Tribes in Deborah?
I am reading The Oxford History of the Biblical World.
A few interesting points. There are parallel stories. One of the most surprising is that from the Song of Deborah you count 10 tribes, not 12. Of which 2 are not considered tribes generally.
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What do we learn of Paul’s Journeys from his letters?
I recently went through Tom Wright's book Paul: A Biography. It made me think about what we would learn about Paul's background and comings and goings if we did not have the book of Acts. The results were quite surprising to me. It turns out we learn a lot. I am going...
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The early Christians and circumcision?
How did the early Christians come to believe that gentiles did not need to be circumcised? For us today it seems obvious but in those times they believed that the Law was given by God and it was a clear requirement of the law. We still believe that. Circumcision,...
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Notes from Son of God no Amazon Prime
I learned a few interesting nuggets of information watching Son of God from Amazon Prime.
The references from Ignatious were interesting. I looked them up in the book, Early Christian Writings.
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By the Hand of Mormon
The founder was called Joseph Smith. Born 1805 and dies 1844. The Book of Mormon was published in 1830. He did not have an educated background. He lived in an era when folk spirituality was a big part of Christianity and prophecy and visions were very popular.
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How do I share the gospel?
I have read quite a bit of theology recently and it has benefited me in a lot of ways, but I feel a but confused in other ways. One of the key issues I am a little confused about is 'what is the gospel?' and 'How do I share it?' Previously I would have said something...
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Notes from the Conclusion to Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul
Paul quotes most from Isaiah, The Psalms, Deuteronomy and Genesis. Isaiah is an obvious choice with its large focus on eschatological hope, and also the inclusion of the gentiles. The Psalms would be a good choice as the songbook of the Jews and the early Christians. Deuteronomy’s emphasis on blessings and curses fits neatly into early Christian belief.
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Overview of Romans
The gospel reveals the covenant justice of God.
God has come to put the world to rights.
The good news is about God’s Son, and power is released when Jesus, the Crucified One, Israel’s Messiah, raised from the dead is proclaimed Lord of the World.
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Mark in 1 Go
Yesterday I listened to (on my Bible Audio app) the Gospel of Mark in pretty much one sitting. Here are some notes on what struck me. There is the intensity of it. The intro about the Good News then the quotation mixing Malachi and Isaiah. Then soon we have the time...
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Summary – How God became King
The main message of this book is to do with the gospels – what are they there for? The answer in short is that Jesus came not just to die that we could be saved via justification by faith, but to start the process of bringing the world back to God’s original...
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Finding God in the Psalms
This is a collection of unpolished thoughts on this book which I have been reading over the last month. What I have taken away which I consider of most importance is that all of creation is worshipping God, and that when we engage in worship, especially singing and...
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Which came first the Didache or the Gospels?
The Didache definitely has common material with the gospel of Matthew. The Didache presents this as the teaching of the apostles; Matthew presents this as the teaching of Jesus. Is this a significant difference? Surely the followers of Jesus would follow Jesus, and...
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Matthew’s interweaving of Old Testament Texts
Matthew often quotes from more than two places. Here he has the main body from Isaiah 9, but hints from Isaiah 42, such as using ‘sat in darkness’ as in Chapter 42 rather than ‘walked in darkness’ as in Chapter 9. The implication is that Jesus...
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Seutonius on Jesus
In Claudius 25 Suetonius refers to the expulsion of Jews by Claudius and states (in Edwards' translation): "Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome." In Acts of the Apostles (18:2) the writer makes the...
read moreBrief Summary of Apocrypha
Tobit Carried away captive to Nineveh. Had a political post with Shalmanesar. Tobit mentions his own righteousness, his givings to the poor, and particularly his burying of Jewish corpses left out. This annoyed the king. He says that those who give to the poor are...
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Brief Notes on 1 and 2 Maccabees
1 Maccabees Alexander the Great son of Philip of Macedonia wins against Darius of the Medes and Persians. Kills many kings. When he dies he splits his empire up among 4 generals who grew up with him. A bit further on Antiochus Epiphanes defeats Egypt. Then wants all...
read moreThe Early Christians
Thoughts from a short book I read published by Day One. The conditions were good for the start of Christianity. The Greeks had spread their culture, and consequently language, far and wide throughout the Mediterranean. This meant only one language was really needed to...
read moreSummary: On Rock or Sand? John Sentamu
1. Introduction "Stability and hope are linked to purpose and productivity" There are vast swathes of the country, particularly outside of London, that are in serious economic difficulty with few jobs and low output. And in London growth is found at an individual...
read moreSummary of Fabricating Jesus – how modern scholars distort the gospels
In progressWatch Full Movie Online Streaming Online and Download Chapter 1 A lot of books appeared recently from Scholars coming out of a traditional fundamentalist background. The fundamentalist background is very rigid and ignores serious questions of issues such as...
read moreJesus and the Temple
In the Challenge of Jesus, N T Wright raises the questions of what did Jesus think of the current temple, and what did he want to replace it with? It is clear that Jesus prophesied the fall of the Temple and saw this as being part of God's judgement. This is seen most...
read moreSummary of The Challenge of Jesus by N T Wright
The Challenge of Jesus: a Summary Below is a reasonably thorough summary of N T Wright's wonderful book: The Challenge of Jesus. I hope you find it helpful. Chapter 1 - The Challenge of Studying Jesus There have been three main views on the historical Jesus. We can...
read moreNotes – Early Medieval Ages 7
Notes 7 The Roman Empire committed suicide by accident? The further back the events the easier it is for the historian to "see it coming" Who are the Barbarians? Burgundian code Refer to themselves as Barbarians not Romans What do we know From Archaeology Have...
read moreNotes – Early Medieval Ages 6
Notes 6Transformation of the Roman Empire 410 to 480 West empire disintegrated Dismembered by Barbarians Wanted to share in wealth and accomplishments not destroy it 476 fall of the Western Empire Barbarian deposed a Roman emperor Barbarian leader Odavacer...
read moreNotes – Early Medieval Ages 5
Notes 5 Why study the Confessions? Christianity had a great impact on Roman Empire late fourth and fifth century 3 problems 1. Problem of evil 2. Relation between body and soul 3. Understanding of sin and redemption All of these are dealt with thoroughly in...
read moreNotes – Early Medieval 4
Christian Roman Empire Tolerated Official Then sole legal religion except Judaism Arianism Donatists Manicheans Constantine died 337 When he died empire restored to former glory Fourth century often seen through the lens of 410 sacking Inequality one of...
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Conversion of Constantine Permanent change Hard to explain on strategic grounds Starts the Christianisation of Roman Empire Been illegal for 250 years Romans killed Jesus Polytheism and its ceremony was rife First becomes tolerant Then favoured Then official and...
read moreNotes – Early Medieval Notes 2
Early medieval notes 2 Crisis of Third Century Diocletian Was awesome Saved the Roman empire Problems Problem of succession - how next one chosen Size Urban and rural Cities draining country East west imbalance Armies - staffed by barbarians Problems of...
read moreNotes – Early Middle Ages 1
Fall of Roman Empire Survival in east as Byzantium Barbarian invasions and kingdoms set up on ruins of rom empire Triumph of Christianity Survive extinction Crisis of Roman Empire Legacy peculiar Pope Latin Catholic Church best preserver of Roman Empire...
read moreCan the New Testament be blamed for the way Jews have been treated in Western Europe over the centuries?
Introduction In 1543CE, Martin Luther, one of the most influential theologians in Western Europe, published a letter called On the Jews and their Lies.[1] He argued that their synagogues and schools be set on fire, prayer books destroyed, rabbis forbidden from...
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John’s portrayal of Jesus
1. Introduction In this essay I will consider whether the Gospel of John is historical. First I will consider what certain scholars, who doubt its historicity, have said. I will then propose an argument advocating historicity. Then I will propose a reason for the...
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