“Material Culture” of Early Christianity by larryhurtado A recent multi-author volume commendably addresses the physical/material evidence of early Christianity: Alan H. Cadwallader, ed., Stones, Bones and the Sacred: Essays on Material Culture and Religion in Honor of Dennis E. Smith (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2016). Given the focus of the volume, it is curious, however, that there appears to be no treatment of a highly important body of physical evidence: earliest Christian manuscripts. To be fair, the omission isn’t peculiar to... Read more

Here’s an interesting post by colleague and friend Philip Jenkins ——- Throughout history, both Jews and Christians have been extraordinarily prolific in producing alternative scriptures, which we conventionally divide into Old and New Testament apocrypha (or pseudepigrapha). Some texts, though resist such neat divisions. While apparently expanding on Old Testament events and personalities, they actually present Christian doctrines so strongly that they certainly belong alongside New Testament texts, and some can be considered alternative gospels. One of the most impressive... Read more

Paul Trebilco’s work is very important and here is a useful post about it. BW3 Trebilco on Early Christian Self-designations by larryhurtado In recent years a lot of scholarly effort has been given to questions about early Christian “identity,” how early and in what ways early believers in Jesus saw themselves and acted as distinct groups with their own identity. Major research projects continue to be devoted to this sort of question (e.g., the project on Prayer and Early Christian... Read more

Learning from Fallacies by larryhurtado Last week (29-31 August) featured the 2013 British New Testament Conference (in St. Andrews), always a combination of scholarly papers (of varying persuasiveness), catching up with long-time colleagues, and meeting bright and energetic postgrad students from various universities. The BNTC was founded through the leadership efforts of J.D.G. Dunn and (the late) Graham Stanton, in discussions commencing in 1978, the first BNTC held in 1980 (Glasgow). (For more information, the British New Testament Society web... Read more

LINDISFARNE LITURGY Was it ever thus, then and there So no one need ask who, when and where The stones themselves cried out With the metal bells That God was in his heaven Though some were in their hells… Did it seem quite fixed, fashioned, formed So few would dare to query, quibble, quit The pilgrimage well-trodden Up the Dun Cow Lane To Cuthbert’s choired cathedral Saints sung the same refrain… From holy isle, aisle, I’ll Never look away, askance,... Read more

In an age where one can pretend to be an expert on the internet when one is not, and one can self-publish works that really aren’t scholarly work, it is good to have some reminders as to why careful critical review of scholarly work is important. BW3 Expertise and How to Detect It by larryhurtado Last week a friend pointed me to a web site where a guy, claiming expertise in something else (cryptography, I think, but it doesn’t matter)... Read more

Jesus in Early Christian Prayer by larryhurtado In previous postings I gave concise summaries of the thrust of my recent guest lecture in Rice University and one of the two lectures in Houston Baptist University. In this posting I want to summarize the other HBU lecture: “The Place of Jesus in Earliest Christian Prayer and its Import for Early Christian Identity.” In a number of NT texts, Jesus is pictured as the heavenly intercessor or advocate on behalf of believers.... Read more

Here’s a older post by Larry Hurtado on why Mark’s Gospel survived even though 95% can be found in Matthew, plus lots of other valuable material. See what you think? BW3 —- Why did the Gospel of Mark Survive? by larryhurtado One of the many curiosities in the study of the NT and earliest Christianity is the early history and fortunes of the Gospel of Mark (hereafter, GMark). On the one hand (assuming the dominant view of Mark’s priority), the... Read more

Was Early Christianity Secretive? by larryhurtado Last night here in the UK the BBC showed the first of a multi-part series hosted by WaldemarJanuszczak (a UK art critic/journalist), this first programme on early Christianity and some of its art and symbols. I knew we were off to a bad start when Januszczak started with the “ROTAS-SATOR” square found in Pompei, announcing confidently that it was a covert Christian device intended to signal to other Christians. In fact, this curious word-square... Read more

Enoch & the “Son of Man” by larryhurtado In catching up on articles in journals, I came across Daniel Boyarin, “How Enoch Can Teach Us about Jesus,” Early Christianity 2 (2011): 51-76, and am provoked to commenting on it. Essentially, Boyarin contends that in the “Similitudes” (or “Parables) of 1 Enoch we see reflected “the development of ‘The One Like a Son of Man’ of Daniel 7 [vv. 13-14] from a simile into a title” [specifically in 1 Enoch 71:14],... Read more