to hang out is Christian Hospitality.

For the Fundamentalist in all of us, they have scanned facsimile images of the true bible (joking): Ben Chayyim's MS from the Second Rabbinic Bible and Stephanus' 1550 Textus Receptus.

If you like your Church Fathers raw, then maybe you'd rather go for scanned images of Iranaeus, Eusebius, or Hippolytus in Greek and Latin here. But perhaps Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, and a couple dozen others in their original languages are more your cup of tea, then pick your poison here.

Finally, for a good library of secondary texts about the Bible in English including things such as Augustine, Josephus' complete works, the works of Bunyan, Calvin, Edersheim, Jonathan Edwards, Martin Luther, Wesley, and hosts of others, go here.

Biblical Manuscript Downloads 1

Most biblical manuscripts, codices, and papyri are available for reading and download if you know where to look. One good online cache of digitized texts is the Religion and Technology Center Ebind Index. You will need to input a user name ("any" ) and a password ("any") to access the site and features, where you can peruse such things as:

• The critical edition of the Samaritan Pentateuch, Der Hebraische Pentateuch der Samaritaner, by Von Gall
• Volumes 59-61 of Biblical Archaeology/Near Eastern Archeaology
• Tischendorf's Codex Sinaiticus New Testament with Barnabas and Hermas

Pseudo-Ezekiel & Barnabas

The Epistle of Barnabas is a Christian writing from the end of the first to the beginning of the second century. Many of the early church fathers not only considered it scripture, but believed it was written by Barnabas himself. Curiously, the Epistle quotes from (and considers prophetic scripture) a text that previously did not exist independently until it was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls...

In like manner He points to the cross of Christ in another prophet, who saith, 'And when shall these things be accomplished? And the Lord saith, When a tree shall be bent down, and again arise, and when blood shall flow out of wood.' Here again you have an intimation concerning the cross, and Him who should be crucified.
--Epistle of Barnabas, 12:1

And I said, 'Lord, when will these things come to pass?' And the Lord said to me, '...a tree will bend and stand up...'
--Pseudo-Ezekiel (Second Ezekiel), 4Q385, Vermes

Pseudo-Ezekiel is dated paleographically to about the middle of the first century BC. What is interesting is this portion of Pseudo-Ezekiel refers to the vision of the valley of dry bones. In Ezekiel 37, physical resurrection of the dead at the eschaton is not in view. Instead, the dry bones coming to life metaphorically refers to the restoration and return of Israel from exile. But Pseudo-Ezekiel turns this prophecy of restoration and return into a prophecy of physical resurrection from the dead:

And he said again, 'prophesy concerning the four winds of heaven and let the win[ds of heaven] blow [on them and they shall live.] And a great crowd of men shall stand and they will bless the Lord of hosts wh[o revived them.]
--Pseudo-Ezekiel (Second Ezekiel), 4Q385, Vermes

“Barnabas” links the second temple belief in communal resurrection as seen in 4Q385 with the death and resurrection of Yeshua based on the reference to a tree bowing down (dying?) and rising up (resurrecting?) and blood coming from wood (crucifixion?).

Sheva, Dagesh, Begadkefat - Oh My

Teaching myself Biblical Hebrew is fun, but more difficult than any other languages I've dabbled in. And I think I've isolated the reason: writing, translating, and reading Tiberian Hebrew is more like a pictographic exercise than something like Spanish or Greek because it doesn't follow Roman forms (which I'm most familiar with as an English speaker) and also because it has no vowels.

Instead of reading what I consider to be a letter, when I look at a Hebrew consonant, my brain sees a picture. Vowel signs might as well be the equivalent of Braille. Memorizing vocab is difficult in and of itself, but now I'm dealing with pictographic combinations that will be extremely hard to reproduce in written form with accuracy. I depend quite heavily on phonetics in order to read and write. Perhaps there's another way, but it's the only way I know.

I remember the day I dreamed in Spanish... That was a great day. It meant the language was no longer a stranger to me. What would the equivalent be for Hebrew? I'll know it when it comes. But oh, God, that day seems far away.

My Dark Jesus

As I child, I had horrible nightmares. Sometimes they would occur in sequence. I would have one, wake up, fall back asleep, have another, wake up, fall back asleep, and have another. Sometimes the nightmares were recurring. A few times, I even had the same nightmare twice in a row or twice in the same night. This is one of them...

I was sitting in the living room playing with my toys and suddenly it seemed like all the voices and sounds in the world were silenced. And I looked around in bewilderment. My parents and brother were on the couch and they wondered at the silence also. My dad said that maybe it was the rapture and all the good people were going to be taken up to heaven.

Then there was the sound of a horn blowing. It seemed loud, but only because of the silence. I got up, went to the sliding-glass door, and looked outside. I couldn't seen any living thing. There was no breeze. Not even a leaf on the trees moved or fell. The horn died.

When I turned around, my parents and brother were gone and there were holes in the ceiling above where they had been on the couch. I remember such fear and panic. The people I relied on most in the world, my Mom and Dad, were gone forever. I was all alone. Not only was I all alone, I was damned. At this point, sometimes I would wake up crying. Sometimes I would not...

Suddenly the door flies open of its own volition and a man walks into the entryway. He looks like those images of Jesus that are familiar to children, but has a strange smirk on his face and although it is unusually bright outside, his presence seems to dim the light so that he is half-cloaked in shadow. He scares me. And then he starts laughing. It is not a comforting laugh or a laugh of delight, but derision. He is laughing at me. He is laughing because I am scared. He is laughing because I am alone and damned. The terror wakes me up by this time if I haven't woken up already.

Top 5 Extra-Biblical Passages

In no particular order...

And I went towards all my bound ones in order to loose them; that I might not leave anyone bound or binding. And I gave my knowledge generously, and my resurrection through my love. And I sowed my fruits in hearts, and transformed them through myself. Then they received my blessing and lived, and they were gathered to me and were saved; Because they became my members, and I was their Head.
--Odes of Solomon, 17:12-17a, Charlesworth

Wisdom went forth to make her dwelling among the children of men and found no dwelling-place. Wisdom returned to her place and took her seat among the angels. And unrighteousness went forth from her chambers. Whom she sought not she found and dwelt with them as rain in a desert and dew on a thirsty land.
--1 Enoch, "The Book of Parables", 42:2-3, Charles

I remember you for blessing, O Zion; with all my strength I have loved you. May your memory be blessed forever! Great is your hope, O Zion, that peace and your expected salvation will come. Generation after generation will dwell in you and generations of pious ones will be your splendor.
--Apostrophe to Zion 1-3 (previously unknown psalm), Abegg, Flint, & Ulrich, DSS 11QPs(a); 4QPs(f)

"Then, being here in the temple, are you clean?" He said to him, "I am clean. For I bathed in the pool of David and after going down by one set of stairs, by another I came back [u]p. And I put on white clothes and they were clean and then I came and looked upon these holy vessels." Re[ply]ing to him, the savior said, "Woe to blind people who do not s[e]e! You bathed in those gushing w[a]ter[s] in which dogs and pigs have been ca[st] night and day. And wash[i]ng yourselves, you scrubbed the outer layer of skin which also prostitutes and th[e] flute-girls ano[int a]nd bathe and scrub [and p]ut make up on to become the desi[re] of [t]he men. But from within th[ey][are fill]ed with scorpions and [all unr]ighteousness. But I and [my disciples], whom you say have not wa[shed], we [have wa]shed in waters of li[fe]”
--Oxyrhynchus 840 (previously unknown gospel fragment), lines 23-43, Bernhard

Therefore the enemy is eager to trip up all who call on the Lord, because he knows that on the day in which Israel trusts, the enemy's kingdom will be brought to an end.
--Testiment of Dan, 6:3-5, Kee

Classic Nickelodeon Fav

Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea. Unfortunately, they never released the English version on DVD.

Some Christological Components...

...in First Century Judaism

of the “Messiah”:

1. Kingship (symbolized by Temple)
2. Defeat of Israel's enemies (symbolized by Battle)

of the “Son of God”:

1. Israel as she should be (righteous remnant)
2. The head of/representative of Israel to come – the King (of the Jews)

of the “Son of Man”:

1. establish the kingdom of Yahweh
2. receive authority and power over kingdom

*none of these titles in Judaism refer to a divine or quasi-divine figure*

The Long Linguistic Road

So I've got this passion to one day teach biblical studies, theology, or something along those lines (no, I don't want to be a pastor--I want to be a professor). To do so, I'll need the degree. We're not just talking MDiv here, we're talking Doctorate. And for an MDiv and Doctorate in biblical studies, there are a few things I must become bedmates with. Currently, I know English--and not very well. If I'm going to do this, I need to eat, sleep, and breathe Hebrew. Greek and German are mandatory. French wouldn't hurt. That's good for a basic foundation. From there I can really start learning some things like Aramaic and Ugaritic and Eblaite and Akkadian. The one language I've actually taken for a few years and have dismal skill with--Spanish--I don't need.

Learning the languages is going to be very hard and very painful. But at least I know where to begin. First step: sign up for Hebrew this fall and keep going until I bleed West Semitic. Greek will then commence. I'll hold out on German as long as possible. So maybe I have two or three more years German-free.

Currently Reading...

"Archaeological Data and the Dating of the Patriarchs" by John Bimson

as taken from Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives edited by A.R. Millard & D.J. Wiseman

MP3 for the "Holiday"

Aside from the Beatles, I've mostly been interested in less mainstream forms of music (see my profile). You'd be surprised at the number of Christian artists out there who make these subculture genres and are actually pretty damn good.

One of the classics in dance-floor EBM and Industrial-Electronic are the Christians known collectively as Regenerator. And they put a new song out for the "holiday" last week. Check it out: 666.

"Bow, kneel, pray
Deny your Master
Something inside you
Has given away to
Betraying what's true"
--Regenerator, 666

Real Christian Faith

Thomas Thompson is a well-known name in the scholarship of ancient Israelite history. What sets him apart and makes him perhaps more infamous than famous is his hyperskepticism of the biblical records. But he does have a great many things to say and has contributed substantially toward the progress of historical studies.

One observation he made was in relation to faith. Should faith be based on evidence and history or not? He concludes that a faith based on history puts a severe strain on faith when it is difficult to accept the factuality of the events that faith is based on. And he is correct. But this is the nature of Christian faith--that we believe in that which is evidenced, not that which is not.

Throughout the New Testament, when Christians proclaimed the resurrected Christ, they based their proclamations of faith on an appeal to public evidence and knowledge: "you saw", "you heard", therefore you know what we say is true. And Paul said that if Christ did not really rise, then his own faith is worthless. Yeshua himself appealed to the evidence of what people had seen with their own eyes and touched with their own hands as the basis for believing and following him.

The Old Testament is no different. When Moses was told to go to the Israelites and he said what if they do not believe that you, God, have sent me, what did Yahweh say? That those were unbelievers and would feel his wrath? They must simply trust what Moses said is true? He caused evidences of his deity to come alive in history through many signs and terrible wonders. Abraham was not willing to sacrifice his son on blind trust, but because he had been told fire would fall from the sky and annihilate an entire geographic area and it did, because he was told he would have a son beyond the age of child bearing and he did, because he was told he would gain prosperity and blessing from all the peoples around him even though he was a suspicious foreigner and despite a great many fuck-ups among them, and he did. And Yahweh himself said that if a prophet says something and it cannot be evidenced historically in the real world, then Yahweh has not said it--so God himself places the authenticity and authority of his own word on historical evidence.

Yes, it is difficult to have a faith that refuses to believe something unless there is historical factuality and evidence. But that is Christian faith--an appeal to truth for its own sake at the possible cost of itself. That is why I can have respect for the man who says he does not believe in a God--because God has given man the right to accept or reject Him and the burden of proof rests not in the man, but in God.

The Inverted Nun

I do not refer to the Flying Nun's sister or evidence of Satanic mischief. It is a curious scribal mark in both the Ben Chayyim and Ben Asher Masoretic Texts which somewhat resembles an inverted Hebrew nun. They've been placed around the following verses:

Numbers 10:35-36 (2)
Psalm 107:23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 40 (7)

Here's a picture from Numbers in the Ginsburg Bible (red marks next to inverted nuns):







I examined Psalm 107 in the Aleppo Codex. Although the marks appear there too, they were obviously added at a later date by a different hand. The marks are large, less precise, more curvilinear, and done in what appears to be different ink.

Psalm 107:23-28 and 40 are preserved in 4QPSf (aka 4Q88), however, I was unable to find a photocopy, facsimile, or Hebrew transcription.

In Swete's Septuagint, the last verses in Numbers 10 are arranged: 33, 35, 36, 34. I checked Codex Alexandrinus (A) and found that verse arrangement there. So the Masoretics show a different verse order than the LXX, which may account for the markings therein. Psalm 107 in the Septuagint is no different.

If the markings in Numbers indicate verse change, then it should read as follows:

So they traveled from the mountain of the Lord three days' journey; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord was traveling before them during the three days' journey, to find a resting place for them. And when the ark traveled, Moses would say, "Rise up, O Lord! May your enemies be scattered, and may those who hate you flee before you!" And when it came to rest he would say, "Return, O Lord, to the many thousands of Israel!" And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, when they traveled from the camp.
--Numbers 10:33, 35, 36, 34

Compiled New Testament Version

Imagine that every one of the many thousands of New Testament documents, whether copied in manuscript, scroll, or papyri, were lost... Not even a translation of the autographs existed. There is no longer any Gospel of Mark. There is no longer any letter to the Corinthians. Now imagine critical scholarship attempting to piece together the New Testament from secondary sources such as the Church Fathers or other early Christian writings.

My mind is captivated by the idea. What would such a reconstructed New Testament look like? The sheer volume of early texts which contain translations, quotations, summaries, and such from the New Testament documents—not to mention the overwhelming abundance of stated references therein—is staggering. What would it be like if all these pieces were sifted from their various environs and reorganized into a single whole? Would we be missing any substantial portions of the New Testament? Would lengthy historic writings like Acts be well attested? Would Revelation be unrecoverable? What about smaller, less widespread epistles--would they be overlooked?

How might we go about deciding whether a thing was being quoted from, expanded on, summarized or significantly altered? What criteria would determine if something was from a “New Testament writing” to begin with or if the author we're referring to is actually a Christian instead of a heretic?

Even though the primary source documents are available to me any time, I would pay good money for a New Testament compiled solely from secondary sources—not just for the novelty and fascination of it, but for the resource. Consider someone talking about Yeshua and what he was all about, and then opening up your CNTV, Compiled New Testament Version, to find the truth of the matter from several dozen or more combined witnesses. Imagine having your actual New Testament open on one side and a CNTV open on the other for parallel study and cross referencing. That is what someone else did to your NT translation anyway prior to you even reading it (if your Bible is an eclectic text).

We have, after all, books that reconstruct what hypothetical documents like Q or the Elohist Source might have looked like. Why not books that reconstruct non-hypothetical documents from the available sources outside those documents themselves?

06-06-06

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.
--Aleister Crowley, The Book of the Law, 1:40b

Life is the great indulgence--death, the great abstinence.
--Anton LaVey, The Book of Satan, 4:1a, The Book of Lucifer, p. 92

In nomine Dei nostri Satanas Luciferi excelsi!
--Anton LaVey, The Book of Leviathan, opening invocation, p. 144

Today is a day of celebration for philosophical Humanists everywhere--a day for the spiritually impotent to deify human will, human desire, and human strength and call it "Satan." In fact, the "Church" is gathering for a Black Mass ceremony in Los Angeles only a dozen or so miles from where I live. Unfortunately, it's closed to the public and available seats have long since sold out. My heart goes out to these who have such despair and anguish without God that they know themselves to be animals first and nothing last and so they glory in it because the meaningless and wretchedness is all they know.

The Eternal Nazarene

(see previous entry “A Priest Forever”)

There is another person whose title and office are strikingly similar. The book of Samuel from the Dead Sea Scrolls does not always follow the Masoretic Text. Sometimes it follows the Septuagint instead. In some places, there are even things that have never been seen before. This is one of them...

“And I will dedicate him as a Nazar forever.”
--1 Samuel 1:22, DSS

Nazar is, of course, a type of priest (commonly called a Nazarite). It is another way of saying “I will make him a priest forever.”

The context is hard to pinpoint because some of the text of the scroll is missing. The verse could refer to Samuel since Samuel was in the process of being dedicated as a Nazarite. However, seeing that such a phrase virtually doubles as a Davidic statement recalling kingship in context of Psalm 110 and 1st Maccabees, it seems unlikely ascribing it to him. Samuel may have been a priest, but was never king nor meant to be one. Could this be a prophecy that was lost from scripture?

The root of Nazar (nzr) is the same root as the words “Nazareth” and “Nazarene.” This could be translated as a play on words to also say “I will dedicate him, the Nazarene, forever.” Wouldn't it be bizarre if someone was said to be a priest forever and was from Nazareth?

But nazar also means “branch.” The Branch, in Zechariah, is said to be symbolically linked to a high priest named Joshua. Wouldn't it be bizarre if some guy from Nazareth was said to be a priest forever and his name was something like Joshua?

A Priest Forever

Some may be surprised to find out that Yeshua was not the first person said to be “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Of course, we know its origin..

"The Lord makes this promise on oath and will not revoke it: 'You are an eternal priest after the pattern of Melchizedek.'"
--Psalm 110:4

Most Christians are familiar with its direct New Testament usage...

“you are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek"
“high priest in the order of Melchizedek”
“a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek”
“you are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek”
“you are a priest forever”
--Hebrews 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:17, 21

So who bore this title of office before the author of Hebrews spoke of Yeshua in such terms?

"And the Jews and their priests decided that Simon should be their leader and high priest forever, until a trustworthy prophet should arise.”
--1 Maccabees 14:41

Simon was a priest when he was raised to kingship over Israel in Jerusalem. Melchizadek was (allegedly) not only a priest, but also the ruler/prince/king of Salem (Jerusalem). So without getting into any spiritual theologies or philosophical Christologies, being a "priest forever" or "eternal priest" after the order of Melchizadek seems to first imply filling the throne of David and reigning over Jerusalem as the true and annointed King.

Secondly, applying the word "forever" to the man who sits on the throne of David is symbolically recalling the promise given to King David about his throne being established "forever". It rings with prophetic connotations--that this king is no usual king, but the king who will come at the end of the age--the Davidic King--the one in whome the promise of an enternal coventant will be fulfilled.

slaveofone v Metacrock final

Metacrock responded to my posts by writing his own called “Rebuttal to Slaveofone” (scroll down a bit). Unfortunately, it is far too dense to pick through and spell out my answers and arguments for each point. So I will respond to a few main things only and hopefully this will take care of several others in the process.

Metacrock gets horribly confused both about myself and about my position at numerous points, which clouds and confuses his arguments against me and results in numerous false accusations. It would benefit him to know that I believe in salvation by grace alone through faith, that Christianity is about following Yeshua instead of following law (which is why I follow Yeshua instead of law), and I definitely do not think that Cynicism is Modern. What is bad or what is Modern is saying that Yeshua or Paul were Greek Philosophers or Cynics—not that Cynicism itself is bad or Modern. Since Metacrock's Yeshua and Paul are interpreted in ways that make them Greek philosophers and Cynics, it is obvious that he is following the Modern viewpoint which interprets them this way. But thanks to some New Testament scholars in the past couple decades, this Modern belief is being challenged and destroyed.

In terms of Paul, I think that Metacrock and I can agree that if Paul is not following Christ, he is not a Christian. Thus, we must ask what type of person Yeshua was and what he advocated. Was Yeshua a Cynic or Greek Philosopher telling others to be likewise? If Paul is drastically different than Yeshua, then either our interpretation of him is wrong or he is not a follower of Christ. So we turn first to Yeshua and hopefully this will take care of the rest.

Metacrock sees Yeshua, looks at Rabbinic tradition several centuries removed from Yeshua's time and context, and interprets the former in the way the later understood and looked at things and according to the Cynicism and Hellenism in ancient times. I stated before that this is anachronistic and bad historical analysis...even if most Modern scholars are to thank for giving us this way of looking at it.

Metacrock's Yeshua is like aspects of later Rabbinical tradition or like Hellenism or Cynicism--an expounder of moral principles and verities and advocator of a kind of spiritual law that transcends or is higher than the written one. I contest that Yeshua (and consequently Paul) were nothing like this. But why rewrite what has been said better by someone else?

“What is new (Modern times)...is the suggestion that Jesus himself, in some important sense, actually was a Cynic: that he deliberately chose a style of life and teaching which embodied Cynic ideals”

“The world view (of Yeshua and Paul) is Cynic, the incidentals Jewish. In my reading, this is to say the least the wrong way round...Paul was able to evoke Cynic echoes, but the drift of his thought and argument remains within the Jewish and apocalyptic world of early Christianity”(which Wright says other places was throughly Jewish despite Hellenism).

“If Christianity shares some features with Cynicism, which seems to be the case, I submit that this is essentially superficial.”

“If we really mean business in attempting to plot trajectories within early Christianity, we cannot possibly get away with lumping together Cynics, Thomas, and Q as though they were all saying more or less the same thing.”
--Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God

“The Q material studied so far has brought to light a community whose faith was personally centered on Jesus as Son of man, but whose commitment to the message proclaimed by Jesus was intense...The Q Christians held on to and indeed proclaimed the imminence of the kingdom of God...We have a picture [in Q] of a community whose outlook was essentially Jerusalem-centered, whose theology was Torah-centered, whose worship was temple-centered, and which saw no incompatibility between all of that and commitment to Jesus.”
--Catchpole (one of the current world authorities on Q), The Quest for Q

“Gone is the firm support, in Q, for an early, non-apocalyptic, largely non-Jewish, non-prophetic form of Christianity (in other words, Hellenistic)...Gone is the Cynic-like community (in Q)”
--Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God

But I'm afraid that Metacrock doesn't know any other way of seeing Yeshua, Paul, Q, or early Christianity other than from his Modern perspective in which the attributes and traits of Cynicism, Hellenism, and later Rabbinicism are applied to Yeshua, Paul, and Christianity. There are many books which will turn his entire world of interpretation upside-down---books by leading authorities giving damning evidence and arguments against this Modern idea and showing alternate, better ways to go. One of these is Jesus and the Victory of God by NT Wright. I suggest his read the entire series to begin his voyage towards a new and true Yeshua, a new and true Paul, and a new and true Christianity. The arguments and evidences are available but I will only start Metacrock on the path. He must chose to invisgate it himself.