A great book on the making of the New Testament is: WHO WROTE THE NEW TESTAMENT? by Burton L. Mack. Very comprehensive and provocative. He says that we know almost nothing about the historical Jesus. He says the early followers created a Jesus Movement which later became the Christ Cult. Fascinating.

The Jesus Movement was based on Sayings (Q) which were quite similar to the wisdom teachings of the Greek School of Cynicism. Not necessarily to be confused with a modern cynic.

Has anybody else read this book?

In comparing the Cynics to the early Jesus movement(Q), the Cynics seemed to be lone wolves (or dogs, where the term cynic comes from). The Jesus movement seemed more interested in forming communities , although both were countercultural .

Jesus is also certainly a more attractive figure historically IMO then the Cynic ,Diogenes.


MOW

Not yet, but did pick it up the other day at Barnes & Nobel

Sounds like a good one to add to my 'wish' list! Thanks for the heads up!

I read this book some time ago so I don't remember all the details but found it fascinating. I have also read that the Gospel of Thomas forms the basis for the Q sayings. There are controversies regvarding these sayings. Some say they provide the evidence that there was a historical Jesus. Others say that there is no written transcipt that gives us the Q sayings and therefore there is no reliable evidence for their existance outside of one writer coping the other. I don't know what to make of this controvery but you give me an incentive to look at them again and see what they actually say.

Marilyn