Quoting what were considered “sacred texts,” in this case what becomes known as the Hebrew Bible (or Christian Old Testament), was a most complex process, ranging from allusions, metaphors, typology to a more literal “proof texting” in which one tries to show a kind of “this is that” correspondence between…
I recently did a special interview with Derek Lambert of the Youtube channel MythVision in which I discuss the “failed apocalypse” of the first century CE and how the followers of the John the Baptist-Jesus movement, including Paul and James coped with that “Great Disappointment.” This is a very informal…
Ross Nichols, author of the new book, The Moses Scroll, is blogging this month on the fateful events of Moses Shapira’s life, beginning July 20, 1883 when he arrived in London with his “Deuteronomy strips.” There are various accounts here and there–from 1883 until our own time–of the events that followed,…
My book, The Jesus Dynasty was published in April 2006 (Simon & Schuster). It was a New York Times Best Seller for several weeks, featured on ABC’s Nightline and 20/20, and made the covers of USNews & World Report in the US and Profil magazine in Europe. It has been translated into 22…
I often get asked some version of this question by students, readers of my books, at seminars and lectures, media interviews–or just email inquiries. After all, I teach in a Department of Religious Studies at UNC Charlotte (1989 to present), and previously was on the faculties in the Religion Department…
Yesterday I recorded a two-hour conversation with Paul Williams of the UK whose Youtube Channel, “Blogging Theology,” has over 40,000 subscribers. We mainly drew our discussion from my books Paul and Jesus and The Jesus Dynasty, but towards the last segment we began to deal as well with James the brother of Jesus,…
Millions around the world viewed the “Great Conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn in the southwest sky Monday evening as Jupiter “caught up with” and passed Saturn, appearing as one bright star from our earthly vantage point even though their orbits are millions of miles apart. This close a conjunction between…
Major story breaking this morning on the 920th anniversary of the July 15, 1099 Crusader siege of Jerusalem, one of the bloodiest and most savage events in western history. We had amazing confirmation of the siege on the southern end of the city at our Mt Zion dig this summer.…
Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus centers around a quotation from Isaiah 7:14. Let’s look at the verse as Matthew presents it: Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found…
Historically most interpreters of Paul have understood his teaching of “justification by grace through faith” based on the atoning blood of Jesus Christ as his greatest and most central insight. From Augustine to Luther, through Bultmann and Barth, the banner of the “Reformation” was centered on this fundamental precept. Wayne Meeks…