by Raymond E. Brown ★★★ This book is now 23 years old, but it is one that every Bible scholar must read. Raymond Brown is considered by many to be the premier Johannine scholar of the 20th century, and is widely acknowledged by both the Church and by academia. Brown began writing about…
John 19:30, Jesus Hands Over a Spirit
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. //I’ve quoted the NIV translation of this verse, but a more accurate translation is Jesus “handed over” his spirit. This is a very different picture than the other…
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Book review: I Sold My Soul on eBay
by Hemant Mehta ★★★★★ Mehta is “the eBay atheist,” the nonbeliever who auctioned off the opportunity for the winning bidder to send him to church. Since then, Mehta has visited a variety of churches, from the cozy to the mega churches, and written about his experiences. If you’re looking for…
Revelation 13:18, The Number of the Beast, Part II
This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is a man’s number. His number is 616. //No, this isn’t a repeat. No, this isn’t a typo. Two days ago, I introduced the beastly number 666, and why first-century Christians immediately…
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Book review: Celebrating Jesus in the Biblical Feasts
by Dr. Richard Booker ★★★★ It’s impossible to recognize all the nuances of the New Testament writings without understanding the Jewish feasts. Consider especially the Gospel of John: It goes from one Biblical feast to the next with barely a let-up. This is one of John’s primary literary devices, where…
Revelation 13:18, The Number of the Beast
This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666. //Most learned scholars of Revelation today recognize that, at least on some level, John names first-century Roman Emperor Nero Caesar as the Beast of Revelation….
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Book review: Thinking Is Authorized!
by Nash Khatri ★★★★ With a mysterious Bang! 13.7 billion years ago, an incredible universe of time and space tumbled forth. Science and religion both are fascinated by this existence, as we humans peer ever deeper into the mysteries of the universe. But Nash’s book is different: it wonders what else is out there….
II Samuel 21:17, Who Killed Goliath?
And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew [the brother of] Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. //Thus was the brother of Goliath slain. Or was he? In the original Hebrew,…
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Book review: The Existential Jesus
by John Carroll ★★★★★ Ex-is-ten-tial –adjective: of or relating to existence, especially human existence. This is Jesus, the way you’ve never read about him before. John Carroll draws primarily on the Gospel of Mark, a Gospel which rather quickly fell into disuse among early Christians as they favored the more majestic stories…
Jude 1:9, The Body of Moses
But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” //What on earth is this verse all about? Michael and Satan squabbling over the body of Moses? According…