About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.” Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”

//An odd verse to introduce the topic of eternal life, don’t you think? Yet this is precisely the way the majority of Old Testament writers imagined living on after death: through one’s descendants. Being remembered and spoken well of was of primary importance. I uncovered this helpful discussion in Candida Moss’s excellent book, The Myth of Persecution:

A persistent and pressing anxiety in the ancient world was the fear of being forgotten, that when you died no one would remember that you had ever lived. In a world of Google searches, Social Security numbers, and embarrassingly permanent Facebook photos, it’s difficult for us to wrap our minds around how strong this fear would have been, but this was a world in which only 5 percent of people were literate. Immortality meant being kept alive in the memories of others …

Hence, we find in our earliest scriptures a curious emphasis on procreation and reputation … and a seeming lack of interest in the afterlife.

Galen Watson became a friend of mine after he provided a review copy of his novel, The Psalter. It’s a five-star thriller, reviewed here so don’t miss it!

Galen recently posted a bit of his research about where scholarship stands on the issue of whether Jesus existed as a flesh-and-blood person. I often find people attracted to the shock value of mythicists claiming that Jesus is a complete fabrication, so I thought I would share Galen’s post, just to let you all know where scholarship on the topic really stands.

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“Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed.” –Wikipedia on The Historicity of Jesus. That’s simply a fact, undisputed by reputable scholars. Argue what you may with opinions, anecdotes or undistinguished sources, but it is a fact that virtually all reputable scholars and historians (atheist and Christian) agree that the person of Jesus existed.

“Today nearly all historians, whether Christians or not, accept that Jesus existed”. –Professor Graham Stanton, King’s College London and Cambridge University

“He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees”. –Bart Ehrman, James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“There are those who argue that Jesus is a figment of the Church’s imagination, that there never was a Jesus at all. I have to say that I do not know any respectable critical scholar who says that anymore.” Richard A. Burridge, Dean of King’s College London and Professor of Biblical Interpretation.

Theories of non-existence of Jesus are “a thoroughly dead thesis” –James GD Dunn, Lightfoot Professor of Divinity in the Department of Theology at the University of Durham.

“In recent years, ‘no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non historicity of Jesus’ or at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger, indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary.” in Jesus: An Historian’s Review of the Gospels by Michael Grant 2004 ISBN 1898799881 page 200

★★★★★

Very informative. Witherington splices together historical fiction and scholarly commentary to produce an excellent teaching aid. The result is fiction that is too choppy and short for a captivating plot, but perfect for enjoyable learning.

The story takes place in the mid-first century, at the time Paul the Apostle was church planting. Paul plays a heavy role, but he’s not the main character. Instead, some obscure characters in the Bible are fleshed out and brought to life (maybe you remember Gallio, but I bet you’ve never heard of Erastos or Nicanor … and kudos if you have!) Erastos is running for public office in Corinth, Nicanor is his slave, and Paul, though he does not involve himself in politics, is his usual Christian self. The “scholarly commentary” I alluded to comes in the way of one- or two-page inserts titled “A Closer Look,” which are peppered throughout the text.

This book is not preachy, nor even very “Christian” until the final page or two. Instead, it’s just a great way to familiarize yourself with one of the major cities in the Bible, particularly during the time of Paul. Highly recommended!

“Abba, Father,” [Jesus] said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

//This verse has drawn much speculation from both scholars and casual readers of the Bible. What did Jesus see? When did he see it? Consider this version of the story in Revelation, described poetically as a retelling of a popular dragon myth:

When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.