Birger Pearson’s piece at the BAS Web site addressing the questions of whether Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ wife? and Was Mary Magdalene a Prostitute? is really well done in my view. It is short but to the point. I see it as an advance over the article he did some…
In the meantime, it is indeed interesting to note that this very practice of patronymy/paponymy/metronymy, by its repetitive nature, leaves the sample of names quite narrow and refutes in essence the argument of “very common names” put forward by a number scholars that the Talpiot tomb was not that of…
This is the third installment of my response to the review of my book, The Jesus Dynasty, by my friend and colleague Prof. James F. Strange published in the Biblical Archaeology Review (November/December, 2006, pp. 72-76). You can read Parts 1 and 2 here and here. Toward the end of…
Don’t miss “The Real Jesus” that premiers on Sunday at 8pm ET on the Smithsonian Channel. This four-part series takes the famous 1977 Franco Zeffirelli’s “Jesus of Nazareth” film star, Robert Powell, who became to the masses the quintessential blue-eyed “Jesus,” back to the Holy Land on the 40th anniversary…
If you missed the recent PBS two hour special “Last Days of Jesus” those of you in the United States can stream it free of charge on-line here. I offer a few comments here, not by any means a full review, which would deserve several blog posts. I thought the…
One of the ideas I explore and develop in my 2006 book, The Jesus Dynasty, was the notion of two Messiahs. I had no idea it would become sensational–much less controversial. It actually became headline news, with a cover story in USNews & World Report and special segments on ABC’s…
The 1st century CE Jewish historian Titus Flavius Josephus, known today as Josephus, was born Yosef ben Matityahu /יוסף בן מתתיהו in the year 37 CE. He began his career as commander of the Jewish forces in the Galilee in the 1st Jewish Revolt against Rome in 66CE, subsequently surrendered…
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”…
I teach course each year, RELS 3113, simply called “Jesus.” In it we explore what we can know of the historical figure of Jesus. Our focus is on the singular question: how do we know what we think we know? It is the single course of mine that is most…
Tomorrow night at Wingate University, 5pm, join us if you are in the area. For those who can not be there you can read some of the ideas I will present here: “What Kind of a Jew Was Jesus?” and download my handout here.