We have had many sad and tragic moments during this pandemic, lots of lost loved ones— millions worldwide, and over 670,000 in the U.S. One of the signs of the resilience of the human spirit is to make something beautiful out of the pain and sense of profound loss….. like this song…. Read more
There are many books about Jesus, but frankly none like this one. Think of this book as like a Rembrandt painting. Rembrandt was a master of light and dark contrast. For example, consider his famous Prodigal Son painting. In the center is the forgiving Father and his kneeling son. Everyone else is in shadow. You get the picture. Ken Collins book is much the same. He presents us with a well-written narrative that presents Jesus as the light of the... Read more
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-biblical-scholarship/id1535845964?i=1000536144725 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1GDFHda19cXgPquitDxYm3?si=1f917cb95195483f Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-649688003/ben-witherington Read more
Q. I wondered if you had reflected on the fact that patriarchy seems to be a result of the curse on Eve—- ‘your desire will be for your husband and he will lord it over you’ says the text very clearly. Furthermore, Eve was created because of the need of Adam, it was not good for him to be alone so he needed a suitable companion. But most importantly the Hebrew phrase I just translated ‘a suitable companion’, could be... Read more
Q.I don’t really find the distinction between a literary Adam and Eve and an historical one all that helpful in dealing with the NT writers and speakers themselves. Jesus, Paul, and others were dealing with stories they assumed were true in some sense and had some historical foundation or core. More helpful is the distinction between the more literal and figurative/metaphorical dimensions of an ancient saga. I appreciated your listing of things you found fantastical in some of these ancient... Read more
Q. One of the things that absolutely shocked the anthropologists about Gobeckli Tepe in Turkey is that here was evidence of religion at a high place, which dated possibly even to 10,000 B.C. and preceded village life and sustained agriculture. The German book on the site is called ‘The First Temple’. The usual secular anthropology theory was that religion came along after village life and sedentary existence due to agriculture having begun. This site suggests the reverse. That human beings... Read more
Q. I like your suggestion on p. 232 that humans have a natural biological tendency towards survival (in fact so do many higher order creatures), and hence a self-protect, even selfish orientation, when connected to a morally corrupt environment is all that is required to explain why all have sinned. I think for example of infants— it’s all about me, feed me, hold me, change me etc. They are inherently narcissistic, and one has to ask whether narcissism, ‘the heart... Read more
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