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

Here’s a helpful post by my friend Larry Hurtado on the early history of the Codex. Typology of the Early Codex, Turner by larryhurtado A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Wipf and Stock were bringing out a reprint of the classic study by Eric G. Turner, The Typology of the Early Codex (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2011; ISBN 978-1-61097-008-2; orig. ed., 1977), and at an impressively cheap price ($22 US). My own copy arrived yesterday, and I’m... Read more

One of my favorite GCTS course ever was Gordon Fee’s class on Revelation. Here’s a link to his take on this complex piece of apocalyptic prophecy. See what you think…. BW3 http://www.wcg.org/av/_lib/PlayVideoYI.asp?program=YI072 Read more

Two of the most controversial additions to the Gospels are the long ending of Mark (after Mark 16.8) which most scholars believe originated no earlier than the second century A.D, and the famous woman caught in adultery story found at John 7.53-8.11 which also is not in our earliest and best manuscripts. In his recent reflections on all this my friend Larry Hurtado suggests, rightly I think, that it is a mistake to think everything was in flux early on,... Read more

My friend Larry Hurtado has had a running debate about whether Justin Martyr used the word Gospel to refer to a particular book with a named author or not. Here is the gist of his argument, which I agree with. See what you think— BW3 “The first thing to note is (as I noted in my posting) that Justin does refer to what he calls “memoirs” as “those which are said to be [ἄ φημι] written by the apostles and... Read more

There have been recent news reports about a piece of papyrus reported to have the Koran on it, and underneath that, a portion of the Bible. I would say— not so fast my friend. Here is one of those reports—- https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/25/passages-from-the-bible-discovered-behind-quran-manuscript-christies First of all, what is a palimpsest? It’s a do over. It’s a manuscript that has been used more than once, with a later text written over an earlier one, usually after an erasure of the first one, but... Read more

Last year, after the recapture of Mosul, archaeologists discovered that ISIS had been tunneling in and under the ruins of a famous ancient Babylonian Palace. Here’s what came to light, according to alert reporter Josie Ensor….. “Archaeologists documenting Isil’s destruction of the ruins of the Tomb of the Prophet Jonah say they have made an unexpected discovery which could help in our understanding of the world’s first empire. “The Nebi Yunus shrine – containing what Muslims and Christians believe to... Read more

(An eight century panel painting in iconic style of Christ and St. Menas) Here is a review of recent publications of relevance to the study of the origins of iconography by noted art historian Robin Cormack (the spouse of the equally illustrious Mary Beard) kindly sent to me by Philip Jenkins. See what you think. My view would be that we don’t have second century evidence of the creation of icons by Christians. Graven images ROBIN CORMACK Open any art-historical... Read more