A Mormon Perspective & More on Pantera
Kerry Shirts, who goes by the tag “The Backyard Professor,” has an extensive review of The Jesus Dynasty on his latest Blog. Kerry is a Christian and a Mormon, a exceptionally wide reader of books and ancient sources related to ancient Judaism and early Christianity. He has the refreshingly rare ability to profitably engage with historical materials and approaches without considering such methods of inquiry as a threat to his faith. I recommend this and other interesting posts on Kerry’s site to my readers.
I noticed this morning his Blog had already drawn one negative comment from a reader who refers to my “dubious resurrection of the Pantera legend.” This reader passes on the “solution” to the occurrence of the name Pantera as a pun on “parthenos,” (virgin), and refers Kerry Shirts to Ray Brown’s treatment of the subject in his book The Birth of the Messiah, as if that would somehow settle the question. This reader then informs us that “Pantera” is a common Roman name and asserts that the Pantera tombstone in Germany is of no more significance than one finding a tombstone today with “George” on it and concluding it was the tomb of George Washington.
I doubt if this reader has read my book, as I address this matter rather thoroughly in the chapter called “An Unknown Father of Jesus,” but beyond that, as regular readers of my Blog know, this site has become a thick archive of further research and material on the entire Pantera question, taking anyone who is truly interesting in learning and knowing the facts, far beyond these sorts of unsubstantiated assertions. I respected and knew the late Raymond Brown, and have learned much from his work, but his treatment of the Pantera subject, as is the case with many “historical Jesus” scholars, does not reflect all we now know. The Pantera/Parthenos pun idea is a recent creation and simple does not hold up to examination, and as for Pantera being a “common” name, like “George,” …well, what can I say, other than what I tell my students. Argue anything you want, but do it from a position of knowing the evidence.
Obviously the whole “Pantera” subject is a particularly sensitive issue with readers, a kind of “lightening rod” because of certain unfounded assumptions and resulting emotional reactions. Not long ago I wrote a long post trying to set the subject itself in a wider more positive context:
In terms of getting the facts straight on the Pantera subject itself I will highlight here some of the main Pantera materials I have put up on this site for those who are open to learning more:
Pantera as a Real Name