I just happened across Eric D. Reymond’s site Introductory Lessons in Aramaic. I know from keyword statistics that some people have found their way to this blog looking for just this sort of resource, so I thought I’d pass it on! Read more

I’ve posted a clip on YouTube that recaps a key point that came up in our Sunday school class this past weekend, as well as in a recent blog post, namely that no one simply “believes the whole Bible” and “takes it all literally”. Read more

My book The Burial of Jesus: History and Faith has received its first review on amazon.com. The review is in mediocre English and gives the book a mediocre rating. 🙂 I’m still waiting for copies from the publisher to send to a few people who asked for review copies, as well as to some journals and RBL. You can now search inside the book at amazon.co.uk, but their keyword search feature doesn’t seem to be working yet. The one at... Read more

I’ve been hesitant to dive into this particular subject. I want to keep my blog at its PG rating. At any rate, here is a post for those more reserved readers who wish to give my previous one a wide berth. I’ve posted on same-gender relationships before (more than once), most recently in conjunction with discussions around the biblioblogosphere (see e.g. Metacatholic and Lingamish – the latter, ironically enough, sounds like it could be the Sanskrit for “sorta phallic shaped”.... Read more

I’ve been hesitant to dive into this particular subject. I want to keep my blog at its PG rating. Yet just about every day someone finds their way to my blog searching for “hermaphrodite sex“, so this post shouldn’t change things, I guess. I’ve posted on homosexuality before (more than once), most recently in conjunction with discussions around the biblioblogosphere (see e.g. Metacatholic and Lingamish – the latter, ironically enough, sounds like it could be the Sanskrit for “sorta phallic... Read more

Although the actual keyword search does not appear to work yet as of my posting this, my book The Burial of Jesus is now part of the Search Inside program, which means that you can see the book from cover to cover and browse it before making a decision about whether to buy it, recommend it to friends, or whatever else. Take a look. You know you want to! Read more

Via an advertisement on the N. T. Wright Page, I discovered the Wesley Ministries Network, which has online lectures (many of which one must pay for) but also free materials in the form of lectures and articles by scholars such as (to give one example) Larry Hurtado. Read more

The Burial of Jesus: History and Faith can now be purchased through amazon.co.uk! Read more

Ultimately my view of the burial of Jesus as a dishonorable one was shaped in particular by Raymond Brown’s conclusions in his magnificent two-volume study, The Death of the Messiah. But another scholar who has also explored this evidence and drawn a similar conclusion is Byron McCane. His chapter on the subject, “‘Where No One Had Yet Been Laid’: The Shame of Jesus’ Burial”, is available online. If anyone is interested in writing a review of The Burial of Jesus... Read more

Christians with possessions face a problem, at least in theory, because they are living in direct disobedience to an explicit command of Jesus, found in Luke 14:33. But several interpretative options to get around this have long been used. It is generally considered enough to give up some possessions, or unnecessary or superfluous ones. Alternatively, some (in particular rich Christians, which includes most Christians in the United States considered in a global context) would say that what matters is to... Read more