I have recently been writing about a truly odd text called the Gospel of Barnabas, which purports to be a secret gospel revealed to the early Christian figure of that name. The more I get into it, the more intriguing ideas and insights I find. Today I want to explore one truly weird story from the Old Testament. The story really does exist, it really is canonical, but it raises all sorts of difficult questions that really are not addressed... Read more
In December of 1620, the Mayflower Pilgrims began to die. Eighteenth-century Boston minister Thomas Prince informs: Dec 4 Dies Edward Thompson, Servant of Mr White the first that Dies since their arrival. Dec 6 Dies Jasper, a Boy of Mr. Carver’s: Dec 7. Dorothy, Wife to Mr. William Bradford: Dec. 8 James Chilton.[1] Jasper More was a bastard child, who along with his three siblings was taken in by Pilgrim families. James Chilton was most likely the oldest Mayflower passenger.... Read more
How the Rockefeller and Pew oil empires came to repudiate the very source of their wealth Read more
Rather than legitimating support for political leaders by comparing them to biblical kings, Chris suggests that we instead heed the prophets who spoke for God to such rulers. Prophets like a woman named Huldah... Read more
With respect to the mission of a university and the role of theology therein, few books have been invoked more than John Henry Newman’s The Idea of a University—based on lectures that he gave after being tapped by Britain’s hierarchy to found a Catholic university in Dublin in the 1850s. While the book is sometimes touted as a distinctively Catholic undertaking, its outlook probably depended more on Newman’s own very Anglican experiences at Oxford in the first half of the... Read more
The race for Academy Awards has produced a story that, surprisingly, is highly relevant to understanding Christian growth around the world. The linkage might not seem obvious at first sight, but it is there. Genevieve Nnaji is the director of the film Lionheart, which unfortunately I have not seen. (I am a great fan of Nigerian films, and other contemporary African cinema). The film was nominated for an Academy Award under the category best international feature film, and in that... Read more
A harrowing recent news story offers sobering lessons for how people use the Bible, and how it can be horrifically misused. You may have seen the much-publicized story from the London underground. Some monster approaches a Jewish family with a series of threatening statements, and then proceeds to read a Bible verse at them, to which I shall return shortly. The man in question is aggressive and potentially assaultive, but even so, several other passengers try to take him on,... Read more
For Thanksgiving, our blogmeister pauses to give thanks for those who write — and read — our posts at Anxious Bench. Read more
Thanksgiving is a good holiday for historians, because it gives us a ready opportunity to deflate myths. This task doesn’t tend to win historians many friends, but it’s an important part of the job, and someone has to do it. The “First Thanksgiving” celebrated by Pilgrims and Indians in 1621? Not a thanksgiving and certainly not the first thanksgiving in what became the United States. The only source for the “thanksgiving” is a letter written by Edward Winslow, published in... Read more
Today I am pleased to welcome Anna Wells to the Anxious Bench. Anna is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Religion department at Baylor University working with Dr. Carlos Cardoza-Orlandi. Her research focuses on the way culture influences the development of Christianity and looks specifically at female hagiographies from medieval Europe and Ethiopia through a comparative lens. I have to add I had the privilege of directing Anna’s Master’s thesis, which I featured in my 2018 post The Myth of Biblical... Read more
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