Dr. Erin K. Vearncombe, Author at Early Christian Texts

About Dr. Erin K. Vearncombe

Erin Vearncombe, PhD, contributor to Early Christian Texts, is an Assistant Professor in the Office of the Dean, Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. She is a co-author of After Jesus Before Christianity and has published on the importance of everyday material objects in our interpretation of the writings of the early Jesus groups, with a special focus on clothing and dress. Find more of her work on academia.edu.

Gospel of Thomas and Gender Constructions

By Dr. Erin K. Vearncombe|2023-08-22T04:30:50-04:00August 16th, 2023|Tags: Gender Issues, Gospel of Thomas, Mary, Women|

Gender is an important construct in a wide range of writings from the early Jesus peoples and groups. One of the most interesting of these writings to consider when it comes to gender is the Gospel of Thomas.

How Did Jesus Die?

By Dr. Erin K. Vearncombe|2023-07-09T23:07:47-04:00July 12th, 2023|Tags: Biblical Violence, Crucifixion, Gospel of John, Surprising Things about Jesus|

Given the centrality of Jesus’s death to the traditions of Christianity that emerged out of the ancient world, precision in our imagining and recounting of this death is of the utmost importance.

What Did Jesus Look Like?

By Dr. Erin K. Vearncombe|2023-05-31T01:18:59-04:00May 31st, 2023|Tags: Clothing, Jesus, Racial Justice, Surprising Things about Jesus|

Looking past popular depictions of Jesus to get a sense of how he would have appeared to others is hugely important because his appearance tells us a lot about who he was and what he really taught.

Original Christian Identity: A Matter of Belonging

By Dr. Erin K. Vearncombe|2023-04-18T07:01:11-04:00April 19th, 2023|Tags: Christianity, Community, Martyr, Perpetua|

When Perpetua, like so many of the early martyrs in these ancient stories, declared, “I am Christian,” what she really declared was, “I belong to the party of the Christ.”

Mary Magdalene: A Leader and Her Ally

By Dr. Erin K. Vearncombe|2023-03-29T02:32:55-04:00March 29th, 2023|Tags: Community, Gender Issues, Gospel of Mary, Mary Magdalene|

Levi uses his place of privilege in the community to uphold Mary and Mary’s leadership, to call out bad behavior, and to encourage communal reflection and learning.

The Unnamed Woman Miracle-Worker in the Gospel of Mark

By Dr. Erin K. Vearncombe|2023-02-28T22:52:55-05:00February 22nd, 2023|Tags: Faith, Gender Issues, Gospel of Mark, Healing|

Who is the miracle-worker in this story? Surely, Jesus has performed many miracles himself, but in this particular case, the miracle-worker is the unnamed woman.

How to Stop Worrying: The Biblical Remedy

By Dr. Erin K. Vearncombe|2023-05-29T21:44:33-04:00January 21st, 2023|Tags: Clothing, Comfort, Empowerment, Gospel of Matthew|

When I looked into the realities of ancient clothing, however, I started to see how tied together clothing and the body – and beyond the body, the very stuff of self – really were, for Jesus’ audience.