Millions were introduced to the famous “Ark of the Covenant,” if not in Sunday school growing up, then through the blockbuster 1981 “Raiders of the Lost Ark” Indiana Jones film. The familiar image of the gold plated ark with its angelic “cherubim,” and quasi-magical powers has become legendary, part of…
Here in two parts, one today, the second tomorrow, I want to offer a broad sketch of how the Biblical hope of “life after death” emerged and developed. Expect some surprises. What few realize, especially those who have focused more on the New Testament, is that the Hebrew Bible had…
Most of us who teach in the field of Christian Origins get asked from time to time by students or in public lectures, “Professor, Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?” Scholars are aware of the rich and diverse ways in which the term “Son of God”…
The earliest mention of the practice of circumcision in the Bible is in the book of Genesis, chapter 17:10 “This is my covenant with you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you; Every male among you shall be circumcised.”Most scholars of the Hebrew Bible assign this…
This post originally appeared on the Huffington Post and drew a massive response, pro and con. It is reposted her without editing due to popular demand as well as the important biblical and cinematic issues it addresses. Enjoy! Darren Aronofsky’s new $100m blockbuster film “Noah” opened in 2014 in 3936…
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. In terms of definition and label I am neither a Jew nor a Christian — by that I…
One of the most fascinating interviews I have ever read is one conducted by Biblical Archaeology Review editor Hershel Shanks with Jewish thinker and Holocaust surviver Elie Wiesel and renowned Harvard Biblical scholar Frank Moore Cross (BAR July/August, 2004). In one short but significant section Professor Cross comments on how…