Unbelievable

[poliphilo]

There was this guy with dredlocks on TV last night saying how Christianity was a smale-scale, Jewish, do-gooding outfit until St Paul hijacked it and turned it into a Greekified mystery religion. If you want to recapture the original message of Jesus, he told us, you've got to read the Epistle of James.

James was Jesus's brother, see- his older brother (whoops)- and after Jesus died he took over leadership of the Jerusalem church. It was a nice little family run business- the spiritual equivalent of a corner shop.

Then along came  Paul with his ambitions and visions and his amazing Jacobean prose style...

So I read the Epistle of James. What it says is, be excellent to one another, dudes- and watch out because  the rich are going to hell.

Yeah, right. I'm not going to take issue with any of that but Paul is a lot more interesting.

Would Christianity have developed into a global franchise if it had all been all down to James?  I think not.

Then dredlock guy did something extraordinary. OK, he said (facing into the lens so we could taste his sincerity)) I've proved that Pauline Christianity is a massive fraud and Jesus wasn't the Son of God- just an ordinary chap who believed in being nice to people- but actually I still believe he was the Son of God and rose from the dead and all that because the Church tells me to.

Erm.......

Comments

[shullie.livejournal.com]

The dreadlock guy is Robert Beckford, he is the new face of Christianity and has over the last year or two been the hip and trendy face of Christianity on TV. He's one of the younger theological profs at B'ham uni, specialising in urban and popular culture and black theology, and the bible’s role in such etc., all of which are ‘hip and trendy’ amongst biblical studies departments.

In my opinion he wasn't really saying anything that most of us who have done any biblical studies work didn't really know or haven’t heard before....especially the stuff re James v Pauline Xnty...

I think he and channel four or trying to court the similar kind of controversy that the BBC managed with their Mary doc a couple of years ago... but strangely even Jesus can't beat da Momma in the outrage stakes...!!!

[frsimon.livejournal.com]

He's not a professor in the theology faculty. I think he's in cultural studies or something. His research specialism is black theology. However, he has no qualification whatsoever in biblical studies/ historical Jesus research/ that sort of thing, which is what he gets booked to do TV programmes about. I assume he gets booked because the TV companies think he is more camera-friendly than most UK biblical scholars. Which is probably true.

[shullie.livejournal.com]

a friend of mine from sheffield bibs dept (though he's now in Chicago ) knew him quite well, says's he ok... though I am sure he said he was a pastor of sorts too. re more camera friendly than most bibs scholars - lol - most definably.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I sometimes think the only reason people like him carry on believing is because they'd be joining the queue down the job centre if they didn't.

My, what a cynic I've become....

[bodhibird.livejournal.com]

There seems to be a lot of that sort of thinking going around lately: "We know there's a lot of evidence that Jesus and Christianity aren't anything like we've always been told, but we're going to keep on believing and preaching the old story because it makes people happier and keeps them out of trouble." It doesn't make me any less cynical about the Church....

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

A modern theological education makes it almost impossible for a person to carry on believing in that old time religion. This I suppose is why the fundies are taking over the churches- because all the smart people are getting out.

[besideserato.livejournal.com]

LMAO.

[ibid.livejournal.com]

I've never liked Paul. He seems to have taken all the fun out of everything!

I think one of my issues with Christianity is that it's the fulfilment of Jewish prophecy - but I don't identify with Judaism...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I can forgive Paul most things for his great hymn to love.

"And now abideth faith, hope and love- these three- but them greatest of these is love."

[ibid.livejournal.com]

I believe I am correct in saying that this was a common theme of Jewish thought of Jesus' time. I think this was what Rabbi Hillel taught.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm sure you're right. I've been told (but never actually researched it myself) that there's nothing in the New Testament that can't be paralleled in other Jewish texts of the period.