The Secular Frontier

Saint Paul (c. 1611) by Peter Paul Rubens (wiki) [Intro] Bart Ehrman’s “New Insights Into The New Testament” Conference (2024 Apostle Paul) [2: Bart’s Preface] Bart Ehrman’s “New Insights Into The New Testament” Conference (2024 Apostle Paul) [3: Benjamin L White] Bart Ehrman’s “New Insights Into The New Testament” Conference (2024 Apostle Paul) [4: Jason Staples] Bart Ehrman’s “New Insights Into The New Testament” Conference (2024 Apostle Paul) [5: Joel Marcus] Bart Ehrman’s “New Insights Into The New Testament” Conference (2024 Apostle Paul) [6: Robyn Faith Walsh] Bart Ehrman’s “New Insights Into The New Testament” Conference (2024 Apostle Paul) [7: Jenny Knust] Bart Ehrman’s “New Insights Into The New Testament” Conference (2024 Apostle Paul) [8: Paula Fredriksen] Bart Ehrman’s “New Insights Into The New Testament” Conference (2024 Apostle Paul) [9: James Tabor] Bart Ehrman’s “New Insights Into The New Testament” Co ... Read Article

It's been really fun following along with the conference presenters. The last presenter, Ehrman, gave an overview of Paul and showed how Paul saw himself as the prophesied one at the end of history who would bring the gentiles to the God of the Jews. Paul sees himself as spreading the gospel to the end of the earth (at that time Spain), and with that the end would come.   It is the Godly figurative opening of eyes that is the key issue, as apocalyptic pharisee Saul’s eyes were opened by his vision of Jesus and he became Paul, or the soldier in Luke whose eyes were open to the innocence of Jesus – a completion of the "eye-opening" started in Eden where sinful Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened to their nakedness, the issue of their questioning/doubting of God's words which evolved into the twisting of God's words by the Jewish elite who conspired against Jesus.  Of course, in this we see that the Jewish notion of sin is only superficially appeasing God's wrath with sacrifice as we see in other anc ... Read Article

James Tabor has a bit of a different take on Paul's apocalyptic thinking. In Tabor's reading, Genesis was the dust prototype of death and decay that would later be replaced by a cosmos of spirit (pneuma). Here are a few gems from the presentation: The salvation is cosmic because all the forms of existence are passing away: being male/female; Jew/Greek; Slave/free; Rich/poor. The setup of this world is passing away (1 Cor 7:29-31) Those who are in Christ have a new spiritual body waiting for them in heaven. Tabor doesn't say this but presumably the pneuma of Christ in you indicates to God who gets the new resurrection body, like the lamb's blood on the door indicated to God which houses were to be passed over in Egypt. In this regard Christ was the ultimate Passover lamb of God. This was helpful to me because with previous presenters I initially thought they meant (correctly or incorrectly) the pneuma/spirit of Christ in you developed into the new spiritual resurrection body, but I think seeing Jesus as t ... Read Article

I've been posting about how Trump is framing himself as the God-chosen candidate, that a vote against Trump is a vote against God. Consider this Truth Social post and picture Trump just shared: "Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. (Donald Trump)" Some Christians are not fooled: ... Read Article

Paula Fredriksen is one of the top Pauline scholars in the world and she gave a talk about Jewish henotheism, the idea Paul thought the world was saturated with many gods but that Paul thought his Jewish God was the highest. Here are a couple of ideas from the presentation that I thought were particularly meaty: All monotheists in antiquity were polytheists in that there were many lesser gods under the highest god (henotheism) and Paul shares in this understanding, especially since Paul was working with the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew scripture, which emphasized this. These gods were constantly in contact with humans in various ways, such as athletic games which were enacted in honor of the gods. Greco Roman and Jewish cities were not secular places but primarily set up to honor the gods, which then was good for the people. Paul is telling the pagans not to show respect to their native gods, but to his Jewish god. Paul is in a struggle between the pneuma of Christ that is in Pa ... Read Article

Prof Jenny Knust had an interesting presentation on sexual language in Paul. For example, she argues it's unfair to isolate Paul's condemnation of homosexual acts, because Paul thinks it would be better not to engage in any sexual acts as all - even heterosexual ones. In ancient times, heterosexuality and homosexuality were acts, not general identifiers of a person's identity as we think today. Paul doesn't act on sexual desire, and he thanks Christ for that. She also made the point that "virgin" had to do with being an unmarried young woman or man rather than the later medical condition of whether the hymen was intact or not. She offered the important point that we can make Paul say many things even if in so doing we go beyond what we really know about Paul. ... Read Article

One tidbit I'd like to share is Walsh argues Paul formed his ideas of the universe out of a stoic milieu, Paul coming from Tarsus, the birthplace of the stoic enlightenment. So, for instance, for Plutarch in “On the Face of the Moon” says when you die Your body is buried into the earth Your soul (psyche) and mind (nous) rise out of that material body that is now in the earth, and start to shoot up toward the moon. Solar wind blows on you and separates that mind/soul The soul separates and goes back to the moon because that’s where it’s from. Your mind/creative fire separates and goes back into the sun because that’s where it’s from If you’re a good person your soul will party on the moon If you weren’t good your soul might sink down to earth because you’re still attached to earthly things.  Sometime bad souls would be replanted into the moon to be purified and then replanted into a different person. Walsh argues Paul thought Jesus is on the moon waiting for t ... Read Article

Washington (CNN) —  Former President Donald Trump is littering his public remarks with fictional stories. This isn’t run-of-the-mill political spin, the kind of statistic-twisting and accomplishment-exaggerating that political candidates of all stripes engage in. Rather, the Republican presidential nominee is telling colorful lies that are completely untethered to reality. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/19/politics/fact-check-donald-trump-fictional-stories One of Trump's recent LIES is his wild story about schools determining which children need gender-affirming surgeries and sending children to get such surgeries without their parents' awareness or involvement: Transgender children and schools At an event held by a conservative group in late August, Trump claimed that schools are sending children for gender-affirming surgeries without their parents’ knowledge. He said, “The transgender thing is incredible. Think of it. Your kid goes to school and comes home a few days l ... Read Article

In this talk Marcus discusses how to understand Paul being negative about the Law in some places and positive about it in others. For instance, Paul offers a more positive version of the Law in Romans, which may reflect a significant Jewish-Christian population of the church in Rome (that Paul did not found). Paul says he was a Jew to the Jews, and a gentile to the gentiles to win both. What was Paul's own view on his Judaism? Marcus finds a helpful explanation in Rosenzweig: There is the ambiguity in that Jews who reject Christ are enemies of God, and yet blessed because God chose Abraham and his children forever. ... Read Article

I'd like to highlight how Staples argues against the substitutionary atonement interpretive model of reading Paul and instead argues for a transformation of the heart model which results in good acts and therefore good judgment. The substitutionary atonement reading is well known, and so for example in Romans Staples notes: The idea here is that we are guilty but through a theological sleight of hand accepting Christ makes our sin invisible to God because we clothe ourselves in Christ's righteousness. Staples notes this is a very problematic reading. For one thing, Paul repeatedly notes we will be judged on our actions (Romans 2:5-11; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Galatians 6:7-8; 1 Cor 6:9-11; etc.). For example, as John Barclay notes, Paul's directive to members of his churches to give to the poor Christians in Jerusalem is at once economic, political, and theological. Moreover, the Torah provides mechanisms for forgiveness and atonement. If there is one thing the God of the Old Testament can do, it's f ... Read Article

'MIRACLES': Former first lady Melania Trump credits a higher power for watching over former President Trump during two assassination attempts. Melania continues the narrative I've been posting about that the right is framing the failed assassination attempts as being the intervention by God and so a vote against Trump is a vote against God. ... Read Article

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former President Donald Trump is littering his public remarks with fictional stories. This isn’t run-of-the-mill political spin, the kind of statistic-twisting and accomplishment-exaggerating that political candidates of all stripes engage in. Rather, the Republican presidential nominee is telling colorful lies that are completely untethered to reality. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/19/politics/fact-check-donald-trump-fictional-stories Here is recent LIE #2 from Donald Trump: HARRIS' CNN INTERVIEWTrump claimed during a Fox News event in Pennsylvania in early September that Harris “had notes” to assist her during the television interview she did with CNN in late August. He even performed an impression in which he portrayed Harris supposedly looking down at these notes. She didn’t actually have any notes. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/19/politics/fact-check-donald-trump-fictional-stories Here is a quote from a Fact Check on this bogus claim: FACTS FIRST: T ... Read Article

Benjamin White is one of the top and most respected Pauline scholars in the world. White’s talk is about how mathematics is used to help decide which of the New Testament letters are authentically written by Paul. I would like to highlight one point he makes about 1 Thess 2: 14-16. This passage reads: 14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own compatriots as they did from the Jews 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out; they displease God and oppose everyone 16 by hindering us from speaking to the gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins, but wrath has overtaken them at last. This is an important text for mythicists to dismiss as an interpolation because it says the Jews killed Christ: SEE CARRIER HERE.  The claim is further that references to destruction in the verses identify the des ... Read Article

I have long thought that Dr. Gary Habermas was the best defender of the alleged resurrection of Jesus. The recent publication of two large volumes by Habermas on this issue demonstrates that my previous opinion was correct. No 21st-century skeptic can reasonably claim to have cast serious doubt on the resurrection of Jesus without dealing with the arguments of the Christian philosopher and apologist Gary Habermas. QUOTES ON HABERMAS AND THE FIRST VOLUMES OF HIS SERIES ON THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS Here are some quotations (from the back covers) about his recently published volumes on the resurrection of Jesus: This series confirms Habermas's status as the leading voice among an increasing number of eminent scholars openly affirming the strong evidence for Jesus' resurrection. - Craig Keener, professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary Professor Gary Habermas has made studying the resurrection of Jesus Christ his life's work. Probably no one else on the planet has resea ... Read Article

Washington (CNN) —  Former President Donald Trump is littering his public remarks with fictional stories. This isn’t run-of-the-mill political spin, the kind of statistic-twisting and accomplishment-exaggerating that political candidates of all stripes engage in. Rather, the Republican presidential nominee is telling colorful lies that are completely untethered to reality. Trump’s inflammatory assertion about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, whom he baselessly accused at the September presidential debate of eating people’s dogs and cats, has received the most attention. But Trump’s lower-profile recent public appearances, like rallies and interviews, have also featured wholly imaginary tales. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/19/politics/fact-check-donald-trump-fictional-stories The constant flow of LIES and BULLSHIT from the mouth of Donald Trump clearly indicates that he is a SOCIOPATH. It is absurd that anyone would even think about voting for a SOCIOPATH to be the presiden ... Read Article