The Bible and Culture

A Very Jewish Jesus by larryhurtado Further to my previous posting concerning Sean Freyne's excellent review of scholarship on first-century Galilee, I highlight here another of the valuable articles in the sample issue of the new journal, Early Christianity (vol. 1, 2010, issue 3):  Roland Deines (Professor of NT in Nottingham University), "Jesus and teh Jewish Traditions of His Time" (pp. 344-71). Deines has previous important contributions of his own to the topic of his … [Read more...]

Students of the Greek New Testament are sometimes alarmed to discover that while their Nestle-Aland Greek Text, or their UBS Greek text is quite readable, when one actually looks at photos of ancient manuscripts, even the best student has great trouble reading them!   Why? The reasons are twofold: 1) scriptum continuum is used, a continuous flow of Greek letters without separation of words, and  2) the use of abbreviations for nomina sacra,  abbreviations for sacred names and terms. Here … [Read more...]

Brad Pitt is an interesting person in many respects. Having spent some time in and around Springfield Mo. the inside skinny about his youth is he was a regular guy. Played ball, chewed tobacco, enjoyed the ladies. A regular guy. No one saw Hollywood stardom coming. In this respect, Brad Pitt is much like the Oakland As as steered by Captain Billy, aka Billy Beane. I have read the book 'Moneyball' and found it fascinating. I think the philosophy that undergirds Beane's approach is … [Read more...]

My doctoral students are frequently asking---- "but what French theological and exegetical works are worth reading and using?"   I usually point them first to the classic works of great scholars like  C. Spicq, or Feuillet, or Rigaux to mention but three, and of course there are many of my contemporaries in the SNTS who I can commend highly, such as the work of Daniel Marguerat which I value highly.  My friend Larry Hurtado has a recent post which is quite helpful in pointing us to French … [Read more...]

Jesus of Galilee larryhurtado | September 23, 2011 at 1:14 pm | Tags: Historical Context, Important publications | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pYZXr-cu (N.B. the following are Hurtado's observations). Several days ago I mentioned perusing a sample copy of a newish journal, Early Christianity (published by Mohr Siebeck, Tubingen), and indicated that I'd provide some futher comment on the contents. The issue in question (vol. 1, issue 3, 2010) includes a … [Read more...]

It was a rainy day.  I went for a drive.  Ended up at 'Drive' the movie.  For an hour and forty minutes I was in L.A. in a world I have no desire to ever live in.  But like a voyeur, I found it a fascinating movie world to look in on, even if I was glimpsing it in my rear view mirror, because frankly it did not make me want to live in the 'City of Angels' (which is what L.A. means).   If those are angels, they are avenging angels, and I want no part of them.  Those are the kinds of angels … [Read more...]

Things continue to move forward with Hobbit production.  Peter Jackson has been spotted in a variety of New Zealand locations scouting new filming spots. After completing the extremely successful television series LOST, Evangeline Lilly is excited to spend time in New Zealand with Jackson and crew to film The Hobbit.  She spoke a lot about the movie in a recent interview.  She said, “I will be in and out of New Zealand for the course of a year. It worked out well,” Lilly recently … [Read more...]

The Dunn/Hurtado Dialogue on Jesus-Veneration larryhurtado | September 19, 2011 at 12:01 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pYZXr-cb (The following are my friend Larry Hurtado's own reflections on the dialogue) At the annual British New Testament Conference (1-3 September, Nottingham), one of the sessions was a dialogue with my long-time friend, Prof. Jimmy Dunn on "The Veneration of Jesus and the First Commandment."  Dunn and I have been in dialogue on this … [Read more...]

Warning:  This will be a dirty post.  Anthropologists remind us from time to time of their basic definition of dirt---- namely that it is matter out of place.  For example, the soil in my front garden is rich and good, but if I walk through it in my good Sunday shoes and then walk onto the carpet in my living room, suddenly the good soil just becomes dirt, and the carpet is dirty, or soiled--- not a good thing.   But the only difference between the dirt in my garden and the dirt on the … [Read more...]

New College Oxford is a pretty special place.  Originally established in 1379 as a college for the training of priests, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary,  as you can see from the picture above, it has remarkable architecture and an inspiring chapel.  Less inspiring however was the condition of the oak timber beam ceilings in various places in the college as we shall see.   This college has been viewed as perfect for films, and was used in both the Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, and … [Read more...]