tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20930767.post3483521503563225103..comments2023-06-01T14:08:49.977+00:00Comments on Confessions of a Doubting Thomas: Question Mark, Part 4Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20930767.post-10745178631368233182017-08-22T16:07:28.377+00:002017-08-22T16:07:28.377+00:00There's a lot of interesting muddying of the w...There's a lot of interesting muddying of the waters regarding the character or characters of 'Satan' (who only occurs once in John), 'the devil' (never occurs in Mark), 'Beelzebul' and 'demons'. Part of me thinks the sole reference to Satan in John could be an early scribal error. Also the confusion between Satan and Beelzebul is incoherent with the rest of the 'Satan' references in Mark, so I wonder if that's a later addition. But I need to look at these passages in much more detail some other time.Ricky Carvelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17975085318645232701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20930767.post-82651989748590052812017-08-22T15:51:10.841+00:002017-08-22T15:51:10.841+00:00Goods points!
I wonder how Christian apologists...Goods points! <br /><br />I wonder how Christian apologists who view the Gospel as based on "eyewitness" testimony treat this episode? No eyewitnesses but Jesus, and it doesn't say Jesus gathered round his apostles and told them about this tale. It looks more like an omniscient narrator is coming up with this stuff. Also, why can't anyone but Jesus actually see and talk with Satan? <br /><br />Another interesting thought I had was comparing the synoptics with John. In the synoptics Jesus is casting out demons left and right. In John there's no tale of exorcisms at all. Jesus doesn't speak with demons at all, but in John we read that Jesus declares "the Jews" who oppose his mission, saying, "You belong to your father, the devil," and, "Satan entered into him [Judas]." So it seems that in the fourth Gospel "the Jews" have taken the place of demons that Jesus has to cast out in the synoptics, and at least in the synoptics you feel sorrow for the people who were possessed, but in the fourth Gospel "the Jews" now have Satan as their "father!" And "Satan" himself is possessing one of Jesus's apostles. Edwardtbabinskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13036816926421936940noreply@blogger.com