I’m brainstorming and activating prior knowledge in preparation for listening to a conference presentation on Jesus and the law. Jesus is the law incarnate, guided by the spirit of the law rather than just manipulating it like a lawyer ignoring God’s intentions. Jesus rebukes Satan during the temptation in the wilderness when Satan quotes Scripture, … Jesus and the Law: Prep for the Joel Marcus Lecture

Is Jesus a proper name or a granted name, like the Roman senate gave Octavian the name Augustus?  For Joshua is his Hebrew name, Yehoshua (or Yeshua in its shorter form), which means “Yahweh is salvation.”  With Jesus, his name, Yeshua (Greek: Iēsous), shares the same Hebrew root, also meaning “Yahweh is salvation.”  The shared … Jesus: A Proper Name or a Granted Name?

Previously, I posted the video. Now, the conclusion SLIDES: RESEARCH NOTES: History Valley talk with Jacob Berman: Issues With Dating the Pauline Epistles Nina Livesey suggests Paul was created in the second century in Acts and the letters are fictive correspondence based on that figure. Fictive correspondence was often in collections and so we find … (Part 2/2) Come See Me on History Valley Podcast with Jacob Berman – All Things Paul! MY NOTES AND SLIDES FOR THE PRESENTATION

If anyone is interested, 2 members of The Heidegger Circle (including me) are hosting an open online discussion of Heidegger’s Origin of the Work of Art November 3, 2025 at 6 pm EST. Location: https://iu.zoom.us/j/5415673650

Overview: After first outlining the literary and theological reasons why scholars question the historical accuracy of the gospel passion narratives, this presentation tackles a range of hotly disputed questions: How likely is it that Jesus had a Jewish trial? Who was Pilate? And did he need to try Jesus? Why incude Barabbas? And was Jesus … Reporting From Ehrman’s New Insights into the New Testament 2025 Conference Part 2: The Last Hours of Jesus: What Really Happened? With Helen Bond

Overview: New Testament scholars often act as if all the really important historical data about Jesus survived somewhere, somehow, and that we can piece together a good general picture of his life. But the reality is that the overwhelming majority of Jesus’s words and actions are lost forever. This talk is all about those missing … Reporting From Ehrman’s New Insights into the New Testament 2025 Conference Part 1: The Missing Pieces in the Quest for the Historical Jesus with Prof Mark Goodacre

The modern quest for the historical Paul, determining who the apostle Paul was and what he said, is in an important way borne out of a real peculiarity in our New Testament sources.  On the One hand, we have the authentic letters of Paul that scholars see as one of our earliest sources for the … New Published Article! Link to “The Quest for the Historical Paul with Nina Livesey (part B)”