[Here is a helpful essay by Timothy George on ‘the Hell House project’ among other things. As he says, scaring people into the Kingdom of God basically does not work, especially when in this age people actually are happy to pay to be scared out of their wits…. and never take it seriously. BW3] I believe in hell. Not only the hell within, for there are those “private devils that hang like vampires on the soul,” to use the language... Read more

While many of us have been appalled by the recent attacks on Coptic Christians in Egypt and the terroristic acts against churches in Pakistan, what many fail to realize, including apparently the author of the recent book on early Christian martyrdom reviewed previously on this blog, is that these actions are part of a much larger pattern of such persecution and murder. Here is a quote from a recent important article on this subject (see the link below), “According to... Read more

by larryhurtado In the continuing scholarly discussion about the origins and nature of earliest “Jesus-devotion” (my term for the reverence given to the risen/exalted Jesus in early Christian beliefs, proclamation, and worship), a question repeatedly emerges, especially from the general public: Did Jesus demand that he be so reverenced? In fact, not long after my book, Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity appeared (Eerdmans, 2003), I was invited by the editor of Journal for the Study of... Read more

Here is another review of Aslan’s recent Jesus book, which appeared in the London review of books, saying basically what Hurtado said– namely that the book focuses too much on the Zealot issue, rehashing old arguments, and leaves out some major clues to Jesus’ identity and ministry— namely the parables. See what you think…. The snake slunk off Diarmaid MacCulloch Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan Westbourne, 296 pp, £17.99, August, ISBN 978 1... Read more

Probably there are few in the world who have not heard about Wiki-Leaks and its steady stream of information supplied directly to the public about all kinds of legerdemain, lies, plots, ploys, violence, violations and you name it by nations great and small, rulers legitimate and illegitimate, bankers honest and corrupt. There is an irony of course to calling one’s organization wiki-leaks, when one is leaking enormous state and trade and business secrets. More like wiki-tidal waves. The new movie... Read more

Here’s an interesting post by my fellow Patheos blogger, Philip Jenkins. See what you think. BW3 THE BIBLE’S DEEP HISTORY October 18, 2013 By Philip Jenkins I have been spending a lot of time recently with the apocryphal texts of the Old Testament, the pseudepigrapha. This material can become obsessive! Through much of Christian history, the relationship between Old and New Testaments was very different from how most would imagine it today. Modern believers certainly see foretastes or prophecies of... Read more