In Romans 4:3 Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 about the “faith of Abraham,” being “reckoned” as “righteousness,” which is a meaning quite opposite to the original context and literal Hebrew phrasing. And yet, this along with Romans 1:17, are the TWO PILLAR texts of his entire understanding of what he calls…
Paul’s foundational verse for what he calls “my gospel,” is taken directly from a quotation of the Hebrew Prophet Habakkuk–seldom read by hardly anyone. However, he completely reverses its meaning! https://youtu.be/ZCshIENR8xw
Blast from the past…I gave this lecture in 2007 at an academic conference. Don’t miss the Q&A at the end. I refer to many major scholars along the way who were in the room. In these intervening years, although I have further developed these views, by and large I remain…
In this ongoing short series on the Top Seven Fateful texts of the N.T. I select another from the apostle Paul–which taken out of context downplays this present world as passing, almost an illusion or shadow, in favor of a future Heavenly World to come. I call this the “Bad…
One always hears that the New Testament condors Slavery as part of Roman life and culture–but in this video you will encounter a big surprise. There is an important twist here–that involves being willing to suffer as well as considering yourself “free” even though you are a slave and are…
I worked most of the day on this one. It is intended to be Part III of my recent topic of Paul’s view of his Gospel and of Salvation on Youtube. Here are the links to the previous ones on Youtube, or you can scroll down here on Patreon and…
In this video I reverse the normal argument that Paul inherited the fundamentals of his “Christ Message,” from the Jerusalem Church, and then adapted and refined it for his mostly Gentile followers. https://youtu.be/7kzPsV1TN04
I loved this relaxed conversation with John Pinna, one of the hosts of the podcast “Crossing Faiths” (https://www.crossingfaiths.com). Check out his podcast and subscribe, the range and topics are fascinating. The Qur’an never mentions the apostle Paul, although John the Baptizer, Mary mother of Jesus, and Jesus himself are referenced many…
This wonderful interview with Robert Eisenman, famous Dead Sea Scrolls scholar whose views are out of the mainstream, captures the man, his life, and his ideas. He is relaxed, reminisces, and lays out his basic theory about Christian Origins, Paul, James, and Jesus. Don’t miss this one! Check out his…
I am most honored and pleased to be invited by the Biblical Archaeology Society to be the host, teacher, and tour guide on their first ever eastern Mediterranean Cruise! The theme of our tour is “The Seafaring Paul in His Jewish Roman World.” This is not a typical “cities of…