Certainly one of the more spectacular displays on the Fourth Floor is the collection of numerous illuminated manuscripts of the Bible. Here for example is the Rice Psalter…. Or here is a French Psalter. Needless to say, the Psalms were a major part of medieval church and monastic life (and later), especially once the lectionary was set up which regularly would include a reading from the Psalms as well as elsewhere from the OT and a reading from the NT.... Read more

There are all sorts of videos one could sit and watch all day on the fourth floor of the Museum of the Bible, including videos of the key archaeological sites in the Holy Land. For instance…. Certainly, Tel Dan in the far north of the land, and the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem are two of the most important archaeological sites that provide physical context to the stories in the Bible. Especially the work of Ronny Reich at the Pool... Read more

There are so many outstanding exhibits in the Museum and the Bible, it is difficult to know which ones to highlight. Here’s a shot of me filming on the fourth floor where we have the history of the Bible and many manuscripts exhibits— One of the technological marvels of the museum is that they were able to capture images of some of the great stained glass windows in French Churches, specifically Notre Dame and St. Chapelle in Paris. The latter... Read more

To me a reasonable partial solution to all this gun violence is as follows: 1) ban bump stocks; 2) ban armor piercing bullets; 3) reinstitute the ban on assault weapons; 4) make 21 the age when it is legal to buy guns, Kids should be able to vote and even have a drink before buying a gun surely!; 5) universal background checks, and sharing of databases; 6) a two day waiting period after purchase, so the data bases can be... Read more

(Picture courtesy of M. Taibbi and Rolling Stone Magazine) The Slaughter of the Innocents Long ago in Bethlehem A massacre occurred Children, slaughtered in the streets Their tiny cries not heard. When Herod runs the country And arms it to the teeth Then fear and paranoia reign No peace does it bequeath. Killing begets killing, Desire to have revenge More weapons can’t cure this cancer Killing’s a contagious sin. When children are the targets And adults stand idly by, The... Read more

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What Paul did not believe is that the eschatological situation involved the continuation of the Mosaic covenant but rather he affirmed the inauguration of a new one which incorporated many of the ethical demands of the Mosaic covenant but also incorporated both the teachings of Jesus and the new teachings of apostles like Paul himself—he called it the Law of Christ. The initiation rite for the new community of Jew and Gentile united in Christ was baptism, a gender inclusive... Read more

I take it as given that the Founding Fathers thought it was fine for private citizens to have rifles for hunting and pistols as well (including in some cases for dueling). But there is some nuancing to what they thought about this matter that few if any guns advocates seem to have paid attention to. One of the big problems of gun advocates is they frequently take the Founding Fathers remarks out of context, which the following evidence will demonstrate.... Read more

I am very very sad to report that Billy Graham has passed away in his 100th year of life. Here is a a nice testimony from last Fall. And here is a report from today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/02/21/billy-graham-americas-pastor-has-died/858017001/ Thanks to friend James for both of these links. Billy Graham grew up not far from where I lived in Charlotte. His partner in ministry, Leighton Ford, was and is a good friend of mine. I doubt we will see another evangelist like him... Read more

As Fredricksen says, Abraham was seen as the true convert to Biblical religion by both Philo and later the rabbis (p. 105). And indeed he was since previously he had worshipped the gods of Ur. Conversion amounted to leaving those idols behind. It can be no accident then that Paul sees Abraham as the prototypical model of what his own converts have done— trusted the genuine God and it being counted as righteousness (Gal.3 and Rom. 4). But if Abraham... Read more