We made it through passport control and customs at Tel Aviv airport, in what seems like record time. The early hour of the morning helped. So now I can blog about the day’s events. We started off at the traditional site of the last supper, in what would have been the upper city of Jerusalem in Jesus’ time. We also saw a site some consider the tomb of David, passed through the Armenian Quarter, and even had time for... Read more
From Tree Lobsters, solidly at the intersection of religion and science fiction. Read more
This morning I had a useful illustration of why learning as much as you can of a language is important. This morning, I left my bag near my room as instructed and went to the elevator. A couple of bellboys passed and I heard one of them say a number in Hebrew. I was fortunate to have understood it, because it was my room number – but the group they were collecting bags for wasn’t my group! I decided to... Read more
Today most of our time was spent in the old city of Jerusalem. We started at the Kotel, the Western Wall or Wailing Wall, which is the last remaining wall of the second temple, i.e. the temple that was standing in Jesus’ time and which was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70. From there, we got in line to go up to the temple mount, where the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock... Read more
Today was much less hectic than previous days. Baligh our tour director moved the museum visits to today (although in the end we only had time for one) so that we can have time tomorrow to go early in the morning when the line forms for those non-Muslims who wish to visit the temple mount, access to which is restricted for non-Muslims to a few hours a day. In Bethlehem, we visited the Church of Shepherds’ Field and the Church... Read more
After the camel ride, our next stop was Masada, the mountaintop fortress near the Dead Sea which was created by the Hasmoneans, expanded and developed by Herod the Great, and occupied by Jewish fighters in the war against Rome. From there, after having lunch, we traveled to the Dead Sea where the students enjoyed floating and covering themselves in the mud. Finally, some of us went on a jeep adventure into the Judaean desert, which unknown... Read more
This morning we traveled from Haifa across Galilee to the Jordan Valley. We entered the West Bank traveling southward along the Jordan river valley. The students were surprised at how imperceptible it was to cross the checkpoint – since we were in a tour bus with Israeli plates, we were simply waved through. Across the valley was the country of Jordan. Our first stop was the city of Jericho, where we visited the Tel or occupation mound where evidence of... Read more
There are two great cartoons that appeared on David Hayward’s blog recently which can be related to one another. Here is the first: And this second one seems to be related to the same theme inasmuch as such experiences can and should motivate theological reflection and revision, as they did in Job’s case: Read more
Today we visited sites that have some connection to the story of Jesus. Contrary to what some fringe internet voices such as the Jesus mythicists have sometimes claimed, there is evidence for habitation in Nazareth in the first century, in the structures excavated beneath the Church of the Annunciation. Even rather later, in the 4th century, there was still a Christian leader named Colon who was from Nazareth and who claimed to be a member of Jesus’ family. Other... Read more
Our tour guide Baligh’s local tour organization which EF works with is called “Nazarene Tours” because Baligh himself is from Nazareth. He made an amusing comment on the first day about the fact that he is more of a Nazarene than Jesus for two reasons: Jesus was born in Bethlehem and lived in Nazareth for at most some 30 years, while Baligh himself was born there and has already lived there for longer. Today we will visit Nazareth and also... Read more
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