Jesus Puzzle: Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Critiqued:

Doherty wrote: “To this heavenly Christ, some of these circles-though not all, as we shall see-gave the name ‘Jesus’ (Joshua/Yeshua), the name of the deliverer under Moses who conquered the Promised Land. The name means ‘Yahweh Saves’ and makes an ideal and natural name for a savior deity” (TJP:79).

The name “Jesus” certainly does make an ideal and natural name for a savior deity.
The name “Jesus” was also a very common name during the first century CE as were Joseph and James.

Dr. Ben Witherington III and Hershel Shanks wrote:

“The fact is that all three of these names were quite common among Jews in the first century A.D. We know this not only from literary sources (even though our earliest manuscripts of these texts are from later dates-for example, the Gospels and Josephus), but also from hundreds of surviving inscriptions from what scholars call the late Second Temple period. To find an inscription mentioning Jesus is not unusual-except this Jesus wouldn’t be the man we know as Jesus of Nazareth”(TBJ:53)

Doherty wrote: “Jewish midrash was the process by which the Christian recipe was put together and baked into the doctrine of the divine Son who had been sacrificed for salvation” (TJP:81).

The assertion that “Jewish midrash was the process by which the Christian recipe was put together…” is refuted thoroughly in the Chapter 22 and Chapter 23 sections of this critique.

Doherty wrote: “ ‘…who arose from the seed of David, according to the flesh [or, in the sphere of the flesh]…’ Is this a piece of historical information? If so, it is the only one Paul ever gives us, for no other feature of Jesus’ human incarnation appears in his letters”(TJP:84).

It would only require one piece of historical information, such as Jesus being from the seed of David, to refute Doherty’s claim that Paul did not preach a historical Jesus.

Doherty wrote: “This is clearly an entirely spiritual event, taking place in heaven after Christ’s death and resurrection (which were themselves spiritual events)” (TJP:84).

Go here for a rebuttal to Doherty’s claim that the resurrection was merely a spiritual event.

Paul’s Use of the Phrase “According to the Flesh”:

Doherty wrote the following regarding Romans 1:3-4: “Here Paul offers two elements about the Son. One is kata sarka, literally ‘according to the flesh,’ a vague and particularly cryptic phrase that is used throughout early Christian literature in a variety of subtle ways, often with unclear meaning” (TJP:83).

The New Testament scholar N.T. Wright provides more insight into this “cryptic phrase.” N.T. Wright writes: “‘According to the flesh’ (kata sarka) is a regular Pauline phrase denoting, among other things, the status, attitudes and theology of Jews and/or some Jewish Christians” (TNTATPOG: 408).

Paul often associates physical ancestors, descendants, or offspring with the phrase “according the flesh.”

Some examples of Paul’s usage of the phrase include:

“Romans 1:1-6: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ…”

Romans 4:1: “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?”

Romans 9:3-5: “For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, who are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”

1 Corinthians 10:18: “Look at Israel according to the flesh; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar?”

Galatians 4:23: “But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise.”

Galatians 4:29: “But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also."

Doherty's Use of "According to the Flesh":

Doherty does not address the meanings of the Pauline phrase “according to the flesh” in these texts. Instead, Doherty tries to divert the reader's attention by suggesting kata sarka could be translated as “in the sphere of the flesh.” Doherty wrote: “C.K. Barrett, as noted earlier, translates kata sarka in Romans 1:3 as ‘in the sphere of the flesh’”(TJP:103). Chapter 10 of The Jesus Puzzle contains the majority of Doherty's argumentation regarding the phrase "in the sphere of the flesh."

In Chapter 10 of The Jesus Puzzle, Doherty argues that this “sphere of the flesh” is located “in the lowest heavenly sphere, associated with the material world.” However, the majority of the sources that Doherty relies on for this argument post-date Paul’s writings. Doherty offers an unsubstantiated interpretation of the hymn in Philippians 2:6-11. This hymn is the earliest evidence Doherty provides.

Doherty also relies heavily on a later text known as the Ascension of Isaiah to argue that Jesus descended into different layers of heaven, where he was killed by demons and was resurrected. In addition, Doherty also relies on two fourth century C.E. sources, “the fourth century philosopher Sallustius, and Sallustius’ mentor, the emperor Julian “the Apostate” (TJP:104). Both of these sources greatly post-date Paul’s writing in the first century C.E. Note that none of Paul’s uses of “according to the flesh” cited earlier are associated with different layers of the heavens. Thus, Doherty is guilty of anachronistic reasoning by imposing concepts in fourth century C.E. sources back onto first century C.E. sources.

Resource: Doherty on 'According to the Flesh'