Around Easter, various theories about the life, death, and (non) resurrection of Jesus tend to find their way onto various media outlets. Sometimes these theories are outlandish and little more than attempts at attention; other times claims about Jesus come from more respectable sources. In today’s and tomorrow’s posts, I examine one of the moreContinue reading “Jesus and Crossan (Part I)”
Tag Archives: Social Context
Early Christianity, Method, and the Body
The academic study of the ancient world remains a field full of exciting realms of consideration. This remains especially true for historians of the early Jesus Movement and Christian Church, where numerous fields of study are in need of critical exploration, including conceptions of the human body and sexuality within early Christianity. As a meansContinue reading “Early Christianity, Method, and the Body”
Book Review: Ancient Christian Worship (McGowan)
There are few times in history so important and yet so obscure as the years following the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, when the movement bearing his name transformed from a band of several dozen followers hiding in terror into an international community that would shape the subsequent history of the world. DespiteContinue reading “Book Review: Ancient Christian Worship (McGowan)”
Book Review: Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods (Ed. Fiensy and Strange)
A longstanding problem for those attempting to study early Christianity involves the obscurity of the first centuries of the Common Era. Though nearly constantly reflected upon and studied since those years faded into the past, there remain numerous gaps in our understanding of the world and context of Jesus and his earliest followers. Unfortunately, thisContinue reading “Book Review: Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods (Ed. Fiensy and Strange)”
Predestination and Freewill: Modern Scholars on Romans 7-9, Part II
This post is part of our ongoing series examining Romans, Predestination, and Freewill. Many context scholars emphasize the importance of remembering Paul’s Jewish-worldview[1] in reading and interpreting Romans.[2] Bruce Malina and John Pilch argue in their Social-Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul, that each of his letters would have been, to some degree, “pre-read”Continue reading “Predestination and Freewill: Modern Scholars on Romans 7-9, Part II”
Book Review: The Joy of the Gospel (Pope Francis)
Few people alive today are more popular and polarizing than Pope Francis. No one seems sure quite how to respond to the Bishop of Rome, nor are they sure whose side (if any) he is taking in ongoing theological and cultural debates. Sensational media claims about Francis “revolutionizing” the Catholic faith are overblown, to beContinue reading “Book Review: The Joy of the Gospel (Pope Francis)”
Rethinking Vinegrowers and Violence (Part Two)
Having examined Schottroff’s interpretive concerns in yesterday’s post, we now turn to her reinterpretation of the Parable of the Vinegrowers in The Parables of Jesus (Trans. Linda M. Maloney. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006.), in which she critiques a traditional allegorical interpretation of the parable, and reconsiders its meaning for today’s context. The crux of herContinue reading “Rethinking Vinegrowers and Violence (Part Two)”
Rethinking Vinegrowers and Violence (Part One)
Luise Schottroff, in her work The Parables of Jesus (Trans. Linda M. Maloney. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006.) writes that the parables of Jesus of Nazareth contain a wealth of information concerning the meaning of his proclamation and vision, information that has historically been both influential and misunderstood (1). In as much as there are asContinue reading “Rethinking Vinegrowers and Violence (Part One)”
Cultural Differences and Biblical Interpretation
One of the biggest challenges for those studying the Bible involves reading and interpreting the scriptures in a manner consistent with their original context. Modern readers are distanced from the earliest written messages of the Christian tradition not only by time and space, but also by key cultural differences. In their book Understanding the SocialContinue reading “Cultural Differences and Biblical Interpretation”
The Catholic Reformation of the Individual
The sixteenth century was for Western Europe a time of much socio-theological consternation and change. Numerous theological reformations occurred (or sought to occur) in a variety of social contexts, for a plethora of reasons, and employing numerous methodologies. One such reformation was that of the institutional Catholic Church under the auspices of such leaders asContinue reading “The Catholic Reformation of the Individual”
Pursuing Veritas 