Boldly professing the obvious since 2009
Jim Davila has called attention to a large number of LCL volumes that are now public domain and available in PDF form. The ones most relevant for studies of early Judaism and Christianity are listed by author here, while you can download a .zip file with all of them here. The translations may be a [...] Read more »
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 »
This month’s Biblical Archaeology Review includes a nice piece by Doron Mendels on Why Paul Went West (subscription required), highlighting the difference between the Jewish diaspora communities of the (Roman/Hellenistic) west and the (Babylonian) east, explaining that it only makes sense for Paul, with his fluency in Greek and roots in the culture of the [...] Read more »
Nice post by Daniel Kirk over at Storied Theology on the “deacons” of Acts 6 and how coming to the text asking the wrong questions (questions about church government and structure) can lead to missing some very important points. He rightly points out that two of these “deacons” are then highlighted preaching/evangelizing, not waiting tables—and [...] Read more »
Biblical Archaeology Review has continued their recent assault on the (nearly airtight) case that the “Secret Gospel of Mark” which Morton Smith “discovered” in the Mar Saba monastery is a clever hoax. This time, they’ve hired a handwriting expert to analyze Smith’s handwriting and the handwriting of the letter of Clement in which the Secret [...] Read more »