James Orr

What's interesting is that Marcion not only repudiated the Old Testament, he cut the four gospels down to one. That many parts of the New, right. Which was the one he found most sympathetic and free of kind of Hebrew, the fingerprints of the Old Testament. But we still fight it today.

What's interesting is that Marcion not only repudiated the Old Testament, he cut the four gospels down to one. That many parts of the New, right. Which was the one he found most sympathetic and free of kind of Hebrew, the fingerprints of the Old Testament. But we still fight it today.

But you need the whole trajectory of the gospel fully to see it. There are parallels too. I mean, there's that moment in 2 Samuel where David leaps back at the presence of the ark. And some scholars think there's a parallelism here with John the Baptist leaping in the womb. There's a sort of a presence here. Mary is the Ark.

But you need the whole trajectory of the gospel fully to see it. There are parallels too. I mean, there's that moment in 2 Samuel where David leaps back at the presence of the ark. And some scholars think there's a parallelism here with John the Baptist leaping in the womb. There's a sort of a presence here. Mary is the Ark.

Do you mean divine sonship? The claim that Jesus is the Son of God is...

Do you mean divine sonship? The claim that Jesus is the Son of God is...

Well, no, I think the Greek is adelphos, adelpher. I mean, that could mean cousins, and is thought to mean cousins as well. And he's referred to as the son of Mary, which is very rare and odd that the patronymic shouldn't be used.

Well, no, I think the Greek is adelphos, adelpher. I mean, that could mean cousins, and is thought to mean cousins as well. And he's referred to as the son of Mary, which is very rare and odd that the patronymic shouldn't be used.

I mean, we've got to remember that, okay, maybe the divine sonship theme isn't central in Mark, but I think in all the synoptics, Matthew, Mark, and Luke... At the moment, both the baptism and transfiguration, you have the divine voice saying, behold, this is my son. This is my beloved son.

I mean, we've got to remember that, okay, maybe the divine sonship theme isn't central in Mark, but I think in all the synoptics, Matthew, Mark, and Luke... At the moment, both the baptism and transfiguration, you have the divine voice saying, behold, this is my son. This is my beloved son.

Exactly. So he's the son of the god. Exactly right. So he would be on all the coins you'd have. Weos Tuteu. And in the Greek-speaking part of the world, where the Roman imperial cult, the cult of the emperor, was very, very strong. that's the language that would be used.

Exactly. So he's the son of the god. Exactly right. So he would be on all the coins you'd have. Weos Tuteu. And in the Greek-speaking part of the world, where the Roman imperial cult, the cult of the emperor, was very, very strong. that's the language that would be used.

If God had to choose any period in history to leave his authenticating signature on the world in a way that would disseminate and distribute that message as quickly as possible, it's hard to pick a better time than...

If God had to choose any period in history to leave his authenticating signature on the world in a way that would disseminate and distribute that message as quickly as possible, it's hard to pick a better time than...

It's hard to imagine the Christian message spreading with the astonishing speed that it does from, say, the early 30s AD to the point where, well, by 64, there are enough Christians in Rome for Nero to be able to scapegoat the Christians as a distinct group from the Jews.

It's hard to imagine the Christian message spreading with the astonishing speed that it does from, say, the early 30s AD to the point where, well, by 64, there are enough Christians in Rome for Nero to be able to scapegoat the Christians as a distinct group from the Jews.

It's the language of, that's the language of an imperial edict. And in fact, it's worth pointing out that the word, the Greek word for good news or gospel is evangelion, which is the word that emperors would send out. Often it was the emperor's birthday. You would send the evangelion to the towns and villages that worshipped him. And this was particularly in this part of the world.

It's the language of, that's the language of an imperial edict. And in fact, it's worth pointing out that the word, the Greek word for good news or gospel is evangelion, which is the word that emperors would send out. Often it was the emperor's birthday. You would send the evangelion to the towns and villages that worshipped him. And this was particularly in this part of the world.

And this was the good news, the good news of Caesar's birthday. There's clearly, I think, a semi-conscious aping and mimicking of the language of the imperial cult to assert that Jesus is Lord and therefore Caesar isn't.

And this was the good news, the good news of Caesar's birthday. There's clearly, I think, a semi-conscious aping and mimicking of the language of the imperial cult to assert that Jesus is Lord and therefore Caesar isn't.