I have been thinking lately about the essential differences between Judaism and Christianity, or more properly, the kind of religion reflected in the Hebrew Bible and that of the Greek New Testament. I have long ago given up the idea of any formal affiliations with the major contemporary manifestations of…
Here are some personal reflections on the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, and the New Testament. Do they represent, at their core, the same basic faith in the Creator God, the ethical Way, and the eschatological Future of humankind? I find them a rather troubled coupling. The Christians were wise…
This thumbnail image of the video below is to represent the thousands of followers of Jesus who fled across the Jordan from Jerusalem, just north of the Dead Sea, in the year 66 CE, to escape into the Decapolis area south of Pella. James the Just, eldest surviving brother…
In this beginning video of a new mini-series “The Fading of the Jesus Family,” I begin with one of the earliest stages of writing James and the brothers of Jesus out of the story, as well as Mary Magdalene! It is quite striking–in the New Testament texts we call Luke-Acts.…
In this edited interview with Aaron Abkke and Kameron Waters on Youtube (@AaronAbke ) I take off my “academic” hat for a bit, without discarding it, and talk about a narrative and conceptual “essence” of what I call Abrahamic Faith as reflected in the Hebrew Bible. Whatever your views I…
In this 2022 lecture I present the view that Mark–which most people think of as one of our earliest Christian texts-is in fact a very JEWISH text–and further, the very first one to be written after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, proposing a way to “Follow the God…
Millions of sincere Christians believe the Turin Shroud offers something very close to a photographic image of the historical Jesus–including selected scientists, Bible scholars, and theologians–and further that it offers tangible scientific proof that Jesus was raised bodily from the dead! But what are the facts. In this video I…
My son Nathan, master Luthier (violas and guitars specialty), in Spain, is offering summer courses for learning the craft. You can make your own guitar as part of the course. If you or someone you know might be invested, check out his website and email him–see links in image. I…
Many of you who prefer to read books on Kindle have been asking me when the Kindle edition will be published. I finished it up this afternoon and it is now LIVE on Amazon. Here is the link: https://amzn.to/44os4Dm I prefer holding a physical copy of books I love in…
I woke up this morning to lots of global headlines…report on Iran’s nuclear violations and likely independent strike by Israel, Indian plane crash, Hamas killing Gazans at aid centers, the Badgad situation…reminds me of Steve Earle’s opening lines in his song Jerusalem: “I woke up this morning and none of…