Some ultra-skeptical atheists and other critics of Christianity have long claimed that Nazareth didn´t even exist at the time of Jesus. However, recent archeological excavations there and elsewhere in Galilee confirm that it did indeed exist. Not only that. Nazareth - while small - was relatively prosperous for its day. And it was only a two hour walk from a "real" town, Sepphoris. Richard Carrier (himself an atheist) has the receipts.
Since Carrier is a mythicist, he doesn´t believe that Jesus hailed from Nazareth. Indeed, Jesus didn´t hail from anywhere! Carrier believes that Jesus was originally placed at Capernaum by Christian writers making up his story. However, the supposed prophecy that the Messiah will be called "Nazarene" (or some such term) was later interpreted as a reference to Nazareth being his home town (an exegesis which is impossible on various grammatical grounds).
Interesting, I suppose.
Further to Sepphoris, being more of a "town" is this article. Some truly amazing mosaics have been uncovered there in recent times too.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.academia.edu/24180549/Sepphoris_the_Well_Remembered_City
Sepphoris also played a yuge role in the speculations of the Jesus Seminar (does anyone even remember them anymore?) since the town had both a pagan and a Jewish population, and they kind of claimed that Jesus was a Cynic philosopher.
ReplyDeleteYes it was in the 1980's I think. Voting by "beads cast" to indicate levels of authenticity of Jesus' sayings and the Gospel story in general. As DePaul U is close by me, I often heard from Dominic Crossan (on Sunday TV shows) and read some of his works. He left the priesthood.
ReplyDeletehttps://hansmoscicke.wordpress.com/2017/10/05/john-dominic-crossans-historical-jesus-a-brokerless-kingdom-part-1/#:~:text=According%20to%20Crossan%2C%20Jesus%20was,was%20no%20burial%20and%20resurrection.