Seth Sanders has posted an interesting piece that appears to be a teaser for his upcoming SBL presentation on what he calls the scribal “shadow culture”—that is, the literary evidence not from the “big, famous corpora of Mesopotamian and Egyptian scholastic life.” He raises some really interesting points about how these “shadow traditions” may have [...] Read more »
Pauline Studies Pet Peeve: Paul Never Says “by Faith Alone”
During my reading for preliminary exams (generally a frustrating exercise, given that I was forced to read lots of infuriating scholarship without the ability to respond to it anytime soon), one mistake came up surprisingly often in the literature: Pauline scholars—who of all people should know better—referencing the “Pauline” doctrine of “salvation/justification by faith alone.” [...] Read more »
When Prophecy Fails: Camping’s Failed Rapture Prediction Another Study Opportunity
It’ll be very interesting to see what happens to Harold Camping‘s followers in the aftermath of his failed attempt to predict the “Rapture” (and subsequent end of the world). These people have embraced Camping’s prediction to the point of personally bankrupting themselves (like this 60-year-old retiree who spent his $140,000 life savings to buy billboards [...] Read more »
“Two will be taken, one will be left”: Misinterpreted Bible Passages #8
I suppose it’s about as good a time as any to deal with this popular misinterpretation, given Harold Camping‘s ridiculous prediction that the church will be raptured at 6PM on May 21 (time zone by time zone, no less!). Yet again, the passage in question deals with eschatology (the end times), a subject that has [...] Read more »
“Father, remove this cup from me” – Jesus’ Flesh Cries Out
Since it’s Easter weekend (hey, I know when Easter is this year—first time in several years I’ve known before the day itself!), I thought it would be good to take a closer look at a famous scene from the Synoptic Gospels: Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Gospel of Mark records Jesus praying [...] Read more »
