You Tube Theology

http://trinities.org/blog/podcast-155-dr-j-r-daniel-kirk-on-a-man-attested-by-god-part-1/ Do the gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke discreetly but clearly imply that Jesus is God? This has become a popular reading lately among evangelicals, thanks in large part to the work of Dr. Richard Bauckham.

A popular argument strategy has been to focus on the earliest gospel, and the one which arguably has the least material from which to argue that Jesus is presented as divine. Even this gospel, it is argued, in its very first chapter, hints that Jesus is God himself, when this passage is said to be fulfilled:

A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3, NRSVOpen in Logos Bible Software (if available))

Clearly, in Mark Jesus is the one for whom a way is being prepared; so, by referencing this text, the author is telling us that Jesus is God, right? Wrong, according to Dr. Kirk. As he explains here (starting at around 15:13) and argues at length in the book, this is a misreading of Mark 1. When we pay careful attention to the texts and how the author is using them, it seems that he’s deliberately avoided calling Jesus “God” here. What is actually in Mark 1 isn’t exactly what is above, but rather, filling in the names of the three characters involved according to this gospel:

“See, I [God] am sending my messenger [John the Baptist] ahead of you [Jesus], who will prepare your [Jesus’s] way; the voice of one [John] crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord [Jesus], make his [Jesus’s] paths straight’”

As Dr. Kirk explains, here we are presented with three characters: God, Jesus, and John the Baptist.

Dr. Kirk’s overall thesis in this book is that in the first three gospels Jesus is presented as an “idealized human figure,” a category which he explains using numerous ancient Jewish texts, biblical and extra-biblical. In our conversation here, he focuses on the interesting case of Moses. In light of this whole ancient Jewish context, Dr. Kirk says that

…everything that is said about Jesus in the synoptic gospels has been said about other glorified, idealized human figures in the story of Israel. …we see these as stories about a messiah, a surprising messiah…

One surprising aspect of Jesus’s ministry is his authority to forgive sins. But as Dr. Kirk explains (18:25), the text itself (Mark 2:10) presents Jesus as an extraordinary man who has been granted this authority by God. Throughout the book Dr. Kirk distinguishes identifying Jesus with God from identifying Jesus as God. We discuss this distinction and Dr. Kirk’s contention that the synoptics frequently do the former but, contra Bauckham and others, never do the latter.

Dr. Kirk contrasts the christologies of the synoptics with that of the fourth gospel. In part 2 of our discussion next week, we’ll talk about this, and about the fact that in the synoptics people sometimes worship Jesus.

Links for this episode @ http://trinities.org/blog/podcast-155-dr-j-r-daniel-kirk-on-a-man-attested-by-god-part-1/

A Man Attested by God: The Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels
Dr. Kirk’s blog Storied Theology
Dr. Kirk’s home page
Dr. Kirk in conversation with Sir Anthony Buzzard and other biblical unitarians about A Man Attested by Godthe-mind-renewed-podcast
The Mind Reneved 111 : Dr. Mike Licona : On the Gospels and Their Contradifferences
Simon Gathercole, The Preexistent Son: Recovering the Christologies of Matthew, Mark and Luke (kindle)
Rickki Watts, Isaiah’s New Exodus in Mark
Richard Hays, Reading Backwards (kindle)
Echoes of Scriptures in the Gospels
Luke 7:33; Luke 5:32; Mark 1:1-3; Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1; Exodus 23; John 20:23; Daniel 7:13; Mark 1:11; Acts 2:22; Mark 15:34
“Only God can forgive sins.” False.
Does Mark teach that Jesus is God?
Mark: Jesus is God’s Son, the Messiah
Dr. James McGrath’s blog Religion Prof
A Lesson in Christological Rhetoric
podcast 99 – Dr. Larry Hurtado on early high christology
podcast 27 – Interview with Dr. William Hasker about his Metaphysics and the Tripersonal God – Part 1
Restitutio podcast
Interview 6: Dale Tuggy’s Journeyrestitutio-podcast-logo
Interview 7: An Analytic Philosopher Unleashes Logic on the Trinity Doctrine

Weekly podcast exploring views about the Trinity, and more generally about God and Jesus in Christian theology and philosophy. Debates, interviews, and historical and contemporary perspectives. Hosted by philosopher of religion / analytic theologian Dr. Dale Tuggy.

This week's thinking music is "Piscoid" by Andy G. Cohen. It is released under a Creative Commons Attribution International License https://andyg.co/hen
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Andy_G_Cohen/MUL__DIV_1198/Andy_G_Cohen_-_MULDIV_-_01_-_Piscoid_1803