Author of LUKE/ACTS used JOSEPHUS as Source | Steve Mason

Professor Steve Mason (Ph.D)
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Steve Mason is Emeritus Professor of Ancient Mediterranean Cultures and Religions in the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands. His degrees are from Canada’s McMaster University (BA, MA) and University of St Michael’s College (PhD), with years of graduate study in Jerusalem and Tübingen, Germany. A fellow of the Royal Historical Society in the UK, Steve has published widely on Roman Judaea, the works of Josephus, historical method, and Christian origins. He leads an international project providing the first commentary to thirty Greek volumes by Flavius Josephus, along with a new translation, and has contributed three volumes to that project. His other books include Flavius Josephus on the Pharisees; Josephus and the New Testament; Josephus, Judaea, and Christian Origins; Orientation to the History of Roman Judaea; A History of the Jewish War, AD 66 - 74; and most recently, Jews and Christians in the Roman World — appearing this month from Brill Academic Publishers.

Steve was born in Canada and grew up in Canada, Britain, and Australia. After first jobs in kitchens, factories, a mine mill, security, and counselling, Steve worked for the Memorial University of Newfoundland, Toronto’s York University, The Pennsylvania State University, The University of Aberdeen in Scotland, and The University of Groningen. He has been a guest professor with stays in Oxford, Princeton, Konstanz, Berlin, Paris, Trinity College Dublin, and Rome's Pontifical Biblical Institute.

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Steve Mason (B.A., M.A. McMaster, Ph.D. St. Michael’s) is Professor of History and Canada Research Chair in Greco-Roman Cultural Interaction at York University in Toronto. He edits the twelve-volume Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary (Brill, 2000-), and has contributed two of its volumes: Life of Josephus and Judean War 2. His other books include Flavius Josephus on the Pharisees (1991), Josephus and the New Testament (second edn. 2003), and Josephus, Judea, and Christian Origins: Methods and Categories (2009). He is currently writing a book for Cambridge University Press on the Judaean-Roman War of 66 to 74.

#gnosticinformant #josephus #stevemason

[MythVisionPodcast]

There is so much in this video that wasn't in my original recording with Dr. Mason, Bravo! I love learning from this guy. He's so balanced and knowledgeable. Keep up the amazing work Neal.

[MythVisionPodcast]

35 mins in and you literally see why Dennis MacDonald has his Greek mimesis hypothesis that the Gospels reworked Homer etc.

[brandonmass]

What does it mean if the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts were written by someone dependent on a source like Josephus? Does it mean that the early Christians were not only not Jewish, not from Judea, and not informed enough to know the difference, but also engaged in a kind of pious creative writing literary genre that was only later taken to be "Gospel history"? In other words, does it falsify the whole notion that the gospels are about events that really happened? What are the ramifications of this hypothesis?

[PsychesMuse]

17:00 -Seven "teen"/"Men"="Nuts"="sin" to it... AND😇"sym"-pulley"... LOVE(in) IT!!!🥰

[vineyardworker]

Wonderful discussion, luxury to stay with the topic for so thorough an exploration.

[insightfulcarrier]

49:24 study of linguistics and word usage was instrumental in catching The Unabomber, Ted Kazinski

[theobolt]

This makes me wonder if this connection with L/A en Jos can be seen as a hint about when L/A has been put to paper. The relevant facts, what should be in the story (and what not) should be common knowledge, in the memories of people who witnessed it firsthand and in the memory of there children. After that the memory of the concerned facts start to evaporate. Like me, I know a thing or two of WW2. Through my father and mother who experienced the whole thing. WW1? No personal recollection whatsoever.

[sebolddaniel]

I can't believe how good Neal is. He is unbelievable. What a guy.

[grumpylibrarian]

When someone asks if you're a god, you say "YES!"

[stridedeck]

When he lays out the structure of Mark, basically to me, Jesus never existed as a historical person, but as a metaphor representing personal transformation: beginning stages of problems, crisis, parables in life, and finally enlightenment through the resurrection! Josephus was the standard data source and since Gospels were written in Greek to the same Josephus readers and audience, and the Gospels represent a new movement that is different from others, they then must use Josephus as the stamp of approval!

[brandonmass]

At 2:19:00 someone does that, Philostratus writing the life of Appolonius tells us exactly what his sources are and his opinions about them. So no Gospel authors do that, but other people do. Most ancient authors sign their texts, Gospel authors don't.

[insightfulcarrier]

24:29 if the Gospel were Infact theatre play's, could the similarities be just the four best telling of said story? Like Brother's Grimm

[emenanjonwadiei]

Have you read the book, Perfect Martyr by Shelly Mathews? It discusses Stephen as a historical, fictitious character. It think that would make an awesome video.

[pizletwizzler]

Or (and more likely) Josephus, a jewish-roman historian (and stoic), was defining a budding Christianity based upon local lore and the sect's venerated writ or gospel usually in the form of correspondence between (we assume) apostles and scattered congregations.
Also, Josephus didn't start his writings until 71AD and by that point (one year earlier) the second temple fell and Sadducee/Pharisees weren't respected as genuine mediators between the jewish-people and the roman state... essentially powerless. However, during Jesus' adult-ministry they policed MOST jewish affairs in rome.

[geraldmeehan]

Thank you for releasing some new material. I am under income restrictions because of medicaid. I am also helping take care of 3 granddaughters so my disposable income is very limited

[KevinHoganChannel]

4 questions, whose answers that perhaps only Dr. Mason can answer. (1) HOW did people learn about Josephus in 90 AD. His collected works likely took 10 or 20 years to write. There were no typewriters. As a guess it would take a few years to copy his book by hand once, . Were there even 20 copies in existence during his life? Shortly thereafter? (2) How many people could Josephus have employed and to what end? (3) What/who were Josephus sources?! Who told Josephus this enormous amount of data?? (4) Luke used Josephus. Is that ergo Marcion used Jospehus in 150ish? And Luke/Acts thus doesn't appear until perhaps 160 or 170 at the earliest?! fabulous experience.

[insightfulcarrier]

5:24 I just watched a documentary on the Origins of Hollywood. Jewish community of Europe, relocating to America. They didn't find the New World any different than the Old World, so they created the film industry, over taking the Edison Group. They incorporated the Jewish experience into a new form called Early Westerns. The reason for this parallel, is could this be the origin of the gospels? Plays made during the Plague years.

[Nowpinion]

26:12 Why is it controversial saying that there’s a tradition of a Celestial Son of God? It may be hard to prove that it has a direct impact on the early Christians, but this was certainly a thing in the Greco-roman mythological world. You don’t have to be a mythicist to believe that.

[SugoiEnglish]

Problem: Dating doesn't match. Josephus wrote 66-70 and later. Acts is dated 62 CE and Luke being prior to Acts puts it slightly earlier.

[laurenjones]

Sometimes I like to picture Paul walking down that road to Damascus with a copy of Josephus’ Jewish War and Livys History of Rome. The epiphany writes itself.