I had not planned to write about pop-apologist SJ Thomason for a while. Back in February she wrote a response to a piece I had written concerning the dating of the Gospels[1] and while I had been working on a rebuttal to it I gave it up because, let’s be honest, it would take way too... Continue Reading →
Author: Joshua BowenBook: Did the Old Testament Endorse Slavery?Publisher: Digital Hammurabi PressYear: 2020Total Page Count: 243Price: $19.99 (print) I. INTRODUCTION “Slavery in the Bible,” writes biblical scholar Wil Gafney, “represents more than the ubiquity of slavery in the ancient world; it represents the theological bulwark on which the Atlantic slave trade rested.”[1] This fact makes modern Christians uncomfortable. How could the god... Continue Reading →
Seven thousand words into writing a piece responding to the claims of a certain pop-apologist on the dating and authorship of the Acts of the Apostles and its relationship to the dating of the Synoptics and I had an epiphany that came in the form of scripture: “Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of... Continue Reading →
To see more posts in this series, please go to the series’ page. “Only ONE BOOK…is necessary to critique any translation from ANY set of manuscripts, or any scholar who criticizes the AV.”[1] These are the words of the late Peter Ruckman, a guru of the King James Only movement in the United States whose provocative and vitriolic... Continue Reading →
What did ex-pagans and Jews expect when they became followers of Jesus? This is the question that Alex Finkelson addresses in his recent post "What kind of blessings did the churches inherit from Israel?" As Finkelson discusses, the various promises made to the patriarchs and even to king David are tangible: a literal kingdom in... Continue Reading →
Both of my readers know that I am a glutton for punishment. If I’m not wading into the waters of bad Christian apologetics or exegesis, then I’m drowning in the waters of bad atheist exegesis. Today’s post will be the former. On Twitter I followed an exchange between some atheists and a Christian with the... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvEKlQ2o0pQ Recommended Reading •Mary Ann Beavis, Mark, Paideia Commentaries on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011), 22-23.•John R. Donahue and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, Sacra Pagina (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), 29-34.•Elizabeth Struthers Malbon, In the Company of Jesus: Characters in Mark’s Gospel (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000), 41-69.
Happy Valentine's Day! To both of my readers, I love you! Over at Is That in the Bible? readers can find a lengthy post on the story of Joseph entitled "From Robes to Riches: The Fairytale of Joseph." In this piece, Paul Davidson discusses issues related to genre, sources, redaction, and more. This is not... Continue Reading →
Earlier today I was afforded the opportunity by my friend Doug Carpenter to speak on the issue of the role of the Bible in society. You can read the text of my ten minute talk here and the full video of my talk, Triggerman's talk, and a lengthy Q&A can be found below. I enjoyed... Continue Reading →
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