CONTENTS
PAGE
Preamble xi
Chapter I.—THE SNARE OF PRESUPPOSITION
Presupposition in science. The Copernican theory. The reception of Galileo, Harvey, and Darwin. Blinding effects of scholarship. The theological record. Mutations of Christian opinion. Defence of the belief in witchcraft. Leibnitz and Newton. Criticism of the Pentateuch. Parvish, Astruc, Voltaire, Colenso, and the professional scholars 1
Chapter II.—MODES OF CONSERVATIVE FALLACY
Persistence of the theological temper. Each abandoned position first defended with the same fierceness. Saner forms of conservatism. Persistence in presupposition. Canon Inge on Jesus and Paul. The logical hiatus. Mill’s precedent. His dithyrambic mood and critical inadequacy. Disregard of the documentary evidence. Need to face the real problem. The sociological process. Mill’s dictum contrasted with those of Newman and Baur 6
Chapter III.—ILLUSIONS AS TO GOSPEL ETHIC
Mill’s method and mind non-historical. “The historic sense.” Dr. J. E. Carpenter’s. The concept of “sublimity.” God portraiture. Its limitations. The Gospel ethic. Significance of the contradictions. The parable of the Good Samaritan. Incompetent verdicts of theologians. The story of Lycurgus and Alcander. Plutarch on forgiveness of enemies. Fanaticism of Christian estimates of antiquity 18
Chapter IV.—THE METHOD OF BLUSTER
The historic problem. Its treatment by a Unitarian cleric. The method of bluster. The real and the pretended character of the Gospel according to Mark. Wellhausen’s estimate. Actual features of primitive and popular myth-lore. Biography in Plutarch. Mr. McCabe on the Marcan residuum. The gospel figure. Doctrinal determinants 30
Chapter V.—SCHMIEDEL AND DEROGATORY MYTH
Collapse of the thesis of “human characteristics.” The myth and the historicity of Herakles. The more considerate thesis of Schmiedel: argument from “derogatory” episodes. Kalthoff on the human characteristics in Ruth and Jonah. Confusion of the new argument. Jesus introduced in Mark with divine characteristics. The Unitarian blunder as to “conventional” and “unconventional” hero-worship. Jewish and Pagan heroes and Gods alike put in “derogatory” positions. Herakles, Dionysos, and Apollo. Need to apply anthropological, mythological, and hierological as well as N. T. scholarship. Grounds for a Christian myth of the Founder as opposed by his family 44
Chapter VI.—THE VISIONARY EVANGEL
B. Weiss’s “Primitive Gospel.” Its characteristics common to Mark. The enigma of the evangel of the Twelve. That problem never rightly realized by the exegetes. The allegorical explanations to be withheld from the people. Complete deficit of historical matter. The evangel of the Twelve a myth. Real origin in a rite, not in an evangel. The last hypothesis: a political evangel that could not be later avowed. Incompatibility of this view with the Gospels. Composition of the record. Why the Primitive Gospel lacked the Tragedy. Breakdown of the traditionary explanation. Orthodox avowals of anomaly 51
Chapter VII.—THE ALLEGED CONSENSUS OF SCHOLARS
Resort to the myth-theory forced by the data. Unitarian attitude to that. Appeal for acceptance of the “consensus of scholars.” No such consensus ever attained. Dalman on his fellow-specialists. His own presuppositions. Pretensions to solve historical problems through philology. Distinction between pedantry and science. Candour of Schmiedel. Inadequacy of his method. Resistance of scholarship to scientific thought. Colenso and the Zulu and the orthodox resistance. Attack on the New Testament scholars by Professor Blass 62
Chapter VIII.—CONSERVATIVE POSITIONS
Modifications of conservative attitude. Lack of good faith or of comprehension. Samples of misrepresentation. The Unitarian attitude. Treatment of myth-solutions: the Myth of the Temptation. Dr. Thorburn’s orthodox solution. Mythology and psychology. Psychic determinants of resistance to new views. Attitude to “healing powers” ascribed to Jesus. Force of presupposition. Davidson’s “must.” 74
Chapter IX.—BLASS AND FLINDERS PETRIE
The attempt to find an “impersonal” test of the documentary basis. Dr. Flinders Petrie on The Growth of the Gospels. Theory of selection and compilation from logia. Acceptance of any item as early. The argument of Blass as to possibility of real predictions. Case of Savonarola. Nature of the problem. Political anticipation versus prophecy. Investigation of the Savonarola case. His earlier prophecies, conditional and absolute 82
Chapter X.—THE SAVONAROLA FALLACY
Comparison between Savonarola’s prediction of the Sack of Rome and the gospel prophecy of the Fall of Jerusalem. Normality of Savonarola’s vaticinations. Historical blunder of the Blass school as to medieval warfare. Frequency of sacrilege in Christian war. The Christian sack of Constantinople 93
Chapter XI.—THE “LOGIA” THEORY AND THE HISTORICAL TEST
Blass on the gospel prophecy: analysis of the texts. Their arbitrary handling by Blass. The “Nucleus” theory of Dr. Petrie. Its arbitrary implications. Impersonal method of selection not followed by impersonal inference from the results. The logia theory much more compatible with the myth-theory than with the tradition. Test cases 104
Chapter XII.—FAILURE OF THE “LOGIA” THEORY
The scientific inference. Omission and invention of logia necessarily to be inferred as well as selection. Implicit abandonment of certain prophecies, and resulting incoherence of the argument. Reversion to the fundamental issue between supernaturalism and reason. Final futility of the attempt to vindicate the documents. Possibilities as to currency of written logia. Illustration from Islam. The mass of incompatibilities in the Gospel Teaching. Possibilities of genuine self-contradiction. Carlyle and Ruskin. Mohammed. The gospels not thus explicable. Damaging implications of the logia theory. Variety of “Christs.” Papias. Baruch and Enoch 113
Chapter XIII.—RESURGENCE OF THE HISTORIC PROBLEM
The actually recovered logia of Oxyrhynchus. Their incompatibility with Dr. Petrie’s assumption of historic genuineness for all. The real process of composition in Luke’s gospel. Motives for invention. The myth of the Seventy Disciples a sample and test case. Inadequacy alike of the documentary theory and that of scattered logia 123
Chapter XIV.—ORTHODOXY AND THE “ORAL” HYPOTHESIS
