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
That is the sole allusion. We find none where we might above all
expect it, in the pseudo-biographical epistle to the Galatians,
though there is mention in the opening chapter of "them which were
apostles before me," "the apostles," "James the brother of the Lord"
(never mentioned as an apostle in the gospels unless he be James the
son of Alphæus or James the son of Zebedee: that is, not a brother
of Jesus but simply a group-brother), and "James and Cephas and John,
who were [or are] reputed to be pillars." The language used in verse 6
excludes the notion that the writer believed "the apostles" to have had
personal intercourse with the Founder. Thus even in a pseudepigraphic
work, composed after Paul's time, there is no suggestion that he had
to deal with the twelve posited by the gospels and the Acts. And
all the while "apostles" without number continue to figure in the
documents. They were in fact a numerous class in the early Church. It
is not surprising that the late Professor Cheyne not only rejected
the story of the Betrayal but declared that "The 'Twelve Apostles,'
too, are to me as unhistorical as the seventy disciples." [282]
On the other hand, we have a decisive reason for the invention of the
Twelve story in the latterly recovered Teaching of the Twelve Apostles
[283] (commonly cited as the Didachê), a document long current in the
early church. Of that book, the first six chapters, forming nearly
half of the matter, are purely ethical and monotheistic, developing
the old formula of the "Two Ways" of life and death; and saying nothing
of Jesus or Christ or the Son, or of baptism or sacrament. Then comes
a palpably late interpolation, giving a formula for baptism in the
name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Even in the ninth
section, dealing with the Eucharist, we have only "the holy vine of
David thy Servant, which thou hast made known to us through Jesus thy
Servant." [284] The tenth, which is evidently later, and is written as
a conclusion, retains that formula. After that come warnings against
false apostles and prophets; and only in the twelfth section does the
word "Christian" occur. Still later there is specified "the Lord's-day
(kyriakên) of the Lord." Then comes a prescription for the election
of bishops; and the document ends with a chapter preparing for the
expected "last days."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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