Q. On p. 8 you say “Nothing in the doing of history or the study of literature can ever take away from the theological claims of the church. There is nothing in these lessons that compromises the creeds or the deep beliefs you hold.” Yet many have found that critical study of the Gospels including this material has challenged their faith, because they are convinced that some of the major theological claims about Jesus and the last week of his... Read more

In this and subsequent posts, I am asking questions of Professor Levine about her Lenten study. Enjoy the dialogue. BW3 Q. What prompted you to provide this guide to the stories of Passion Week? A. Working with Abingdon on a 6-week study of the parables, based on my Short Stories by Jesus (HarperOne 2014) was a terrific experience. We agreed that another series was a good idea, and the guide to Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem was the logical next... Read more

A-J. LEVINE, ENTERING THE PASSION OF JESUS. A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO HOLY WEEK, (ABINGDON 2018), 143 PAGES, PLUS DVD WITH SESSIONS FOR EACH CHAPTER, AND A LEADER’S GUIDE. There are, of course, many resources for studying the events of Holy Week, from the triumphal entry to the crucifixion but few if any of them are as interesting and probing and creative as A-J Levine’s latest offering entitled Entering the Passion of Jesus. Levine is a leading NT scholar and professor... Read more

My friend A.-J.Levine tells the story of when she was a grader at Duke for a professor there who had put the Markan story of the anointing of Jesus by a woman on the exam and had asked for comments about the story. This particular student however had not bothered to read the Markan story for himself, but had simply listened to the lecture by the professor, and had misheard him to say that the woman anointed Jesus with LARD,... Read more

IF ONLY I I would have dressed up, Only it was too much trouble. I would have gone out, Only it cost too much. I would have driven, Only travel’s dangerous. I would have eaten, Only I weigh too much. I would have danced, Only I didn’t have a partner. I would have returned, Only it brought back bad memories. II I would have gone, Only I didn’t have time. I would have visited, Only I wasn’t wanted. I would... Read more

 Read more

Here’s another good post by Larry Hurtado Christological Non-Starters: Part 1, “Adoption as Divine Son” by larryhurtado Having spent now some forty years exploring and attempting to understand how earliest Christians understood and reverenced Jesus, it is sometimes almost amusing to see proposals presented confidently that actually have scant basis in the earliest evidence. In this and a couple of ensuing postings I’ll mention a few (and, no doubt, make proponents a bit angry, but “them’s the breaks”). One claim... Read more

Mark Frontczak is a Christian cartoonist that lives in Bellingham Washington, and I consider him a friend and a good brother. His humor is Biblically focused, and often has a good message, as well as producing smiles and laughter. The book shown above is available on Amazon, and I think it is a good resource to use for various church purposes, including to illustrate sermons. I commend his work…… BW3 Read more

Here an excellent review I largely agree with of Paula Fredricksen’s recent book. https://marginalia.lareviewofbooks.org/when-jesus-was-jewish/ Read more

Long ago, B.C. (by which I mean before cellphone), I was raised not to use scatalogical language by my Christian parents. Furthermore, I was raised not to use crude language about excrement etc. either. Unfortunately, this language has not only resurfaced in a big way, but many youth today think that by using this language they are ‘cool’ or being ‘adult’ or worse still ‘being creative’. Frankly, there is nothing less creative than using four letter words in a song,... Read more