----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2000 2:57
PM
Subject: [gmark] Review by Richard
Carrier of Dennis MacDonald's 'The Homeric Epics and the Gosp
A lengthy and decidedly favorable review of
The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark by Richard Carrier may be found at
the following link.
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/homerandmark.html
I have printed this out and will review it
carefully since I find this intriguing but am skeptical. For now, I
would just like to discuss the following:
MacDonald begins by describing what scholars of antiquity take for granted:
anyone who learned to write Greek in the ancient world learned from
Homer. Homer was the textbook. Students were taught to
imitate Homer, even when writing on other subjects, or to rewrite passages of
Homer in prose, using different vocabulary. Thus, we can know for
certain that the author of Mark's Gospel was thoroughly familiar with the
works of Homer
We cannot know for certain that the author
of Mark was "thoroughly familiar with the works of Homer." I have doubts
that acquiring Koine competence in the eastern Mediterranean by someone like
the Markan author included a classical Attic Greek "textbook." It is
also difficult for me to envision Mark, on the basis of his Koine grammar and
style, having rewritten Homeric prose in Attic. The Author of Hebrews,
perhaps (Apollos?) but not Mark.
Having said this, I will withold further
judgement until I read this review and decide if I want to get the
book.
Jack
