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Vorkosigan · 09-18-2003, 03:33 PM

Donald Akenson on Mel Gibson

"Of the Four Gospels, the Gospel of John is the closest to being hate literature. Granted, it contains some lovely writing, but its basic narrative -- and a very strong narrative it is -- shows the mainline Pharisees and "the Jews" (or, as Mr. Drabinsky often has it, the "Jewish authorities") as being responsible for the death of Jesus. The Romans get off lightly and the Jews take almost all the blame."

09-18-2003, 04:39 PM

It is clear from the article Don hasn't seen the film. Your quote suggests he hasn't read the Gospel of John either. This is surprising from a so-called NT scholar but he is clearly also a prat.

Yours

Bede

Bede's Library - faith and reason

Toto · 09-18-2003, 05:00 PM

Hi Bede - um - what's a prat?

It's safe to say that Akenson hasn't seen the movie, since it hasn't been finalized yet, and only a select few have seen it in prerelease.

I don't think you can conclude that he hasn't read the Gospel of John. From my reading of Saint Saul: A Skeleton Key to the Historical Jesus, Akenson reads what he wants to in a text. (Don't all NT scholars, so-called or not?) He is certainly not the only one who has seen antisemitism in the Gospel of John:

Anti-Judaism and the Fourth Gospel

CHRISTIAN ANTISEMITISM [II]: The Gospel According To St John

Toto · 09-18-2003, 05:41 PM

I don't know if Vork intended this as another thread on Mel Gibson, or as a comment on antisemitism in the fourth gospel, but the opinion seems to be nearly universal that gJohn is the most antisemitic of the gospels, unless it is carefully reinterpreted to substitute "Jewish authorities" for "Jews".

The Holocaust: Its Foundation In Christian AntiSemitism

Quote:

[Bishop John Shelby Spong]: "Jesus is . . . depicted, especially in the Book of John, as being guilty of what we today would surely call antisemitism. . . .

Through the ages, the Gospels have furnished abundant ammunition to the anti-Semites. Professor Alan Davies, writing in Eliade's sixteen-volume Encyclopedia of Religion, comments: "Today, even Christian scholars generally concede that the Gospels and other sections of the New Testament are colored in some measure by hostility toward the Jewish antagonists of the apostolic church in the troubled milieu of the first and second centuries." He goes on to give details of the material in each of the Gospels that has gone into the structure of anti-Semitism. He points to the Gospel of John as an extreme example of Jew-baiting: "So negative and intense is the Johannine image that John has sometimes been regarded as the 'father of anti-Semitism.'". . . .

Toto · 09-19-2003, 12:29 PM

Here's a rather huffy reply to Akenson.

Quote:

This critic aims to dismiss monotheism by arguing that monotheistic sects "become huge, life-threatening harangues." This is Mr. Akenson's real beef. He rejects Jesus Christ's claim in the Gospel of John to be the Son of God and the only way to God. The Gospel of John forces one to make a decision about Jesus Christ. Is he trustworthy or a fraud? If the lights on the dashboard flash red that your engine is in trouble, you can smash the dashboard, deny the signal, fix the engine, or, as Mr. Akenson prefers, dim the lights so that nobody sees the warning and feels uncomfortable. In truth, however, he rejects the warning and slants his argument to that end.

Our bitter pundit alleges that "of the Four Gospels, the Gospel of John is the closest to being hate literature." But a gospel announcing that Jesus the Son of God died for sinners and commands his disciples to walk in love is not the stuff of "hate literature." Mr. Akenson misrepresents the book when he writes that the gospel shows the Jews as responsible for the death of Jesus. According to his own testimony, Jesus Christ is responsible for his own death: "No one takes my life away from me. I give it up of my own free will (John 10: 18)."

In sum, Prof. Akenson's scholarship is poor, his tone is grating and his arguments bogus. Ironically, he piously asks us to redeem the text "by informed, discriminating and gentle scholarship," when his own diatribe amounts to hate literature against Mr. Drabinsky and Christians. I say "hate literature," because among many other charges, he maligns true believers as "lunatics" for believing "that Jesus's blood be shed to complete God's plan for the[ir] salvation."

Akenson struck a nerve there.

09-18-2003, 03:33 PM	#1
Vorkosigan Contributor Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Barrayar Posts: 11,866	Donald Akenson on Mel Gibson's film Donald Akenson on Mel Gibson "Of the Four Gospels, the Gospel of John is the closest to being hate literature. Granted, it contains some lovely writing, but its basic narrative -- and a very strong narrative it is -- shows the mainline Pharisees and "the Jews" (or, as Mr. Drabinsky often has it, the "Jewish authorities") as being responsible for the death of Jesus. The Romans get off lightly and the Jews take almost all the blame."

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09-18-2003, 04:39 PM	#2
Bede Guest Posts: n/a	It is clear from the article Don hasn't seen the film. Your quote suggests he hasn't read the Gospel of John either. This is surprising from a so-called NT scholar but he is clearly also a prat. Yours Bede Bede's Library - faith and reason

09-18-2003, 05:00 PM	#3
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	Hi Bede - um - what's a prat? It's safe to say that Akenson hasn't seen the movie, since it hasn't been finalized yet, and only a select few have seen it in prerelease. I don't think you can conclude that he hasn't read the Gospel of John. From my reading of Saint Saul: A Skeleton Key to the Historical Jesus, Akenson reads what he wants to in a text. (Don't all NT scholars, so-called or not?) He is certainly not the only one who has seen antisemitism in the Gospel of John: Anti-Judaism and the Fourth Gospel CHRISTIAN ANTISEMITISM [II]: The Gospel According To St John

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