Amaleq13

So as to not prolong the tangent, check your PM's.

As Roger suggested, they aren't as good as the originals but they are all that is available.

And the computer game wasn't bad, either. (multiple possible endings)

mens_sana

But, unfortunately, he hasn't. In the interim, I would suggest taking a look at Gerd Theissen's The Shadow of the Galilean. Trans. by John Bowden, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1987. 0-8006-2057-7.

GakuseiDon

He comes close, in his review of Acharya S's "Christ Conspiracy". While generally critical, he comes out with things like this:

First, was the Buddha crucified? Not that I can see. The origin of this claim is a myth of Kama, the Hindu Eros/Cupid. Firing a love-arrow at a higher god, his outraged target hurled the shaft back, transfixing Kama to a treetrunk. Since the arrow must have implanted itself roughly at right angles with the tree, one could in a manner of speaking say that Kama had been crucified...

And:

... Up to this point we might dismiss Murdock’s The Christ Conspiracy as a sophomoric attempt at something like Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy’s excellent The Jesus Mysteries (1999).

Anyone who calls F&G's book "excellent" is questionable, IMHO. (I think Doherty actually reviews Acharya in glowing terms as well). Still, I love his quote here: "Ms. Murdock has read widely in the shadow world of what I like to call Extreme Biblical Studies, books written by eccentrics, freethinkers, and theosophists mainly in the 19th century and kept available today in coarsely manufactured reprint editions by obscure publishers."

"Extreme Biblical Studies". That should go into the Wikipedia!

(BTW, I have to say that the first "Amber" series were my favorite books in my youth, as well)

Roger Pearse

Perhaps my original comment was unfair to people in the humanities. I had presumed that Dr. Price was a scholar holding a teaching post, but is this so? I can see that he has a PhD from Drew University, but his publications do not seem to be in serious journals, and his career looks rather unusual to my amateur eye. Evangelical Quarterly would appear to be the most important journal in which he has written, and -- correct me if I am wrong -- this is not a major journal. The majority of his writing appears to be for non-scholarly magazines? He also edits something called the Journal of Higher Criticism -- is this listed in l'Année philologique?

If I am missing something here, I do apologise. But on the face of it, I was unjust to the humanities earlier.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

Toto

I alerted Price to this thread, and he replied The Journal of Higher Criticism was started at Drew University, and Price is the editor. I am not at a library right now and can't tell if it is listed in l'Année philologique, but it is listed here.

Price's bio is here and the secular web carries many of his essays listed here.

PhilosopherJay

I have read books in the field by scholars and non-scholars, every stripe of Christianity and a multitude of other religous believers, as well as atheists. I find that I usually disagree with 50-99% of any given book regardless of the past or present associations of the writers.

I try to judge books on the quality of the information presented rather than the biases of the authors. If someone has devoted time to researching a topic that I'm interested in, I will certainly look at what they have to say and try not to judge their arguments until I have read them and understood them.

In the case of Price, I find his arguments are usually clearly and sharply presented and backed up very well with evidence. He is also extremely funny which I appreciate in a field not known for its humor. He is one of those that I find I only disagree with about 50% of the time.

Warmly,

PhilosopherJay

Toto

If you ever have a chance to hear Price lecture or debate in person, take advantage of it. He's quite a performer.

Roger Pearse

I am delighted to learn, what I did not know before, that Dr Price is the author of some fantasy fiction. I hope that he will write more of this, and less stuff about Jesus of Nazareth.

Actually I wish theology faculties world-wide could be got to do this! And a couple of years moratorium on dissecting Homer likewise. When you consider the quantity of material from the ancient world which goes unstudied, the focus on a tiny bit seems ridiculous to me.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

Ben C Smith

I am as guilty as any of this. :blush:

Ben.

Roger Pearse

Well, stop doing it then!

Roger