Someone just sent me this short article from the Daily Beast by church historian Candida Moss: "Nero, the Execution of Peter and Paul, and the Biggest Fake News in Early Christian History." Basically, it's about how Christians really weren't persecuted by Nero as part...
drmsheiser
Article on Rethinking Biblical Language Instruction by Naked Bible Podcast Guests Just Published
Last November I interviewed Dr. Carl Sanders and Dr. Thomas Hudgins about their controversial paper delivered at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. The paper argues that major shifts in thinking about how biblical languages are taught and what...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 168: Melchizedek, Part 2: Second Temple Jewish Literature
In the previous two episodes on Melchizedek (1a, 1b) we covered the Old Testament data on this enigmatic figure. Jewish writers and readers in the Second Temple Period (ca. 500 BC – 70 AD) naturally had ideas on who Melchizedek was and how to understand him as a...
Matthew 24 and the Days of Noah Once Again
I recently added this to my FAQ, but I thought I'd post it here as well. Do you think Matthew 24:37-38 is a prophecy about the return of nephilim or has anything to do with Genesis 6:1-4? The short answer to both is no. (I also don't think it has anything to do with...
Mike Heiser on the Underground with Joel Richardson
This is my second interview with Joel Richardson. I always enjoy talking with Joel. He's one of the good guys in the popular evangelical world. This second interview took place right after Joel had moved into his new house (and hence a new studio), and we encountered...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 167: Melchizedek, Part 1B: Old Testament Continued
Melchizedek is one of the more enigmatic figures in the Bible. Mentioned in only two passages in the Old Testament (Gen 14:17-24; Psalm 110), he nevertheless drew a lot of attention during the Second Temple Period and the New Testament. Thousands of pages of scholarly...
Lengthy Interview on Unseen Realm by Frank Viola on the Patheos Blog
I'm grateful to Frank Viola (the author, not the MLB pitcher!) for the time he invested into reading (studying, really) my book, The Unseen Realm. Frank is a best-selling author in the wider evangelical world, as well as a blogger and speaker. He gets the content of...
PEERANORMAL Episode 10: Interview with Jack Brewer on Hypnosis, Alleged Alien Abduction, and U.S. Mind Control History
Jack Brewer is the force behind the excellent blog, The UFO Trail. Since 2009 Jack has devoted considerable time to researching the connections between elements of the alien abduction narrative, hypnosis techniques used to “recover” memories of the alleged abduction...
Update on First Century Mark Papyrus
This just in from Peter Gurry of the Evangelical Textual Criticism blog. Readers will recall we interviewed Peter last year for the Naked Bible Podcast SBL interview series. Thanks for this update, Peter!
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 166: Melchizedek in the Old Testament: Part 1A
Melchizedek is such a complicated subject we're going to end up doing four episodes on him: Old Testament, Part 1A Old Testament, Part 1B 2nd Temple Judaism New Testament 1A is now live! Melchizedek remains one of the most enigmatic figures in the Bible. In Episode...
Antiquities Smuggling in the Name of the Bible
This is what you call a terrible testimony: "Hobby Lobby to forfeit ancient Iraqi artifacts in settlement with DOJ." From the article: Federal prosecutors say that when Hobby Lobby, which is based in Oklahoma City, began assembling its collection it was warned by an...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 165 – Q & A # 22
The next Q & A episode is now live. In Naked Bible Podcast Episode 165, Dr. Michael Heiser answers a wide range of listener questions in a theologically rich and occasionally humorous Q&A episode. He starts by tackling the historical evidence for Jesus, citing...
Recent Article Response to Bart Ehrman’s Views on Ancient Pseudepigraphy
The Society of Biblical Literature just released the latest issue of its Journal of Biblical Literature. One of the articles caught my attention: "Content and Form: Authorship Attribution and Pseudonymity in Ancient Speeches, Letters, Lectures, and Translations —A...
Jaime Maussan Is At It Again: Three-Fingered “Alien Mummy” Claim
Many readers will have seen the slick video report about an alleged "new species" mummy found in Peru. This is a well-done video by Gaia TV, sure to appeal to the gullible. Lots of folks with white masks saying sciencey things (i.e., speculating with big words). Some...
Reversing Hermon Interview on the Jew and Gentile Show
The Jew and Gentile podcast has a connection to Ratio Christi, a well-known campus ministry. I'm grateful for the invitation, as campus ministry is so significant. Enjoy the episode!