Reflections on the Inspiring Philosophy Interview
On May 29 I had an enjoyable interview on the YouTube channel Inspiring Philosophy. I wrote about the circumstances that led to the interview here. I thought Michael Jones did an excellent job as an interviewer, and I was able to share my thinking pretty freely on a number of…
Keep reading. . .Appearing on Inspiring Philosophy
See the video here. I’m sure almost no one reads my published research. It’s nothing against me (right? right??); almost no one reads any published research. I can’t care too much, since I can join the throngs of similarly-unread, ego-injured scholars the world over who think their ideas so important…
Keep reading. . .Bias in Biblical Scholarship?
The subject of bias in biblical scholarship is poorly understood and often simply bandied about as a blunt instrument. This isn’t a good idea, so consider the below: What is Bias Two of the definitions from the OED are worth relaying: Is bias a problem for biblical scholarship? On the…
Keep reading. . .How to Read Books, Write Essays, and Pass Comprehensive Exams (or, How to Become a PhD Candidate)
In North American PhD programs, a differentiation is made between a PhD “student” and a PhD “candidate”. When a student is accepted into a PhD program in North America, his or her program begins with the requirement to complete a number of courses/seminars/colloquies/other activities. The courses range from being fairly…
Keep reading. . .St. Paul in Raphael’s School of Athens?
I love the book of Acts. I also love and study Greek history, thought, religion, and language. Naturally, Acts 17 stands out as a passage of import to those who love to think about the New Testament and the Hellenistic world. I also have an untutored fondness of Renaissance art.…
Keep reading. . .Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer was one of the great men of the twentieth century. The breadth of his abilities, the depth of his thought, and the endurance of his legacies are testaments to the man’s greatness. His autobiography, Out of My Life and Thought, is a modern classic, but it is his…
Keep reading. . .Ancient Greeks, Resurrection, and the Gospel of Luke.
“It was left to Christianity to democratize mystery” A. D. Nock Greeks apparently did not believe in resurrection. At least, this is what we are told or what is suggested by pretty much the consensus in biblical studies. Individual resurrection is most often presented as a wholly unique Christian category…
Keep reading. . .“What if it were True? Why study the New Testament”
In a previous post, I mentioned that there are many good reflections out there about the nature of New Testament studies (articulating in better words what many of us apprehend with less clarity, or less occasion). A new essay in New Testament Studies by Christopher Kavin Rowe fits the bill…
Keep reading. . .From my bookshelf. Gasque, A History of the Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles
I’ve decided to highlight books I’ve read or am reading that should be of interest to students of the New Testament. These books range from conservative, to skeptical, to radical, or may be neutral with respect to the New Testament but relevant to it (i.e., classical and post-classical history, language…
Keep reading. . .Did Luke use Josephus? An excerpt.
It might surprise some people who think that a late dating for the book of Acts is a novel scholarly movement that the question of Luke and Josephus is not new. In reality, the late-dating position goes back at least to nineteenth century German higher criticism, and the Luke-Josephus relation…
Keep reading. . .Some Thoughts on the Second Century
The work of the renowned German theologian and lexicographer, Walter Bauer, in his Rechtgläubigkeit und Ketzerei im Ältesten Christentum—Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity—has enjoyed a long life and legacy in New Testament studies and early Patristic studies since its initial publication in 1934 in German, and especially since its…
Keep reading. . .The Secret History of the New Testament?
In the summer of 2021 I read a book called The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name, by Brian C. Muraresku. It’s one book in a what is now practically a genre of books which discuss the apparent psychedelic roots of religion/ancient history and cultures.…
Keep reading. . .Some Reflections on the Nature of New Testament Studies
Whence and Whither New Testament Studies? The study of the sacred texts of Christianity has been going on since before the sacred texts of Christianity were explicitly codified into a canon (or canons) and broadly accepted (the debated issues are complex and remain some 2,000 years later). In addition to…
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The New Testament Quest 