The Bible and Culture

This is a reposting of some of Larry's updating of his essay on monotheism. “Monotheism” in/and Ancient Roman Religion: The Continuing Discussion by larryhurtadoHaving just tried to do a last-minute updating of my essay, "How Do We Recognize 'Ancient Jewish Monotheism' in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods?," scheduled to appear in the next issue of Journal of Ancient Judaism, I want to mention a recent multi-author volume with some high-quality contributions on a number of matters rel … [Read more...]

The second major portion of Paul and the Heritage of Israel deals with The Figure and Legacy of Paul in Acts. The first essay in this section is an important one by David Moessner.Moessner situations Acts, quite rightly, as a volume completed in the last couple of decades of the first century when the first generation of witnesses had died off or were no longer able to give credible witness. Written apostolic traditions are proliferating, collections of Paul's letters are circulating and … [Read more...]

Thanks to Amy George for the lead on these pictures! … [Read more...]

My friend and colleague Larry Hurtado, now emeritus at Edinburgh is one of the leading authorities on early Jesus devotion by his followers. Here is a helpful clarifying post of his that he put up a month ago. ------- On Being Understood (about the Origins of Jesus-Devotion) by larryhurtadoIt's discouraging to be misunderstood. It happens to others as well. In some cases it may seem entirely accountable to the way that some express their views, e.g., with vague or complicated … [Read more...]

The recent droughts and wild fires over the last five years (think yet another effect of climate change) have led to some astonishing things animals have done to find water and survive. … [Read more...]

For a full week, this lonely polar bear came out to play with his new friend, the huskie. To heck with survival of the fittest, or biggest, or most unbearable. … [Read more...]

All day my wife had had this sense of dread, a sense that something had gone terribly wrong. The dread had a focus--- our daughter Christy, whom we had not heard from for a couple of days. Then came the phone call late at night that no parent ever wants. Christy was dead and gone, felled by an unexpected pulmonary embolism. The thing is, that Ann had carried around the strong sense that it had already happened before it was confirmed.Then there was the story my old English prof Chris … [Read more...]

Hope springs eternal in the human breast, or so we are told by optimists of all kinds. This seems to especially be the case when what one is hoping for is that ever elusive 'true love'. It becomes all the more elusive when you are dealing with seriously messed up young people-- such as encounter in 'Silver Linings Playbook'. It is sometimes hard to tell who exactly is the most messed up--- Is it Pat Solitano (played very well indeed by Bradley Cooper) who is bi-polar and on top of that has … [Read more...]