“The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him.” -Leo M. Tolstoy (The Kingdom of God is Within You) I can remember the first time I read through Tolstoy’s manifesto. It was the first... Read more
SAYING 43: His disciples said to him, “Who are you, since you say these things to us?” Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand who I am from the things I am saying to you? Rather, you have come to be like the Judeans.
Full Disclosure: In preparation for my debate in Houston with James White on the topic “What Is Biblical Marriage?”, I reached out to several scholars on this subject for assistance. One of those scholars was Dr. Jennifer Grace Bird whose study in this area will soon be published in her upcoming book, Biblical Marriage: I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means. In fact, she was so gracious to not only spend an hour on a Zoom... Read more
Continuing this series of posts following the recent debate with James White on “What Is Biblical Marriage?“, I wanted to focus this time on the question itself. “Biblical Marriage”, as the title says, was always a contract between 2 men: The father of the man and the father of the woman. In other words, the woman had little say in the matter and the arrangement was essentially another word for slavery. The man owned the woman. She was his property.... Read more
In my recent debate with James White on the topic “What Is Biblical Marriage?” I mentioned that both the Talmud and other ancient Jewish sources recognized 6 different genders, and that Biological Science had confirmed this fact independently. That didn’t go over very well. So, here’s a bit more of the research I uncovered while preparing for this debate that shows exactly what I’ve said before: Both scientists and ancient Jewish texts agree that there are 6 different human gender... Read more
On Wednesday of this week I was in Houston, Texas, to debate James White [a prominent Evangelical apologist] on the topic of “What Is Biblical Marriage?” [which you can watch in its entirety HERE]. During that debate I pointed out that the question of whether or not something is “Biblical” is the wrong question, because so many things that are “Biblical” – like slavery, genocide, patriarchy, etc. – are not “Christlike.” In response to my questions regarding whether or not... Read more
SAYING 42: Jesus said, “Come into being, as you pass away.” This is one of those sayings from Thomas that has more than one translation. Some render the text this way: “Become passersby!” But this, slightly longer version carries more meaning and offers a bit
SAYING 41: Jesus says: “To him who has in his hand, more will be given. But from him who has not, the little he has will be taken away.” Here we have another saying which has a parallel in the New Testament Synoptic Gospels,
I get questions from people on a regular basis via social media. People reach out and ask me to help them sort out difficult Bible passages, or just to understand some of the more confusing doctrines taught by their pastors from the pulpit. Today, I received a question from someone whose husband was wrestling with the cruelty and bloodthirst of the God they were reading about in the Bible and trying to reconcile that image with the idea that God... Read more
SAYING 40: Jesus said, “A grapevine has been planted outside the father. And because it is not sound, it will be plucked out by the root and will perish.” Once you begin to notice the pattern within the Gospel of Thomas that essentially every
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