Few readers of the English Bible realize that the name “James” actually comes from the Hebrew name Jacob or Yaaqov, which adds to the confusion over the various “Jameses” mentioned in the New Testament. There is, of course, Jacob the Patriarch, grandson of Abraham; James the Apostle, the fisherman brother…
In December, 2006 my friend and senior colleague Prof. James F. Strange, Professor of New Testament at the University of South Florida wrote a very interesting and provocative two-page review of my book, The Jesus Dynasty for Biblical Archaeology Review. That review has now been archived on the Biblical Archaeology…
Discover the historical Jesus in a new way through The Jesus Discovery. The book begins with the controversial Talpiot tombs (see “Does the Evidence Add Up?) but then uses that avenue to open up the whole forgotten world of the earliest Jesus movement, combining textual and material/archaeological evidence. As a result…
Recently I saw a news story about a woman who lost 177 lbs and restored her health by followed what was called “The Daniel Diet.” I found her story compelling and inspiring. Apparently this idea is being picked up in many churches throughout the country for both its physical and…
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.
The issue of the relationship of Jesus to the “Essenes,” as well as to the the Dead Sea Scrolls, whether Essene or otherwise, is central to our attempts to view Jesus in his historical contexts. In other words, we are essentially asking, in our historical Quest–“what kind of a Jew…
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…