The Origin of the Word ‘Christ’
The shifts from ‘Messiah,’ to christos, to christus, to ‘Christ’ were momentous. In the process, the root meaning of g-d’s anointed king was forfeited and with that several things were lost.
Should “Ekklēsia” Really Be Translated as “Church”?
In the King James translation of the Hebrew scripture (so-called ‘Old Testament’), the translators consistently employed the gloss ‘assembly,’ while in the New Testament they used ‘church.’
Jesus’s Resurrection: Spiritual or Physical?
The spiritual, present, collective understanding of resurrection has special longer-term promise for integrity, imagination, community, and new frameworks for divine presence.
How After Jesus Before Christianity Could Rewrite History
The book challenges the general public, many churches, and most scholars to re-consider how to think about Jesus and these hundreds of years before there were ‘Christians.’
The Gospel of Peter: Resurrection Reinvented
"A number of scholars suggest that the Gospel of Peter’s story may have been one of the earliest if not the earliest. It is time to take this possibility seriously."
Did Paul Really Say That?
"I might say [Paul]’s working out a theology. Maybe in all of the letters. Trying to explain… what it is to be in Christ, or in the body of Christ." An Interview with Dr. Nina Livesey
Conservative Christian Finds Biblical Egalitarianism
"I really believe the Holy Spirit fosters equality. You know the Holy Spirit is the great Energizer, but also the great Equalizer." An interview with Margaret Mowczko.
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)
Ancient Roman Families and Household Models Elucidate the Biblical Book of Philemon
"It’s interesting to read (Paul’s) letter to Philemon and imagine yourself hearing it as Onesimus. We do not often imagine life from the viewpoint of the slaves in the ancient world. " An interview with Elli Elliott, 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)