Readers Reply

Jesus and Purity

Relief from Nonsense

I want to express my appreciation for Paula Fredriksen’s “Did Jesus Oppose the Purity Laws?” BR 11:03. Professor Fredriksen’s article is a welcome relief from the much-publicized nonsense propounded by the likes of Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, Burton Mack and Robert Funk & Co. (the Jesus Seminar)—scholars intent on wresting the historical Jesus out of his first-century Jewish context. Professor Fredriksen puts it very well: “A Jesus who rejects his own religious culture turns out to be a 20th-century person in ancient garb—a modern secular liberal offended by impurity’s sharp lines.” Let’s have more in BR from Paula Fredriksen.

Fredriksen’s Errors

Paula Fredriksen’s point was well made, on the surface. However, careful analysis reveals flaws in her arguments.