The Bible and Culture

In the wake of recent Imperial cult studies, including studies of the evidence that the NT reflects a critique of the Imperial cult (as Tom likes to put it--- Jesus is Lord, and Caesar is not, the latter being the parody of which Christ is the reality), Chapter Five is in some ways the most crucial chapter thus far in Tom's first volume. It is a pity that Tom's book went to press shortly before the appearance of Jesus is Lord, Caesar is Not (eds. McKnight and Modica, IVP 2013), as it would be … [Read more...]

In Chapter 4 (pp. 246-78) we have a very useful survey of what has come to be called ancient Greek and Roman religion (not to be confused with philosophy which was treated in the previous chapter). Wright is correct to stress that ancient religion was all about praxis, and very little about beliefs or believing, nor was it much about ethics either. The essence of pagan religion was priests, temples, sacrifices, festivals, calendars, auspices and the like. On this showing early Christianity … [Read more...]

The very first site Jason and I went to see upon arriving in Delhi was the brand new much publicized Hindu temple (built from 2005 to the present, to the cost of millions and millions) named Akshardham.... You are not allowed to take pictures inside the temple area, so I had to resort to taking pictures of pictures, except for this one distance shot, taken on a foggy morning.Here' what it looks like at night (taken from an advertizing sign at the huge Delhi airport...Once again we … [Read more...]

Having spent a good deal of time in Pompeii last October, and since the first century A.D. is my period of expertise, I went with some trepidation to see this 'disaster' movie, fearing it would not merely be about a disaster but would itself be a cinematic disaster- disastrous acting, disastrous plot, CG overkill, and so on.Well the good news is that this movie (which lasts only one hour and 38 minutes) is not as bad as the 'Clash of the Titans' of recent memory. How they talked Liam … [Read more...]

Heading back to the Taj Mahal for a last look, my mind was full of impressive images. Passing a sugar cane field on the left, and a overloaded wagon on the right, our drive zipped right back into the heart of Agra....a town crawling with tourists, even in January.You pass the ever present vendors hawking things on the street, in this case hot roasted peanuts!Some sites do not dim with time, or become less impressive with age....The Taj borders right on the major … [Read more...]

Monumental tombs are few and far between in America. Even Presidents don't have tombs like that of Akbar in Agra as a moments glance at the site will show you. For example, look at this peak through the entrance way....Or this angled shot...And once you are inside, you realize that the gate is even more impressive than the actual mausoleum,More interesting is the detailed artisan work around the entrance to the gates...Or around the entrance to the tomb.... once … [Read more...]

A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF CORINTH---A Review by Professor Steve Walton of CambridgeI’ve greatly enjoyed reading this little (158 pages) book by Ben Witherington III over the last few days. It’s a novel in which he tells the story of a week in the city of Corinth, but it’s no ordinary week. The story features a former slave, Nicanor, who has returned from Roma after a business trip for his ex-owner, now friend, Erastos. Nicanor meets various people, and finds himself in the midst of political int … [Read more...]

Forts doubled as palaces for the Moghul dynasty. As residences, there were special quarters built for the Shah's various wives. Both the red fort in Agra, and the fort/palace 20K outside of Agra share a similar construction, made of red sandstone. The Red Fort appears more like a fort, the other fort of Akbar, more like a palace with gates. In this post we look at the latter.This is the gentleman you meet as you enter this fort/palace.In order to get there you had to pass a lot … [Read more...]

As I mentioned, there are many interesting signs in India. For instance.... try reading this one....Or consider this one---look carefully. That's no ordinary stop sign.Check out this silent sign at the entrance to the city of Musoorie...This sign, with the three monkeys (hear no evil etc....) actually has an interesting history. It was a critique used by Gandhi, referring to various of the officials in India who did not want to hear it or see it, when it came to … [Read more...]