tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post113534663347525944..comments2024-03-10T10:54:59.776-07:00Comments on Ben Witherington: The CBS Special--- "The Mystery of Christmas"Ben Witheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06017701050859255865noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post-1135802763156831442005-12-28T12:46:00.000-08:002005-12-28T12:46:00.000-08:00Wow! You leave us far behind.Despite our Anglican ...Wow! You leave us far behind.<BR/><BR/>Despite our Anglican tradition of having service on Christmas Day, we get very few people out to it. Christmas Eve is the big worship time. This is the reverse of my childhood in England, where Christmas Day was the main service and Christmas Eve an eccentricity for people who liked to stay up late. In Edmonton very few people go to church on Christmas Day.<BR/><BR/>We had 170 at our two Christmas Eve services, and 15 on Christmas Day. I wonder if we would have got more if we had simply stuck to our regular Sunday schedule of two services instead of making concessions to the day? Your church's example challenges me to think some more about this. And as for feeding the poor and needy in the evening - well, as I say, I'm really impressed.<BR/><BR/>Blessings of the (continuing) Christmas season to you and yours, Ben.<BR/><BR/>Tim ChestertonTim Chestertonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13676859074652475474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post-1135780430127744082005-12-28T06:33:00.000-08:002005-12-28T06:33:00.000-08:00I was very proud of our church. Not only did we ha...I was very proud of our church. Not only did we have our two regular worship services, but we also had Sunday School, and then at 6 p.m. we fed the poor and homeless in the church. A truly proper celebration of Jesus' birth.Ben Witheringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06017701050859255865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post-1135710948293314792005-12-27T11:15:00.000-08:002005-12-27T11:15:00.000-08:00So, Ben, on a completely different subject - how w...So, Ben, on a completely different subject - how was church on Christmas Day?Tim Chestertonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13676859074652475474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post-1135440504094582572005-12-24T08:08:00.000-08:002005-12-24T08:08:00.000-08:00I think Markan priority is a virtual certainty, es...I think Markan priority is a virtual certainty, especially when one compares Matthew to Mark. Luke uses his Markan source more freely. I would date Mark to the late 60s, probably just before the fall of the Temple (see Mk. 13). I would say Matthew and Luke were written in the 70s or 80s, so not as much later as Mike White suggests. Perhaps within the same decade.Ben Witheringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06017701050859255865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post-1135431494181686082005-12-24T05:38:00.000-08:002005-12-24T05:38:00.000-08:00My wife and I were trying to find something on TV ...My wife and I were trying to find something on TV and I saw this. We have little tolerance for liberal, unbiblical viewpoints and about halfway through we were ready to turn it off! When it came back on and they said who you were I said to my wife "I read his blog! This should be good now..."<BR/><BR/>It was indeed. I look forward to the other shows on which you will be working! Thank you for your availability and defense of the Biblical accounts.<BR/><BR/>Isaac, the synoptic gospels were probably written within a decade of each other: AD 65-75.Chris Whisonanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10880112709247835926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post-1135391254131633012005-12-23T18:27:00.000-08:002005-12-23T18:27:00.000-08:00This is not exactly a direct comment on this post,...This is not exactly a direct comment on this post, but I was reading the CBS write-up regarding this program and Prof White mentioned Mark being "written decades before Matthew and Luke", and this made me wonder what your opinion is. I have just finished D. Burkett's book "Rethinking the Gospel Sources" and find his arguments convincing. Have you read this book? Seems to clearly show Markan priority as mistaken by identifying a layer of uniquely Markan redaction. Is his argument compelling to you, and, if so, does this impact the dating of Mark as decades earlier than Mt and Lk?Isaac M. Aldermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10282951886480508721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post-1135372052183409582005-12-23T13:07:00.000-08:002005-12-23T13:07:00.000-08:00My wife and I were flipping through the channels t...My wife and I were flipping through the channels that night and stumbled across the show. We were both pleasantly surprised and learned a lot - even from those we disagreed with. My wife especially appreciated your humble and even-handed treatment of the issues in the program. I thought the program was well-done also. Good selection of different views, with maybe a slight bias towards privileging the actual biblical accounts. I am ok with that though. It's nice to see the bias swing in a different direction this time.C.P.O.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16880429004171251097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post-1135354654437128262005-12-23T08:17:00.000-08:002005-12-23T08:17:00.000-08:00It's not truly a transcript but it is a rather det...It's not truly a transcript but it is a rather detailed report on the show from 48 Hours. You did very well.<BR/><A HREF="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/19/48hours/main1135330.shtml" REL="nofollow">48 Hours Report</A><BR/><A HREF="http://360.yahoo.com/nfrobinson@sbcglobal.net" REL="nofollow"><BR/>Nick Robinson</A>Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01162722613546777952noreply@blogger.com