The Jesus Problem: A Restatement of the Myth TheoryRobertson, J. M. (John Mackinnon)
Religion
The Jesus Problem: A Restatement of the Myth Theory
Robertson, J. M. (John Mackinnon)
Jesus Christ
The outstanding problem in regard to the Epistles in the mass is that
while criticism is more and more pressing them out of the "apostolic"
period into the second century, they show practically no knowledge of
the gospels. As little do they show any trace of the "personality"
of the Founder, which is posited by the biographical school as the
ground for the resurrection myth. Of Jesus as a remarkable personality
there is no glimpse in the whole literature; and it must be a relief
for the defenders of his historicity to be invited to pronounce both
James and Jude pseudepigraphic documents, the former written with
direct polemic reference to the Pauline doctrine of faith. [365]
The puzzle is to conceive how, on that view, the document can still
remain so destitute of Jesuist colouring.
Save for the two namings of Jesus (i, 1; ii, 1) at the beginnings
of chapters, there is no trace of Jesuine doctrine; the epistle is
addressed to "the twelve tribes of the Dispersion"; and there is a
reference (ii, 2) to "your synagogue," not to "your ecclesia." When
therefore we note the extremely suspicious character of the second
naming of Jesus, "our Lord Jesus Christ of glory," we are doubly
entitled to diagnose interpolation; and the first naming at once comes
under suspicion. It is not surprising therefore that such a critic
as Spitta pronounces the epistle a Jewish document. [366] Even if it
were true, then, that the eschatological matter has a gospel colouring,
that would carry us no further than a surmise that the Jewish document
had been slightly developed for Jesuine purposes. And this may be
the solution as to the anti-Pauline element. An originally Jewish
document may have been used by a Judæo-Christian to carry an attack
on a doctrine of Gentilizing Christism. The residual fact is that a
section of the Jesuist movement in the second century was satisfied
with a quasi-apostolic document which has no hint of the teaching of
a historical Jesus. Naturally it soon passed into "catholic" disfavour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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