In the traditional Early Church stories, the faith that became Christianity was started by the friends and family of the original apostles, who would meet in each others’ homes and tell stories about the Christ each of them knew. The crowds at these gatherings grew larger each year, and people would travel away to other […]
Atwill vs. Traditional Early Church legends
September 11th, 2014 · Comments Off on Atwill vs. Traditional Early Church legends · christianity, history
Tags: bible·early church
A Talent Not Invested
September 6th, 2014 · Comments Off on A Talent Not Invested · christianity, history
“This is a little off the subject but I was discussing prosperity theology and came across Luke 19 – a parable Jesus said told Zacchaeus the tax collector about 3 servants charged with making money work for a king in his absence. Long story short the servant who buried the money was called wicked because […]
Tags: bible·eusebius·Flavians·jesus traditions
Further Revelations
September 3rd, 2014 · Comments Off on Further Revelations · christianity, history
After establishing the creation of the Gospels at around 80AD, at the hand of Josephus, there are still the question of when and who created the remaining books of the New Testament. Briefly, these are the Acts of the Apostles, the letters of Paul, James, and John, and the Revelation of John. I was previously ready […]
Tags: bible·constantine·early church·Flavians
Evolution and Faith
August 25th, 2011 · Comments Off on Evolution and Faith · christianity, culture, media
Normally, this is a topic I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. I also don’t get into arguments with people who claim the world is flat, doomed to end, or cursed by demons. It’s simply not worth the bother: folks don’t come to these conclusions through logic, so logic isn’t going to dislodge them. Evolution, […]
Tags: bible·concepts·creation mythos·critical review·faith·heresy·literalism·theology
Book: Janus in Nicea
March 21st, 2011 · Comments Off on Book: Janus in Nicea · christianity, history, Janus in Nicea, media
Quite a milestone was reached last week when I published my book, Janus in Nicea. I had started this blog some years ago when I realized that the state of my study of Early Church history was such that it needed a home away from Live Journal. After continued work in it, I received a […]
Tags: anthropology·apostolic traditions·bible·constantine·early church·patriarch traditions·roman empire
Interlude
August 22nd, 2008 · Comments Off on Interlude · christianity, history
I’m getting that sand-through-the-fingers feeling again. Just when I thought I had pegged the origins of “Christianity” via Constantine, I got all caught up on the question of pre-existing material. How can we know what it was he actually defined himself, and what was pre-existing? Of the pre-existing materials, why were some things chosen and […]
Tags: bible·constantine·early church·eusebius·roman empire
Second and Third Derivations
July 31st, 2008 · Comments Off on Second and Third Derivations · christianity, history
Since discovery of PRF Brown’s site[1], I have burned a good many hours both reading and thinking. It’s clear that the “Eusebian Fiction Postulate”[2] has forced me to re-examine what I thought I understood about early church history. I have been relatively pleased, so far, to find that it seems to make more sense, given […]
Tags: bible·constantine·early church·eusebius·faith·greeks·judaism·paideia·paul·persecution·politics·roman empire
Jah Calling
July 26th, 2008 · Comments Off on Jah Calling · christianity, history
At the root of Judaism is a written history of people to whom Yah has spoken. These people, we are told, had direct, immediate, and personal knowledge of God. They spoke with him. He answered. His words became the driving force for their actions. This is exactly the sort of individual congress with the divine […]
Tags: abraham·bible·concepts·gnostic·judaism·moses·patriarch traditions
Old words online
July 21st, 2008 · Comments Off on Old words online · christianity, history
Two significant news items regarding some really old writings. The first is the Revelation of Gabriel, which is a singular slate of stone covered in ink, using an ancient hand. Although the piece has been in a private collection for years, only recently has the text been translated. Dr. DeConick has a handy index of […]
Tags: bible
Philip
July 19th, 2008 · Comments Off on Philip · christianity, history
Philip occupies a rather unusual corner of the canon. On the one hand, he’s one of the first people Jesus recruits[1] and he’s shown recruiting other apostles[2] as well as bringing the early Church to Samaria[3]. On the other hand, he’s very much a bit part: he does not appear as a significant actor in […]
Tags: apostolic traditions·baptism·bible·early church·greeks·jesus traditions