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 Dr. Hal Taussig|2021-01-25T04:19:15-05:00December 28th, 2020|Tags: Bible, Church, Gospel of John, Gospels|
"The Gospel of John is more like a like a tender poem about God. No, that’s not quite right. It’s a tender poem in God. Like being in an ocean of God."
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2021-01-25T04:19:27-05:00December 10th, 2020|Tags: Ally Kateusz, Early Christian Art, Early Jesus Followers, Gender Issues, Women|
Back to the gospels before Constantine, we have three men and three women. And the women are all the same size as Jesus... It’s really quite striking.
By Dr. Hal Taussig|2021-01-25T04:19:36-05:00November 23rd, 2020|Tags: Extracanonical Texts, Gender Issues, Gospel of Mary, Jesus, Mary Magdalene|
"If I’m right that it is a really good, short book from 1800 years ago, then you may want to just mull over what some parts of it mean to you."
By James F. McGrath, PhD|2021-02-07T23:10:07-05:00November 12th, 2020|Tags: 1 Timothy, Bible, Egalitarianism, Gender Issues, Women|
"[The text] prohibited women from teaching only in that time because it was important that they first learn and only then begin to teach."
By Dr. Hal Taussig|2021-03-15T17:16:16-04:00October 22nd, 2020|Tags: Christianity, Community, Extracanonical Texts, Religion|
How strong and vibrant Christianity will be during these next two decades depends primarily on how much creativity and vitality it can produce.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2021-01-25T04:20:59-05:00October 8th, 2020|Tags: Early Christian Communities, Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Thomas, Healing, New Testament|
If I’m reading this right, it sounds like the power to heal in the Gospel of Thomas … belongs to those who love unselfishly and unpretentiously.
By Dr. Hal Taussig|2021-01-25T04:21:12-05:00October 5th, 2020|Tags: Book of Wisdom, Violence, Wisdom, Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom scriptures|
I recommend this kind of presence [Wisdom] in our lives. It asserts good sense, broad learning, and spiritual intuition.
By Shirley Paulson, PhD|2021-01-25T04:21:24-05:00September 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|2021-01-25T04:21:35-05:00August 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|2021-01-25T04:21:48-05:00August 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.”
