Dr. Bock,

I've certainly appreciated your blogs of the past 2 days regarding this latest "Jesus-bashing" issue. The longer one that you did yesterday was especially informative and and interesting, but both were well-done. I also notice that these 2 blogs have generated a lot of "hits," which demonstrates that this is a topic that has generated a lot of interest. I appreciate your responding to the latest attack on the historic credibility of Jesus and the gospels.

As far as needing a high-visibility and scholarly response to these issues, I'm not so certain we need one, however. I think the apostle Paul probably nailed the appropriate response to this matter when he said,

"But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will." (2 Tim. 2:23-26)

I would be so bold as to suggest that a proper response to this absurd story might be to simply ignore it, and let it die the death it so richly deserves, rather than dignifying it by actually responsing to it. If someone asks about it, we could answer by saying something like, "You know, there's a special theological term that New Testament scholars and theologians use to describe a theory like the one you just mentioned----HA!" Or, alternatively, we could just start laughing or snickering. That might be the most appropriate response of all.