In this introductory clip from my on-line course, “Quest for the Historical Paul” we go deep into a full historical consideration of what we know of the mission, message, and texts of the 13th Apostle. The two mystery texts here are Genesis 15:6 and Habakkuk 2:4. You can take a…
In this interview with Jacob Berman, host of the YouTube channel “History Valley,” we talk about the confusing mix of names used for various Jewish and Jewish-Christian groups from the Dead Sea Scroll group to those oriented around James the brother of Jesus and his successors in the first and…
I have revised and rewritten my hastily written comments on Sayer Ji’s essay which I linked yesterday to this post. Sorry to have dumped that entire 60+ essay on you—it was a “real trip” for sure, in the 60s sense of the word! It relates in interesting ways to what…
My lates blog post in The Times of Israel. Whatever you might have thought you had figured out about Pentecost, the Festival of Weeks, or in Hebrew Shavuot–this post will likely complicate things a bit. However, the past point might be the most important in the entire post. https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-shifting-meanings-of-shavuot-pentecost/
https://youtu.be/E3A_R96EKwg Today is Nisan the first on the Hebrew Calendar–the biblical New Year in the Spring based on Exodus 12:1. Nice time–in the Northern Hemisphere at least, for resolutions and New Beginnings as Spring begins. I recorded this video in late March 2025 when I was in Jerusalem on Nisan…
Have you ever noticed that the language Jesus uses of finding “rest for your souls” is based on Jeremiah 6:16, check it out. Seems like Jesus had his nose in Jeremiah 6-8 in a focused and central way, especially in his final confrontation with his enemies. Notice the phrase in…
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…
I hope you enjoy this short video I recently did with Youtube host Jeramiah Giehl, @PullingTheThreadPodcast, I talk about my new book, Restoring Abrahamic Faith, 4th edition, which explores the ancient Hebrew faith, not as a religion, but an unique understanding of human place and potential as custodians of the…
This is an edited portion of an informal talk I recently gave to my Research Group…see below for link. Based on my newly published book, Restoring Abrahamic Faith, I begin to explore the emerging sense of what “God” meant in texts of the Hebrew Bible. https://youtu.be/q6dViVn3jfI You can find the…
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…