Yes, we can — at least if we pay attention to primary sources — both New Testament and the Gnostic texts from Nag Hammadi. Check it out: Really — you ought to be watching FringePop321 — subscribe now!
Jesus
Was Jesus a Failed Prophet?
I’ve blogged on this topic before, but I’ve recently gotten a few questions on it in email. I decided to revisit it by posting some PDF resources. Here’s the short answer to “Was Jesus a failed prophet?” Yes, if you don’t understand...
September 11: Happy Birthday to Jesus
Many readers will know that I believe the actual birthdate of Jesus was Sept 11, 3 BC. This isn’t based on any original research of my own (here’s a short YouTube video of me discussing the date). Rather, it is based on the work of E. L. Martin’s The...
What Was the Hebrew Name of Jesus?
I get questions about the divine name periodically, or about how Jesus is a pagan name for Zeus (or similar nonsense). For those items, click here, here, and here, respectively. But more often than not, I get questions about how the Hebrew name of Jesus was...
Naked Bible 43: Acts 6 & 7
Acts 6-7 Acts 6-7 are familiar to most Bible students as being about the selection of deacons and Stephen’s martyrdom. For sure those items are important, but there are other items of interest in these chapters that are frequently overlooked. Some of these connect...
Naked Bible 41: Acts 3
Acts 3 There are two focus points in this episode. The first is Acts 3:6, specifically the concept of the “name” and the NT understanding of the term “Christ” (Greek: Christos). Is the term merely an adjective ("anointed")? Is it a proper name, like a last name? Or is...
Naked Bible 38: Acts 2:22-41
Acts 2:22-41 This episode will focus on two items of biblical theology that are controversial in biblical study: How the New Testament writers / apostles quoted the Old Testament The meaning of Acts 2:38 Of the two, the second is more familiar to Christians due to...
Away in a Manger, but Not in a Barn
That’s the title of one of the articles in the upcoming (Nov-Dec) issue of Bible Study Magazine . As many of you know, I am the Academic Editor for the magazine. I don’t make a habit of plugging work stuff on the blog, but this is a cool article that may...
Jesus as “Ghost” and “Phantom”
Here’s another article to file under contextualizing the Bible with respect to its literary conventions. If you’re like me, you’ve heard Christian apologists say something like “the New Testament resurrection stories are like nothing in the...
Was Jesus’ Father a Roman Soldier?
In case you haven’t heard of the “Pantera/Panthera” tradition of Jesus’ lineage, here’s a moderately lengthy but readable discussion of it on Ben Witherington’s blog. The post is a couple years old and was originally posted in...