Just as it was a privilege to read and review a book about Galilee while visiting Galilee and adjacent territories, so too it was a privilege to read Michael Stone’s book Ancient Judaism: New Visions and Views while traveling to and participating at a meeting of the Enoch Seminar, since ancient Judaism in general, and Enochic traditions in particular, were a focus in both. Despite there being no mention of it in the title, the book’s introduction begins by focusing... Read more
My son made the above video presentation about the trip to Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan this summer. I hope you enjoy it! Read more
Jim Kidder shared the video above. Read more
I’ve mentioned before the role-playing game that others had drawn to my attention, to replicate the Council of Nicaea (the book will be out in December). Not having explored the site sufficiently, I hadn’t realized the extent to which that project was just a small part of a much bigger one, “Reacting to the Past.” As I read Mark Carnes’ book Minds on Fire: How Role-Immersion Games Transform College, I was excited by many of the anecdotes from role playing... Read more
I was asked on Reddit about a topic that I blogged about at some point in the past, but not finding the post in question, I thought I would revisit the topic. The phrases “personal relationship with Jesus” and “personal savior” are not only not found in the Bible, but are much more recent than that. Here is what Joel Miller discovered by performing an ngram to see how frequently the phrases appear in books (HT Scot McKnight): Here’s some of what... Read more
Ancient World Online shared the above playlist of videos for learning ancient Greek, courtesy of the Center for Hellenic Studies. I haven’t watched them, but I’m sure they’ll be useful to some readers! Read more
Another good one from Existential Comics, providing humor at the intersection of sci-fi, philosophy, and ethics: Read more
Biblical Studies Online drew attention to these videos of Bart Ehrman going to church…to talk about How Jesus Became God: Read more
IO9 shared the above trailer to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story yesterday. Today they followed up with a breakdown scene by scene, to make sure you don’t miss anything! Read more
I wish I could make it to this amazing-looking conference coming up in September… The Unbelievable Past Conference, 14–16 September, 2016 Fragments of an Unbelievable Past? Constructions of Provenance, Narratives of Forgery University of Agder Wednesday Open lecture at Myren Gård: 18:00– Nina Burleigh (Newsweek), “Unholy Business: A True Tale of Faith, Greed and Forgery in the Holy Land” 20:00 Dinner Thursday (A7–006) 9:15 – 9:30 Årstein Justnes (University of Agder), “[An Unbelievable] Introduction” Session I, chair: Liv Ingeborg... Read more
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