Three points

First, I wanted to point to the excellent discussion that has followed in the comments to my previous post. I think I’ll pursue these issues with an extended comment of my own in which I’ll try to be more concrete about my own position concerning the pros and cons of the NP. I continue to learn much from my readers, so I look forward to more interaction on these matters.

Second, and speaking of comments by readers, Richard Bauckham has been following with interest the discussions prompted by my review/summary posts of Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. In response to various criticisms on his arguments, as they were presented in parts 4 and 5 of my review (i.e. those concerning Papias), Richard has written a response for me to post on the blog which I shall probably upload tomorrow.

Naturally, Richard doesn’t have the time to read and get muddled into all of the debates and questions in the comments of my posts; he was simply kind enough to make some time this once. And hopefully it will help to clarify his position in light of certain criticisms.

I’ll say this as clearly as possible: if you want to seriously engage with the arguments Richard presents in Jesus and the Eyewitnesses then please don’t rely just on my overview of his argument. Read his book yourselves and delve into the arguments and the associated evidence before making a judgment. I simply cannot detail all of the evidence he cites nor the reasoning he uses. Not only do I not have the time, but I would then simply be re-writing the book, and my effort won’t ever be as good as Richard’s original!

Third, I have really enjoyed reading the numerous stimulating comments on a few of my posts recently, many of which I would love to engage further. However, I’ve been rather busy with other matters and have not found the time to do so. I simply wanted to say that I will try to comment on some of the matters in due time. I have not ignored them.

Footnote: Why the ethically dubious picture of three scantily clad beauties? Well, first off, it’s art. OK? Only uncivilised and uncouth yobs see anything else. Admittedly, some works of art do tend to push out the boat a bit, but it’s still art.

Besides, the image reflects the fact that I have written three points.

One woman per point, in other words.

I’ll perhaps try to sort out more points on a later post as I’m hoping to make a cheerleader squad. An arty cheerleader squad, of course.