I am pleased to report that the new long-awaited biography of the extraordinary career of David Horowitz (1903-2002), veteran United Nations correspondent and founder of United Israel World Union has been published and is now available through all major book outlets. It is a gripping readable account that will rivet…
A dozen or so times a year I am asked by colleagues and interested readers alike “Just where are the Talpiot tombs located in relationship to the city of Jerusalem?” Some of these questioners are interested in visiting these tomb locations, whereas others are just wanting to get a sense…
In our New Testament gospels there are three women named Mary who are closely associated with Jesus: His mother, who raised him and a large family of four other boys and at least two girls (Mark 6:3) Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus (Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1-5;…
December 25th as the date of the birth of Jesus can be traced back to the early 3rd century CE although it did not achieve more universal recognition until the late 4th century. It is common to hear the charge that “Christmas is pagan,” based on the popularity of the…
My wife Lori often offers comments on my various blog posts, articles, and papers, as one “outside the field,” so to speak. Her field is English Literature but more often than not she sees things that I have missed. Sometimes we who are the so-called “experts” in our fields are…
I’ve never been able to find a dichotomy between being an historian and a theologian–or a good historian and a Christian, putting it very bluntly. I do not believe that gods and goddesses or anyone ever comes out from heaven and produces divine babies; I don’t believe it actually happens.…
In April, 2006 I published a trade book called The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity. Now in paperback it has continued to sell moderately but steadily. I wrote it as a popular summary of my own personal lifelong “quest” for the…
In fact the “kerygma” or “preaching” of the apostles according to Luke, as reflected in Peter’s speeches in Acts 2:22-38 and 3:11-26, is pure “Paulinism” in terms of its basic parameters–that Christ was sent from God as Messiah, that he died for the sins of mankind, that he was raised…
This semester I am offering an advanced undergraduate/graduate seminar on “The Dead Sea Scrolls and Earliest Christianity.” In preparation for this course I have been re-reading all of the published Dead Sea Scrolls as well as many of the secondary publications related thereto published over the past three decades. One…
Grafton relies on new evidence taken from Smith’s recently published correspondence with his life-long friend, the great Jewish scholar Gershom Scholem. These letters make it clear beyond any reasonable doubt that Smith could not have forged either Clement’s letter or the passages of “Secret Mark” contained therein. Over the…
