The Biblical World

Rewriting the Bible Lecture Video

2012-01-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

On Thursday I gave a public lecture on Rewritten Bible. My colleague, Terence Mournet, was kind enough to video it for me. Many of you were asking if it would be recorded and so here it is. It is about an hour. Enjoy, let me know your thoughts.

"Rewriting the Bible", Dr. John Byron from Ashland Seminary on Vimeo.

Atheists to Build Tower to Unbelief in London

2012-01-27T13:28:00.002-05:00

The Guardian is reporting that atheist Alain de Botton wants to build a tower to unbelief.

Plansto build a £1m "temple for atheists" among the international banksand medieval church spires of the City of London have sparked a clash between two ofBritain's most prominent non-believers. Thephilosopher and writer Alain deBotton is proposing to build a46-metre (151ft) tower to celebrate a "new atheism" as an antidote to whathe describes as Professor RichardDawkins's "aggressive" and "destructive" approach tonon-belief.

Hmm, now where have I read something like this before?

Friday Book Giveaway

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

This week's giveaway is from Osiek, MacDonald and Tulloch. A Woman's Place: House Churches in Earliest Christianity (Fortress: 2006).

Here's the blurb:

This focused look at women in the household context discusses the importance of issues of space and visibility in shaping the lives of early Christian women. Several aspects of women's everyday existence are investigated, including the lives of wives, widows, women with children, female slaves, women as patrons, household leaders, and teachers. In addition, several key themes emerge: hospitality, dining practices, and the extent of female segregation.

Place your name below if you want to win and I will choose a winner on Sunday. Remember, the winner has five days to claim the prize.

The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul

2012-01-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today is designated on the church calendar as when we celebrate the conversion of Saint Paul. Next to Jesus, the Apostle Paul left a deep imprint upon what eventually became Christianity.

Want to learn more about Paul and how New Testament scholarship has and does view him? Visit the Paul Page.

Tuesday with Thomas á Kempis

2012-01-24T09:22:00.000-05:00

I have been reading through the Imitation of Christ the last few weeks. My wife got me a Kindle for my birthday and Thomas á Kempis was one of the free books available. I have read him several time over the years and always find something new. I thought what he had to say in the section below was particularly important to those of us who teach and love the pursuit of knowledge.

Every perfection inthis life has some imperfection mixed with it and no learning of ours iswithout some darkness. Humble knowledge of self is a surer path to God than theardent pursuit of learning. Not that learning is to be considered evil, orknowledge, which is good in itself and so ordained by God; but a cleanconscience and virtuous life ought always to be preferred. Many often err andaccomplish little or nothing because they try to become learned rather than tolive well.

If men used as much care in uprooting vices andimplanting virtues as they do in discussing problems, there would not be somuch evil and scandal in the world, or such laxity in religious organizations.On the day of judgment, surely, we shall not be asked what we have read butwhat we have done; not how well we have spoken but how well we have lived.

Tell me, where now are all the masters and teacherswhom you knew so well in life and who were famous for their learning? Othershave already taken their places and I know not whether they ever think of theirpredecessors. During life they seemed to be something; now they are seldomremembered. How quickly the glory of the world passes away! If only their liveshad kept pace with their learning, then their study and reading would have beenworthwhile.

Are vegetarians heretics?

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

I like vegetables. As far as I can remember I always have. And there are few that I will absolutely refuse to eat. I will even confess to enjoying the occasional Boca or black bean burger. But I won't eat tofu and I certainly won't eat anything containing tofu masquerading as meat. Tofurkey not only sounds bad, it tastes bad too. So I guess if there is a vegetable I don't like it is soy beans. No matter how you hide it, yuck!

But I also like meat! And just about any kind. It is hard to beat a nice steak, a sloppy burger, or a really good piece of chicken or pork. If I had been on the roof in Joppa that day praying next to Peter, saw a sheet full of animals and the voice of God telling me "get up, kill, eat" the only questions I would have is "do you have any BBQ sauce and a napkin?" So the idea of being a vegetarian is pretty far removed from my lifestyle choices.

Some vegetarians are "evangelists" for the cause and go so far as to turn it into a theology of creation suggesting that we should not eat anything that must be killed in order to consume it. They suggest that this is somehow a violation of the created order and makes the consumer of meat akin to the murderer.

It is interesting, however, that in the history of Christianity vegetarianism is one of the hallmarks of some the more famous heretical groups. Over at The Bible and Interpretation, Sebastian Moll has a short essay looking at the connections between vegetarianism and heresy. He has an interesting take on the issue.

Here is a bit of what he has to say.

Modern vegetarians often refer to theological terminologysuch as “reverence for life” or “respecting creation” when defending theirposition. Ironically, in the Early Church the situation is exactly the otherway around. Abstaining from meat is considered a sign of heresy. In the Canonsof the Council of Ancyra (314), it is stated: “It is decreed that among theclergy, presbyters and deacons who abstain from meat shall taste of it, andafterwards, if they shall so please, may abstain. But if they disdain it, andwill not even eat herbs served with meat, but disobey the canon, let them beremoved from their order.” While never included into Church Law, this anathemais confirmed by several later councils, such as the Council of Braga (Portugal,561), at which the anathema is expanded to include clergy and lay people alike.

Many heretical groups in early Christianity indeed practicedvegetarianism, for example the Marcionites and the Manicheans. Traditionalscholarship attributes this behavior to just another form of asceticism. But ifthe councils wanted to condemn radical asceticism, why is there no anathema forpeople who abstain from alcohol, for example? What is the reason for thespecial concern with the question of eating meat? Are vegetarians really athreat to Christian orthodoxy?

You can read the whole article here.

Book Giveaway Winner

2012-01-22T11:43:00.000-05:00

This week's winner is Dave Boling. Dave is the winner of Peter Oake's Reading Romans in Pompeii: Paul's Letter at Ground Level (Fortress, 2009).

Dave, please send your details to jbyron@ashland.edu and I will send you the book. Remember, you have 5 days to claim your prize after which time the book goes back on the shelf for another day.

Public Lecture: Rewriting the Bible: Versions of Bible stories your Sunday school teacher didn’t know

2012-01-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

I am giving a public lecture next week. I thought I would use my blog to promote it. Hope you can attend.

It is not uncommon to hear comments in the media claiming that theBible has been changed and/or altered over time. These sound bites leave theaverage Bible reader wondering: Did scribes in antiquity change some of thestories in the Bible and if so why? In this lecture Dr. John Byron will look atan ancient practice of interpretation sometimes called “rewritten” Bible. Dr.Byron will provide examples of how stories were sometimes expanded and/oraltered by Jewish and Christian interpreters and will explain why these scribesfelt they could and should interpret the Bible this way. Dr. Byron has recentlypublished a book on ways that the Cain and Abel story was reinterpreted, whichwill be a particular focus of the lecture.

When: Thursday, January 26th at 7:00 pm.

Where: Smetzer Auditorium on the campus of Ashland Theological Seminary (map)

RSVP: Click here

Friday Book Giveaway

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

Well it has been a while so I think it is time to give away a book. And since it was announced this week that an early fragment of Paul's letter to the Romans was discovered, I thought I would give away a book on Romans.

This week's giveaway is Peter Oake's Reading Romans in Pompeii: Paul's Letter at Ground Level (Fortress, 2009). Here is the blurb.

Peter Oakes relies on demographic information and data from excavations in nearby Pompeii to paint a compelling portrait of daily life in a typical insula, or apartment complex, like the ones in which Paul s audience in Rome likely lived. Imaginatively fleshing out profiles of the circumstances of actual residents of Pompeii, Oakes then uses these profiles to invite the reader into a new way to hear Paul's letter to the Romans as the apostle s contemporaries might have heard it. The result of this ground-breaking study is a fuller, richer appreciation of Paul's most important letter.

If you are interested, put your name below and I will draw a winner on Sunday. The winner has 5 days to claim the book once their name has been posted. Unclaimed prizes go back on the shelf for another day.

New fragment of Paul's letter to the Romans discovered this week!

2012-01-19T08:38:00.005-05:00

CNN is reporting that a recently unknown fragment of Romans 9-10 has been discovered in the last few days. Steve Green is the president of Hobby Lobby stores in the USA and has collected more than 40,000 artifacts and manuscripts related to the Bible. He has been working on the collection with Baylor University and is getting ready to put is display on the road.

In the below video, Green shows a papyrus fragment of Romans 9-10 that he says was only discovered in the last 48 hours among the acquisitions by Scott Caroll who oversees the collection for Green at Baylor. It will be interesting to see what other materials Green has managed to purchase and what they might helps us learn about the textual history of the Bible. If you are interested in the exhibition and Greens collection you can read more at explorepassages.com.

Jesus Have I Loved, But Paul?

2012-01-17T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today’spost is my contribution to the blog tour for J.R. Daniel Kirk’s new book Jesus I have Loved, But Paul? (BakerAcademic, 2012). This post is part of alarger blog tour and you can read previous reviews of earlier chapters at theblog hub. Don't forget to click on the link to the left to enter a chance to win a selection of books from Baker.

I wasasked to review chapter seven, Libertyand Justice for All? Overall I haveenjoyed Kirk’s approach to Paul as he seeks to demonstrate the connectionsbetween the messages of Jesus and Paul via the story of Israel. I think heprovides a fresh, accessible approach to Paul that will help many.

Kirkopens up this chapter by observing that students of the Bible who areinterested in social justice don’t have much time for Paul. Jesus is all aboutproclaiming liberty and justice for the oppressed and captive. Paul, on theother hand, doesn’t seem to get the job done.

Onesource of this dissatisfaction with Paul is the way his letters were used inthe 19^th centuryslavery debate. Paul’s letters were often used to support slavery and Paul hasnot always been loved by African Americans. By way of example Kirk includes thefamous quote by Howard Thurman’s grandmother who refused to read the letters ofPaul because of the way they were used to keep the enslaved enslaved.

“Duringthe days of slavery,” she said, “the master’s minister would occasionally holdservices for the slaves. Old man McGhee was so mean that he would not let aNegro minister preach to his slaves. Always the white minister used as his textsomething from Paul. At least three or four times a year he used as a text:‘Slaves, be obedient to them that are your masters . . . as unto Christ.’ Thenhe would go on to show how it was God’s will that we were slaves and how, if wewere good and happy slaves, God would bless us. I promised my Maker that if Iever learned to read and if freedom ever came, I would not read that part ofthe Bible.”

But inspite of Paul’s rather checkered past in social justice circles, Kirk suggeststhat Paul does have a driving concern for social justice in his letters.

He beginsby pointing out that Jesus’ synagogue sermon in Luke 4 contains a gospelmessage that is the very heart beat of social justice: good news preached tothe poor, captives released, oppressed freed. Jesus’ sermon and his Isaiah 61text proclaim the beginning of the Jubilee year. This is the “good news” of thegospel and it is a message that includes all people, not just Jews. How then doPaul’s letters relate to Jesus’ message?

Kirkstarts by focusing on Paul’s inclusion of Gentiles in the church. He views thisas Paul’s call for racial equality. He notes that Paul does not requireGentiles to become Jews, but he also does not require Jews to abandon their ownidentity. There is plenty of room for both in the church. And this, Kirksuggests, is a Pauline argument against raced based policies and practices thatencourage racial superiority and/or subjugation. In the narrative of the gospelall of God’s people are set free.

But Kirkalso recognizes that there is some counterevidence in Paul. He looks to thehousehold code in Ephesians 6:5-9 where slaves are told to offer their servicewith “enthusiasm” as if serving the Lord and not their master.

Slaves,obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, asyou obey Christ; ⁶ not only while being watched, and inorder to please them, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from theheart. ⁷ Render service with enthusiasm, as tothe Lord and not to men and women, ⁸ knowing that whatever good we do, wewill receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free. ⁹ And, masters, do the same to them.Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Master inheaven, and with him there is no partiality. (Eph 6:5 NRS)

Kirk concedes that these instructions presume a social hierarchy that is regulated byPaul rather than offering a way out. But he also notes that it is a systemregulated by the gospel. Jesus is looking over the shoulder of the slaveholderand is receiving the treatment meted out by the earthly master (p. 150). Kirksuggests that while “this passage does not call for an opening up of the fullfreedom of the gospel to those who are enslaved, it does plot a trajectory forthe transformation of the institution of slavery within the church (p.150). YetKirk also notes that Paul is not suggesting that slaves simply stay as theyare. He offers 1 Corinthians 7:22 as an example of how slaves should takefreedom if the opportunity presents itself.

Moving onfrom race and slavery, he looks at other areas of social justice in Paul. Inparticular is his focus on economic justice. Paul’s collection in 2 Corinthians8-9 is economic justice in action as the Gentile churches collect money tosupport Jewish congregations in Jerusalem. Just as Jesus’ sermon declaredeconomic freedom for the poor so too Paul’s understanding of the gospelincludes giving to the poor and helping to rectify the inequalities in theworld.

Thechapter closes with a return to the challenges faced by African-Americans andthe hopes voiced in Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Kirk connectsKing’s speech with the message of Jesus which is one that includes socialjustice. And he argues that Paul’s gospel message was also one of freedom.Paul, like Jesus, Kirk argues, is the same one announced by Jesus.

Questions/Critique

I want tobegin my critique by stating that Kirk is to be praised for his efforts. Fartoo often Paul and Jesus are kept in separate theological corners. The problemof course is that we are only hearing part of what the New Testament has tosay. I think this is a balanced, well written book. And there is much I wouldlike to have heard Kirk say, but I also realize that deadlines, page limits,and target audiences are always major factors when publishing. So with that inmind I would like to raise a few questions that came to mind as I read thischapter.

My firstquestion is where is the narrative thread in this chapter? In chapter one hedoes a good job of explaining the connection of Israel’s story with the gospelmessage of Jesus and Paul. He also notes that this narrative is the “backboneof Paul’s theology” (p. 27). But I am not seeing how Israel’s story fits inhere. I understand the appeal to Luke 4 and Jesus declaring the year ofJubilee, but I wonder if there is more to it than that. Central to the story ofIsrael is the exodus from Egypt, Israel’s release from slavery. And I wonderhow that story influences Paul’s view of slavery and the instructions he issuesconcerning the institution?

Lookingat it from another angle, how did Christian slaves react to hearing the storyabout God freeing slaves, but then being told not to worry about their ownenslavement? There seems to be a difference between the kind of freedom offeredby Jesus in Luke 4 and that offered by Paul. Jesus is proclaiming a freedomwhich sounds very radical, especially in the year of Jubilee when all slaveswere to be released. Paul, however, says to stay put, be good and only acceptfreedom if it happens to come your way. While there may be some move towardstransforming slavery within the context of the church, it is not clear howcomforting Paul’s words were to the slave. Moreover, Ephesians assumes that theChristian slave has a Christian master. What might be the perspective of theperson enslaved and oppressed by an unbeliever? What does the story of Israeland Paul’s theology hold for that slave? At one point in the chapter Kirksuggests that Jesus’ agents of freedom could be sent to Thailand to free awoman from life as a sex slave or an Indian family from indentured servitudemaking bricks (p. 146). But I wonder what message Paul has for these people?Stay put and do your job as if you are pleasing Jesus? I realize these aretough questions, but they are important. My review of this chapter comes oneday after we celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King and one week after thenational day of awareness of human trafficking. So these are timely questionsas we consider the message of Jesus and Paul to the oppressed. And I think weneed to do a better job of showing how Paul offers real freedom to the modernoppressed.

I alsohave some questions about Paul’s concern for the poor. True, he does organize acollection for the church in Jerusalem. But this application of giving to thepoor is within the context of the poor in the church. Paul is not extending itto those who are outside of the church. I am not suggesting that Paul was notconcerned with the non-believing poor, but with the letters we have the onlyevidence we have is of Paul telling us how to take care of our own.

While Iappreciate and affirm Kirk’s methodology here I do wonder how it works outpractically when we try to apply that story. Perhaps what might have madethis chapter a bit clearer would be a brief case study of how we apply Paultoday. As Kirk has noted, Paul’s theology does not always seem to have theradical nature of Jesus’ message.

Free Ebook Commentary

2012-01-16T10:28:00.000-05:00

Baker Academic is offering a free E-book version of Robert Gundry's commentary on James. It is part of his overall commentary on the New Testament. I never thought I would want an Ereader, but my wife got me one for my birthday and I am enjoying it. Last week I downloaded a free version of Gundry's commentary on Ephesians. These commentaries are not large, they are chapters of his overall work on the New Testament. But they are free!

Here is a description.

NewE-book Shorts from Robert Gundry’s Commentary on the New Testament
Baker Academic is proud toannounce new ebook shorts from Robert H. Gundry.
In these verse-by-versecommentaries taken from Commentary on the New Testament, Robert Gundry offers afresh, literal translation and a reliable exposition of every book of the NewTestament.
Students and scholars willwelcome Gundry’s nontechnical explanations and clarifications, and readers atall levels will appreciate his sparkling interpretations. Priced from $1.99 to$5.99 these affordable and convenient resources are available wherever ebooksare sold.
As we celebrate the release ofthis series, Baker Academic will be making selected entries from thiscommentary series free for one day only.
On Monday January 9th,Gundry’s commentary on Ephesians will be free to download for 24 hours onAmazon, CBD, and Barnes & Noble.
This will be followed by otherselections made free to download on January 16th and 23rd.

Get the free Ebook at Amazon.

New Blog for Women

2012-01-14T09:37:00.001-05:00

One of the unwritten codes of blogging is that you help new bloggers get started. James McGrath did that for me when I first started and it gave me a considerable leap in the stats. Since then I have tried to do the same for others.

A new blog, at least to me, is Morven's Blog: A Safe Place to Talk About the Hard Stuff. Morven is a woman's counselor here in Ashland and is married to my Old Testament colleague David Baker. But as I think you will see from her blog, she cannot be simply identified as "David Baker's wife." Morven Baker has a significant ministry to the hurting women in our area and she is helping these woman to talk about the hard stuff.

If you are a pastor, counselor or someone who is hurting, you may find Morven's blog a source of information and hope. So why not stop by and leave her a comment welcoming her to the world of blogging.

Jesus vs Religion?

2012-01-13T08:37:00.003-05:00

There has been a video going around the last week of a young man explaining why he is into Jesus but not religion. Here it is.

At first glance this video has much to commend. I think it brings up some important distinctions between what Christianity is often portrayed to be, but is not. But I am also uncomfortable with his "anti-religion" rant. I was going to critique his thoughts on religion, but then Zack Hunt over at the American Jesus posted a longish post responding to the video. He has seven points. I have provided the titles and a snippet of each point. You can read his full post here.

1. Wedon’t know what our target is.

Religionis not the evil Bethke or so many others portray it to be. Simply definedreligion is “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ador orfaith.” See? Not that scary. In fact, religion can be very good.

2.When we separate Jesus from the religious community then we are left with aJesus out of context whom we are free to shape and mold in any way we see fit.

Inother words, the “Jesus and me” gospel this video and so many of us proclaim isa path that has only one destination: idolatry. Not the kind of idolatry thathas us bowing down to golden calves, but the kind that has Jesus looking andacting suspiciously like ourselves.

3. Jesus didn’t have a problem with religion, hehad a problem with legalism.

Jesus’ issue wasn’t with the Jewish faith, i.e. religion,which he himself was a part of. He took issue with those who would use God’scommandments to exploit and oppress others. This is a profoundly importantdistinction.

4. If you’re looking for the person that hatedorganized religion, by which you really mean “the institutional church”, then you’re looking for a guy named Martin Luther, not Jesus of Nazareth.

It is Luther, not Jesus, who raises such a fuss about theinstitution of religion and rightfully so. The church during his day wasprofoundly corrupt at the highest levels and was in deep need of reform. Note,however, that even Luther was interested in “reform” (thus the term“Reformation”), not “abolishment”.

5.Jesus never preached that we are saved by faith alone.

Ifthere is anything that is at the heart of the modern Protestant Evangelicalgospel it’s the belief in “sola fide”; the idea that we are saved by “faithalone.” Once again, your champion for this cause is Martin Luther, not Jesus.

6.The premise of this video and the gospel it proclaims issimply disingenuous.

Ifyou go to, participate in, and support a local church, whether it’s a hugemega-church, an “average” sized rural church, or a small house church thatmeets in somebody’s living room then you support organized religion. And that’sok.

7.When we create a dichotomy between Jesus and religion we simaltaneously createan unnecessary and dangerous antagonism towards the church and the people thatparticipate in it.

Bethkesays “If religion is so great, why has it started so many wars? Why does itbuild huge churches, but fails to feed the poor?” I’ll give the guy a pass forthe first half of this statement. I assume he’s a product of our Americaneducational system and if so, it explains his understanding of history or lackthereof.As for the second accusation that church fails to feed thepoor. I don’t know how to label this charge anything but absolute ignorance.Even the biggest mega-churches that get so often get ridiculed for any numberof reasons, almost always have ongoing outreach ministries. There are very fewoutreach organizations in this country or any other that are not faith-based orat least affiliated with a religious organization.

Jesus and Tattoos.

2012-01-12T08:59:00.000-05:00

The Vancouver Sun has an article on the popularity of tattoos among young Evangelicals. I don't have a tattoo for two reasons. First, I don't like pain. Second, if I ever had a tattoo it would be of a ship. But I fear that as I get older the ship would appear to be sinking.

Another reason I probably don't have a tattoo is because when I was growing up the church considered tattoos to be a sin, the kind of identifying marks that were not for the follower of Christ. The tattoo was taboo.

But for many younger (and not so young) Christians, the taboo of the tattoo has faded. And people are permanently painting their body with everything from crosses to Bible verses. And I have seen some people with some permanent mistakes. I once saw a tattoo written in Hebrew on the back of a young girl's neck. Two things struck me about the tattoo. First, that must have hurt! Second, it didn't make any sense. I then learned that whoever had drawn the tattoo had misspelled the Hebrew words which meant she no longer was marked by her favorite Bible verse but a bunch of gibberish.

What struck me about the article was this open description.

The largeCeltic cross tattooed on the small of Amy Bonde’s back testifies to how shesees Jesus Christ as her “lover.”

The Hebrewletters encircling the young Vancouver woman’s ornate cross are from thespiritually erotic Bible chapter, The Song of Solomon. They read “I am my beloved’s, and he is mine.”
The sentimentcaptures Bonde’s desire to be in an intimate relationship with Jesus. The lanky23-year-old, who wears bluejeans and black platform shoes, is one of a growingsubculture of evangelical Christians who are flouting their religion’sstraight-laced past and adorning their bodies with permanent religious tattoos.

My initial reaction is that this poor individual has some rather shallow theology forever stamped on her body. It seems to me that people's unhelpful theology will now be with them for a very long time.

What do you make of this? Is tattooing an expression of one's love for God or is it a cultural fad?

History According to the History Channel

2012-01-11T20:14:00.002-05:00

It is not secret that I hold the History Channel in low esteem. I would trust Wikipedia before something said on the History Channel.

Demonstrating that History Channel has a narrow view of what is "history" are the below statistics. Not sure if there are accurate, but they do seem to represent the kind of shows they produce.

HT: Scot McKnight.

Is that bread kosher?

2012-01-11T09:08:00.001-05:00

Growing upoutside of New York City I was quite familiar with reading that my orange juiceor some other food product was "kosher for pesach." I also rememberseeing other products with a circled "u" followed by “parve.” The circled U is a trademark of the Orthodox Union, which is one ofthe biggest certifying agencies for the Jewish community. Parve means it's"neutral"----neither milk nor meat. And that is how my Jewish friendsknew that they were able to eat or drink something since it had been declaredkosher.

But this is not a new system. A in a recent pressrelease by the Israel Antiquities Authority reveals that a bread stamp with amenorah was discovered in Acco. Here is a bit of what the report has to say.

The tinystamp was used to identify baked products and it probably belonged to a bakerythat supplied kosher bread to the Jews of Akko in the Byzantine period. Aceramic stamp from the Byzantine period (6th century CE) was discovered inexcavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is currently conducting at HorbatUza east of Akko, prior to the construction of the Akko-Karmiel railroad trackby the Israel National Roads Company. This find belongs to a group of stampsreferred to as “bread stamps” because they were usually used to stamp bakedgoods. The stamp is engraved with a seven-branched menorah atop a narrow base,and the top of the branches forms a horizontal line. A number of Greek lettersare engraved around a circle and dot on the end of the handle. Dr. Leah DiSegni, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem suggested this is probably thename Launtius. This name was common among Jews of the period and also appearson another Jewish bread stamp of unknown provenance. According to Dr. Syon andGilad Jaffe, “This is probably the name of the baker from Horbat Uza.” Horbat Uza is asmall rural settlement where clues were previously found that allude to itbeing a Jewish settlement: a clay coffin, a Shabbat lamp and jars with menorahpatterns painted on them were discovered there.

You can read the whole report here. As well as downloadmore photos.

Things I think about: The Tebow Miracle Take 2

2012-01-10T09:18:00.001-05:00

Yesterday Iposted about Tebow’s 316 yard miracle, as some are calling it. I suggested,among other things, that God had nothing to do with this and did not make/helpTebow throw 316 yards so that attention would be drawn to John 3:16. I was, notunexpectedly, trounced upon on both on this blog and Facebook. No problem, Iknow that I was touching an American Holy Grail.

But as Istated more than once, my problem is not with Tebow. Indeed, my understandingis that even he is careful not to suggest that God is playing football withhim. Here is a quote from one commentator that suggests this.

Again today,Tebow did next to nothing until the waning moments, and then, down 10-0 withtwo minutes left, he throws a touchdown pass, and the Broncos tie it at the gunon a 59-yard field goal. And then win it in overtime on a 51 yarder. Thecombination of Denver’s continuing late heroics, and today, the Bears otherwiseunexplainable errors, is enough to have some at least suspect divineintervention. Except that Tebow, whose sincere faith cannot be questioned, andshould be respected, also has the good sense, and good grace, to make it clearhe does not believe God takes a hand in the outcome of games.

I am gladthat Tebow has yet to claim Jesus is playing football and I hope he steadfastlyrefuses to do so. He seems to have a healthy recognition that his creator hasendowed him with some amazing gifts, but does not slip into suggesting that hehas a special divine blessing to win.

My beef, ifI can call it that, is with the Christian fans who are suggesting that God isgetting in the middle of an American football game in order to win glory andpraise while at the same time promoting the gospel message. I just don’t thinkGod gets involved with sporting events that way. And I have serious theologicalproblems with calling a football game a miracle. When I hear Christians claimingdivine intervention in a football game a number of things go through my head.

I think abouta prayer request I heard in chapel yesterday. A missionary family in Syriarequests prayer because there are roaming gangs in their neighborhood killingmen and raping woman. I hope they get amiracle from God before they become the next victims.

I wonderabout my friend in India and his ministry. His pastors have been the subject ofnumerous brutal attacks for their faith. I hope there is a miracle for them before thenext attack.

I thinkabout the 16,000 or more people killed in last year’s tsunami in Japan. I wishthat God would have miraculously stopped that wall of water even if only to bring glory to himself.

I wonderwhere the miracles are for all the children that are abducted and killed eachyear.

I wonderabout the poor who, by no fault of their own, have lost jobs, homes and family and yet no miracle is there for them. I wonder what they think of God interveningin a football game and not their own situations.

I could goon and on.

Of coursethe first question I am asked is: “But couldn’t God . . . “ And the answer tosuch an open question is, of course, yes. But the more important question. Theone that disturbs my soul is the other question. “Why didn’t God.”

It’s not thatI am not open to miracles. I just am not ready to quickly declare something amiracle simply because a Christian is involved and some vague, possibleallusion to a Bible verse. I see the disasters of life all around us and Iwonder why God would choose to show up at a football game on Sunday and notother places in the world.

Some peoplewould suggest to me that my narrow view of world events and miracles means thatmy God is not big enough to be interested in both human tragedy and football. Iwould suggest the opposite is true. Perhaps your God is too small. He is ableto make a football fly 316 yards, but not stop a wall of water.

These are the kinds of things I think about when I hear people call some things a miracle.And I wonder about the lack of other miracles. I just wonder.

Jesus Doesn't Play Football: Tim Tebow's 316 Yards

2012-01-09T09:22:00.001-05:00

I am not a football fan. In fact, I am not a fan of any sports. I am not against sports, I am just not interested. I do attend a Superbowl party now and then. However, I don't really watch the game. I eat the snacks and watch the commercials. At one time I was interested in the halftime shows, but the performances by the Who and the Black eyed Peas put me off that habit for a while.

But inspite of my lack of interest in football it has been almost impossible to miss the Tim Tebow phenomenon. I became aware of him and his prowess as a comeback quarterback in December. In response I posted on Facebook "What is a Tebow?" It was funny how many people were almost insulted that I did not know about him.

As I have since come to learn, besides being a fairly decent quarterback he is also a very public Christian. His habit of one knee prayers (now known worldwide as "Tebowing") and painting John 3:16 on his eye black has left little doubt where he stands. He is a very public Christian. And I don't condemn him for that. I have not heard of him saying or doing anything stupid thus far that would detract from the witness for Christ that he seeks to represent.

No, my problem is not with Tebow but some of his Christian fans. There have been numerous things that have been said including that Jesus is somehow helping Tebow to win football games. I am not sure if Jesus is a football fan or not, but I am pretty sure he is not playing the game.

Until today I found no reason to blog on Tebow. This blog tries to avoid politics, sports and other mindless distractions. But the news about yesterday's game finally pushed my hand. Apparently, Tebow threw 316 yards in yesterday's game. Unfortunately, his fans are now seeing some type of sign from God. Here is a piece from the Washington Post.

The Denver Broncos’ playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night was unlikelyenough, but Tim Tebow’s passing yardage — theChristian quarterback threw 316yards — sent commentators over the edge. The Associated Pressreported that he also averaged 31.6 yards per completion. Thereligious connotations to John 3:16, a famous Bible verse, were too much formany to chalk up tochance.

Wow, that surely is an amazing coincidence! But I am pretty sure it has nothing to do with God. You see, God has nothing to do with John 3:16 being John 3:16. When the author of the gospel wrote those famous words he did not include the reference 3:16 since there were no chapter and verse numbers. In fact, Bibles have existed longer without chapter and verse numbers than with them. The first English Bible to include chapters and verses was the Geneva Bible which wasn't published until 1560. Prior to that time no one had a clue what 3:16 meant and if you had asked people in church to open their Bibles to that page they would have looked at you blankly. Imagine the looks people would have received if they painted 3:16 on their face or held up signs with it at sporting events.

The fact is the verses of the Bible are not inspired. And while I do suppose it is a cool coincidence that Tebow threw 316 yards, I am pretty sure it has nothing to do with Jesus. It has more to do with his discipline and skill as a player and the other players that are catching his passes. So I wish Mr. Tebow the best and hope that he can live up to his very public witness. But I also wish that his fans would think a bit more. I am not really sure God is pleased with the level of interest and energy that is put into suggesting that Jesus plays or is interested in football. I suspect that he is busy with vastly more important stuff like starving children and other disasters in the world. I also suspect that he wishes his followers were more interested in them as well.

Here is an update to my thoughts on the topic.

Jesus Have I Loved, But Paul?

2012-01-09T08:15:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned last week, Baker Academic is hosting a blog tour for J.R. Daniel Kirk's Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? (Baker Academic, 2012). I am grateful to Baker Academic for providing me with an advance copy. Over the course of the next two weeks (January 9th to January 20th) different bloggers will be reviewing and interacting with the content of Kirk's book. I will be reviewing chapter 7 Liberty and Justice for All? on January 17th.

Kicking us off today is an Introduction from J.R. Daniel Kirk himself and Nijay Gupta will be reviewing chapter one.

Also, be sure to stop by the blog tour hub and don't forget to enter a chance to win five books from Baker Academic.

Jerusalem 1896

2012-01-07T15:37:00.001-05:00

Today is Epiphany. Let's Celebrate with a Film

2012-01-06T09:01:00.001-05:00

January 6th is the day that western churches designate as Epiphany, This date celebrates two things: The manifestation of Christ and the visit of the magi to the Christ child. Most will celebrate this Sunday.

Perhaps by coincidence, over at the NT Blog Mark Goodacre has announced that the 1912 movie The Star of Bethlehem is now available online. This is a 15 minute version of what was at one time a much longer film. It is of course a silent film with background music. But considering how new the technology and art of film making was in 1912, it is done quite well.

I teach a class on Jesus and film and enjoy watching the various interpretations of the Jesus story. There are a number of early Jesus films that were produced in the early 20th century, but they are often hard to get a hold of. Thanks to the wonder of the internet, many of them are now becoming more widely available. Thanks Marks!

Health Evangelism: Yet another way NOT to use the Bible.

2012-01-05T08:31:00.000-05:00

This has been on the web the last few days and I studiously avoided posting anything about it. But being early in the new year things are slow at the biblical world. And besides, this kind of application of the Bible is just plain annoying.

Jerry Anderson is a "health evangelist" and fitness guru. I have never heard of a health evangelist before, but I suppose it is the result of misapplying scripture combined with a zeal for healthy living. I don't object to healthy reading and I certainly don't object to studying the Bible. But I am not convinced that the Bible provides much in the way of health advice, except for the admonition to "take a little wine for your stomach" (1 Tim 5:23). In many ways this is the kind of biblicism that Christian Smith was reacting against in his book The Bible Made Impossible (see my review here).

I will refrain from commenting further and leave it to my readers to provide the expert analysis.

The End of the World? Again?

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

Last year the media was abuzz with Harold Camping's prediction that May 21, 2011 was when the rapture would happen and the world would begin to come to an end. As my readers know, I didn't buy it for numerous reasons the first of which being that I don't believe in a rapture (see my previous post for why I am not worried about May 21).

Camping has since retired after making at least a third incorrect prediction (he later switched the date to October), Luckily there was a worthy replacement waiting in the wings. The Mayan Calendar, it is claimed, stops in December 2012, which some interpret as the date the world will end. Once again I am not buying it.

It seems that there is a new "end of the world" prediction every couple of years. The turn of the millennium fueled the fires of paranoia as people feared the Y2K melt down, that also never happened.

One favorite past time of some is to pair current events with Bible prophecies, the book of Revelation in particular. Some approach Revelation as the key to it all. I have suggested before that Revelation is not a road map to the future. Over at the Huffington Post Greg Carey, Professor of New Testament at Lancaster Theological Seminary, lays out some reasons why New Testament scholars think this way. Here is a bit of what Carey says:

Here's thetruth: no academic interpreter of Revelation understands the book as a roadmapfor the future, much less as telling contemporary Christians that these are thelast days. Instead, scholars understand that Revelation originally spoke to theconditions of its own time and place. It offered a specific group of firstcentury Christians not only hope for the future but also an interpretation -- a"revelation" -- of the world they inhabited. In other words, the bestway to understand Revelation does not require an official Dick TracyApocalyptic Decoder Ring. We best understand Revelation when we read it likeany other ancient text, in its own historical and cultural context.

What makesbiblical scholars so certain that Revelation does not provide a roadmap for thefuture? Two basic considerations lead us to this conclusion.

First, thebook itself insists that it's addressed to a specific group of churches tospeak to their own circumstances. Second, weknow a lot about the kind of literature Revelation represents. Revelation is anapocalypse, a form of literature with which biblical scholars have grown quitefamiliar.

I agree with much of what Carey has to say (you can read his whole article here). My only quibble with him is his claim that "no academic interpreter of Revelation understands the book as a roadmap for the future". Either Carey doesn't get out much or he has a more narrow view of who is an "academic interpreter." And some readers of this blog would take strong exception to him suggesting that they are not academic interpreters. Otherwise, it is a good article that gives a perspective on how Revelation is interpreted in its historical and literary setting.

In the mean time, if you are still unsure about the Mayan Calendar, here is a cartoon that gives, I think, a better interpretation

Beer - The Other Savior of Civilization

2012-01-03T09:53:00.001-05:00

As some of you may know, when I am not reading in Greek and Hebrew or writing on some topic related to biblical studies, I like to make beer. I have been a home-brewer for about seven years and even teach an "Introduction to Brewing" class. Much to the chagrin of my students, it is not a course I offer at the seminary.

I know there is quite a controversy among some Christians as to whether or not one should drink. Obviously, I have made my choice as to which side I land. But there are some who are still deciding. While I am not looking to convert anyone to drink beer or wine (another hobby I have dabbled in), that is a personal choice, I thought my readers might enjoy some of the information that has been in the blogosphere recently.

Over at Theology for Real Life, Preston Sprinkle has been doing a series on the topic of alcohol. His posts are titled Wine, Beer, Cabernet Sauvignon, O'doul's and Belgium Trippel Ale. I think you will find his discussion quite stimulating.

If, after reading Preston's posts, you still are not sure about the value of beer to our civilization, then I suggest you watch the below video. It details how beer saved the world. It is obviously full of tongue and cheek, but it is also full of real history.

Happy New Year!

Newly Discovered Jewish Scrolls? In Afghanistan?

2012-01-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

Rumors have been flying around the internet about the discovery of 150 fragments. The site may have been a synagogue Geniza where disused scrolls were placed. If the find is authenticated, it would be the biggest such discovery since the Cairo Geniza. See my post on the Cairo Geniza.

So far little information is available but the Jerusalem Post had this to say over the weekend.

Thescrolls, which were part of a geniza – a burial site for sacred Jewish texts –date from around 1,000 years ago and are in Arabic, Judeo-Arabic and ancientPersian.

One scroll, areplica of which was shown to the cameras, was apparently a dirge written foran important person whose identity has not been determined.

“Where has hegone?” reads the text. “His family members are nowalone.”
Other texts said tohave been found include an unknown history of the Kingdom of Judea, passagesfrom the Book of Isaiah and some of the works of 10th-century sage RabbiSa’adia Gaon.

In addition, ringswith names such as Shmuel Bar-Yosef inscribed in Hebrew on them have surfaced.

The areain which the scrolls were discovered is on the SilkRoad, atrade route that connected eastern Asia with the MiddleEast and Europe, and that Jewish merchants often traveled.
Ya’ari quotedsources as saying the scrolls had first been moved to Pakistan’s Peshawarprovince, and from there been sold to antiquities dealers in Geneva, London,Dubai and Jerusalem.

You can read the whole article here.

I will add more as the information becomes available. Hopefully it is not another fraud as was the case with the Lead Codices last year.

The Biblical World's Top Posts of 2011

2011-12-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

Well this year is all but over. I have been blogging now for seventeen months. It all started as an experiment. I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it or not. To be honest, I find it a bit addictive. And I think the statistics help keep me going. I average about 24,000 visitors a month. But even more important than the statistics are the comments and emails. From time to time I wonder if this is project that is eating up too much of my time. Then I get a comment thanking me for a post. Or I receive an email telling me how much they enjoy my blog or how a post was inspiring to them. And so I continue.

What is funny, however, is the posts that seem to generate the most traffic are not the ones I would expect. And sometimes they are the ones that required the least amount of thought and effort. And so here they are, the top five posts of 2011.

The number one post of 2011 was actually written on December 2, 2010. But the attention it received was concentrated in the first 5 months of the year. The world watched as the end of the world was predicted to end on May 21st, 2011. And the date passed, and we are still here. But my post on the topic received 13,987 hits.
The second most popular post was about the supposed discovery of the Ark of the Covenant in Greece. This was short piece that I posted mostly because I thought it was silly. But several "prophecy" web sites picked up on it and it received 8,350 hits.
The third is also rapture related. I posted a video about the invention of the rapture, which not only generated 4,642 hits, but also made a number of people upset with me.
In fourth place is a post I did in June about questioning the historicity of the Adam and Eve story.
Finally, in fifth place is a post I did on Urban Legends of the Bible. Actually, I got the idea from Trevin Wax who listed the items first. I made the post on April 28th and received some good responses. But then about a month ago a Polish web site picked up on it and re-posted it . That drove the hit count up to 3,967.

While the top five certainly generated some traffic, here are some of my personal favorites from this year.

Resurrection: The Hope of Easter explained why I still have hope.
What we need to do after the rapture doesn't happen was my attempt to encourage people not to laugh at those who thought May 21 was the end of the world. Instead I suggested that they would need some to minister to them.
Between Fear and Faith was my thinking out loud about what happens when the faith you were raised on goes under radical change.
The Myth of the Church's Golden Age was me ranting about how everyone wants to go back to the good old days of the New Testament church. I suggested that no such golden age ever existed.
Finally, a more recent post was When the Manger is Empty: Childless at Christmas. This was an attempt at expressing the emotional and theological dissonance felt by infertile couples at this time of the year. I had no idea so many people would find it helpful.

There are many more I could mention, but these are the ones that stand out in my mind. And the responses to them encourage me to keep blogging. So to all my readers, wherever you are, I wish you a happy and prosperous new year. And I look forward to hearing from you in 2012.

Noah's Ark and the Persian Gulf.

2011-12-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

The story of Noah's Ark is well-known. And that there has been a lot of discussion about the story. It is true? Is it a myth? Was it a worldwide flood or only localized? Have explorers in Turkey discovered Noah's Ark? Did the flood create the Persian Gulf?

National Geographic is airing a program on January 5th in which Jeff Rose will suggest that the flood created the Persian Gulf.

Most people are familiar with the biblical story of a worldwideflood, where God destroyed all life on earth except the family of Noah and theanimals that they boarded on an ark. Scholars of ancient writings fromMesopotamia (now Iraq) point to texts written thousands of years before thebible that describe a flood and say that the bible story comes from thosestories. Others like archaeologist Jeff Rose say these pre-biblical storieshave merit because the destructive forces of water in a once tropical region inIraq, considered by some to have been the Garden of Eden, might have inspiredthe biblical story of Noah's Ark and the great flood. Dr. Rose believes that amassive flood once swallowed a landmass as big as Great Britain, created thePersian Gulf and sent tribes of Neolithic people into constant retreat from theever-rising waters. The documentary, Diving Into Noah's Flood, will air January 5, at 8 PM EST, onthe National Geographic Channel.

Here is a short clip from the forth coming show.

Star of Wonder, Star of Night

2011-12-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

The story of the Bethlehem star is well known. Every church nativity has a six year old dressed as a star and many Christmas trees are topped with one. And the star has been cast in many a Christmas movie. It's not uncommon for the protagonist to look up into the night sky and see a star. Although no explanation is given, it is understood that some connection between the present situation and that of the babe in Bethlehem is being alluded to.

The story is so well known that there have been a number of attempts by astronomers and others to determine what star the magi from the East saw and how it was that a star could move. There are couple of articles on the topic of the star that I ran across this week.

At the Washington Times, Amanda Read provides a theological explanation of the star and what it meant.

At National Geographic Robert J. Vanderbei of Princeton University looks at the story of the Bethlehem Star and suggests that it was created by a convergence of Jupiter and Venus on June 17 in 2 BC.

At MSNBC Joe Rao asks if it was a star or a comet.

Finally, Kelly Oconnell at the Canada Free Press adds a perspective that combines faith and science.

Rare Second Temple Coin and Seal

2011-12-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

The Israel antiquities announced on Sunday, Christmas day, the discovery of some rare artifacts. Here is what they had to say:

The Israel Antiquities Authority held a special pressconference in Jerusalem's City of David on Sunday to unveil a rare coin fromthe Second Temple era.

The cartouche – orseal – never seen by the public before, is the size of the modern New IsraeliShekel coin and bears the Aramaic inscriptions “it is pure” and a two-letterabbreviation for the name of God.It was discovered nearthe Robinson’s Arch at the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount.Archeologists say the soil layer above the Herodian road where the seal wasfound was dated to the first century BCE.

Archaeologist EliShukron of the Antiquities Authority, and Professor Ronny Reich of Haifa University,who oversaw the excavation, explained to reporters the significance of thecoin."This is thefirst time an object of this kind has been found. It is direct archaeologicalevidence of Jewish activity on the Temple Mount during the Second Temple era,"they said."Products beingbrought to the temple had to be stamped pure – which is what this seal was usedfor," they added.

Such seals arementioned in the Mishna and discussed in the Talmud – but the cartoucheunveiled today does not match any of the four inscriptions included in extanttexts."What we know isbrought down from the surviving literature," the archeologists said."Here archeology has brought us something new." Minister of CultureLimor Livnat and Minister of Education Gideon Saar joined dozens of studentsfor the unveiling. Saar said, "Theseal shows thedeep connection of Israel to the City of David. It is important excavations like these thatdemonstrate our bond toJerusalem. Everything uncovered here strengthens us."

In addition to theseal other artifacts were discovered dating to Second Temple period, and someto the days of the Hasmoneans – such as oil lamps, cooking pots made of clay, ajug containing oils and perfumes, as well as coins of the Hasmonean kings suchas Alexander Jannaeus and John Hyrcanus.

You can read the article here.

Merry Christmas to All My Readers

2011-12-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

The Gifts of the Magi: A Cure of Arthritis?

2011-12-23T09:27:00.002-05:00

Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh. According to the Gospel of Matthew those are the gifts brought to Jesus by the Magi. But what were they for? Over the years I have heard various explanations including: spending money for the trip to Egypt, for his eventual burial . . . But apparently it was for the cure of arthritis and other similar diseases. At least that is what recent studies are saying:

A remarkable new treatment for arthritis made from boswelliaserrata (frankincense) and commiphora molmol (myrrh) has been found to be assuccessful at reducing pain and inflammation caused by arthritis asconventional painkillers.The two ingredients have a medical history of relieving theinflammation associated with rheumatic and osteopathic forms of arthritis.There have been more than 20 scientific studies carried out onthese two ingredients in the past 15 years for the treatment of arthritic andother inflammation, the most recent of which was this year at the Indira GandhiMedical College at Nagpur in India. The boswellia serrata tree is found inIndia.
The study found that the myrrh extractsignificantly reduced swelling in hands and feet. It is thought to work byreducing the levels of leukotaxine (a chemical produced by injured tissue thatcauses inflammation) as well as helping to reduce the permeability of bloodcapillaries, which can also add to inflammation and pain in joints andsurrounding tissue.Myrrh, when taken orally in the same trial, helped reduceinflammation associated with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, which arealso thought to be triggered by high levels of leukotaxine in the intestinaltracts. The first UK trial of this treatment is being carried out by Dr RobertJacobs, a GP from Devon, on 30 of his arthritic patients.

You can read the rest of the article here and here.

I am not sure how much of this to believe. But I do think that that some gold would help me to forget my aches and pains for a while.

Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul?

2011-12-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

One of the difficulties facing readers of the New Testament is how to reconcile the teachings of Jesus with the theology/letters of Paul. Anyone who has done serious study of the New Testament will recognize that Paul can seem to be quite and enigma. It is not always clear that his theology lines up with what was taught by Jesus. No wonder some New Testament scholars have labeled Paul as the "founder of Christianity," meaning that what Paul founded is different than what Jesus had in mind.

It is this perceived conflict between Jesus and Paul that has led J.R. Daniel Kirk to write Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? (Baker Academic, 2012). Here is a description of the book.

Readers of the Bible are often drawn to Jesus's message and ministry, but they are not as positively inclined toward Paul. What should people who love Jesus do with Paul? Here Pauline scholar J. R. Daniel Kirk offers a fresh and timely engagement of the debated relationship between Paul's writings and the portrait of Jesus contained in the Gospels. He integrates the messages of Jesus and Paul both with one another and with the Old Testament, demonstrating the continuity that exists between these two foundational figures. After laying out the narrative contours of the Christian life, Kirk provides fresh perspective on challenging issues facing today's world, from environmental concerns to social justice to homosexuality.

The book will be released in January. I am grateful to Baker Academic for providing me with an advance copy. Over the course of two weeks (January 9th to January 20th) Baker will sponsoring another blog tour similar to the one I participated in for Bruce Fisk's A Hitchhiker's Guide to Jesus (Baker Academic, 2011). Each day over the two weeks different bloggers will be reviewing and interacting with the content of Kirk's book. I will be reviewing chapter 7 Liberty and Justice for All? on January 17th. I also plan to give away a copy of the book. In the mean time, you can visit the blog tour hub and view the short videos below to hear Kirk lay out a bit of what he tries to communicate in the book.

What's the Problem with Paul?

Deconstructing Paul

Christianity as Community

In the Classroom and Beyond

The Maccabeats: The Hanukkah Song

2011-12-21T16:00:00.000-05:00

In honor of the second night of Hanukkah here is a video.

Thanks to my colleague in the History Department, John Moser, for pointing this out to me.

Enjoy!

The Torah: A Beginners Guide

2011-12-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

Reading and understanding the Bible can be difficult. Whether you are a beginner or a scholar, it takes a lot of work to understand the complex book that is the Bible. It is made up of documents written in three different languages, across thousands of years, in a variety of genres and cultures. Sometimes what readers want/need is a guide to help them navigate the Bible, to give them some background information.

Among the numerous resources available are Study Bibles that allow the reader to look at footnotes or a side column and glean some information that helps make sense of what the text is saying. For those interested in a more formal approach there are many, many introductions to the Bible and more are published every year.

But few of these resources can be utilized by both Jews and Christians. Although Jews and Christians have a common interest in the 39 books that make up the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, there are few resources that can be shared by both. Invariably, each book or study Bible is designed with a target audience in mind and little if any thought or space is given to how the other faith community interprets and/or uses the scriptures. Sadly this is the case with most resources that are not used by those with more scholarly interests.

But this gap between the two faith communities is reduced in the new book by Joel Kaminsky and Joel Lohr The Torah: A Beginners Guides (Oneworld Publications, 2011). Kaminsky is a Jew and Lohr a Christian. Together they combine their respective faiths and expertise to introduce readers to the first five books of the Bible commonly known as the Pentateuch or Torah.

After covering a few basics like the language of the Pentateuch, authorship and versions they explore the Torah as a religious book for both Jews and Christians and in a separate chapter they explore modern interpretive methods. After laying this groundwork they devote a separate chapter to each of the five books. Each chapter:

Discusses the book’s placement in the Torah
Provides an overview of the book’s content
Covers some of the critical issues related to the book
Explains how the book is used by both Jews and Christians

In addition there are a number of dialogue boxes that briefly looks at topics such as “Monotheism vs Monolatry,” “The Meaning of Purity in Leviticus” and “The Voice of Women in the Torah,” to name just a few. The volume is complemented with a helpful glossary of terms, lists of suggested readings for further study, and a set of time-lines.

This book is ideal for those who want to learn more about the first five books of the Bible, but also need a book that is accessible. Kaminsky and Lohr do a good job of introducing some important concepts for readers who are new to the subject. It would also be ideal for undergrad Bible classes and small study groups.

The book only costs $9.95 which makes it even more attractive.

Happy Hanukkah!

2011-12-20T16:00:00.000-05:00

This is the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish celebration of lights. This is when Jews across the world commemorate their victory of Antiochus IV Epiphanes who outlawed Jewish worship and desecrated the temple. The earliest source we have for the holiday is Josephus' Antiquities 12.

Now Judas celebrated the festival of the restoration of the sacrifices of the temple for eight days, and omitted no sort of pleasures thereon; but he feasted them upon very rich and splendid sacrifices; and he honored God, and delighted them by hymns and psalms. Nay, they were so very glad at the revival of their customs, when, after a long time of intermission, they unexpectedly had regained the freedom of their worship, that they made it a law for their posterity, that they should keep a festival, on account of the restoration of their temple worship, for eight days. And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights. I suppose the reason was, because this liberty beyond our hopes appeared to us; and that thence was the name given to that festival. Judas also rebuilt the walls round about the city, and reared towers of great height against the incursions of enemies, and set guards therein. He also fortified the city Bethsura, that it might serve as a citadel against any distresses that might come from our enemies.

You can learn more about the holiday here.

Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish readers!

We're not dead yet! Christianity is still the world's largest religion.

2011-12-20T00:00:00.001-05:00

It is not unusual to read or hear about the steady decline of Christianity in the world. And to some degree this is true, at least in places like Europe and North America. But in the two-thirds world, Christianity is growing. The result is that the growth of Christianity has been somewhat consistent over the last 100 years, but the location of the growth has shifted.

The Pew Forum has released a report on Global Christianity. Here is a bit of what they have to say.

A comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries finds that there are 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world, representing nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of 6.9 billion. Christians are also geographically widespread – so far-flung, in fact, that no single continent or region can indisputably claim to be the center of global Christianity.

A century ago, this was not the case. In 1910, about two-thirds of the world’s Christians lived in Europe, where the bulk of Christians had been for a millennium, according to historical estimates by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity. Today, only about a quarter of all Christians live in Europe (26%). A plurality – more than a third – now are in the Americas (37%). About one in every four Christians lives in sub-Saharan Africa (24%), and about one-in-eight is found in Asia and the Pacific (13%).

The number of Christians around the world has nearly quadrupled in the last 100 years, from about 600 million in 1910 to more than 2 billion in 2010. But the world’s overall population also has risen rapidly, from an estimated 1.8 billion in 1910 to 6.9 billion in 2010. As a result, Christians make up about the same portion of the world’s population today (32%) as they did a century ago (35%).

This apparent stability, however, masks a momentous shift. Although Europe and the Americas still are home to a majority of the world’s Christians (63%), that share is much lower than it was in 1910 (93%). And the proportion of Europeans and Americans who are Christian has dropped from 95% in 1910 to 76% in 2010 in Europe as a whole, and from 96% to 86% in the Americas as a whole.

Christianity is still the largest religion in the world followed by Islam. But the center is moving elsewhere from Europe and North America. As they say in real estate. It's all about location.

You can read the whole report here. There site also provides some interactive maps and a quiz. I got eight out of ten correct.

Advice for Seminarians from a Graduating Seminarian

2011-12-19T00:00:00.001-05:00

We have just ended another term at Ashland. I am still grading, but the students are probably already enjoying their break. Some are enjoying it more than others because they graduated this month. For them, the process is over. For others, it will continue another six months or more.

Over at the Christianity Matters Blog, Casey has posted eleven things that students in seminary should know. I liked what he had to say and decided to repost here. The only thing I adjusted was number eight by assuming that, at least for my students, their supporting spouse could be either a husband or wife. So if you are currently in seminary or thinking about enrolling, have a read of what Casey has to say. And do please visit his blog and perhaps leave a comment.

HT: Charles @ BibleX

1. Seminary requires you to be a good researcher and writer

In order to learn the trade well, it would be wise to spend time reading books on writing and research, knowing the better researcher and writer you become, the better speaker you will be. In addition, the better writer you become, the better reader you will be, helping you to better process the overwhelming material you will read during your time in seminary.

2. Seminary provides you with tools, it does not teach you everything you need to know

Receiving your diploma does not mean your studying is over. You could argue seminary is just the beginning of your theological education, giving you the ability to pursue further self-study. In order to serve a church well, those graduating from seminary need to continue to study, research, and write, faithfully exercising the skills developed during their time in seminary.

3. Make an effort to develop good friendships

Not only are you making friends for life, who will be a rock for you to lean on during your days in ministry, but you will learn more outside of the classroom in conversations with friends than during lectures. Since this is true, you should take as many classes as you can with your friends, and discuss the lectures and readings as often as possible. I have learned more, and been challenged more, during conversations with friends at Starbucks and over lunch than I would have if I solely relied on my personal study of class lectures.

4. Develop friendships with your professors

I have spent time getting to know several professors throughout my seminary career. These men have given me solid biblical advice, as well as challenged me in my spiritual life. It is worth it to put forth the effort to get to know a few professors on a deeper level.

5. Find a solid local church and pour into it

Don’t coast through your seminary career thinking you will minister when you take on your first church. Find a church now, plug in, spend as much time with the leadership there as you can, and minister to as many people as you can, even if it is not from the pulpit. In addition, you should give the church you attend during seminary the same opportunity to examine your calling to the ministry as you did your home church.

6. Buy as many books as you can

In order to find books at a reasonable price, spend time finding the discount book sellers in your area. A high concentration of seminary students equals a greater potential for a gold mine of cheap theology books to develop in your local used book stores. Visit these stores often; especially, at the end of a semester when other students may be unloading their unwanted books. What one student does not want, may be a gem to another.

7. Attend Conferences

Most conferences will allow you to attend at a cheaper rate while you are in seminary. Take the opportunity while you have it, knowing that traveling with friends and networking with other pastors from around the country is priceless. Not to mention, most conferences give away books like they are candy. It is not uncommon to walk away with 20-30 free books written by your favorite authors and speakers.

8. Set aside time for your wife/husband

Seminary can easily dominate all your free time, so it is important you set aside time to spend with your husband/wife, remembering she/he is your first ministry.

9. Make time for your personal relationship with the Lord

Even a theological education is no substitute for one’s devotional life. Setting aside time to do your daily devotion is crucial to your growth in the Christian life.

10. Plan out your semester

Nothing is more stressful than having to write three papers and study for two tests in the same week. In order to avoid that type of stress, setup a schedule and plan at the beginning of each semester and stick to it. If you planned well, and started your projects early enough, you should have no problem turning in your best work with minimal stress.

11. Have fun

Seminary is a time for serious study and preparation for ministry, but it is also a time to enjoy life. Don’t always act so serious, and take the opportunity to get involved in intramural sports, as well as seek out a hobby other than reading. Always make sure to set aside time during the week to relax with friends and family.

Book Giveaway Winner!

2011-12-18T11:43:00.003-05:00

This week's giveaway winner is Carl S. Sweatman! He is the winner of N.T. Wright's - The Resurrection of the Son of God (Fortress, 2003).

Carl, please send your details to jbyron@ashland.edu and I will send the book out this week. Remember, you have five days to claim the prize.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaways the past three weeks. Friday book giveaway will resume sometime after the holidays. In the mean time, many thanks to all of my readers.

The Theology of Snoopy

2011-12-17T17:22:00.006-05:00

I think this comic describes an attitude we should all bring to the task of biblical and theological studies. We develop our theories, form conclusions and forget that we just might be wrong. I think we could all learn something from Snoopy.

HT: The Pangea Blog.

Friday Book Giveaway! Special Holiday Edition

2011-12-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

This is the last week of the book giveaway before Christmas. This week I am giving away N.T. Wright's - The Resurrection of the Son of God (Fortress, 2003). Here is the blurb.

Why did Christianity begin, and why did it take the shape it did? To answer this question – which any historian must face – renowned New Testament scholar N.T. Wright focuses on the key points: what precisely happened at Easter? What did the early Christians mean when they said that Jesus of Nazareth had been raised from the dead? What can be said today about his belief?

This book, third is Wright’s series Christian Origins and the Question of God, sketches a map of ancient beliefs about life after death, in both the Greco-Roman and Jewish worlds. It then highlights the fact that the early Christians’ belief about the afterlife belonged firmly on the Jewish spectrum, while introducing several new mutations and sharper definitions. This, together with other features of early Christianity, forces the historian to read the Easter narratives in the gospels, not simply as late rationalizations of early Christian spirituality, but as accounts of two actual events: the empty tomb of Jesus and his "appearances."
How do we explain these phenomena? The early Christians’ answer was that Jesus had indeed been bodily raised from the dead; that was why they hailed him as the messianic "son of God." No modern historian has come up with a more convincing explanation. Facing this question, we are confronted to this day with the most central issues of the Christian worldview and theology.

So if you want to win this book put your name below and I will draw a random winner on Sunday. Once chosen the winner has five days to claim the book. Good luck to you all.

Must you believe in the Virgin Birth to be a Christian?

2011-12-15T09:12:00.004-05:00

I know this is not a topic that many are comfortable talking about. It is also Advent/Christmas and thus the Virgin Birth is on the minds of many. As we know, the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke say that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin when she became pregnant with Jesus. But not everyone believes it. And I am not just talking about "scholars." There are a number of people who call themselves Christians and yet do not believe in the virgin birth. For whatever reason they find it to be a pious legend the communicates more theology than history.

The question I would like to put to my readers is: Must one believe in the Virgin Birth to be a Christian? The impetus for the question comes from an article Albert Mohler wrote yesterday in which he argues that one cannot be a Christian and not believe in the Virgin Birth. He concludes the article with this statement.

This much we know: All those who find salvation will be saved by the atoning work of Jesus the Christ — the virgin-born Savior. Anything less than this is just not Christianity, whatever it may call itself. A true Christian will not deny the Virgin Birth.

So my question is this - Must a Christian believe in the Virgin Birth? Must they be convinced of its historical veracity? What I am NOT asking for is evidence for or against the virgin birth. I know the arguments and that is a different topic. But I am interested in hearing as to whether you think a person can be a Christian and NOT believe in the historical veracity of the virgin birth and why or why not.

HT: Allan Bevere

When the Manger is Empty: Childless at Christmas

2011-12-14T00:00:00.001-05:00

While some people call this time of the year the “Christmas Season” it is technically Advent. For those who follow or are familiar with the liturgical calendar, Advent is the season in which the church looks forward to the coming of Christmas, the birth of Christ. During the four weeks prior to Christmas day, churches across the world will read scriptures and sing songs expressing the hope that the Christ will be born. It is a time when the church looks forward to celebrating the first coming of Jesus, as an infant, incarnate. In some churches a manger is positioned at the front. But the baby Jesus is not placed in the manger because it is not yet Christmas. Christ has not yet come. But on Christmas Eve/Day the babe will be placed in the manger as part of the celebration of Messiah’s coming. Until then, however, the manger remains empty.

But in the midst of the celebration there are those who find Advent and Christmas a struggle. It is a painful reminder that for them the manger in their own home is empty. It is empty not because they are not religious. Not because they refuse to participate, but because they are unable to fill that manger. They are among the six million couples a year that learn that they are unable to have children. And the irony of the season is not lost on them. As the church celebrates God’s gift to the world, a baby, they are keenly aware that there is a level at which they cannot participate in the Advent celebration. The coming of the Messiah is somehow dulled by their realization that God’s gift seems to have skipped over them. There is a feeling of disconnect for them as they hear the promises of Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23 and Luke 1:29-33 read in church, all of which speak of a child, of joy, of great things to come. And yet, the childless couple is unable to identify. Add to this the overwhelming focus on children at Christmas (a good thing), and the season is more crushing than uplifting.

The Bible is of little help to the childless couple. A quick survey of the Bible reveals a number of stories about childless couples. Most of them focus on the woman’s inability to conceive. All of them, without exception, find resolution when God opens the womb. Quite often the focus of readers, teachers and preachers of the Bible is on the divine intervention that finally allows the woman to bear a child and bring to fruition a previous promise made by God. But the absence of stories about promises to those who remain childless creates a painful cycle for the couple. The story of the Christian Bible focuses on the promise and birth of the baby. But there is no place in the Bible for the couple to turn to find comfort when their own manger remains empty.

Ministers will often recognize the pain that a Mother’s day or Father’s day celebration can cause to a childless couple. Usually these couples will stay home from church on that Sunday. They don’t want to spoil the celebrations of others, but they also don’t want a reminder of what is lacking in their own life. But some are unaware that there is a level of discomfort at Christmas as well. And it is theological as well as emotional. Why is it that God overturns the circumstances of every childless couple in the Bible, but leaves them in their own circumstances? God makes promises to the barren Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary, but where are the promises of God to them? How can they process their situation theologically? In the midst of the celebration of Christmas, the birth of a promised baby, they live in theological silence. There are no answers. And Advent and Christmas becomes a bittersweet time as they join the church to celebrate God’s gift, while their own manger remains empty.

I have been unable to find a way to close this post. Indeed, it may be that closure is not the answer here since for many childless couples closure is not something that ever fully happens. I decided to Google the phrase “Childless at Christmas” to see if anyone else had thoughts. I found two columns recently published on the topic. One from the Australian Sydney Morning Herald and the other from the UK Daily Mail. Neither of them proposes answers to the theological aspect of being childless at Christmas. But perhaps you will find them helpful if you find yourself ministering to a childless couple this Christmas. If you are childless this Christmas, perhaps this blog or the linked articles will at least let you know that you are not alone.

The Credibility of the Miracles in the New Testament

2011-12-12T00:00:00.001-05:00

Miracles. The Bible is full of them. But few in the western world have ever see one. I know I have never seen one. I have heard plenty of stories about them, but they always seem to take place somewhere else. A place where I can't got to see it or the person who experienced the miracle.

And the truth is the longer you go without seeing a miracle the more you suspect that they no longer happen today or, quite simply, never happened in the past either. This is a particular problem of the modern age. We can explain so much through science that we are able to explain away many things that might have been called a miracle. The same happens with the miracles in the Bible.

But Craig Keener believes in miracles, especially the ones of the Bible and says that modern believers should expect them. Keener is professor of New Testament at Asbury Seminary and has recently published a two-volume work titled: Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts (Baker, 2011).

Most modern prejudice against biblical miracle reports depends on David Hume's argument that uniform human experience precludes the possibility of miracles. Yet current research shows that human experience has been far from uniform.

Hundreds of millions of people all over the world in all cultures, in both ancient times and in modern times, claim to have experienced miracles. In Miracles New Testament scholar Craig Keener argues that it is time to reevaluate Hume's evaluation of the miraculous in light of the growing stock of evidence available to us in support of miraculous events.

This magisterial, wide-ranging and meticulously researched two-volume study presents the most thorough current defense of the credibility of the miracle reports in earliest Christian history, namely the Gospels and Acts, and also for plausibility of the miraculous occurring in today's world. Covering methodological concerns and assumptions, empirical evidence, and majority-world assumptions, Keener also draws on claims from a range of global cultures and takes a multidisciplinary approach to the problem of miracles.

Thus Keener argues, that when the methodological issues are properly dealt with, and the historiographical veracity of many miracle accounts throughout history and from contemporary times are explained, our best option remains to acknowledge them as genuine divine acts which, in turn, lend credence to biblical miracle reports.

Keener recently gave an interview to Christianity Today about his book. Here is some of what he had to say about miracles and New Testament scholarship:

Miracles are an unusual subject for a New Testament scholar. What led you to it?

I was going to write a footnote in my commentary on Acts, and was dealing with questions of historical reliability. Many scholars dismiss miracle stories as not historically plausible, arguing that they arose as legendary accretions.

I was familiar with [contemporary] reports of miracles taking place. There must be thousands of such reports. It was inconceivable to me that people would say eyewitnesses can't claim to have seen such things.

What do you want to accomplish with this book?

Primarily, to challenge scholars who dismiss miracles in the Gospels as legends and not historically plausible. Eyewitnesses say these kinds of things all the time. I also want to challenge the bias that says these things can't be supernatural. I believe God does miracles, and I don't see why we scholars are not allowed to talk about it.

What does New Testament scholarship gain from taking miracle stories seriously as historical phenomena?

We have been embarrassed by the miracle stories, and have tended to allegorize them more than other narratives. Accounts from the Temple of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing—nobody allegorizes those. I agree that the Gospel writers are teaching us broader principles with broader applications. But in much of the majority world, when people read these narratives of healing, they see a God who cares about their suffering, who meets them at their point of need. I think we in the West can learn from the way they hear.

One of your main points is that non-Western cultures may provide a better paradigm for reading the Gospels than the academic Western paradigm. Can you say more?

Most cultures believe and report experiences that do not easily fit our Enlightenment paradigm. Hume may have been aware of that, because he makes a point of dismissing reports from "ignorant, barbarous" peoples. Hume's ethnocentrism is well-documented. It's not an argument that would fly too well in the 21st century.

Are you suggesting that even in our own era, there is an ethnocentrism in the way scholars read the New Testament?

Yes, though I think there is more openness today. If somebody today said what Bultmann said, that nobody in the modern world believes in miracles, then that would be flat-out having your head in the sand.

You can read the rest of the interview here. In addition to talking about New Testament scholarship Keener talks about his own experiences with researching the miraculous. It is an interesting read and I imagine his book will generate a good discussion.

Friday Book Giveaway Winner

2011-12-11T10:42:00.002-05:00

Congrats to Jeremy Miller! He is this week's Friday Book Giveaway winner. Jeremy has won David deSilva's - An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation(IVP, 2004).

Jeremy, you five days to email your details to jbyron@ashland.edu. Failure to claim your book in five days will return the book to the shelf.

Didn't win this week? Don't forget that next Friday I will be giving away a copy of N.T. Wright's - The Resurrection of the Son of God (Fortress, 2003).

Friday Book Giveaway! Special Holiday Edition

2011-12-09T00:00:00.001-05:00

Hello again blog fans. By way of reminder, in honor of the holidays I am giving away a book each Friday until December 16th. That means that if you are a reader of this blog and either want a book for yourself or to put under the tree for someone special, you have three chances to win before Christmas.

Last week I gave away Ben Witherington's - The Indelible Image: The Theological and Ethical Thought World of the New Testament Vol. One which was won by Mike Suh.

This week I am giving away David deSilva's - An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation (IVP, 2004). Here is the blurb:

A 2005 Gold Medallion finalist! Some introductions to the New Testament highlight the historical contexts in which the New Testament literature was written. This introduction gives particular attention to the social, cultural and rhetorical contexts of the New Testament authors and their writings. Few introductions to the New Testament integrate instruction in exegetical and interpretive strategies with their customary considerations of authorship, dating, audience and message. This introduction capitalizes on the opportunities, introducing students to a relevant facet of interpretation with each portion of New Testament literature. Rarely do introductions to the New Testament approach their task mindful of the needs of students preparing for ministry. This introduction is explicit in doing so, assuming as it does that the New Testament itself--in its parts and as a whole--is a pastoral response. Each chapter on the New Testament literature closes with a discussion of the implications for ministry formation. These integrative features alone would distinguish this introduction from others. But in addition, its pages brim with maps, photos, points of interest and aids to learning. Separate chapters explore the historical and cultural environment of the New Testament era, the nature of the Gospels and the quest for the historical Jesus, and the life of Paul. This introduction by David A. deSilva sets a new standard for its genre and is bound to appeal to many who believe that the New Testament should be introduced as if both scholarship and ministry mattered.

Winners will be selected on the Sunday following the Friday the book is posted. As always, the winner has five days to claim their book once their name has been posted. All unclaimed books go back on the shelf.

Leave your name below and check back on Sunday.

Don't forget that next Friday I will be giving away a copy of N.T. Wright's - The Resurrection of the Son of God (Fortress, 2003).

The Nativity Factor

2011-12-08T00:00:00.002-05:00

Over at the EChurch Blog Stuart James has posted a link to the Nativity Factor. The Nativity Factor is a competition sponsored by ITN in the UK. Entrants were asked to create a 30 second to 3 minute long video in which they creatively (re)tell the story of Christ's birth. At last count 66 clips have been loaded. You can watch the others at the Nativity Factor web site and vote for your favorite. Some of these would work very well as part of a sermon.

I Have posted my four favorite below.

This one is a retelling of the story from the Inn Keeper's perspective.

This one was entered in the under 16 group. Very creative way to use Legos.

This one is a bit more hip.

This one is very different than the other three.

It shows scenes of modern day Bethlehem and reminds us that although the city is very different today than it was 200 years ago, some things are similar. Bethlehem in the first century and the twenty-first century is an occupied city. And yet it is a place of hope.

The Theology of Gilligan's Island: Who'd of thought it?

2011-12-07T00:00:00.001-05:00

Gilligan's Island was one of favorite shows growing up. The reruns were aired everyday on channel 5. I have probably seen every episode including the TV movies Escape from Gillian's Island and Return to Gilligan's Island.

But little did I know that while I was watching the show I was also learning theology. I didn't not realize that the island was actually hell, Gilligan the devil and that each character was a metaphorical representation for the Seven Deadly Sins. At least that is what its creator Sherwood Schwartz claimed. Below is a short piece that appeared on NPR in 2008, but was only brought to my attention recently.

Poor castaways. Each week they would devise a way off the island. Each week Gilligan would thwart their escape usually with the best of intentions.

Years after the show ended, its creator, Sherwood Schwartz, admitted that each of the characters represented one of the seven deadly sins Pride (the Professor), Anger (Skipper), Lust, (Ginger), and the rest. Gilligan was supposed to be Sloth.

But a closer viewing indicates that the island may well have been Hell — and the red-clad Gilligan the devil who kept them on his island.

The greatest part of the metaphor, though, is that if the others ever wanted to get off the island, what they needed to do was kill Gilligan — and that each of us has our own inner Gilligan, that sweet-natured, well-meaning part of us that always sabotages us from getting what we really want.

Maybe if we truly want to succeed in life, we need to kill our own inner Gilligan.

I suppose watching Gilligan's Island may have had a profound influence on my becoming a biblical scholar. Of course, at one time I probably knew Gilligan's Island better than the Bible.

I wonder, however, if any of this is true or if it is just a way to get people to keep watching a silly show. No matter, if I would see it on today I would still sit down and watch it.

How Saint Paul Bribed the Early Church

2011-12-06T08:15:00.003-05:00

The Jerusalem collection is a well-known feature of the Apostle Paul's story. According to Acts and some of Paul's letters, Jerusalem was suffering a severe food shortage (Acts calls it a famine). Paul took it upon himself to gather a collection from among the Gentile churches he founded and to present it to the Jerusalem church. It was Paul's way of showing the Jewish believers in Jesus that the Gentile believers were concerned for their fellow Christians in Judea. It was also Paul's way of demonstrating that he understood that Jerusalem was still the center of Christianity, the home base of the movement.

So was it a bribe? Was Paul attempting to use the generosity of the Gentile churches as a way to get approval from the Jerusalem authorities for his Gentile mission? Was this what Paul means in Galatians 2:9-10 when he recounts that James and John endorsed his mission, with the proviso that he "remember the poor"? Was it a polite bribe? That is how some New Testament scholars have described it. And now it is the basis of a new film about the Apostle Paul.

Robert Orlando is the writer and director of the soon to be released A Polite Bribe. This movie/documentary looks at the story of Paul and the collection that he gathered for the Jerusalem church. It features a wide selection of New Testament scholars from across the theological spectrum.

Below is a trailer for the film. The promotional web site also contains a number of short video clips featuring some of the scholars interviewed in the film. The trailer says it is being released in "select theaters" on December 29th. Somehow I don't think Ashland will be one of those "select theaters." I will post more as information becomes available.

A Polite Bribe: Trailer Nov 2011 from The Paul Story on Vimeo.

Bethlehemian Rhapsody

2011-12-05T00:00:00.001-05:00

Here is a bit of fun for a Monday.

One of the all time classic rock songs is Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. I just don't get tired of hearing it. And I have Jimmy Dunn to thank for a new appreciation for Queen's music since Bohemian Rhapsody is also a favorite of his. I have fond memories of sitting in Durham Cathedral during the SNTS conference listening to the North East choral group performing the song for us.

Well in honor of Christmas, here is a seasonal version of that song. Bethlehemian Rhapsody.

HT: Mark Goodacre and James McGrath

Book Giveaway Winner!

2011-12-04T08:32:00.002-05:00

Congrats to Mike Suh! He is the winner of this week's giveaway.

Mike has won Ben Witherington's - The Indelible Image: The Theological and Ethical Thought World of the New Testament Vol. One (IVP, 2009).

Mike, send your details to jbyron@ashland.edu and I will send the book out this week. Remember, you have 5 days to claim the book.

Didn't win this week? Check back next Friday with I will be giving a way a copy of David deSilva - An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation (IVP, 2004).

Friday Book Giveaway! Special Holiday Edition

2011-12-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

Forget Black Friday! Who needs to wait in long lines for cheap stuff?

Forget cyber Monday! Who cares what deals you can buy online?

I know what my readers want. They want free books just for the asking!

So, in honor of the holidays I will be giving away a book each Friday until December 16th. That means that if you are a reader of this blog and either want a book for yourself or to put under the tree for someone special, you have three chances to win before Christmas (Xmas). And, I am going to tell you in advance which ones I am giving away in the order you can expect them.

Today - Ben Witherington - The Indelible Image: The Theological and Ethical Thought World of the New Testament Vol. One (IVP, 2009).

December 9th - David deSilva - An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation (IVP, 2004).

December 16th - N.T. Wright - The Resurrection of the Son of God (Fortress, 2003).

So check back each week and put you name in the drawing and put a book under your tree (they are much to thick for stockings). Winners will be selected on the Sunday following the Friday the book is posted. As always, the winner has five days to claim their book once their name has been posted. All unclaimed books go back on the shelf.

In the mean time, here is the blurb for Witherington's book.

All too often, argues Ben Witherington, the theology of the New Testament has been divorced from its ethics, leaving as isolated abstractions what are fully integrated, dynamic elements within the New Testament itself. As Witherington stresses, "behavior affects and reinforces or undoes belief."

Having completed commentaries on all of the New Testament books, a remarkable feat in itself, Witherington now offers the first of a two-volume set on the theological and ethical thought world of the New Testament. The first volume looks at the individual witnesses, while the second examines the collective witness.

The New Testament, says Ben Witherington, is "like a smallish choir. All are singing the same cantata, but each has an individual voice and is singing its own parts and notes. If we fail to pay attention to all the voices in the choir, we do not get the entire effect. . . . If this first volume is about closely analyzing the sheet music left to us by which each musician's part is delineated, the second volume will attempt to re-create what it might have sounded like had they ever gotten together and performed their scores to produce a single masterful cantata."

What the New Testament authors have in mind, Witherington contends, is that all believers should be conformed in thought, word and deed to the image of Jesus Christ--the indelible image.

Leave your name below and good luck to you all.

Thoughts on Applying for a PhD in Biblical and Theological Studies

2011-12-01T00:00:00.001-05:00

Several times a year a student will make an appointment with me to discuss what it takes to earn a PhD degree. These are often students who enjoy learning and the academic setting and would like to continue on to the next level. I usually begin by asking them why they would like a PhD and why they believe they need one. After a few more preliminary questions I lay out for them what is involved in getting the degree. At some point in the conversation they begin to realize that this is not like earning a second, slightly more advanced masters degree. I then usually say something like “there is a reason they call it a terminal degree.” By the end of our 30 minute meeting many of those students leave my office wide-eyed at what it takes to earn a PhD and convinced it is not for them. This is a completely different degree with all kinds of new expectations and demands.

While I may sound like the fount of all wisdom to the students who visit my office, I remember being in the same situation. Not only did I not know what was required to earn a PhD, I had no idea what a PhD was. Honestly, I knew that professors were called “Dr” but I had never stopped to ask why (nor did I care). I entered my masters program with no intention of going beyond that degree. It was a miracle that I had made it that far in my academic pursuits and even wanted to go that far. School and I did not have a very positive experience. So when I entered a graduate program and began to meet people with PhDs I was introduced to a whole new aspect of the academic world.

Over time, however, I began to realize the need for a PhD, which in turn birthed the desire. I was fortunate to have some professors who not only encouraged me to move forward, but also provided some helpful guidance and contacted their own friends and mentors at the institutions where I was hoping to enroll. Long story short, I was accepted at the University of Durham and completed the PhD in 2002.

Ever since I have tried to provide my students with helpful advice as they seek to follow the same path. After eight years of teaching I have seen four of my students enter PhD programs and one a ThM. I am hoping and praying that they will all finish successfully. When I do find a student that I think will be successful and should apply to a program I provide some suggestions that might help them. Perhaps you will find them helpful if you are considering applying for a program.

Have a 5 to 10 year plan

Getting a PhD takes time. The average program in North America lasts five years (three years course work, two years writing). In the UK the program is slated as three years, but often takes four (or more). If you are in, say, the second year of a master’s program then you are at least two years away from entering a PhD program and at least five from finishing. That is at least seven years. And if you hope to find a job you will need to build in a one to two year buffer to find that job after completing the degree. Most people do not walk out of a program into a job. I started my master’s degree when I was 25 and started my first teaching job when as I was 35.

Take the Kaplan GRE class

If you are applying to programs in the USA (Canada?) you will need to take the GRE exam. I am not convinced that this is always the best policy since taking this type of exam is not necessarily an indicator of success, but that is the way things are. In order to prepare for this exam students will buy preparation books that help them to learn vocabulary, brush up on their math, and sharpen their analytical skills. This is what I did and my scores were satisfactory (my math skill was my lowest, which is why my wife has the business degree). But over the last few years I have had several students take the Kaplan GRE preparation course. This is not a way to cheat. The GRE is a particular kind of test, one you will most likely never see again. The Kaplan course helps you learn how to take the exam so that your score correctly reflects your knowledge of the subjects rather than your inability to figure out how the exam is written. At least two of my students have taken the GRE using the preparation book they bought off Amazon and then took the exam a second time after taking the Kaplan course. In both cases their scores increased dramatically. The course will cost about $1200. I know that is a lot for a student, but consider it an investment. A good score will not only help increase your chances of getting into a program, it could also help to earn you a scholarship.

Learn the Languages

Most PhD programs, especially in biblical and theological studies, require that you know a number of ancient and modern languages. Make sure that you learn your Hebrew and Greek in your masters program. Take advance level courses and, if possible, sign up for courses and directed studies that require you to use and advance your languages skills. And if possible learn at least German. Here at Ashland we offer two terms in Theological German. The course won’t have you ordering schnitzel and a beer at your favorite German restaurant, but it will help you to read Bultmann and others. If you can learn French do that as well. But I would also recommend learning a language like Spanish. The population of Spanish speakers (at least in North America) is growing and knowing another modern language will only help you, especially when you are looking for a job. I learned German before I entered my PhD program. The advantage of having some ability in the language before beginning the program is that it will reduce the pressure on you once you are enrolled. It will be one less thing you have to learn.

Be careful where you go, remember you want to get a job someday

Students usually already have an idea of where they want to enroll for a PhD. Since I work at a seminary the students often are thinking about other seminaries or denominationally affiliated institutions. That is fine if you only ever want to work in schools associated with that particular denomination. But if you are hoping to increase your employability beyond your own denomination then I recommend going to a university where denominational ties are either weaker or non-existent. Remember, there will be a lot of PhDs applying for about 50 jobs a year and you want to attract the attention of as many of them as possible. On the flipside, not going to a program sponsored by or associated with a denomination can also hurt your employability. Many schools require that their professors be a member of denomination “X” if they want to teach there. Consequently, a PhD from the denomination’s school is more attractive to them. So know what kind of institution you hope to teach at and plan accordingly.

Who you work with can be just as important as where you go

Simply saying that got your degree from the PhD program at Ivory Tower University does not mean that you will get a job. Sometimes it matters who you work with in that program. Don’t simply choose a school based on its name. Who is teaching there? What are their areas of research and publication? How can this person help you to advance in your own academic career? Once you have isolated a dozen or so potential mentors write them a short email, introduce yourself, and explain you research interests and your hopes for the future. Ask them about the program at their institution and whether or not it is the place for you. Keep the email to no more than a paragraph or two. Long emails from strangers are not always the kind of things professors like to find in their inbox. Some of the people you write will answer within a few days to a few weeks (they are busy). Some will never answer you. Take that as a hint. Remember you need to work with this person for several years and you want to finish. So, when possible, try to find a person who will at least respond to you and perhaps would be a good mentor

Apply to a number of schools

Finally, once you have taken your GRE exam, learned your languages and located some potential mentors, you need to make application. Do not apply to only two or three schools. The competition is fierce for these programs; some only take ten or less new students a year. I suggest that if you are serious about getting the degree that you apply to as many schools as possible. I once had a student apply to twenty different schools. A bit excessive, perhaps, but in the end he had both acceptance and rejection letters, which means that he had the opportunity to choose from the acceptance letters where he wanted to go. True, the application fees can add up. But, if you apply to two schools and don’t get in you are not only out the application fee, you are stuck at your current degree level and your career has stalled. On the other hand, if you apply to ten schools and get accepted by two or three you are then in the position to choose and can move ahead in your career. Yes the process was more expensive, but in the end your investment got you where you want to be.

There is much more that I could say. And then of course there is the other whole topic of actually completing the PhD program successfully once you are enrolled. But if you are getting ready to or thinking about applying, then the above should help. I would be interested to read any other advice that others may have for those interested in getting a PhD. Leave a comment below.

The Journey to Christmas

2011-11-30T00:00:00.002-05:00

Brian Leport alerted me to this video series on Facebook. It is called the Journey to Christmas a series hosted by Craig Evans that will air this Saturday evening at 7:00pm in Canada on CTS.

According to the the web site journeytochristmas.com this is a four part (four hour) series in which Evans and others takes a group of five people to Israel and learn about the Christmas story. Here is the the trailer.

If you are unable to watch the show (I am not sure if or when might air in the USA) there are a number of clips available that are taken from the series. Simply go to the journeytochristmas.com click the "experts" tab and then below each "expert" a related video will appear. Topics covered include synagogues, Herod the Great, and the Dead Sea Scrolls, to name a few.

Inking the Deal: How to be a successful academic publisher

2011-11-29T00:00:00.002-05:00

A Ph.D. is an odd animal. It is the degree required by most institutions if you want to teach. So you get the degree to teach at a school, but often the requirement to keep that job is that you become a regularly published author. Few Ph.D. programs prepare you for either of these tasks. For instance, I am unfamiliar with a Ph.D. program that offers seminars on effective teaching methods. Instead, seminars are research focused to help you write that all important dissertation so you can get the degree and then get the job. The result? God help the poor students who sit in a class being “taught” by a newly minted PhD who has little to no teaching experience. These professors have been taught how to research knowledge, not how to communicate it. Luckily a number of books exist to help the new professor and there has been an effort in the guild to help the new professor communicate their knowledge in an effective way.

But the PhD program also does not teach you how to develop a publishing lifestyle. Often the candidate feels like she or he is groping about in the dark, bumping up against objects, seeking to publish that first article, hopefully before he or she completes the PhD program because that may help you land that first teaching job (see the above paragraph). Often the PhD candidate or new professor will publish an article or maybe even their dissertation, but does not really have a feel for how publishing happens. Usually they are relieved that they did it, even if they are not exactly sure how.

My own success in publishing is more a result of my stumbling along and learning as I go rather than from applying words of wisdom from a mentor. I have been publishing for eight years now and think I have got the hang of how to do it. But it would have been nice to have someone showing me the way.

Recently I was recommended a book that does exactly that. Stanley E. Porter’s Inking the Deal: A Guide for Successful Academic Publishing (Baylor: 2010) should be read by everyone who wants and needs to publish in an academic field. Porter’s book is a treasure trove for the newly minted and PhD candidate alike. And he covers many of the things that I have had to learn (sometimes the hard way) on my own. Porter covers every aspect of academic publishing from the very basic to the more advanced. In 11 chapters he covers such topics as:

Types of Publication
Basic Principles of a Publishable Manuscript
Always Writing for Publication
Selecting a Publisher
How to construct a proposal
Handling Rejection
Handling Acceptance
Living a Publishing Lifestyle

The main thing that I took away from this book was the need to live a publishing lifestyle. Porter stresses that publishing happens all year, not just during a sabbatical. He provides hints for finding what to publish and where. Probably one of his best tips is to set goals. Don’t just stumble around thinking that you will publish. Set for yourself reasonable, but challenging goals that you will meet over the course of a few years. Porter recommends the five and one approach (pp.154-57). Basically, you should aim to publish a book every five years and one article or book chapter a year. This is a modest, doable goal. And it is one that I have been doing. I always try to have at least one publication a year.

So if you are working in the academic field and want/need to publish I recommend this book. It is well written and informative. Porter will guide you on the path that you need to take.

NT Wright: Simply Jesus

2011-11-28T00:00:00.001-05:00

NT Wright has a new book. This one is titled Simply Jesus: A New vision of Who He Was, What He Did and Why He Matters (Harper One, 2011). Although I didn't attend SBL this year, I was able to have a friend pick me up a copy. The price wasn't any cheaper at SBL than Amazon, but at least I didn't have to pay for shipping.

In this book Wright claims that we are wrong about Jesus. He is going after the idea that Jesus was either (only) a social reformer or that he died so that we could go to heaven. The biggest problem with our view of Jesus, Wright argues, is that we have seriously misunderstood the kingdom of God and focused most of our focus on getting to heaven.

I started the book this weekend and hope to blog on it in the next few weeks. In the mean time, here is a pair of videos in which Wright is interviewed about the book. There is about a 30 second overlap of the first clip in the second clip, so hang on.

Keep the Chi In Xmas!

2011-11-26T14:53:00.004-05:00

I like this because it gets to the heart of a common misunderstanding. I can't tell you how many times I have heard people complain about Xmas - "Don't take Christ out of Christmas!" In reality, that is not what is happening. Actually, Christ is in the "X," the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter used to spell "Christ" in Greek. It is an abbreviation, one used quite often by early Christians. So next time you see Xmas in a store don't tell them "hey, put Christ back in Christmas." Instead you might thank them for partaking in a ancient Christian tradition of referring to Christ with a Greek letter. I doubt many will know what you are talking about.

Thanks to James McGrath and Brian Leport.

The Gospels as Ancient Biography: An interview with Craig Keener

2011-11-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

Students of the Bible in the twenty first century tend to approach the gospels as a set of written sources relating the life and work of Jesus. What is often not considered is the development and origins of this literature and how this may influence our understanding and interpretation of the gospel. Therefore, in order to appreciate the gospels fully it is necessary to examine what type of literature they are and how we came to possess them in their current form.

Over the last one hundred years or more there have been many attempts to understand what kind of literature the gospels represent.

Some scholars tried to argue that the gospels are a unique kind of literature that is not explainable by comparison with any other literature from the ancient world. This was an accepted view until more recent decades.

For a while it was assumed that the gospels were a result of the influences that Old Testament and other Jewish literature may have had on the gospel authors. For instance, in Jeremiah we are introduced to the prophet’s background, the dating of his ministry and a report of his call by God. This is then followed by an account of his words/speeches and actions as he proclaimed the message of God. Similar in nature is the first century CE Jewish work Lives of the Prophets which provides an account of the canonical prophets lives and ministry in a way that was considered biographical for the times.

While the above literature at least represents a connection with the gospels, there are still many aspects that differentiate between them. A more recent development (since the 1970’s) has been a comparison of the gospels with the Greco-Roman biographies that were in circulation. An example of such are Plutarch’s Lives of famous Greeks and Romans, Suetonius’ Lives of the Caesars, Philostratus’ Life of Appollonius of Tyana, and Diogenes Laertius’ Lives of the Ancient Philosophers.

Ancient biographies have some similarities with the modern form of the genre, but there are also many differences. They were often composed by famous people about famous people. They were not interested in presenting an outline of factual information but rather passing on long standing traditions. They were generally narrative accounts that gave the impression of being objective. But the overall purpose was to serve as propaganda, to provide selective information about the hero of the story while exhorting the reader to imitate the hero.

Over at the Centre for Public Christianity Craig Keener has sat for an interview on the relationship between the gospels and ancient biography. Keener has done much work on the gospels and the historical Jesus. The interview provides a good overview of the topic and provides some insights about how to read the gospels in this context.

Gospels as ancient biographies I from CPX on Vimeo.

Gospels as ancient biographies II from CPX on Vimeo.

Who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?

2011-11-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

The Dead Sea Scrolls were first discovered in 1947. The collection consists of more than 900 scrolls that include biblical texts as well as sectarian literature. They were discovered in the area known as Qumran among the caves overlooking the Dead Sea not far from Jericho.

Early on it was suggested that the scrolls were the work of a Jewish sectarian group known as Essenes mentioned by the Jewish authors Josephus and Philo and the Roman author Pliny the younger. The area excavated nearby the caves revealed a compound with a complex of ritual baths, a dinning room, and perhaps a scribe's room with a table where the scrolls where written.

But over the last 25 years there have been some challenges to the Essene hypothesis. Some has suggested that there is no evidence that the scrolls were written by Essenes or even at Qumran. One scholar suggested that the scrolls had been brought to the caves from Jerusalem and other places to hide them from the approaching Roman army and that the compound was actually a Roman villa.

The good thing about challenges to a widely accepted hypothesis is that it makes us look at the information again and make sure that there is nothing new to learn. And some times we discover we were wrong.

Recently, a piece of evidence has emerged that may give some weight to the Essene hypothesis. Among the items discovered in the area of Qumran was a variety of textiles, some linen, some wool. It is has now been determined that the only textiles that came from Qumran were made of linen. Here is the abstract to the article in Dead Sea Discoveries.

Among the Qumran textiles that were kept at the Rockefeller Museum was a group of textiles that were unusual for Qumran. Most of them were made of wool, and some were dyed or decorated. Their marking QCC—Qumran Christmas Cave indicates their origin. In 2007 the cave was investigated by Porat, Eshel, and Frumkin. The cave is located in the bottom section of Kidron valley and doesn't belong to Qumran caves. It can now be determined that all of the textiles from Qumran are made solely of linen. They were free of any colored decoration, except for scroll wrappers that decorated in blue. This, and the simplicity and whiteness of the textiles from Qumran, is compatible with the literary sources. It appears that the people of Qumran wished to differentiate themselves from the rest of the population also on the basis of their style of garments.

This is interesting because sources from the Bible and Qumran indicate the kind of material that clothing should be made from. According to Deut. 22:11 clothes should not be made from linen and wool. And according to the War Scroll (1QM 7.9), a sectarian document from Qumran, linen was the material to be used for clothing worn by whoever wrote the scrolls. Thus the authors of the scroll and the people living at Qumran both wore linen to intentionally follow the biblical law and to look different from others.

Josephus makes several mentions of the Essenes wearing linen, as note by Todd Beall in his book Josephus' Description of the Essenes as Illustrated by the Dead Sea Scrolls (CUP, 1988). So perhaps this is another piece of evidence in favor of the Essene hypothesis.

For more on the recent work done on the textiles see Live Science and Ferrell's Travel blog.

Good Advice for Religious Studies Teachers

2011-11-22T00:00:00.002-05:00

One of the things I aim for in the classroom is to challenge students to think in new ways. This means that at times I am purposefully provocative. I will introduce a topic and take a side that I know most if not all of the students will disagree with. This is one way of helping them to see the other side of an argument for or against a particular interpretation or theological stance.

Sadly, that is not the case at some institutions. There are places where the only thing that is taught is what is approved by the trustees or the denomination. Sometimes the existence of other interpretations or theologies is acknowledged, but only as a way to demonstrate why they are wrong and why denomination X's statement of faith is correct. And woe unto those who dare even suggest that there might be valid interpretations elsewhere and that students can/should learn from them. It could, in all likelihood, cost you your job.

One of the things I like best about teaching at Ashland Seminary is that we have so many denominations represented in our classroom that often the issues will rise up on their own. For instance, it is kind of hard to get around a discussion about, say modes of baptism, when in the classroom you have infant baptizers, those who support believer's baptism and everything in between. And then of course there is the way that different groups look at various portions of scripture. It makes for a stimulating and exciting classroom experience.

In this month's Chronicle of Higher Education Brandon G. Withrow has an article that reflects on education along the same lines. He too is interested in helping students to think rather than just teach them how to parrot back lines from "approved" ways of thinking. He talks a bit about his experiences and lists out four things that help make for a classroom where learning can happen. Below is a summary of his four points, but do go and read the whole article here.

Acknowledge your own limitations and personal intellectual revelations. Students can (and do) look for mentors in their professors, so if we pretend to have absolute infallibility—or act like complete tools—we should not be surprised when we discover little clones doing the same.

Not all books on world religions are equal. To see another perspective, students need guidance in finding quality sources for research.

Lectures and books are helpful, but nothing replaces the opportunities that come from face-to-face conversation. In one class, I have my students interview someone of a different religion or worldview. I often receive e-mails from students confessing that they do not know of anyone they could interview outside of their Christian circle—which speaks volumes as to their preparedness for leadership.

Make the classroom an active, small-group learning experience. Have students discuss a controversial subject or reading. It often surprises certain students to learn that there are disagreements on beliefs or ideas that had seemed extremely clear and simple.

Between Fundamentalism and Atheism

2011-11-21T00:00:00.001-05:00

American society is polarized on a number of issues. Religion is and can be just as polarizing as politics. There are those who say God does not exist and would be happy to find ways to remove any visible expression of religion. On the other side there are those who believe in God and think everyone else should too. And the truth is there are fundamentalists on both sides.

Sometimes caught in the middle are those of us who study the Bible in an academic setting. We are often ridiculed by both of the above groups. Some think we are wasting our time studying a book about a God who doesn't exist. Others accuse us of destroying the faith of the innocent. Both sides would be happier if our research was giving a boost to their claims.

Over at the Huffington Post Amy-Jill Levine and Douglas Knight, have a co-written piece on Biblical Views of God. In this short piece they explain why arguing the God does not exist is as unhelpful as the saying "The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it." It is a good, thought provoking piece. Here is some of what they have to say.

The claims are familiar: humanity could not control nature, did not understand conception or birth, and feared death, and so we invented a God that brought order to chaos, purpose to life and comfort in death. Next, we developed religion to placate the God we invented to assuage our fears of what we could not understand or control. Then, we wrote the Bible to sanction the religion that placated the God that we invented. Next came clergy, to interpret the Bible. And today, we have academics to challenge the clergy who interpret the Bible that explains the religion that placates the God that we invented.

Such debates over the existence of God are not only tedious, they are also pointless. Those who believe, believe; those who don't, don't. Belief is like love: it cannot be compelled; it does not function on logical parameters. As some religions would put it, faith is a matter of "grace." For these traditions, we do not summon faith; it summons us.

Equally tiresome, perhaps especially to those of us who have invested our lives in seeking to understand what the Bible meant to its original audiences and how it has been received over time, is the frequent claim: "Don't take a biblical studies course; it will destroy your faith." For the most part, if one lecture undermines a religious view, then that view requires deeper interrogation.

The simplistic assertion, "The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it," does a disservice to both the Bible and to the God the text proclaims. Whether a Creator endowed us with the capacity to think, or whether we are lucky enough to be the heirs of millions of years of evolution -- the two points are not mutually exclusive -- it would be a sin not to use the brains we have.

You can read the whole article here.

Philemon and First Century Slavery

2011-11-20T16:05:00.002-05:00

One area of my scholarly focus has been slavery and the Pauline epistles. I have been able to write two books and a number of related articles on the topic.

Over at the Reading Acts blog Philip Long has a nice review of an article I wrote for Currents in Biblical Research. He does a good job at summarizing what I said as he thinks about Paul's letter to Philemon.

That's a lot of water into wine

2011-11-18T09:15:00.005-05:00

Bibledex has uploaded its latest clip. This one is about the wedding at Cana in John 2 and the type of stone jars that are mentioned in the stories. I have seen the stone jars pictured in the clip many times. But I have never stopped to think about the size of them. If the clip is correct that these are type of jars described in John 2, then John is telling us that Jesus made a heck of a lot of wine.

HT: Cryptotheology

The Long and Halcomb Polyglot

2011-11-17T00:00:00.000-05:00

In the late second and early third century Origen of Alexandria put together an edition of the Bible that contained six different translations. From ancient testimony and the few fragments that survive, we can determine that he placed six different translations side-by-side in columns. The languages he used were Hebrew and Greek (the Greek columns represented various translations of the Old Testament). Unfortunately the Hexapala was lost in the fire of the great library at Alexandria.

More recently, Fred Long and Michael Halcomb have compiled a new Hexapala based on Origen's concept, but with a different focus. Rather than compare the Hebrew text to four or five Greek translations, they have complied a New Testament that includes six translations: Hebrew, Latin, Greek, English, German and French. And instead of putting each language in a separate columns they are presented in interlinear format so that you our eyes can read a verse in one language and then drop to the next one. Here is a link to some samples.

So why do we need this poyglot and why these languages? What Long and Halcomb have done is to provide us with a New Testament that will help all of us to keep up with our various biblical and research languages. The copy they sent me is of Luke and Acts. This will be the first time that I will read those books in Hebrew.

You can buy the book for $17.99 on Amazon, which seems like a steal for such a thick book.

The Ark of the Covenant and the Manna Machine

2011-11-16T08:28:00.004-05:00

Last week I posted on a piece of obscure news that claimed that the Ark of the Covenant had been discovered in Greece. Apparently it was located in Alexander the Great's tomb. I posted this because I had more than a few doubts about the claim and figured the story would either fade away or be revealed as another case of fake archaeology.

I had no idea that such a short post would be so popular and attract so many silly comments. The post has had over 7,000 visitors and growing.

It seems the post was picked up by a couple of "prophecy" web sites that are excited about the ark's discovery since, according to their eschatology, this means that the third temple will be built and the end of the world can start. I had no idea that anyone was that interested.

Well I was wrong. One of my students sent me a youtube link to a History Channel story on the Ark of the Covenant in which the guests claim that the Ark was used by Israel to carry a manna machine. This machine was given to the Israelites to help them survive their 40 year journey in the wilderness. Below is the 10 minute clip from the show. I am not sure how anyone on history channel kept a straight face while producing it.

If you thought the manna machine was "interesting" check out this other clip on the "money pit." This time the same characters in the above clip claim that the ark was probably hidden in a pit on an island off of Canada. Of course the Knight's Templar are involved. Enjoy!

The CEB's "The Human One" Explained

2011-11-15T00:00:00.002-05:00

About a year ago I posted on the CEB shift from using the phrase "Son of Man" to "Human One." Part of this shift was to try and reflect the idiom more accurately. "Son of Man" does mean simply, human, as found in places like Ezekiel 2:1 and Daniel 7:13. Another reason for the shift is that sometimes readers of the gospels will confuse "son of man" as a title for Jesus' divinity.

Below is a video posted on the CEB website in which Joel Green explains why the choice to go with "Human One" rather than "Son of Man."

The "Human One" Explained from Common English Bible on Vimeo.

As I have said before, I am of two minds on this. On the one hand I understand what the editors are trying to do here. But on the other hand, I wonder if we are too quickly eliminating a phrase that has theological import in the New Testament.

Certainly there are times when the phrase means nothing more than "human" as in Mark 2:28 "the son of man is lord of the Sabbath." And there are times when it is on Jesus' lips and is nothing more than a way to refer to himself as in Matthew 16:13 "who do people say the son of man is?" In the latter case I am not sure why they did not simply gloss over the idiom and translate the verse as "who do people say I am" since this would eliminate any potential confusion.

But I also wonder about those times when the phrase has messianic implications. Several times when it is used in Mark "Son of Man" is equivalent to saying "Messiah" as in 8:29-31 and 14:61-62. Granted, prior to Jesus there is little, if any evidence, that the phrase was a Jewish messianic title. But in Mark, and in other places in the gospels, the phrase does contain those allusions.

Besides thinking that it is somewhat inelegant, I wonder if perhaps this is moving in a direction that guts some of the significance from the phrase. I wonder if we would do better leaving the phrase and doing a better job of explaining it since simply translating it "human one" seems, in my opinion, to just flatten it.

The Bible Made Impossible

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

Evangelicals, Americans in particular, hold the Bible to be the “word of God.” And as such the Bible should function as the authority for Christian faith and practice. For some this means that the Bible can provide the answers to many, if not all, of life’s questions, problems and dilemma. In his book The Bible Made Impossible (Brazos, 2011), Christian Smith argues that this view of scripture is unhelpful and, ultimately, unsustainable. Smith hopes to reveal this to his readers and to provide them with a better way to approach and interpret the Bible.

Smith acknowledges that there are a variety of definitions for what he calls “Biblicism.” The one he focuses in on is that which treats the Bible like a handbook for living. He has in view here those who think that any answer to any question can be found in the Bible. As an illustration of this approach he points out the numerous books published each year that claim the Bible has the “answer” to any number of personal or social ills. He lists books on a range of topics Bible Diets, Bible Answers, Biblical Psychology, Biblical Principles for Finances and Bible Recipes. Such titles assume that there is an answer to the problem that can be found if the reader just digs deep enough into the Bible.

The biggest problem with this approach to the Bible, according to Smith, is that it doesn’t work. To assume that the Bible has the answers to everything is to overlook the problem of pervasive interpretive pluralism. In other words, there are lots of differing interpretations of different scriptures. For example, there are a number of types of church polity in existence many (if not) all that claim to be based on the Bible. If the Bible details the way a church should govern itself why don’t the faithful follow one method? Similarly, there are debates over free will and predestination that are based on the Bible. Or what about the Sabbath? Why are some churches stricter than others and some worship on Saturday rather than Sunday? Finally, what about such topics like slavery? Both abolition and pro-slavery groups claimed their position was right based on the Bible.

Moreover, reading the Bible this way creates some subsidiary problems. There are parts of the Bible that are ignored (did greet anyone with a holy kiss today?), arbitrarily determined to be culturally relative (most people don’t worship idols but will eat a pork chop), and many of the practices that are in place violate the principles of a Biblicist reading (the Bible says to stone a rebellious son, but most Christians don’t advocate that form of punishment).

Smith suggests a new way forward. First of all, he promotes a Christocentric hermeneutic. He suggests that the entire Bible be read with Christ in view. Christ, he argues, is the true and final word of God and the Bible only points to Christ. Christ is the interpretive key to understanding scripture. Second, Bible readers need to accept the complexity and ambiguity of the Bible. This means acknowledging that the Bible does not address every topic and therefore does not have the answer to every question and/or problem. Along with this, readers also need to resist the temptation to harmonize the Bible; to make it agree in places where it does not. He also suggests that there needs to be a better understanding between dogma and doctrine. Too often, he argues, a confusion of the two has led many to claim that they have the “correct” interpretation of the Bible and all those who hold to another are, therefore, are not true believers. Finally, not everything in the Bible needs to be replicated. There are some (many) things in the Bible that do not necessarily apply to us today.

Smith’s hope is to sound a clarion call for evangelicals to change the way they read and use the Bible. Overall I agree with much of what he writes and even found myself wincing sometimes as I realized that I still think about or use the Bible in some of the ways that he describes. Old habits and patterns die hard. Other times I felt like he was preaching to the choir, but that is because I am aware of many of the problems he highlights.

I think he is to be commended for his effort to raise awareness of this issue. Too many Christians have a handbook view of the Bible, and are often disappointed when the “divine instruction manual” doesn’t produce the desire results. The only drawback to the book might be that it will be a bit technical for some. It seems clear that Smith is aiming for an audience that is somewhat educated and willing to think more broadly. I can’t imagine handing this book to many people in church and expecting them to be fully convinced. It would take much more than is here and a lot of pastoral interaction. And perhaps that is for whom this books is best suited; those in teaching and preaching ministries. Hopefully they will read Smith and begin reversing the tide of Biblicism in America and beyond.

Book Giveaway Winner!

2011-11-13T12:16:00.002-05:00

Congrats to Jeff Slater! He is the winner of this week's giveaway.

Jeff, you have five days to claim your prize or it goes back on the shelf.

Didn't win this time? Check back for future Friday giveaways.

Friday Book Giveaway!

2011-11-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

Ok blog fans, this week's giveaway is for the Old Testament folks, and anyone else who wants a chance to win. The week I am offering Walter Brueggemann's Theology of the Old Testament (Fortress Press, 2005).

Here is the blurb.

This paperback edition of Walter Brueggemann's classic work makes this important volume available at a lower price and accompanied by a CD-ROM that enhances its usefulness in numerous ways. Using the Libronix software, with helpful features for the user (searching, bookmarking, highlighting, auto-footnoting, note taking), the CD-ROM also includes chapter summaries, discussion questions, and web links to Brueggemann resources (articles, interviews, reviews).

Hmm, I am not sure that I have CD, but if I do you can have it too. So put your name below and I will draw a winner on Sunday. Remember to check back! If the winner does not claim their prize in five days it goes back on the shelf.

The Ark of the Covenant has been discovered! In Greece!

2011-11-10T08:42:00.003-05:00

Forget Indiana Jones! The lost Ark of the Covenant is not in a warehouse in Washington DC. It's on the Island of Thasos just off of mainland Greece. At least that is what the Russian web site Grekomania.ru is claiming. The discovery was announced Pita Nickolaos Kumardzis, head of a research group. They are also claiming that they have found the tomb of Alexander the Great. Here is what web site FOCUS has to say:

Athens. It is believed that the tomb of Alexander the Great and the Ark of the Covenant have been found on the Greek Island of Thasos, announced Russian Grekomania.ru, which is information partner of the Greek Minister of Culture and Tourism.

Head of the research group Pitia Nikolaos Kumardzis announced that the findings emerged during amateur excavations. According to him, some unexpected results were reported during the excavations on Thasos Island.

Greek researchers are convinced that the findings really are the tomb of Alexander the Great and the Ark of the Covenant.

Unsurprisingly, I have my doubts that they have found either. But hey, who knows. Maybe Alexander the Great found the Ark of the Covenant, opened it to look inside and got killed? Too bad he never saw Raiders of the Lost Ark. He would have known not to look!

Updated Post! Apparently the Ark of the Covenant was part of an alien manna machine.

HT: Joel Watts.

The Lego Bible

2011-11-09T00:00:00.002-05:00

I liked to play with Legos as a kid. Actually, I never had Legos. My brother had them. He also had Star Wars action figures and a really cool set of toys to be a firemen including a plastic ax and an oxygen tank and mask. I am bitter? Not at all! But I did play with Legos, usually when he was not around or was asleep or at school.

The problem with Legos, however, is the cool stuff that they claim you can make. They plaster the front of the box with real cool scenes of, say, Lego men landing on the moon in a Lego capsule and driving a Lego moon buggy. But I have yet to meet anyone who can actually recreate those scenes. First, it requires several Lego sets. Second, I don't know many eight year old kids who have the patience and dexterity to creates such masterpieces.

So imagine my delight when a few years ago I discovered that someone had brought together my passion for biblical studies with Legos! Brendan Powell Smith has been recreating biblical scenes with Legos for ten years. And he is very good at it.

His website bricktestament.com has a number of Bible stories recreated in Lego form. But these aren't just the kind of recreations you see in a typical Sunday School class. No Lego people standing in an old shoe box with green construction paper grass. These are well done.

But a warning to parents! Some of the scenes recreate the Bible with some amazing accuracy. So when the story of Lot and his daughters, well I think you know what I mean.

Check out the Cain and Abel story.

If you really like Smith's work you can now buy it in print form. Publisher's Weekly has a story this week about how Smith got started. It also discusses the book that he has coming out with photos of his work.

Smith started with the first six stories of the Bible and put them up on his website for friends and family to enjoy. Several thousand visitors later, he realized he has something special on his hands, and decided to stick with it. A decade later, Smith has managed to adapt most of the Old Testament and large portions of the New Testament, as well as special presentations of Biblical law and the teachings of Jesus. His depictions include some of the worst moments the Bible has to offer, but as acted by Lego people, the gruesome incidents within become easier to take.

“There’s a limit to how harrowing or horrifying a story can get when it’s depicted in little Lego figures,” said Smith. “That’s kind of a fine line too, and I like when I get across a story that is harrowing and they come away from it laughing but a little disturbed.”

Read the rest of the story here and take some time to enjoy his work at the bicktestament.com.

Did Jesus Exist?

2011-11-08T07:55:00.003-05:00

Anyone who has spent anytime in New Testament studies knows that there is a lot discussion and debate surrounding the historical Jesus. Did such and such event really happen?Did he say this or that? Did he think he was the messiah? And a lot of ink has and continues to be spilled over these questions and many others.

But every now and again I will meet or read about someone who suggests that Jesus never existed. That the whole story doesn't have any historical fabric and that Jesus was made up by the Apostle Paul and the early church as a way to start a new religious movement. And while this might sound crazy to "true believers" and frustrate the heck out of scholars, there is a small but vocal contingent of what is called Jesus Mythicists. And while we might be tempted to ignore them with the hope they will go away, there are some who are engaging them on a regular basis.

My friend and Colleague, Professor James McGrath, is one of those scholars. Over at his blog Exploring our Matrix, James has been actively engaging mythicists and their arguments for some time now. And the interaction has been quite stimulating from both sides.

In the recent issue of Christian Century, James explains what Jesus Mythicism "is" and why it is important to engage with it proponents. Here is a bit of what James has to say in the article.

Scholars disagree about how Jesus understood his life and his mission. Countless labels have been applied to him: cynic sage, apocalyptic prophet, rabbi, exorcist, Messiah. But everyone agrees that he existed, right?

Historians and religion scholars do. But a surprising number of people hold the view that the existence of Jesus is a myth: he is not just a heavily mythologized historical figure, but pure or nearly pure fabrication from start to finish. Jesus mythicists have a substantial web presence, and their views have been promoted in films such as Religulous and Zeitgeist.

It might seem best to ignore such fringe claims. But as we know from debates over evolution and other subjects, views that no expert finds persuasive can still have an impact on public discourse, education and much else.

As a group, the Jesus mythicists can seem like a strange mirror of the state of scholarly thinking on Jesus: the only thing they agree on is Jesus' nonexistence. Yet a few major trends are discernible.

You can read the rest of the article here. And take some time to visit James' blog. He covers a variety of topics in biblical studies, theology and science fiction.

Believing God has a plan for your life might improve your mental health.

2011-11-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

One of the famous evangelism lines of Campus Crusade for Christ is: God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. And while the four spiritual laws might help you find salvation and escape eternal punishment, who would've thought that believing in a God's plan might also improve your mental health?

The third portion of the Baylor University Survey on Religion has been released with some interesting results. According the the survey, if you believe that God has a plan for your life you than you are more likely to be poor and less educated. On the other hand, you are less likely to have mental heath issues.

Most Americans (73.2%) believe that God has a plan for them. Those who feel strongly that God has something wonderful in store for them tend to have lower incomes and less education (p.2-5).
Heaven is a more popular notion than Hell. Nearly two-thirds of American adults (62%) absolutely believe that Heaven exists, whereas barely half (51%) express the same certainty about the existence of Hell (p.26).
Those who believe in a very engaged God who is involved in the world and in people’s lives fared better insofar as mental health matters included in the survey when compared to those who believe in a very judgmental God who is critical, punishing, and angered by sin (p.14-15).
Respondents who strongly believe they have a warm relationship with God report 31 percent fewer mental issues, on average.
Those who strongly believe God knows when they need support report 19 percent fewer mental health issues, on average.
Those who strongly believe that God is responsive to them report 19 percent fewer mental health issues.
Respondents who strongly believe God’s love never fails report 17 percent fewer mental health issues, on average.

What do you make of these numbers? Does believing in God or a plan of God help people to find an anchor in their life?

Another reason why people should read the Bible before they quote from it.

2011-11-04T08:40:00.006-04:00

Washington DC is burning while congress is fiddling and the White House Press Secretary thinks he is quoting the Bible.

In case you missed it, there has been quite a tussle in Washington this last week over who God likes more. The Republicans held a vote in the House on the so-called National Motto - "In God we trust." Apparently there is an overwhelming majority in the house who believes that the motto should be reaffirmed since only nine people voted against it. Of course, who in their right mind would vote publicly against God, and still want to get reelected?

The response from the White House was to mock the vote and suggest that God wants the congress to help people get jobs. On the same day during a press conference, White House Press secretary Jay Carney quipped:

"Well, I believe the phrase from the Bible is, 'The Lord helps those who help themselves,'"

The only problem is, that saying cannot be found anywhere in the Bible. In fairness to Carney, he is not alone. Many people think that saying is in the Bible. A 2000 Barna survey found that 75% of those questioned think that the saying is in the Bible. In fact, the saying has existed in a number of ways for thousands of years. Wikipedia provides a helpful overview of the saying's history.

This reminds me of another even more embarrassing time when a politician used scripture incorrectly. It took place at a time when there was much debate around a proposed law that would impact the services and education received by children. During an encounter with a reporter who asked the then Speaker of the House about opposition to the bill the then Speaker answered this way.

Jesus said "suffer the little children," well I say the children have suffered enough and we need to pass this bill.

In this case the saying is in the Bible, but it has nothing to do with suffering children. It is taken from Matthew 19:14 in the King James Bible where the old English means "allow the little children." Jesus was telling the disciples not to prevent children from coming to him. The Speaker not only misquoted the Bible, the Speaker also failed to understand the language of the passage.

We are entering the stupid season, sometimes described as the election season, which means that we will be hearing more of this type of silliness. I wish politicians would stop quoting the Bible. It rarely goes well with them.

One last thing, I remember a humorous quip from my grandfather about the National Motto. Because it appears on all money in the USA he would say: "In God we trust, everyone else pays cash."

Sex and the Bible: Thoughts on the Song of Songs

2011-11-03T10:37:00.002-04:00

The Song of Songs is one of those books in the Bible that we don't know what to do with. The book is a poem about two lovers and the way that they long for one another.It moves from courtship to consummation of the relationship. At times the language is very erotic, to the point of almost embarrassment. The only other piece of scripture that comes close to the erotic descriptions of Song of Songs is the allegory of the two adulterous sisters in Ezekiel 23.

Over the centuries it has been difficult to explain why this book is in the Bible since it does not provide any obvious basis for faith and practice. Both Jewish and Christian interpreters have traditionally seen it as an allegory; Jews see it as a description of God's love for Israel and Christians a description of Christ's love for the church. The book is not quoted in the New Testament and it is not until the the third century CE with Hippolytus that find the first Christian attempt to interpret it.

Over the last two centuries, however, it has become more common to interpret the Song of Songs not as an allegory, but a love poem.

The Scribal Pen, a new blog by my colleague Ramone R. Billingsley, looks at the Song of Songs and the way that it can make us uncomfortable. Here is a bit of what he has to say.

To describe desire, the Song uses a various images that are foreign to modern ears. For instance, the male persona in Song of Songs 2:9 compares his lover in this way: “I compare you, my love, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.” (NRSV) I think many women would be upset if their significant other compared them to a mare! Also, the Song uses other startling images to express intimacy. For example, the male describes his beloved’s beauty in yet another way: “Your hair is like a flock of goats, moving down the slopes of Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them is bereaved.” (Song of Songs 4:1c-2) On the other hand, some of the Song’s imagery is like watching a Rated R movie on Cinemax: “My beloved thrust his hand into the opening, and my inmost being yearned for him.” (Song of Songs 5:4) Hmm.

One of the things I like most about the Song of Song is its subversive nature. The Song is about two lovers who pursue their desire for sexual intimacy. It is an unrestrained, bold, risky and audacious desire. This desire is a seeking and finding that fulfills a lack. It is, in raw form, a full portrait of human love and sexuality. Yet, this is done in a very unconventional way.

You can read his full post here.

Could Jesus read?

2011-11-02T08:36:00.002-04:00

It has become an axiom in New Testament studies that Jesus was illiterate. Based on studies of the social setting of Jesus and his family in rural Galilee, many scholars conclude that Jesus probably could not read or write. Some would point to Luke's description of Jesus reading the Isaiah scroll in the Nazareth synagogue (Luke 4) and his "writing" in the dirt in John 8 as evidence that he was literate. But the evidence is uneven for a number of historical reasons.

Nonetheless, I have always suspected that we too quickly dismiss the evidence. The amount of inscriptions in Hebrew and Greek in Palestine suggests that someone was reading them, and not just a handful of elites. On the other hand, I also wonder if we are measuring levels of literacy in antiquity too closely to our own period. The levels at which we identify someone as "literate" today may not have been at the same level in antiquity.

I bring this up because Ben Witherington is starting a series on reading and writing in Herodian Israel. I think he makes some interesting points. Here is a portion of what he has to say.

Of course it is true that a person may be able to speak more than one language and not be able to read or write any of them. So what Jesus could have spoken is one issue, his literacy, as we would call it, is another. Unfortunately, the question of Jesus’ literacy is clouded by modern definitions. Literacy in antiquity could involve just the ability to read a language, without also being able to write it. Writing was a specialty skill, and usually scribes were the ones who undertook it. I am not particularly concerned with whether Jesus could have written anything, though I suspect he could have done, but what I am concerned with is his ability to read things. And here we are on firmer grounds.

Let us first eliminate the old canard, which suggests ‘since Jesus was a peasant, he was very likely to be illiterate’. First of all, Jesus was not a peasant. He was an artisan, a ‘tekton’ which means one who carves and molds stone and wood, more often stone than wood in many cases in the Holy Land. Jesus’ family had a trade. They had a home in Nazareth, and in the town just over the next hill, Sepphoris, you have a ton of building going on.

Jesus’ family were engaged in a trade, had a home, and so far as we can tell should not be classified with landless peasants, or tenant farmers. But there is another reason not to call Jesus a peasant. His family was not merely pious, they were devout, and the evidence we have suggests that devout Jews especially insisted that their sons learn to read so they could take their turn reading Torah in the synagogue. Here’s where we are helped by Alan Milliard’s recent study on Reading and Writing in the Time of Jesus . It will take a few posts to consider all the factors in assessing the issue, but let’s make a start.

You can read the full post here.

Ancient Christian Prayer Box Discovered in Jerusalem Parking Lot.

2011-11-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

The Israel Antiquities Authority has announced the recent discovery of a Byzantine era prayer box found in the City of David excavations. The box is about the size of a matchbox, is made of bone and has two figures carved on it. Here is part of the IAA report.

The box is 2.2 cm long by 1.6 cm wide and is made of a bone taken from a large animal (steer, camel or horse). The box slides open. When doing so it includes two flat parts, each of which bears a colored drawing. According to Yana Tchekhanovets, director of the excavation together with Dr. Doron Ben-Ami of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The use of icons (cultic objects portraying sacred figures) for prayer outside the church is a phenomenon known in the Christian world already in the fifth century CE. However, the painted holy relics that date to the Byzantine period which were discovered here, in the Holy Land, are extremely rare, thus making this an exceptionally important discovery. Folding icons for personal use are known to this day in modern Christendom, especially in the East. The box was discovered intact, apart from a small crack, and the fact that it was hermetically sealed ensured the preservation of the drawings on the relic’s inner panels”.

The image of a bearded man against a gold background is portrayed in the drawing at the bottom of the box. His face was only partially preserved, although it is possible to discern its general shape, the dark shade of his hair and his left eye. The details of his garment can be identified, which include a white cloak with a pink spot located on its right shoulder – almost certainly a white tunic and purple stripes. The preservation of the drawing on the inside of the box’s lid was even more fragmentary. From the remaining details it is possible to reconstruct the shape of a smaller figure, probably a female, draped in a blue garment, against a gold background. The face of the figure was not preserved; however, we can discern the lines of hair (or a head scarf?), chin, neck and part of the left shoulder.

You can read the rest of the report here and an article in Ha Aretz Here.

Lindisfarne Gospels

2011-10-31T00:00:00.001-04:00

One of the places that Lori and I enjoyed visiting when we lived in the North of England was Lindisfarne Island, also known as Holy Island. The Island is home to a now ruined monastery that was built in the 7th century. Besides the ruins the island is also known for being a tidal island. This means that you can only get on and off the island when the tide is low. And woe to those who miss that chance and attempt to cross while the tides is rising. There are pictures!

The island was also home to Saint Cuthbert and the Lindisfarne Gospels. The Gospels are well known for being some of the most beautiful illuminated manuscripts. The original Gospels were penned in Latin in the third century and an English translation was added in the 10th century. The Gospels (and the remains of Cuthbert) were eventually moved from Lindisfarne to Durham Cathedral as the island's inhabitants fled a viking invasion.

For quite a while the Gospels were held by the British Library, but there is a movement to return, them at least part time, to Durham Cathedral. In the mean time, you can view them online now that they have been digitally photographed.

Click here to view them.

Click here to read more about the Lindisfarne Gospels.

Friday Book Giveaway Winner

2011-10-30T11:09:00.002-04:00

Congrats to Craig W. Beard! He is the winner of this week's book giveaway is True to our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary (Fortress, 2007).

Craig, please send me your mailing details at jbyron@ashland.edu and I will send the book out this week. Remember, you have five days to claim the book or it goes back on the shelf.

Think you understand the Bible?

2011-10-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

HT:James McGrath

Friday Book Giveaway!

2011-10-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

I am in a generous mood, and I have nothing inspiring to say too. So I thought we would do another giveaway.

This week's book giveaway is True to our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary (Fortress, 2007).

Here is the blurb.

This pioneering commentary sets biblical interpretation firmly in the context of African American experience and concern. Cutting-edge scholarship that is in tune with African American churches calls into question many of the canons of traditional biblical research and highlights the role of the Bible in African American history, accenting themes of ethnicity, class, slavery, and African heritage as these play a role in Christian scripture and the Christian odyssey of an emancipated people. Contributors include the volume editors, Thomas Hoyt, Ann Holmes Redding, Vincent Wimbush, and sixteen other notable scholars.

So put your name below and I will select a winner on Sunday. Remember, once announced the winner has five days to claim the prize.

Of God and Cancer

2011-10-26T11:42:00.003-04:00

James Kugel is Professor Emeritus of Hebrew Literature at Harvard University and a prolific author. He has had a distinguished career. But a few years ago he was diagnosed with cancer and the focus of his energy switched from writing and researching to fighting for his life. He won. And he has since written a book about his experience titled: In the Valley of the Shadow (Free Press, 2011). I have not yet read the book, but I understand that his scholarship and faith intersect in a unique way as he faces his own mortality.

Below is an excerpt from a recent interview with him talking about his experience of fighting cancer and writing the book.

I didn’t decide to write this book right after getting cancer. After I finished chemotherapy and the rest of my treatment, I was in this sort of “waiting mode” that most people who have had the disease will recognize. You can’t really just leave it all behind you, because you don’t know if it’s over yet. But with time, you start to settle a little less tentatively into your chair: I began working on other things, other books.

Still, I never really lost the reality of the state of mind I had in the weeks and months after getting the diagnosis — that sudden realization that the background music of everyday life is now just stopped, completely silent, and the very real feeling that goes with it, what I call “smallness” in the book. So that state of mind is really what the book is about, from start to finish.

It seemed to me so important to try to capture that feeling for readers and dig into it, because it has always seemed to me profoundly connected to being religious. (In fact, long before I got sick I wrote a little chapter about it in another book of mine, “On Being a Jew.”) So after about seven years, I thought I would try to think myself back into that state of mind and understand why it seems so real, and so important for what it means to be a religious Jew. Books about Judaism are often full of high ideas, but they sometimes spiral off into abstractions. I thought that if I kept coming back to cancer, it would help me stay honest and down to earth.

Interviewer: The book’s title omits the rest of the biblical expression, “the shadow of death.” Everyone knows the actuarial reality of cancer — why did you leave “death” out of the title?

I guess I liked the idea of stopping just short of quoting the whole phrase, because that’s what we do in our own lives. The simple fact is that we are all under the shadow of death, and we all know it. But you can’t live your life obsessing about death, so we tend to leave it out most of the time, without quite forgetting it entirely. We get as far as “in the valley of the shadow...” and then go on to something else.

Interviewer: People facing possible terminal illnesses often turn to God for solace, or turn away. You were already a man of faith, a biblical scholar. How did that faith help you face cancer?

I suppose people who are religious are somehow almost always conscious of living in God’s presence, so in that sense they don’t “turn to God” at all. In any case, that’s the way it seemed to me: just a continuation, kind of “this is what’s happening now.”

You can read the whole interview here.

When God is Missing

2011-10-26T00:00:00.005-04:00

I have been meeting with a friend for lunch over the last few months. He is a young pastor who has had quite a few struggles both in the ministry and in his personal life. But the last year has been very difficult for him and his wife as they have tried to grapple with the tragedy of losing a child. They are hanging on, but they are also wondering where God is and if God even cares about them. He and I meet to talk. I mostly listen. I am not sure what to say to him. He asks some very good questions to which I think there are no easy answers, if any at all. At one point he was wondering where to go next. He wasn’t “moving forward with God,” but he wasn’t sure how to go on. It was at that point that I asked him “are you going to give up on God?’ He struggled for a moment and then answered, “I can’t.”

His response was not one of victorious faith in confidence that God will triumph over all. It was not even one that was tentatively mixed with hope. Rather, it was with recognition of the long road he had already walked with God and the distant relationship he has was experiencing now. When I shared today’s blog post he had this to say.

When depression and grief aren't speaking, I find a place where God and hope still exist. A place that holds promise of answered prayers, of a loving God, of eternal life. That place is difficult and at times impossible to see, and yet deep in my soul I know it is there. Regardless of how long or difficult the road has been I cannot believe God hasn't been there. I cannot give up on God because deep down I know he hasn't given up on me. Even when I am mad at God, I still long for God. So while he certainly does not feel close, that longing has to be enough for now.

I suppose this is where some of us end up in our walk with and search for God. We get to a point at which there does not seem to be any point to go further. In fact, there may be nothing driving us to go further. But we also know we can’t simply give up. It’s not that we are afraid of giving up. Images of hell and judgment are not what keep us in check. Instead, it is the moments and times when the only way we can explain something that has happened to us as “God.” And often, those times are few and far between. But they were real enough that we cannot simply give up. And so we wait.

I think about the life of Mother Teresa. She reached a place early in her life and ministry when she no longer sensed God, when God no longer spoke to her. Her letters to her spiritual mentor reveal that she was tormented by the absence of God in her life. And yet, she did not give up on God. She couldn’t. Instead, she persisted and waited for God to show up. I don’t know if God ever did show up for her again. But I don’t think that she lost hope that God would return.

And yet, Mother Teresa also learned to love the darkness she was in. She had concluded that it was her way of experiencing the darkness that Jesus felt when he was on earth. It was her way with identifying with him, as he had done with her. She said “deep in my heart there is a longing for God that breaks through the darkness.” She found that God was more real to her when working and meeting with people and that in those situations God’s love became more real (p. 211).

Perhaps that is the way it should be. That our longing for and waiting for God pushes us closer together and we learn to wait in the darkness knowing that we can’t give up on God. Like a couple in a long marriage that is not working the way it should, we recognize that quitting is not an option, even though there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The couple stays in the marriage not because they are guaranteed that things will get better, but because they can’t give up. They have experienced too much together over the years and so they struggle, even though God seems to be missing and all they have left is hope.

Translation for the 21st Century

2011-10-25T08:43:00.004-04:00

Ashland Theological Seminary invites you to a presentation entitled Translation for the

21st Century on Thursday, October 27th at 7:00 p.m. The focus of the event is the recently released Common English Bible.

The evening will include a review of the CEB by

Sheila McGinn, Ph.D

John Carroll University

Paul Kim, Ph.D.

Methodist Theological School of Ohio

Wray Bryant, Ph.D.

Capital University

Responding to the reviewers and recounting their experiences as CEB translators will be members of the Biblical Studies department at Ashland Seminary.

David deSilva, Ph.D.

Editor - The Apocrypha

Translator - Revelation

L. Daniel Hawk, Ph.D.

Translator - Ruth

John Byron, Ph.D.

Translator - Judith

The event will be held in the Smetzer Auditorium inside the Gerber Academic Building on the Ashland Theological Seminary campus. The evening will include a formal presentation and a discussion of the Common English Bible with faculty panel who contributed to this

translation. The seminary’s Bible Museum will be open following the event. Light

refreshments will also be provided. The event is free and is open to the public.

Want a Personal Jesus? There's an App for that.

2011-10-25T00:00:00.001-04:00

Ah, as if we have not already done enough to domesticate and cheapen the significance of Jesus, now you can have your own personal Jesus on your Iphone. The animated Jesus recites more than 200 Bible quotes, can be placed in five different environments, and can appear as one of four different races. Forget Buddy Jesus, this it the ultimate in designer Jesus! Here is what the website personal Jesus.com has to say.

This new app will take you back to the values and wisdom that founded our world by giving you a speaking animated Jesus who delivers more than 200 quotes from the Bible directly into your iPhone or iPad. And because you will find it too precious to keep, you can share it with your friends through social networks. You can have it on alarm setting, as a reminder to start your day with a beautiful thought, or you can shake it for 'random mode', which will surprise you with different quotes. But the main innovation of Personal Jesus lies within its unique global approach that welcomes all by offering the Gospel of Christ in four different Jesus races: white, black, Asian and Celtic.

Here is a video advert too.

As usual, I will not say more. You can decide as to the good or bad of this new App.

Moses and the Egyptians: hearing the other side of Bible stories

2011-10-24T00:00:00.002-04:00

Every now and again I read a story in the Bible about how the Israelites conquered such and such a people and destroyed everything. I wonder sometimes about the other side, the people who were wiped out by a group of people who claimed they were doing God's will. I think about the children, innocent and clueless as to what was happening and seemingly suffering because of something their parents did or did not do.

As modern readers of the Bible it is important that we try to hear both sides of the story, even in the Bible. We need to be careful that we don't use the Bible in ways that brings harm to others. This means that while I understand that the Bible has a theological message, we don't necessarily want to encourage things like genocide as happens in Joshua. Just because it is in the Bible doesn't mean it is something we want to replicate. It is good to pause when reading and interpreting and to think about about the situation of the "other side."

The below video does this. It is an imaginary interview with an Israelite and an Egyptian speaking for their people about the plagues against Egypt that lead up to the exodus. The creators have done a good job of portraying what Egyptians might have thought about the situation as well as emphasizing the challenges faced by Israel.

I wonder what it would be like to hear from someone in one of the cities destroyed by Joshua. From someone who had never done anything other than be born in the wrong city at the wrong time.

HT: Jame McGrath

Book Giveaway Winner!

2011-10-23T00:00:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to Paul Tillman! He is this week's giveaway winner! Paul is the winner of Bruce Fisk's A Hitchhikers Guide to Jesus. Many thanks to Baker Academic for providing this week's giveaway prize.

Paul, please send your details to me at jbyron@ashland.edu and I will send the book out this week. Remember, you have five days to claim your prize or it goes back on the shelf.

Friday Book Giveaway!

2011-10-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

Well, I can't believe this happened. But the winner of the giveaway two weeks back never claimed the prize. Consequently, I have enforced the five day rule and once again will attempt to giveaway Bruce Fisk's A Hitchhiker's Guide to Jesus: Reading the Gospels on the Ground (Baker, 2011). I posted a review of the book as part of the Baker Books Blog Tour.

Here is the blurb.

This imaginative approach to Jesus studies chronicles the journey of Norm, a fictional college graduate who travels to the Middle East to see if he can study Jesus and follow him at the same time, and if curiosity will make him a better disciple or no disciple at all.

Norm sets out on an adventure to investigate the New Testament and the life of Jesus for himself, hitchhiking simultaneously across the Gospels and the land. His travels offer students and lay readers a creative and engaging way to explore many of the major questions in Jesus studies today. Will Norm be able to reconcile his Christian faith with critical scholarship? As readers follow his faith journey, they learn the importance of asking probing questions. The book's lavish, journal-style interior design--featuring maps, photos, doodles, sketches, and email exchanges between Norm and his professor--makes it fun to read.

So enter your name below for a chance to win here. I will choose a winner on Sunday. And please remember to check back to see if you won. After five days the book goes back on the shelf, as happened here.

The Jesus of John's Gospel

2011-10-20T08:56:00.003-04:00

When I teach my introduction to the gospels course at Ashland Seminary one thing that I discover time and again is that, for most people, the Gospel according to John is the favorite. The Jesus in John seems so much larger than life than the Jesus of the synoptics. Jesus as divine and "other worldly" is more pronounced in John. But the portrayal of Jesus in John is, at times, very different than the Jesus of Matthew, Mark and Luke.

Over at the NT Pod Mark Goodacre has posted a 10 minute podcast explaining the picture of Jesus in John's Gospel. This is Mark's 57th installment of the NTPod and if you have not taken time to listen to his previous posts you are missing some good stuff.

Enjoy!

Robbed!

2011-10-19T00:00:00.003-04:00

As you may know, I am uncomfortable with the Evangelical label. I often bristle when I or something I am associated with is labeled as "Evangelical." While I would describe my faith as historically evangelical, I do not subscribe to most of what is attributed to Evangelicalism today. I have sometimes suggested that we need a new label since this one has been hijacked.

And I am not alone.

Over at The Burner, Kurt Frederickson has described himself as an Evangelical that has been robbed. Here is some of what he has to say.

I am an evangelical. It defines the way I think (my orthodoxy), how I act (my orthopraxy), and how I relate to God, to others and my world (my orthopathy). This is a joyful and hopeful way of being a Christian. An evangelical loves God greatly, and seeks to serve others and bless the world. An evangelical is eager to engage in a community of faith that worships and encourages discipleship, and engages in mission around the world and in a neighborhood. This is that faith that is part of my heritage. This is the brand of Christianity that I have chosen. I am proud to be an evangelical.
But a crime has been committed. I am an evangelical, and I have been robbed.
American culture is eager to talk about religion, and this becomes very apparent as national politics heat up. In this cycle, I am hearing the term “evangelical” bantered around more frequently. Unfortunately this term is used to describe a wide range of people:
Those eager to decide who is in and who is out
Those who see God as stingy
Those who hold tightly to a strict set of doctrines and question anyone outside of their fenceposts
Those who are certain who goes to heaven, and who goes to hell
Those who ascribe to well defined and narrow moral and social values
Those who see evangelical as a synonym for Republican
I am proud to be an evangelical both theologically and genealogically, but the term has been hijacked.

You can read the whole article here.

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