Larry Hurtado blogged about an article about recent excavations of structures in Nazareth from the time of Jesus. Mike Kok has an article in The Bible and Interpretation, based on his new book about the Gospel of Mark. Jonathan Burke shared a list of books on the historical Jesus that he recommends. The Christian Post played Finding Jesus off against Killing Jesus. And last but far from least, Daniel Gulotta is giving away a signed copy of Bart Ehrman’s book,... Read more
From Perry Bible Fellowship. I think this cartoon shows the problem with viewing prayer – whether to the same deity or a different one – as a way of getting an edge in competitions. What do we really think is happening behind the scenes? Do we imagine one deity or many deciding – whether through combat or on the basis of merit – which of many supplicants shall win, and then inserting the correct spellings of words into their brain,... Read more
They came from far in the East, thousands of miles away. And they took over a land that did not previously belong to them. Their arrival changed the religious, cultural, and political makeup of the territory dramatically. Is this right? How should we view something like this, when it happened hundreds of years ago – indeed, more than half a millennium ago? Does it matter whether you think I am talking about America, or Turkey? I’m considering developing a short term summer... Read more
There was an article in my school’s student newspaper, in which a student who wished to remain anonymous, self-identifying only as an accounting major, said that they sneak out early from required cultural events, and that they have never been to one that they enjoyed. I decided to blog about it, but also to submit most of what I wrote here as a comment on the website. First, let me say that I am not convinced that the student is being... Read more
Along with the quote from Daniel Wallace which I shared previously, Yuriy Stasyuk also shared the above quote from William Dever – a graduate of Butler University! It nicely sums up the majority viewpoint on the Bible and history. Read more
Yuriy Stasyuk shared the image above on Facebook, with a quote from Daniel Wallace. It draws attention to the fact that studying the Bible in a rigorous, academic way, results in people feeling compelled to draw conclusions which conservatives dislike – in many cases, which they themselves dislike, having started out as conservatives. Most liberal Biblical scholars, including myself, are people who set out to be conservative Biblical scholars. But actually studying the Bible and other relevant evidence forced us to... Read more
I have a high degree of tolerance for people who promote pseudoscience and pseudoscholarship. I’ve been there and done that myself. One of the reasons I keep blogging is to engage with those sorts of claims. But if you are going to insist that the world’s scientists or historians or any other experts are all wrong, and you and a small group with a fringe viewpoint are the ones who have things right, then I must insist that you adopt an appropriate attitude... Read more
A clever pun for Ash Wednesday. You can buy the button above from the Old Lutheran Gift Shop. Read more
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