Toto

Duvduv - you don't have the background to ask a question that makes sense. Please stop asking questions until you read one of Pervo's books.

Duvduv

Thank you for your backhanded compliment and I apologize for offending your faith in empirically improvable beliefs. Are you the moderator of the forum establishing the prior reading list for participation?

mountainman

True believers only need to analyse the positive evidence whereas objective investigators and modern researchers must analyse the positive and negative evidence - events which did not happen - Athenagoras or Theophilus did not mention Big J. Sooner or later patterns hopefully emerge in both.

Toto

I am the moderator in charge of keeping discussions on topic and avoiding nonsense threads.

aa5874

Paul IDENTIFIED himself as the GUY that ESCAPED in the BASKET by the Wall in DAMASCUS.

Acts of the Apostles 2 Corinthians 11 Saul/Paul in Acts is supposed to be the same Pauline character in the Epistles.

Duvduv

Supposed to be but overall not a very good job of it as we know. If the author of Acts knew the epistles there wouldn't be the large number of discrepancies. So the author of Corinthians here knew this story or else it got inserted into Acts later. Notice that Corinthians doesn't know it was at night and no mention of disciples helping out.

If Acts came first and introduced Paul regardless of the issue of why the Christ doesn't get first billing, someone had an image of someone named Saul who for some reason got morphed into another character.
And it's worth wondering why this was the case.

Toto

Not so - the author of Acts knew the epistles but felt no need to follow them.


Acts is generally considered to be a continuation of the gospel of Luke. Jesus gets top billing in the gospel, then rises to heaven at the beginning of Acts.

There are many possibilities for the Saul-Paul character. Note that he does not morph into another character, but that at a certain point, the author tells us that Saul was also known as Paul.

Note also that Saul is a Hebrew name which corresponds to the Aramaic Silas, and Silas is mentioned in the Pauline letters; Saul also corresponds to the Latin Silvanus, and there was a gnostic leader named Silvanus. But there is a complete paucity of information that could explain this.

You can find more on these topics in the archives.

Bingo the Clown-O

Ezekiel 37:9-14
He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, – prophesy, son of man – and say to the breath: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.’” So I prophesied as I was commanded, and the breath came into them; they lived and stood on their feet, an extremely great army.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to open your graves and will raise you from your graves, my people. I will bring you to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. I will place my breath in you and you will live; I will give you rest in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord – I have spoken and I will act, declares the Lord.’”

Daniel 12:1-2
At that time Michael, the great prince who watches over your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress unlike any other from the nation’s beginning up to that time. But at that time your own people, all those whose names are found written in the book, will escape. Many of those who sleep in the dusty ground will awake – some to everlasting life, and others to shame and everlasting abhorrence.

Hosea 6:1-2
Come, let us return to the LORD.
He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us;
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.

After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.

Bingo the Clown-O

Don’t ya hate when that happens?

Duvduv

These are not verses promising collective bodily resurrection in the future messianic age. The Saduccees also knew these allusions but rejected a future collectove resurrection.