This lecture lays out what I believe is the earliest archaeological evidence related to the followers of Jesus. The standard view of many historians–though not all–is that we have nothing from the early Christians until the late 2nd or early 3rd centuries. Here I deal only with materials that are…
A two hour interview would be considered a bit much for most viewers, unless the host is the ever-skilled Paul Williams of Blogging Theology. In my view this is a model of how interviews of authors should ideally be conducted. I predict that viewers who are interested in the deeper…
Breaking news–many of my readers know of the 1st century synagogue at Migdal or Magdala discovered in 2009 during a salvage dig conducted by Dr. Dina Avshalom-Gorni of the Israel Antiquities Authority at the location of a new hotel at Migdal Beach, the site of ancient Magdala. The breaking news out…
Another great blog post over on “Scribes of the Kingdom.” Alex never disappoints. I highly recommend his site and all that he posts. He is careful, dives deep, and always offers fresh new insight on biblical things–especially early emerging Christianity. Don’t miss this one: https://scribesofthekingdom.com/2021/10/17/gods-unfailing-wrath-divine-violence-and-the-cruciform-mirage/
Most of us who work in what we academics call “Christian Origins” hold to the “Two Source” theory of Synoptic Gospel origins. That is, Mark was the earliest narrative gospels, Matthew and Luke both used Mark as their core source, but they had access to another source that we call…
We read in the New Testament gospels of the “baptism of John,” spoken of quite specifically, with Jesus and his core original followers all joining that movement through baptism (Mark 27-33; Acts 1:21-22)–but then also the “one” baptism “into Christ” that Paul administers–which in fact makes one “united” with the…
I am honored to be featured in the popular Bible History Daily feature published by the Biblical Archaeology Society. If you are not a subscriber, it is free–I highly recommend, see this link. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/the-strange-ending-of-the-gospel-of-mark-and-why-it-makes-all-the-difference/
The Didache was discovered in 1873 in a library at Constantinople by a Greek, Priest Father Philoteus Bryennios. This precious text, dating to the late 1st or early 2nd century CE, is mentioned by early Christian writers but had disappeared. Father Bryennios discovered it in an archive of old manuscripts quite by…
When I speak of God, that word means to me the unseen force of all forces that drives this universe and cosmos of which we are cognizant and makes you and me the creatures we are with all the mystical existence we know and enjoy upon this earth. Jack Pyle,…
Most of my readers know that the anonymous author of the writing we refer to as the “Gospel of Luke,” in fact, wrote a second volume to his work–known to us today as the “Acts of the Apostles.” The author refers to himself in the first person in the opening…