EarlDoherty

Actually, there is no significant difference in my views between the two books. If the new one is more "complicated" it's because I introduced a lot of further discussion and examination of evidence on most everything. Richard Carrier 'accused' the extra material of being largely speculation, but I have categorically rejected that. 800 pages may challenge some people's attention span, but there is very little of a 'speculative' nature. For example, if I expanded my (deductive, based on the text) argument for why Hebrews 8:4 tells us Jesus was never on earth from a couple of pages to nine, it was to make my analysis more convincing. Or if I created a new chapter to illustrate how various documents reveal what sorts of things were thought to go on in the heavenly world, that's evidence supporting my 'heavenly crucifixion' theory, not speculation. I devoted new sections to arguing for the existence of Q, for demonstrating how the later synoptics redacted Mark, how the ministry portion of the synoptics contains a great deal of midrash on the OT (to which I owed a good debt to Robert Price), how the Christ passage in Tacitus virtually must be an interpolation. And so on. That's not speculation, but I'm sorry if Carrier couldn't spare the reading time. (He had, after all, earlier reviewed TJP and probably didn't see the need to wade through a much expanded version.) Conciseness may have its virtues, but I'd already done that, and besides, I'd learned a lot more in the intervening decade.

The only thing I recall actually changing my opinion on was one aspect of the translation of 2 Timothy 1:9 and something about the Chrestus passage in Suetonius. And of course to make Don happy (if such a thing is possible) I better laid out my argument that the mystery cults could well have relocated the understanding of their myths to a heavenly dimension under the influence of Platonism.

Ehrman has stated that he read the entire Jesus: Neither God Nor Man and based his comments on me on that book, not The Jesus Puzzle.

Earl Doherty

jdl

This appears to be settled now. On the JesusMysteries list there's an email from one of Ehrman's research assistants denying Price's accusation.

Joseph

Grog

Of course, Price said he was told this. I think he should have been more careful of repeating this hearsay though.

James The Least

I wish Price hadn't said this. Now it's just degenerated to a bunch of mindless mud-slinging, like a Fox News channel broadcast. Nothing good can come from this.