From: Elizaphanian (Elizaphanian@members.v21.co.uk)
Date: Thu Oct 17 2002 - 08:50:06 BST
Hi Jonathan,
I'm glad you're contributing to this! I heartily agree that Jesus resembles
a Pharisee, although whether he actually was one is something unprovable;
the influences are clear though. But this puts me in mind of something that
I was going to mention in this context which you may be able to comment on.
One of the most 'Pharisaic' episodes in the gospels comes when Jesus is
asked about the resurrection of the dead (the woman who married seven
brothers). Apparently this was a standard question in Pharisaic debate, and
the Sadducees denied any resurrection. Clearly the idea of resurrection was
'abroad' at the time of Jesus, and not just in early Christian circles.
However, this is, to my mind, a clear development from the Jewish
sensibility at, say, the time of David, whereby there was no question of an
individual eternal life, only the promise that 'your name will not perish
from the land', ie that you would live on through your family in the land
that God had promised (this is how I understand the promise given to
Abraham).
>From a MoQ point of view that latter understanding seems entirely social
(you have life through the ongoing existence of the social unit). Would you
agree with that? And presumably the Sadducees were the voice of this social
level.
And it seems that, however it came about, that transition to a more
individual 'end-state', however understood, is a potentially DQ
breakthrough.
What I find really intriguing, though, and it is something that I have
mentioned before, is that this breakthrough does not centre on an
'intellectual' level distinction, so much as an 'individual' level
distinction. I think the fourth level may be better described as
'individual' rather than 'intellectual', and if I'm right about this
transition, it might be some support for it.
I'd be interested to know your views.
Sam
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