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|2020-09-10T07:25:05-04:00September 10th, 2020|Tags: Conflict, Gospel of Mary, Jesus, Social Justice, Wholeness|
We fight wholeness, even as we struggle to gain it. This paradox brings to mind the conflict in the Gospel of Mary.
By Dr. Hal Taussig|2020-08-27T03:05:16-04:00August 27th, 2020|Tags: Early Christian Texts, Gospel of Thomas, Spirituality, Wisdom|
Spend five to ten minutes a day contemplating just one saying, letting it roll around in your head and heart and noticing what else it brings into your mind.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2020-08-13T09:32:13-04:00August 13th, 2020|Tags: Compassion, Early Christian Texts, Secret Revelation of John, Uncertainty|
I feel the tears in my city and from people everywhere who have become untethered from the promise of security. … a voice is speaking. “It is I, the compassionate.”
By Dr. Hal Taussig|2020-07-19T15:24:48-04:00July 19th, 2020|Tags: Early Christian Texts, Hal Taussig, The Thunder Perfect Mind|
She has much power, speaks her own truth even when it is not easy, brings different persons and characteristics together in herself, and enacts surprising connections.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2020-07-09T07:10:55-04:00July 9th, 2020|Tags: Early Christian Texts, Gospel of Philip, Injustice, Salvation|
Am I (and everybody else) supposed to work on my own behavior alone with God, or … should I sell everything I have and give to the poor, as Jesus teaches (Mark 10:21)?
By Dr. Hal Taussig|2020-06-24T00:52:32-04:00June 25th, 2020|Tags: Ancient Writings, Bible, Early Christian Communities, Early Christian Texts|
I have worked for thirty-plus years on early texts from the Christ movements, the rest of the Bible, and all kinds of ancient writings, because it has been one of the ways I claim meaning.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2020-06-11T10:46:20-04:00June 11th, 2020|Tags: Early Christian Texts, Immovable Race, Injustice, Racial Justice, Secret Revelation of John|
But it’s neither a form of escapism, nor privilege for a favored few. It requires faithful living with the gifts of the spirit, not the alluring attractions of materialism.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2020-05-30T18:11:26-04:00May 29th, 2020|Tags: Early Christian Communities, Early Christian Texts, Early Jesus Followers, Hal Taussig|
He brings what we love most about the Early Christian Texts project: his willingness to listen like a pastor, his eagerness to probe the scholarly questions …, and a healthy dose of surprise.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2020-05-14T00:34:48-04:00May 14th, 2020|Tags: COVID-19, Extracanonical Texts, Prayer, The Thunder Perfect Mind, Vulnerability|
Somewhere in all this, I rebel. Is God really unwilling or unable to help? Can prayer do something to help the vulnerable during a pandemic?
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2020-04-22T19:40:15-04:00April 23rd, 2020|Tags: COVID-19, Extracanonical Texts, Gospel of Thomas, Nag Hammadi|
I started to wonder: what else (besides an invisible virus) might be right in front of my face that I may not be noticing?
