Home » The Bible and Beyond
Enjoy posts about a variety of subjects, all designed to help you look at religion, the Bible, and early Christian texts in a new way.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2023-09-13T04:16:33-04:00September 13th, 2023|Tags: Biblical Violence, Empowerment, Norea, Reality of the Rulers, The Thought of Norea|
Even worse in my eyes is the way Athanasius staged a comeback and regained power, time and again, by gaslighting people into believing that he was not a criminal, but instead, the ultimate victim.
By Dr. B. Brandon Scott|2023-09-01T06:36:14-04:00September 1st, 2023|Tags: Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene, Peter|
What counts about the student is not his name but that he is loved by Jesus, is in his bosom. That is how he is to be known.
By Dr. Joshua Schachterle|2023-08-23T01:07:34-04:00August 23rd, 2023|Tags: Christianity, Didache, Hebrew Bible, Judaism, Religious Boundaries|
The author reveres Jesus as a servant of God, a prophet, and follows the Jewish law. It would seem that assumptions of many regarding the early separation of Judaism and Christianity may have been wrong.
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.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2023-08-15T03:31:57-04:00August 9th, 2023|Tags: Chaos, Nag Hammadi, On the Origin of the World|
I am more impressed with the ‘default situation’ of On the Origin of the World than of perpetual chaos and violence. Peace rests on the logic of the infinitude of good, or truth.
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.
By Dr. B. Brandon Scott|2023-06-27T00:39:45-04:00June 28th, 2023|Tags: Jesus, Religion, Surprising Things about Jesus|
Literacy is at the heart of protestant Christianity. Reading the Bible is the way to salvation, a notion unknown before the reformation. . . But the Bible in our sense is unknown in the ancient world.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2023-06-09T17:54:13-04:00June 14th, 2023|Tags: Jesus, Surprising Things about Jesus|
How is it that Jesus has had such a profound and enduring impact on the world since his birth over two millennia ago? This may well be the question that prompted the quest for the historical Jesus in the first place.
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.
By Dr. B. Brandon Scott|2023-05-24T02:50:47-04:00May 24th, 2023|Tags: Church, Early Church, Jesus, John the Baptist, Surprising Things about Jesus|
Did Jesus study with Buddhist monks in India? Were the official documents from Jesus’s trial before Pilate kept in Rome? Did Jesus establish the Christian church?
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2023-05-08T09:36:44-04:00May 10th, 2023|Tags: Dialogue of the Savior, Gospel of Thomas, Material World, Poverty, Secret Revelation of John, Sophia|
Jesus taught how the very riches that were supposedly proof of divine favor could instead become the stumbling blocks that prevent the divine experience.
By Dr. B. Brandon Scott|2023-04-18T07:01:33-04:00April 26th, 2023|Tags: Bible, Genesis, Hebrew Bible, Old Testament, Translation Issues|
The Hebrew Bible as originally created "was meant to be heard, not read silently. By reading it aloud you will discover, even feel, its rhythm. This text demands performance."
