- Aug 6, 2017
- 5,118
- 1,649
- 46
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Non-Denom
- Marital Status
- Married
The OP has a valid point -- historical figures are often lionized over time.
The OP is correct, qualitatively (right idea)...
but not quantitatively (wrong numbers)...
Achilles fought in the Trojan War about 1200 BC. By the time Homer wrote down the tale in 700 BC, Achilles had become a heroic son of Zeus.
A post-Roman war leader (dux belorum) defeated the Anglo-Saxons at Badon Hill in about 500 AD. By the time Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote about him in 1100 AD, he had become "King" Arthur, with a fairy tale castle & court, complete with magical Merlin the wizardly warlock.
Lionization occurs over centuries, not decades. It occurs over many lifetimes, not within one. It happens as parents embellish the tale to their children, who embellish it to grandchildren, and so on. But no parent or bard exaggerates the story every week, to the same audiences who already know the (current) story.
Arthur was still a minor character when Gildas wrote about Badon in 545 AD, only 40-50 years after the event -- still within living memory.
The Gospels were written within a similar amount of time -- plausibly in half the time, 20-30 years.
Exaggeration does occur (qualitatively correct)...
over centuries not decades (quantitatively incorrect)
If the Gospels hadn't been written down until the time of Arthur & emperor Justinian 500-600 years later, then yes we very well might expect "a simple itinerant preacher" to become "Resurrected Son of God"...
but instead, everybody started preaching wide-eyed about the "Resurrected Messianic Son of God" from the outset.
Even at Pentecost, 50 days after the Crucifixion, St. Peter was already saying that the "pre-incarnate" Messiah Jesus Christ had appeared to king David, a thousand years earlier, in a Vision (Acts 2:25-36)… and that Christ, exalted to the throne of God in heaven, was himself dispensing the Holy Spirit of God to believers right there on earth at Pentecost (Acts 2:33)
right or wrong, the "high Christology" of Jesus as "super hyper prophet priest pro plus" was already being preached, immediately after the Crucifixion and reported Resurrection...
that's what Christians have been claiming from the very first
The OP is correct, qualitatively (right idea)...
but not quantitatively (wrong numbers)...
Achilles fought in the Trojan War about 1200 BC. By the time Homer wrote down the tale in 700 BC, Achilles had become a heroic son of Zeus.
A post-Roman war leader (dux belorum) defeated the Anglo-Saxons at Badon Hill in about 500 AD. By the time Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote about him in 1100 AD, he had become "King" Arthur, with a fairy tale castle & court, complete with magical Merlin the wizardly warlock.
Lionization occurs over centuries, not decades. It occurs over many lifetimes, not within one. It happens as parents embellish the tale to their children, who embellish it to grandchildren, and so on. But no parent or bard exaggerates the story every week, to the same audiences who already know the (current) story.
Arthur was still a minor character when Gildas wrote about Badon in 545 AD, only 40-50 years after the event -- still within living memory.
The Gospels were written within a similar amount of time -- plausibly in half the time, 20-30 years.
Exaggeration does occur (qualitatively correct)...
over centuries not decades (quantitatively incorrect)
If the Gospels hadn't been written down until the time of Arthur & emperor Justinian 500-600 years later, then yes we very well might expect "a simple itinerant preacher" to become "Resurrected Son of God"...
but instead, everybody started preaching wide-eyed about the "Resurrected Messianic Son of God" from the outset.
Even at Pentecost, 50 days after the Crucifixion, St. Peter was already saying that the "pre-incarnate" Messiah Jesus Christ had appeared to king David, a thousand years earlier, in a Vision (Acts 2:25-36)… and that Christ, exalted to the throne of God in heaven, was himself dispensing the Holy Spirit of God to believers right there on earth at Pentecost (Acts 2:33)
right or wrong, the "high Christology" of Jesus as "super hyper prophet priest pro plus" was already being preached, immediately after the Crucifixion and reported Resurrection...
that's what Christians have been claiming from the very first
Upvote
0