Bock

Ben Gurion Lectures Open, Who Was Walter Bauer and Why Is He Important? March 13

I opened my lectures at Ben Gurion University in Beersheva, Israel today. They are on the extra-biblical gospels and the hype associated with recent finds. They are called the Deichmann Lectures. The first lecture on whether Jesus was married and the lack of evidence for it went well. I am pleased with the start. I lecture twice tomorrow.

The impact of Walter Bauer and why those other gospels did not make it into the canon are the topics. There is much curiosity and interest. For those who do not know Walter Bauer argued that there were many diverse expressions of Christianity in the beginning and that if you divded up Christianity by regions, then in many locales other expressions of Christianity other than what became orthodoxy was in the majority. Thus a view that says there were alternative Christianities in the beginning has become popular among some academics in religious studies. This view has fueled the enthusiasm for some about the extra-biblical gospels and has tried to make the case historically. My most recent book, THE MISSING GOSPELS, is designed to address this question for a popular audeince and is the reason I was invited to give these lectures.

I opened my lectures at Ben Gurion University in Beersheva, Israel today. They are on the extra-biblical gospels and the hype associated with recent finds. They are called the Deichmann Lectures. The first lecture on whether Jesus was married and the lack of evidence for it went well. I am pleased with the start. I lecture twice tomorrow.

The impact of Walter Bauer and why those other gospels did not make it into the canon are the topics. There is much curiosity and interest. For those who do not know Walter Bauer argued that there were many diverse expressions of Christianity in the beginning and that if you divded up Christianity by regions, then in many locales other expressions of Christianity other than what became orthodoxy was in the majority. Thus a view that says there were alternative Christianities in the beginning has become popular among some academics in religious studies. This view has fueled the enthusiasm for some about the extra-biblical gospels and has tried to make the case historically. My most recent book, THE MISSING GOSPELS, is designed to address this question for a popular audeince and is the reason I was invited to give these lectures.