Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy, John Shelby Spong, c. 2016

Full subtitle: A Journey Into A New Christianity Through The Doorway of Matthew's Gospel.

Chapter 2 -- dates:

• 30 CE: crucifixion. Historical Jesus: b. 4 BCE; d. 30 CE; age 34 years old.
• 51 CE: earliest New Testament writing: Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians.
• Paul wrote between the years 51 CE and 64 CE, some 21 to 34 years after the crucifixion
• fourteen (14) epistles said to be Paul's; in fact, probably not more than 7, in the order of their generally accepted writing: I Thessalonians, Galatians, I and II Corinthians, Romans, Philemon, and Philippians
• II Thessalonians, Colossians, and Ephesians: appear to have been written about a decade after Paul's death
• I and II Timothy, and Titus, appear to have been written about a generation after Paul's death
• Hebrews: attributed to Paul by the King James translation in 1611, now totally dismissed as Pauline
• 72 CE: Mark. 42 years, or two full generations, have passed since the crucifixion   
• 83 CE: Mathew. About 90% of Mark was incorporated directly into Matthew's gospel
• 93 CE: Luke. 
• Dating Luke is more debated than any of the other gospels; the range is from 80s to about 140
• author's thought: between 88 and 93
• 95 - 100 CE: John

Chapter 3 -- the oral phase

• 100 CE: at the earliest, Acts, written by Luke
• the influence of the synagogue where Jesus and his disciples taught

• the Torah, the books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy
• Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, the first day of Tishri, the seventh month of the year; that means the year had to start with Nisan; that means that Passover is the first major festival in the Jewish liturgical year
• Passover: celebrates the birth of the Hebrew people as a nation; transition from slavery to freedom; from being no people, to being God's chosen people
• Tishri: roughly late September to mid-October
• these Jewish dates are important for the author's thesis; see long, long footnote, pp 35 - 36


• Following the reading of the law, then came readings from the prophets
• "former prophets": the books of the Bible from Joshua to II Kings
• "latter prophets": Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and "the Book of the Twelve"; Christians called these twelve the "minor prophets" and they constitute the last twelve books of the Old Testament, as Christians organize the Hebrew Scriptures, the books from Hosea to Malachi
• note comments about Books of Chronicles (not included among the "former prophets")
• the Book of Daniel not included