Re: Jesus' Boylove
Submitted by Jules on March 31 2000 17:47:29
In reply to Jesus' Boylove submitted by David on March 31 2000 16:55:11
|
Hi David, There are many non-canonical writings around, but we have no way of knowing how authentic any of them are (any more than we can prove the canonical gospels to be authentic!). We have to rely on the wisdom of the church in selecting those documents that were considered authoritative in the early days. If the story quoted is the background behind Mark 14:51-52, or behind John's separate accounts of the raising of Lazarus and the night-time meeting with Nicodemus, then so be it, but regardless of what the fragment says about Jesus, I wouldn't want to place too much spiritual value on something that didn't make it into the gospels we have now. I'd value your spiritual experience as the Lord speaking to you in a particular way according to your need at the time, which may or may not be related to the historical Jesus, rather than on it being scripture. There have been just too many people writing different, and even contradictory, "real Jesus" books in the latter part of the 20th century. The problem with Morton Smith is that no-one else seems to agree with his "secret Mark" theory. I did a bit of reading on it last year in my college library (I'm studying theology too), but I can't remember the details now, except that it seemed equally probable that the fragment was composed by combining bits from Mark as we know it, instead of Smith's theory that the story was split up and scattered throughout Mark. It's certainly not good scholarly practice to propose a whole theory about the composition of Mark based on just one manuscript, unless there is absolute proof of it being older than the earliest possible date of Mark...which I doubt there is. If you want a possible relevant story from the canonical gospels, read the FAQ on this forum. There's no historical argument on that one, just a question of interpretation...which makes it even harder to agree on :-) Anyway David, God bless you in your studies, and in your love for Christ. I'm glad you've found us. With Christian love, Jules |
Follow ups: