Five False Assumptions 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.
Jesus, Gender, and the Importance of Christian Art
This discussion focuses on the role of art in our understanding of Jesus. Chad Venters will explore the ancient concepts of gender and how these concepts may surprise us, especially our mental images of Jesus. Presenters: Dr. Chad Venters and Dr. Shirley Paulson
Quest for the Historical Jesus: Surprising Conclusions
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.
The Historical Jesus: Surprise Yourself!
If we listen to one another – which I think is a fundamental act of love – if we listen to one another’s experience, then we can begin to see how multi-faceted this experience of Jesus is. An interview with Dr. Joseph Bessler
What Did Jesus Look Like?
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.
Five Misconceptions 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?
How Did Jesus Heal People?
His attitude toward healing was integrated with salvation, so the entirety of one’s being—body, mind, and soul—all belong to and were governed by a renewed relationship to God, the loving Father.
Did Jesus Have Brothers and Sisters?
We are left wondering. A few other important texts not as well-known as the canonical texts provide more information about Jesus’s family identity.
Inspiration for Keeping a New Year’s Resolution
The phrase from the Thomas Saying, “become like me,” is what caught my attention while I was thinking about my New Year’s resolution. I know I am not alone having made resolutions that don’t quite succeed.
Dealing Under the Table: Ritual Negotiation of Women’s Power in Early Christ People’s Gospels
This Bible and Beyond Discussion addresses two gospel texts with a woman and Jesus at their center. Both texts have gender controversy with Jesus and both display complex gender power. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Dr. Shirley Paulson)
Jesus at His Trial in the Gospel of Mark
Jesus stands before the chief priest powerless and humiliated. Yet he claims to be the Anointed, the son of the Blessed One. His lack of power in the face of the chief priest’s evident power constitutes blasphemy
Sophia/Wisdom/Jesus/God in the First Three Centuries CE
We'll examine the key character of Sophia/Wisdom in the development Jesus peoples of the first two hundred years of the Common Era, the development of Second Temple Judaism, and initial development Rabbinic Judaism. Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig (with host Dr. Shirley Paulson)