Sep 06 2019 70 mins 184
In Matthew 16:15 -16 is Jesus being Socratic, testing whether the disciples have figured out he is the Messiah? If Polycarp wrote 2 Timothy and Titus but not 1 Timothy, who did write 1 Timothy—Irenaeus? Would that imply he compiled the 1st editon of the NT canon, too? Do you consider yourself an agnostic or an atheist? And would you please elaborate? Can you talk about the introduction of baptism into Christianity? Are there just 3 major branches of Christianity? What do you think of recent scholarly claims that there were no dying & rising gods? Historically, leaders of radical movements have been matched with counter figureheads, leaders of opposing factions. Jesus in the gospels is not. Might that imply non-historicity? Does the NT envision Christian believers as not having to stand trial before God? You say that Jesus could not have said the line in Matthew 16:24 about anyone wishing to be his disciple has to "take up his cross and follow me" because the hearers wouldn't have been able to make sense of it (as Jesus hadn't been crucified ). But Zealots got crucified, too. Couldn’t it have been a Zealot recruiting slogan?
