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The Bible and Beyond Discussions Recording Archive
Monday Textual Study Archives
Once a month, at 8:00–9:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday nights (generally the fourth of the month), Early Christian Texts hosts a presentation and discussion of one of the early Christian texts. Dr. Shirley Paulson generally leads the sessions by first sharing a well-framed overview of the particular subject and after that providing time for all participants to ask questions or share their own insights.
There is no charge, but attendees are invited to donate or become a Bible and Beyond patron. You may attend any or all sessions — you are welcome any time. We look forward to your participation.
Luke, Didache, and Prayer of Thanksgiving: It Began with Meals
The study of these three texts helps point to the very meal-based practice of the first two centuries of Christ people gatherings and the early lack of the later church-based liturgical and mass-related ‘worship services.’ Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Shirley Paulson, PhD)
Light and Fragrance in the Gospel of Truth
The Gospel of Truth—written sometime in the second century—is almost certainly the most lush and sensuous of early Christ literature. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Shirley Paulson, PhD)
Jesus Sophia in the Bible
Gender bending, gender pluralism, and divine-human figures provided backdrops for understanding the intersections of Wisdom, Jesus, and Sophia in ancient literature and contemporary theology and spirituality. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Shirley Paulson, PhD)
Stories of Jesus’s Resurrection, Especially Gospel of Peter
The Gospel of Peter has a story of the resurrection of Jesus like no other. The story starts in ways that are like some of the stories in the Bible, and then it veers wildly with intense metaphor that opens up completely new interpretations. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Shirley Paulson, PhD)
The Gospel of Mary
The Gospel of Mary is a document whose attractiveness is still on the rise since its discovery about 120 years ago. This discussion focuses directly on the character of the gospel and whether it makes a difference for the principle challenges and opportunities of our day. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Shirley Paulson, PhD)
Jesus’s Beginnings in the Gospel of John
The Gospel of John is based in two different story-like persona: the figure of the Word or Logos from ancient Greek philosophy and the figure of Wisdom or Sophia from Hebrew wisdom literature. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Shirley Paulson, PhD)
The Relationship of ‘The Odes of Solomon’ to Jesus
Despite being called 'The Odes of Solomon,' implying directly that the songs (odes) are from King Solomon of Israel about a thousand years before Jesus, many of the songs in this text (if not all of them) are clearly about Jesus. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Shirley Paulson, PhD) Includes transcript!
Israel Everywhere: Clement II
Clement II is quite a precious early writing in that it shows clearly how it belongs thoroughly to greater Israel, even while being devoted to Jesus. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Shirley Paulson, PhD)
Thecla, Paul, Jesus, and Family
The earliest version of The Acts of Paul and Thecla explicitly picture her as never having submitted to a Roman death. This study will also continue with these themes, but we will also look substantially into the very experimental role she played in challenging traditional family values. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Shirley Paulson, PhD)
The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (the Didache)
Thought of by many as the first community handbook written for communities of Christ and Jesus peoples, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles has a fairly complicated organization and set of teachings. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Shirley Paulson, PhD)
Gender Creativity and Problems in the Gospel of Thomas
Jesus himself in the Gospel of Thomas is not singly gendered, and is pictured more than once like the female divine Wisdom/Sophia. A close look at its whole teaches us much about the complexities of gender in the ancient Mediterranean world and our own. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Shirley Paulson, PhD)
Creativity in and Rejection of Hebrews
The creative metaphors for life in Jesus Christ in the Letter to the Hebrews are some of the most imaginative to come out of the first two centuries. But Hebrews has been mostly ignored by official Christendom. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Shirley Paulson, PhD)
Norea: Key Dimension of God’s Fullness and/or Eve’s First Daughter
Norea is a powerful female character in both texts, which complement what we know about her but do not give a completely matching picture. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Dr. Shirley Paulson) Includes transcript!
Many Jesuses or Just One? (Part II)
When we compare the Jesus in the Gospel of Mark with the Jesus in the Gospel of John, we notice many major differences. So many, in fact, that it raises the question of whether this is even the same Jesus! Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Dr. Shirley Paulson) Includes transcript!
Many Jesuses?
With more and more different documents about Jesus discovered, a certain kind of question is being asked more frequently. The question goes something like this, "Since Jesus seems quite different and quite attractive and meaningful in many texts, can we think about one Jesus? Or would it help to think of different Jesuses?" Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Dr. Shirley Paulson)
Parables of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Thomas has more or less three kinds of parables: those with almost exact parallels with Matthew, Mark, or Luke; those with similar story-lines to canonical gospels but with strikingly different meanings; and those that have little or no similarities to canonical gospels. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Dr. Shirley Paulson)
First Revelation of James
James and the Lord talk at some length about the reputation that the Jesus movement welcomes women. Indeed in this document Jesus seems to be known for his association with four women leaders. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Dr. Shirley Paulson)
The Gospel of Mark
One of the recent interests in the Gospel of Mark are its resistance and responses to (especially) violence through its comical, flexible, and complicated identity constructions. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Dr. Shirley Paulson) Includes transcript!
The Wisdom of Solomon: A First Century Divine Female
"The Wisdom of Solomon" is now considered to have been an important writing for the hundreds of thousands people of Israel in first century Egypt. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Dr. Shirley Paulson)
The Thunder Perfect Mind II
The recently discovered "The Thunder: Perfect Mind" from the second or third century introduces a full-blown picture of a vulnerable God that for may help make sense of Divinity for 21st century. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Dr. Shirley Paulson)
The Acts of Paul and Thecla
This discussion concentrates on Thecla's freedom and leadership, especially the ways her gender and sexuality is far more than what has often been considered “virginity” and/or “celibacy.” Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Dr. Shirley Paulson) Includes transcript!
The Thunder, Perfect Mind
University of Pennsylvania professor Andrew Lamas calls The Thunder: Perfect Mind “one of the ten most important documents in history.” Dr. Hal Taussig provides an introduction and overview of this text. Participants share observations and questions. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Shirley Paulson, PhD) Includes transcript!
No Such Thing as ‘Gnosticism’?
This month’s study involved exploring the raging debate over whether there is any such thing as 'Gnosticism' and whether or not it is important to stop labeling certain texts as 'gnostic.' Presenter: Dr. Deborah Saxon (with host Shirley Paulson)
The Letter of Peter to Philip
This month’s study involved exploring a little-discussed early text, The Letter of Peter to Philip Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Shirley Paulson)
