Criterion of embarrassment

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Baptism of Christ by Francesco Albani. Since it positions John as superior to Jesus, the criterion of embarrassment has been used to argue for the historicity of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.

The criterion of embarrassment is a type of historical analysis in which a historical account is deemed likely to be true under the inference that the author would have no reason to invent a historical account which might embarrass them. Certain

historically probable.[1]

The criterion of embarrassment is one of the criteria of authenticity used by academics, the others being the criterion of dissimilarity, the criterion of language and environment, criterion of coherence, and the criterion of multiple attestation.[2]

History

The criterion of embarrassment is a long-standing tool of New Testament research. The phrase was used by John P. Meier in his 1991 book A Marginal Jew; he attributed it to Edward Schillebeeckx (1914–2009), who does not appear to have actually used the term in his written works. The earliest use of the approach was possibly by Paul Wilhelm Schmiedel in the Encyclopaedia Biblica (1899).[3]

Examples

The assumption of the criterion of embarrassment is that the

early church would hardly have gone out of its way to create or falsify historical material that embarrassed its author or weakened its position in arguments with opponents. Rather, embarrassing material coming from Jesus would be either suppressed or softened in later stages of the Gospel tradition. This criterion is rarely used by itself, and is typically one of a number of criteria, such as the criterion of dissimilarity and the criterion of multiple attestation, along with the historical method
.

The

Roman world, and advocates of the criterion claim this method of execution is therefore the least likely to have been invented by the followers of Jesus.[4][1][5][6][7]

Limitations

The criterion of embarrassment has its limitations and is almost always used in concert with the other criteria. [

Peter's denial of Jesus could have been a substitution for an even greater misdeed of Peter.[8]

An example of the second point is found in the stories of the

canonical Gospels), arguably many modern Christians would find it quite embarrassing—especially strict believers in biblical inerrancy. But as is suggested by the existence of this early non-canonical pericope, it must not have been embarrassing to some early Christians.[10][11][12]

A further limitation is the possibility that what could be classed as embarrassing could also be an intentionally created account designed to provoke a reaction. For instance, Saint Peter's denial of Jesus could have been written as an example of the consequences of denial. Matthew 10:32–33: "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven."[according to whom?]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Catherine M. Murphy, The Historical Jesus For Dummies, For Dummies Pub., 2007. p 14
  2. ^ Tatum, W. Barnes (1982). In Quest of Jesus. Nashville: Abingdon Press. p. 106.
  3. ^ Stanley E. Porter, Criteria for Authenticity in Historical-Jesus Research (Continuum, 2004) pages 106–7.
  4. ^ Guy Davenport and Benjamin Urrutia, The Logia of Yeshua, Washington, DC 1996.
  5. ^ John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew, Yale University Press, 2009
  6. ^ N. S.Gill, Discussion of the Historical Jesus Archived March 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Blue Butler Education, Historical Study of Jesus of Nazareth - An Introduction". Blue.butler.edu. 2005-03-04. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  8. ^ John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew, Yale University Press, 2009. p 170
  9. ^ Cameron, Ron (1982), The Other Gospels: Non-Canonical Gospel Texts, Home Base, New York: Westminster John Knox Press, pp. 124–130
  10. ^ Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium, Oxford, 1999. pp 90–91.
  11. ^ Stanley E. Porter, The Criteria for Authenticity in Historical-Jesus Research: Previous Discussion and New Proposals Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.
  12. Gerd Thiessen
    & Dagmar Winter. The Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria, Westminster John Knox Press, 2002.

Further reading

  • Meier, John P.,
    A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus
    , Doubleday: 1991. vol 1: p. 168–171.

External links