Doctor Who: The Witch’s Familiar

Last updated on: September 28, 2015 at 9:09 am By James F. McGrath

I apologize for not blogging about “The Witch’s Familiar” sooner – it was airing while I was traveling back from a conference. The title of this episode is no more self-explanatory than the previous one. My hunch is that both are veiled references to Clara Oswald – the Doctor’s apprentice, and yet said by Missy to be “the puppy” in relation to her and the Doctor’s relationship as friends. SPOILERS AHEAD! The episode begins with Missy having accomplished an escape from the Daleks for... Read more

First Man

Last updated on: September 28, 2015 at 5:53 am By James F. McGrath

An interesting way of approaching the idea that religion and science are not necessarily an either/or question. From C-Section Comics. Perhaps what is best about it is its suggestion that sometimes the truth makes neither side in typical debates entirely happy. Read more

Punctuating Romans 1

Last updated on: September 27, 2015 at 6:30 am By James F. McGrath

I have blogged numerous times before about Romans 1, and the problems with reading it in isolation from the chapter which follows it, and which followed it without any break in the original letter. I have also mentioned the evidence that in the section that runs from 1:18 to the end of the chapter, Paul is not giving his own view, but that of some Jews that he will turn to address in chapter 2. Recently, Dan Wilkinson suggested adding... Read more

TTFN Toronto #YCAS2015

Last updated on: September 26, 2015 at 7:47 pm By James F. McGrath

I am at the gate at Toronto airport, ready to return to Indianapolis. I thought I would mention it for those who may have wondered if I had enough time to make it! Thank you to the conference organizers, presenters, and attendees, for making he 2015 York Christian Apocrypha Symposium such a wonderful experience! I wish those of you traveling safe journeys home. See you around the blogosphere! Read more

#YCAS2015 The Final Session

Last updated on: September 26, 2015 at 3:03 pm By James F. McGrath

The final session after lunch was focused on the Gospel of Jesus' Wife. We did things slightly differently, not leaving Q&A in between papers but only after, since the session had a respondent. Brent Landau chaired, comparing the matter of GJW to a soap opera, and inviting the audience to ask for clarification if they “missed an episode.” The session proper began with Carrie Schroeder looking at matters such as how women were referred to in online discourse about GJW,... Read more

#YCAS2015 Sixth Panel

Last updated on: September 26, 2015 at 11:50 am By James F. McGrath

After the coffee break, Dominique Côté spoke about the Pseudo-Clementine literature, and the question of why it presents itself as a letter which needs to be approved by James of Jerusalem. James is depicted not only as bishop, but bishop of bishops, and the transmitter of the esoteric truth. Despite the marked difference of content in the teachings, it is striking how similar the approach to safeguarding the truth is across developing orthodoxy, Jewish Christianity, and Gnosticism. Côté suggests that,... Read more

#YCAS2015 Fifth Panel

Last updated on: September 26, 2015 at 10:11 am By James F. McGrath

The morning of the second day of the York Christian Apocrypha Symposium began with Gregory Fewster discussing assumptions scholars work with regarding pseudepigraphy, and the question of what made a pseudepigraphal work “successful,” focusing in particular on 3 Corinthians. Among the assumptions we take for granted is that, for pseudepigraphy to work, the reputation of the purported author must be leveraged, and the text must not stray too far from the outlook of the purported author. Fewster drew on the... Read more

Ahab and Jezebel in Psalm 45

Last updated on: September 26, 2015 at 6:50 am By James F. McGrath

A recent post by Wil Gafney about sexuality and eroticism in the Bible made the suggestion that Psalm 45 is about King Ahab and Jezebel. It is an interesting suggestion, which I had probably read before but forgotten about – for instance, Claude Mariottini blogged about the possibility in 2007, and commentaries mention it as well. The psalm refers to the queen forsaking her own people, and to gifts from Tyre, and Jezebel is the only instance we know of... Read more

Bart Ehrman’s Keynote Address at #YCAS2015

Last updated on: September 25, 2015 at 9:49 pm By James F. McGrath

After a delightful dinner, we returned to the main conference venue. Tony Burke introduced Ehrman, saying that he needs no introduction but it would be rude not to offer one. Burke said he is not one of the Johnny-come-lately Ehrman fanboys. He was a fan since The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, and then Misquoting Jesus became a hit, and it was like being a fan of a band which then goes mainstream. The address tonight relates most directly to his... Read more

#YCAS2015 Fourth Panel

Last updated on: September 25, 2015 at 4:50 pm By James F. McGrath

I chaired this session, and so took the opportunity to take a photo of the audience (see below). The first presenter was Tony Burke, a key organizer of the event, but this was his first time presenting, apparently. His paper explored forgeries in centuries past, and how these things compare to genuine discoveries. Sometimes lack of detail was common in the time. As scholarship develops and gets more sophisticated, so too do forgers. He also notes the tendency of Classicists... Read more