Search Results for: trump

Another reason for the walk to Emmaus: looking for the wrong kind of deliverance

I thought I had nailed the reason for Luke’s choice of Emmaus (Luke 24:23-35) as the destination of the two disciples after the crucifixion when I posted on The Origin and Meaning of the Emmaus Road Narrative in Luke. That explanation hinged on Codex Bezae containing the original word, Oulammaus, and that led to the … Continue reading “Another reason for the walk to Emmaus: looking for the wrong kind of deliverance”

The need to challenge liberal religion as well as fundamentalism

I’ve been catching up (thanks Mary) with other blog posts addressing atheism, in particular the New Atheists and their strident criticism of religion, in particular those appearing in response to R. Joseph Hoffmann’s views and posts by Stephanie L. Fisher. One that has particularly caught my attention, along with its related comments, is The Irrationality … Continue reading “The need to challenge liberal religion as well as fundamentalism”

“Is This Not the Carpenter? The Question of the Historicity of the Figure of Jesus

The introduction of Thomas L. Thompson’s and Thomas Verenna’s edited volume, Is This Not the Carpenter?A Question of Historicity has been published on The Bible and Interpretation. The first essential step in any historical inquiry This is a heartening introduction to the essential basics of valid historical methodology that has been very fudgy in the … Continue reading ““Is This Not the Carpenter? The Question of the Historicity of the Figure of Jesus”

Jesus the New Elijah, and the Gospel Being a Symbolic Tale According to a Scholarly View

Continuing from my previous post, this time I’m outlining Spong’s overview of the distinctive way the Gospel of Luke portrays Jesus. Bishop John Shelby Spong himself is renowned for his views on inclusiveness — that the Church should not discriminate against anyone for any role because of their gender or sexuality. In the Gospel of … Continue reading “Jesus the New Elijah, and the Gospel Being a Symbolic Tale According to a Scholarly View”

What Jesus Christ Meant to Paul and the Thessalonians

One might fault my previous post on the grounds that the problem Paul was addressing among the churches of the Galatians did not require him to address anything apart from the simple fact of the death and resurrection of Jesus. (Well, I at least faulted it for that reason.) This post attempts to demonstrate that … Continue reading “What Jesus Christ Meant to Paul and the Thessalonians”

More nonsense from biblical archaeologists: turning a Taliban text into a proclamation of human rights and dignity!

Two archaeologists, one Israeli (Israel Finkelstein) and one American (Neil Asher Silberman), have bizarrely managed to repackage a Taliban-like ancient biblical legal code into a modern enlightened expression of human rights, human liberation and social equality. Presumably this is done in order to preserve some (mythical) legitimacy for traditional claims among certain Jewish quarters that … Continue reading “More nonsense from biblical archaeologists: turning a Taliban text into a proclamation of human rights and dignity!”

Naivety and laziness in biblical historiography (Nehemiah case study 5)

Laziness is common among historians. When they find a continuous account of events for a certain period in an ‘ancient’ source, one that is not necessarily contemporaneous with the events , they readily adopt it. They limit their work to paraphrasing the source, or, if needed, to rationalisation. — Liverani, Myth and politics in ancient Near … Continue reading “Naivety and laziness in biblical historiography (Nehemiah case study 5)”

The Dishonesty of a “Scholarly” Review of Robert Price

Associate Professor of Religion at Butler University, and professing Christian, James McGrath, has written in his review of Price’s chapter, “Jesus at the Vanishing Point”, in The Historical Jesus: Five Views, the following: Crossan rightly highlights that Price’s statement that he will simply skip the matter of the Testimonium Flavianum is “not an acceptable scholarly argument as far … Continue reading “The Dishonesty of a “Scholarly” Review of Robert Price”

A Lewis Carroll satire on McGrath’s methods of historical enquiry

“Herald, read the accusation!” said the King.On this the White Rabbit blew three blasts on the trumpet, and then unrolled the parchment-scroll, and read as follows: “The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts, All on a summer day: The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts And took them quite away!” “Consider your verdict,” … Continue reading “A Lewis Carroll satire on McGrath’s methods of historical enquiry”

Kafka’s biblical historians outdo Alice in Wonderland’s trial

In preparing to compose a post on literary criticism and contributions of David Clines, I turned to check a contrasting reference in James McGrath’s The Burial of Jesus and unfortunately got sidetracked with the following blurring of opposing concepts (sorry, Rich — I know, I’ve done this one to death, and I cannot outdo my … Continue reading “Kafka’s biblical historians outdo Alice in Wonderland’s trial”

The Fall of Jericho — inspired by an old Canaanite tale?

Marieke den Braber and Jan-Wim Wesselius published an article that argued the story of Joshua’s besieging of Jericho drew on literary precedents centuries old. Gosh, maybe even the story of the fall of Jericho after 7 days of silence and loud blasts of trumpets on the 7th day was made up too. These are notes … Continue reading “The Fall of Jericho — inspired by an old Canaanite tale?”

An Open Letter to Sarah Palin

An open letter to Sarah Palin, from Marlene Winell, Ph.D. Dear Sarah, As a former fundamentalist, I’d like to call you on what you are doing. This is not about disrespecting your private beliefs.  But you have a huge conflict of interest here by running for office and you can’t have it both ways (see … Continue reading “An Open Letter to Sarah Palin”

Gospel of Mark’s use of Jewish scriptures for Jesus’ Jerusalem entry narrative

Still continuing the Margaret Barker series, but interrupting to toss in a couple of posts on another aspect of the Gospel of Mark in the meantime. This continues from the previous post on Mark 13. Everyone knows how indebted the Passion Narrative is to allusions to the “Old Testament” scriptures (e.g.  Psalm 22), and few … Continue reading “Gospel of Mark’s use of Jewish scriptures for Jesus’ Jerusalem entry narrative”

The little apocalypse of Mark 13 – historical or creative prophecy?

The “little apocalypse” or “Olivet prophecy” of Mark 13, Matthew 24 and Luke 21 is often cited as a key passage for dating the gospels. The idea is to match the events described in this passage with what seems to be the best fit historically. Others have questioned whether we are right to attempt to … Continue reading “The little apocalypse of Mark 13 – historical or creative prophecy?”