The New Testament has been the most influential collection of documents in history. Taken by both commoners and those in power as the inspired and infallible “Word of God,” and interpreted ofttimes outside its historical context, its fateful influence has often emerged from single passages with far-ranging consequences: It is…
Perhaps some of you have heard about the fabulous project at Yeshiva University pioneered by my friend Professor Steven Fine and others to restore the original colors to the famed Arch of Titus. It is finished and now can be viewed in this remarkable video. This project is as fascinating…
Nine years, almost to the day, after Roman legionaries destroyed God’s house in Jerusalem, God destroyed the luxurious watering holes of the Roman elite. Was this God’s revenge? That’s not exactly the question I want to raise, however. Rather, did anyone at the time see it that way? Did anyone…
One of the more controversial but significant arguments I make in my new book, Paul and Jesus, is that the traditional words attributed to Jesus at the Last Supper–“This is my body,” “This is my blood” over the bread and wine–originated with Paul not with Jesus! Here is a summary…