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)[…]
This is part 13 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. Before getting to the Church Epistles, we’ll begin with an overview of how letters were written, read, and performed. Then we’ll see how they are arranged in our Bibles. We’ll spend a good deal of time talking about occasion. Why did Paul write each Read more about 546 Read the Bible for Yourself 13: How to Read the Church Epistles[…]
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)[…]
Scott Shay is an interesting man. He’s a succesful business man and banker who co-founded a bank in 2001. He even has a TEDx talk where he spoke on Wall Street on the theme, “More Banks, Fewer Problems.” However, he’s also an orthodox Jew who is passionate about his faith. In this interview we talk Read more about 298 Orthodox Jew Defends God, Bible (Scott Shay)[…]
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)[…]
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)[…]
The Historical Jesus: What the Bible Says about the Life of Christ In this 16 lecture class I seek to answer the question: “Who is Jesus?” Join me as we journey through Gospels to see what the bible says about Jesus’ life. It is my hope that this class will inspire you to love Jesus, Read more about Podcast 25: Sources for Jesus’ Life (Historical Jesus 1)[…]
This is part two of a series of posts called Habits of a Disciple. Today the entire bible is available in 554 languages. Over forty writers contributed to it over 1,500 years. It is the most accessible book in the world today with countless websites, apps, and paper copies available absolutely free. All of this Read more about Habits of a Disciple: Scripture Reading[…]
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)[…]