Apocryphicity
A Blog Devoted to the Study of Christian Apocrypha
Roger Viklund has posted this excellent response to a discussion between Craig Evans and lee Strobel about Secret Mark (from Strobel's The Case For the Real Jesus). The comments Evans makes are similar (and thus similarly erroneous) to those he makes in his own book, Fabricating Jesus, which I discussed back in 2007 in this post. Viklund has written now several compelling on-line articles about Secret Mark. They can be found on his web site HERE.
(Yes, I know, I have hardly been regular on posting these “CA of the week” features, but I try) A helpful reader has passed along a link to Pitts Theology Library at Emory University which has prepared an excellent research guide on Early Christian Apocrypha (one I will certainly recommend to my students). It provides information on concepts and methodology, print resources, on-line resources, and research guidance. Of particular interest is the extensive alphabetical list of texts. Selecting a text will give you a brief description of the text, the original language and estimate of time of composition, alternate titles, and a source for English translations (where available).
There is an interesting article on the Friends of CSNTM (Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts) page on the recent uncovering of a forged NT manuscript (HERE). I don't know, though–let's see, it was written on one side of a page, the page had paragraph divisions, capitalized names, and no nomina sacra. What was their first clue? Thankfully, Morton Smith knew well enough not to make these blunders 😉
In my neverending work on the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, I have begun the process of collating copies of the Life of Mary edited by E. A. W. Budge over a century ago. Some of the manuscripts, however, are quite difficult to obtain (indeed, it may be that they are now lost forever). I was hoping some experts in the field might know how to find manuscripts from Diyarbakir, Mardin, Alqosh (specifically the convent of Notre-Dame de Sémances), and Urmia.
I just received my free copy of Cornelia Horn and Robert Phenix’s essay collection, Children in Late Ancient Christianity (Mohr Siebeck, to be published this month). I have a free copy because the book features my essay, “‘Social Viewing’ of Children in the Childhood Stories of Jesus.” The essay is essentially a summary of the last 200 pages of my doctoral thesis on the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. The book also features a few other Christian Apocrypha related pieces, including Reidar Aasgaard’s “Uncovering Children’s Culture in Late Antiquity: The Testimony of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas,” and Cornelia’s “Approaches to the Study of Sick Children and Their Healing: Christian Apocryphal Acts, Gospels, and Cognate Literatures.” Congratulations Cornelia and Rob on a fine publication.