Pentecost, as described in Acts 2, was a strange event. We read about unusual miraculous signs such as the sound of a great wind and tongues of fire. Still, the most interesting moment is when the apostles of our Lord began speaking in foreign languages that they didn’t know. Such divine utterance is called speaking Read more about 560 Pentecost Reversing Babel (Sean Finnegan)[…]
Scholars and pastors regularly point to specialized “technical” language in Paul’s epistles to make the case that Paul was intentionally subverting Roman power by applying to Jesus terms that the ancients commonly applied to the Caesars. My guest today has done the hard work of analyzing the inscriptions, coins, and material remains of several key Read more about 555 Was Paul Really Subverting Caesar? (Clint Burnett)[…]
Dr. Steven Collins is an archeologist who has been digging at Tall el-Hammam since 2001. He’s convinced that this site is the biblical Sodom, a massive city destroyed by a fiery cataclysm. After digging down below the Roman and Iron-age layers, he encountered a destruction layer with ash and ceramic fragments. After having the pottery Read more about Archeologist Locates Biblical Sodom[…]
Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Recently Tom Huszti interviewed me for his YouTube channel, the Unitarian Anabaptist. We talked about the importance of geography, archeology, and Greco-Roman history for interpreting the bible, especially the New Testament. Next we delved into early church history, starting with the earliest forms of Jewish Christianity Read more about 516 Sean Finnegan on Restoring Authentic Christianity (Tom Huszti)[…]
Bill Schlegel lived in Israel for 34 years, much of that time spent studying and then teaching about the geography of the scriptures. In this interview he provides three reasons why every bible-student should study the land of Israel: historical accuracy archeological accuracy geographical accuracy He also talks about his upcoming tour to Israel (March Read more about Interview 53 Why Knowing the Land of Israel Matters (Bill Schlegel)[…]
The traditional site for Mount Sinai is on the Sinai peninsula in Egypt, where the Red Sea forks into two gulfs. On this spot is St. Catherine’s Monastery, one of the oldest working Christian monasteries on the planet (founded around ad 550). However, some researches have identified a second site as a possible location. The Read more about The Real Mount Sinai?[…]
Before delving into specific biblical doctrines, we need to first think about what the bible is. In this lecture you’ll learn what the bible says about itself, some reasons to believe God inspired it, as well as the major types of biblical scholars and how they approach scripture. This episode, along with the last one, Read more about Theology 2 – Bibliology[…]
Apologetics 12: New Testament Trustworthiness For the New Testament we can employ several of the same lines of reasoning as the Old Testament, though there are a couple more to consider like internal evidence and messianic prophecies that help bolster the case. Furthermore, many people’s lives have been changed by reading and believing the words Read more about Podcast 62: Is the New Testament Trustworthy? (Apologetics 12)[…]
Apologetics 10: Old Testament Trustworthiness Last time we looked as reasons to believe the Jewish scribes reliably transmitted the Old Testament so that what we have today is what they actually wrote. This time you’ll learn five main reasons why we believe the Hebrew bible is true: (1) archaeology, (2) medical insights, (3) unflattering honesty, Read more about Podcast 59: Is the Old Testament Trustworthy? (Apologetics 10)[…]
Archaeologists have recently identified a bulla that belonged to Hezekiah, the ancient king of Judah. In addition to Sennacherib’s prism and the Siloam tunnel, this new find bolsters our confidence in the historicity of the biblical Hezekiah. Here is a short definition of what bullae are from the Biblical Archeaeology Society: Clay bullae, or seal Read more about Hezekiah Bulla[…]
by Ben Witherington III Have you heard about the controversial James Ossuary? An ossuary is a small coffin, often made of limestone, that the Jews in the second Temple period used for the bones of their deceased loved ones. Someone found an ossuary with the inscription “James son of Joseph, his brother is Jesus.” Could Read more about Podcast 2: James Ossuary (Ben Witherington)[…]