I dedicate this video to my University of Chicago teacher, the late Jonathan Z. Smith, from whom I learned more about ancient religions than anyone in my academic career. In this lecture I explore what I have called the greatest transformation in human thought in Western history–namely the shift from…
One of the enduring questions historians of early Christianity struggle with is the issue of when we can properly speak of the “new religion” of Christianity, as contrasted with a variety of forms of Judaism in the decades following the death of Jesus the Jew. The title of Paula Fredriksen’s book, When…
Derek Lambert, who often interviews academics on historical and archaeological matters related to ancient Judaism and early Christianity, did a full interview with archaeologist Scott Stripling. As laid out in my blog post two days ago, see “Oldest Hebrew Inscription Ever Found in Israel–What We Know so Far?” Stripling announced…
Many of my readers perhaps have seen the news yesterday of what could well be the oldest proto-Hebrew inscription ever found in Israel. Below are links to two of the main news stories, the formal press release, and the video from the press conference yesterday (March 24th) at the Lanier Theological…
This lecture lays out what I believe is the earliest archaeological evidence related to the followers of Jesus. The standard view of many historians–though not all–is that we have nothing from the early Christians until the late 2nd or early 3rd centuries. Here I deal only with materials that are…
I am often asked what I would consider to be my most satisfying discovery related to my study of “Christian Origins” over the years. I have made over 70 trips to the Holy Land over the span of my career–combining textual study with archaeological findings and geographical contexts. If I…
I don’t often recommend poetry books on this blog but I have from time to time. Some of my readers will recall the amazing story of my posthumous connection with poet James Whitehead and his book The Panther for which I wrote the Forward–see “James Whitehead on The Panther,” where I…
This lecture lays out the varied calendrical systems used in ancient Judaism. Calendars are complex things and lie at the core of our lives, as well as how most religious traditions function. How to count time was one of the most contentious issues between various ancient Jewish groups and sects–whether…
This post from Friday, March 11th is now looking doubtful–as Israel and Turkey are apparently not in agreement. Here is the latest from the Jerusalem Post. We will continue to follow this developing story but the links below to Nichol’s work on the Moses Shapira connections remain as the main point…
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1946-47. We are already seeing signs of various retrospective reporting and analysis in special issues of major mass media publications such as National Geographic and Life magazine. These thick, lavishly illustrated, special editions are harbingers of much more…
