Loading...There is a lot of good advice out there about how not just to handle isolation but how to take advantage of it, to make some parts of your life better rather than worse. But it has occurred to me: people on this blog have some things in common, interests that we share. And I wonder if we can give some suggestions to each other about how blog-related interests can contribute to our mutual and individual well-being while we still plow through this crisis. So after giving a couple of suggestions, I’ll be asking you if you have one or two ideas to share with others.
Let me begin by saying that just about everything the sages among us are saying is absolutely right, when it comes to *general* or even *universal* advice. At least it’s all working well for me. I am exercising *more* not less, and have developed a very nice exercise regime that I follow every day. That not only helps me get my mind off my woes and, especially, my woes for the world at large (which are important to have, and I have them in abundance; but dwelling on them all day is not good for me or the world), as I work out in various ways, but also keeps me fit and feeling good physically.
So too with sleep: I’m getting every bit as much as I need. Now *that’s* a luxury for a lot of us. We should take advantage of it.
Many of you are not into meditation, but I have been for a few years now, and I have increased my practice. That’s helping a *ton*, making me calmer and again getting my mind off other things – in fact, in the form I’m practicing now, getting my mind off *everything*. It’s another way, along with sleep, to recharge the brain’s batteries to be alert and fresh.
The main other thing I’m doing – this finally gets to issues connected with the blog – is that I’m intentionally redirecting my extra time to doing things that I really have always wanted to do and simply didn’t have the hours in the day to do. In my case, that does not involve watching more TV or other things simply to give myself something to do and while away the hours. It involves consciously doing what makes me happy and feel good.
I’m choosing things to watch that are soothing for me. In this case (distantly related to the blog) I’ve decided to redirect my reading and viewing habits. About two months before the crisis hit, I started reading books and watching movies and TV series involving world-catastrophes. This was actually for *work* not for *pleasure.* My next book will be about how misinterpretations of the book of Revelation led to expectations that the world was soon to end, and that combined with other factors of modern life has seriously affected both fiction and film. In fiction it began (for my interests) with the 19th century fear of technology – starting with Frankenstein and continuing on till today through robots and AI generally; to the “bomb” threat starting in 1945 – all the nuclear disaster films etc; to climate change; to, yes, viruses. The earliest disaster movies arose out of fiction (you won’t believe who made the first Frankenstein movie: Thomas Edison!! That seems completely ironic and weird, if you know the book, until you see how he ends the film, with science triumphing over the monster it has created). Film then began to take on a life of its own and, as you know, there are roughly 3 trillion options now.
I continued with watching and reading all that even into the crisis, but about three weeks ago I decided to give it up for now. I really don’t need it at the moment. At all. (I’m not advising against it; I’m just saying that for me, it is, well, not a good time for it. I’ll get to my book later. I’m doing a different book now anyway, so there’s no rush).
Instead I’ve decided (this is unrelated to the blog) to read and watch stuff that I really deeply enjoy and that I find personally uplifting. And for now that involves costume dramas with happy endings (I just rewatched Howards End; next will to Ben Kingsley’s Silas Marner; then the Daniel Deronda series); and Victorian novels (started on one of Dickens’ very best, Bleak House; which actually does have a plague in it, but it’s an upbeat story despite the name).
BUT, to the blog. Many of you have always wanted “more time to read.” Now’s your time. And many of you are fascinated by understanding the New Testament, the historical Jesus, the books that didn’t make it into the New Testament, what happened in earliest Christianity, how the Bible was compiled, the significance of the Bible for modern ethics – e.g., issues connected with reproduction and sex and social policies and justice etc. And lots of other things. Why not throw yourself into reading some of the books in these fields – or any other – that you’re interested in?
On my own home front we’re doing something related that will clearly not be a choice of the masses, but it’s the *kind* of thing others could think of. I’ve been working on my Latin for a couple of years now; my wife Sarah is a medievalist and so was trained in ecclesiastical Latin. But she’s rusty (she moved on to Shakespeare about 20 years ago and there’s not a lot of Latin there….), and I need all the help I can get. So we’ve started reading the Latin Vulgate together. Really. In the evening, before dinner. It was her idea to start with Ecclesiastes, which I”ve never read in Latin before; after that we’ll move to Genesis.
And it’s been *great*. One of us reads a verse in Latin, the other translates it (we have dictionaries to hand!), and we go from there. Fantastic.
OK, so you probably ain’t gonna be doing *that*. But how ‘bout finding something that you and whomever you happen to be around or can connect with remotely read something together that you both would enjoy, and then talk about it? It could be simply a piece of fiction that makes you think and deal with issues important to you. Or it could be something non-fiction and instructive/informative. Even something connected with the Bible/early Christianity, if that’s your current passion.
These are hard times. For some people they are merely inconvenient; for others they are downright devastating or even life-destroying. If you have mental space and want to make yourself feel better, you need to take intentional steps to get there.
To that end:
Do YOU have suggestions connected with the blog you can make for others, things you’re trying? For example, can you recommend a blog-related that you’re read that you would HIGHLY suggest? Or an online resource? Is there something you’re doing that you think others could benefit from that are in some way connected with our shared interests?
If so, post a comment. I would suggest that you limit yourself to just ONE suggestion in your comment. You can certainly do more, of course, if you stick within the space limits. But will tell you with some confidence that even if you have lots of ideas and advice, if you explain ONE carefully it will have far more impact on people that if you shoot off two or six. So I recommend you give one. But if you really want to go for more – hey, you’ve got 200 words.
I wish all of you the very best, as we try to pull through all of this, both together and individually. If there’s anything I can do on the blog to increase your happiness, do let me know!
I second your recommendation of vigorous exercise.
I’m your age and get that first run in every morning.
I’m 64 and still running 45-50 miles a week ( low week of 30 miles every 3rd week)..
I read once that the same endorphins affected with vigorous excersize are the same as smoking marijuana.
I believe it.
I worked for 22 years for a boss that terrorized me…The only way I could get through the day was if I ran 7-10 miles before work.
This virus thing is causing the same stress and that first morning run is a must. It really helps.
43 years as a runner and 100,000 miles on my legs and a lot of endorphin high has gotten me through.
Hey Bart this is off topic I was wondering what the evidence is that Jesus but died in 30 CE over 33 CE.
Also when Do you date the 1st Corinthians 15:3-8 creed?
There’s not great evidence either way on Jesus’ death. I’ll add the qeustion to my list of things to post on: how do we know when Jesus died. So too withe the creed. It is rather sophisticated and composed originally in Greek, so some years after Jesus’ death, but before Paul converted the Corinthians. So, what, sometime in the 40s or early 50s?
Although I’m only 3/4 through it, I can HIGHLY recommend “Gospels Before the Book,” an examination of what it meant for text to be (or not to be) considered a finished work (“book”) in antiquity, which has implications for how we view the Synoptic Gospels–are they separate works, or just different stages of a corpus?
Also, I have a two-person, remote book club going with a friend who moved across country. We are reading on the topic of Enoch, and have a video call once a week to discuss. Maybe folks on the blog would like to organize book discussion groups on Zoom, Facetime, Skype, or whatever platform (my friend and I use Facebook Messenger).
Seems interesting(-:
I might be interested in something like that. My email address: [email protected]
I’m reading and studying Bart’s new book, Heaven and Hell, using both the book and audiobook, and stopping to look up, not only the scripture references, but citations from Plato’s dialogues for example. I’m learning a lot of new things, and doing some reading I always meant to do. One thing I’ve noticed is, there are passages in scripture that I’ve read and heard so many times over the years, that didn’t “make sense” at the time, (e.g., verses in the Psalms that indicate “death after death,”) and now I’m really seeing them for the first time. Highly recommend this book!
I was pleased to read that you are practicing meditation. I find that this is an excellent way to clean the trash out of our minds and stabilize our thinking. I was going the mention that in your blog a few days ago on suffering. We will always have suffering but meditation is a great way to put suffering into perspective. When we are isolated we have time to meditate. Isolation also gives us time to journal. Write down our thoughts and meditate on those. Also find something creative to do such as sketching or trying poetry writing and such. Try something you have never tried to do. Hang in there my friend…this too will pass. Nothing is permanent. Namaste
Being a big horror movie fan, who used to read every book on the subject I could find, I’ve known about the Edison Frankenstein movie since I was maybe 12 years old.
I’m listening to my large dusty collection of vinyl LP’s (Jazz, Blues, Irish Trad–get around to rock and classical eventually), and reading the last completed volume of Robert Caro’s LBJ biography, which has much to teach Much of what Caro documents sounds more unbelievable than any story in the gospels not involving water walking or resurrection, so don’t be so sure you know how people in ancient times behaved, when modern human behavior is so hard to predict much of the time. What history teaches us most powerfully is how very strange we are.
Might even get around to doing some writing–but not on this blog’s primary subject. Not my purview. Well, except here, of course. 😉
Meditation & Yoga:
I have been doing mindful meditation for about a year now, but have wanted to go deeper into the subject. Not in any spiritual way, but to understand how to observe my consciousness as thoughts and feelings arise. I find Sam Harris’ app ‘Waking Up’ has a brilliant *theory* section, along with 10 min meditations. You can get a free year, just email ([email protected]). I have found Meditation to be extremely helpful for the rest of my day – I can notice how thoughts and feelings are affecting me, and deal with them in a far healthier way.
Yoga has never been something I have done before. I have always associated it with *spiritual nonsense* and so haven’t been bothered. But after a slipped disk a few years ago I started to get into stretching and working out every day. Since the pandemic broke I have found myself doing Yoga with my children, and have now started to do it on my own in the morning a few times a week for 30 mins.
There seems to be something very freeing in mental and physical decompressing.
What exercise do you do Bart? What meditation app or technique do you use?
I don’t use an app and my techniques vary over time. My first year or two was all about being in touch with my body. I’ve shifted over the years, and am now using my meditation to explore my consciousness, focusing on mind without thoughts. It would ovilysly take a long time to explain, but my general sense is that there is not a right path, but many many good ones.
Thanks for that Bart, very helpful 🙂
WhenBeliefDies, if you are doing meditation and want to go deeper into the subject, my mother has been practising and teaching meditation for 40 years and has written some books on the subject.
This is her website if you’re interested:
https://www.meaningbydesign.co.uk/meditation
Keep well and safe, and calm.
Toby – thanks for the link 🙂
Bart, I’m spending part of the lock down thinking of Bible questions for you. First Thessalonians 2:14-16. NRSV Harper Collins Study Bible footnote says “The authenticity of these verses is sometimes challenged; see Introduction.” Are you among the challengers? Thanks!
No, I think they are authentic. THose who don’t usually do so because they can’t make good sense of them (assuming that they must be referring to the destruction of jerusalem.)
Are there any “citizen science” projects relevant to the blog? Or could you think of any that would be useful to create? Perhaps indexing and cataloging manuscripts, even doing summary translations for those who have enough of the relevant languages.
Examples of citizen science:
https://daily.zooniverse.org/tag/ships-logs/
https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-h-word/2016/apr/26/how-citizen-science-could-change-historical-research-crowdsourcing
Interesting question. Never thought of it. I would need to do so! (Some ideas, such as cataloguing mss, would require very high level backgrund and linguistic skills)
I’ve been working on my creative side. I went to college to study music composition, but chickened out; didn’t think I had the talent. Now with online software it’s easier to write music, and play it back, so I’ve been writing silly songs for family members, and using PowerPoint to create videos using old pictures and such. I’ve created a couple of music videos about the pandemic situation. Just for fun, sharing them with family and friends. (Hmmm, Dr. E, need a theme song for your blog?) If you’re still religious, write a hymn.If not, write an atheist anthem. Maybe it’s time to start on that novel you always wanted to write. Learn to paint, or create some sculptures. (Biblical themes are always popular in art!) The possibilities are endless, and lots of fun.
There are plenty of science related projects on YouTube. Brian Greene takes us through one important equation per day in World Science Festival’s “Your Daily Equation”. Sean Carroll is doing a series on the Big Ideas in Science, Both are accessible to non-physicists and non-mathematicians.
Ever wondered where “E=mc^2” comes from or why there are three dimensions of space?
One series I have been watching for awhile has been Closer To Truth, hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn. From the synopsis on the IMDb website, it “is an ongoing public television series and resource-rich website featuring world-renowned scientists, philosophers, theologians and scholars exploring the vital ideas of existence. The show covers a diverse range of topics or questions on Cosmos (e.g., the size and nature of the universe), Consciousness (e.g., the nature of minds and brains), and Meaning (e.g., the existence and essence of God, and the search for purpose and ultimate reality)”.
No small agenda and range of topics, but I find it always fascinating.
So during this “house arrest” time I decided to make contact with old friends that I have not talked to in many many years… people such as old college classmates, old colleagues, old friends I grew up with, old mentors that are at the end of their lives. Even some relatives I have not seen in over 40 years. I have either called them , emailed them,
or just plain wrote them a letter. I try to make contact with at least one a day. It has been wonderful walking down old memory lane, telling someone what they meant to me, catching up on personal stories.
As a result, in the midst of this “isolation awareness” I have come to the understanding that we definately need a social balance to our lives. I think we are born to be social creatures.
I really like hearing about your activity… Thank you for sharing this meaningful suggestion, psauer!
I’ll cheat a bit and offer one hard reading project and one much easier:
Hard: I have been interested in philosophy for most of my thinking life in an amateur sort of way. I am trying again (for the umpteenth time) to read and understand Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. Not easy. Philosophy occasionally pops up on the blog, so that is my tenuous link.
Easier: Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series of naval novels. I have read all 20 twice over and will do so again if this lockdown goes on for much longer. An interesting sub-theme is how an ardent Catalan/Irish Roman Catholic radical and an equally fierce Church of England Conservative see the world from a moral perspective. The film, btw, bears little resemblance to the books, although Russell Crowe as Aubrey was pretty good.
I am exercising more as well: running, cycling, walking (we are lucky to live in the countryside) in the absence of my thrice-weekly golf fix.
Bleak House is my favourite Dickens, too.
I’d also love to learn Latin and as I have some primers, who knows?
Finally, I’m re-learning the banjo, which I last played 45 years ago, but this time with a 65 year-old brain. Tough!
With all this time, I’m going to try to grow Boxcar Willie Tomatoes. Also, blueberries! It’s something special to do and look forward to. Wish me luck. 🙂
I finally subscribed to the Great Courses! I have been enjoying your course on How Jesus Became God and your colleague Jodi Magness’s course on the Holy Land Revealed!
Get outside. DO NOT READ THE REST, I’M JUST VENTING. After the Spanish Flu the lesson learned was that being outside was better for the patient and the non-patient. I believe that those who are preventing this need to be remembered and replaced. So much about Katrina was not remembered mostly because we were in the middle of Afghanistan. OK, I live in the country and I have more freedoms than those living in NYC. I’m not living on beans and rice waiting for the eviction notice as soon someone says everything is normal now. Like it says in the song (and also in the Bible) “if you haven’t got a half-penny then God bless you”.
Bart: “… my wife Sarah is a medievalist and so was trained in ecclesiastical Latin.”
Do you make fun of one another’s pronunciation? I learned a little bit of ecclesiastical Latin in college, but my son is in fifth-year High-School AP Latin and makes fun of me whenever I lapse into ecclesiastical pronunciation.
She can read teh Latin out loud *far* better than I. And she does correct me, but I usually just assume she’s right. In most things.
Dr. Ehrman,
Charles Krahmalkov in a Sep/Oct 1994 Biblical Archaeology Review article, “Exodus Itinerary Confirmed by Egyptian Evidence,” states Ramesses II / the Great had a topographical list at Karnak which mentions Jabin, the king who went to war with the military leader Deborah, after the death of Joshua. This supports the claim Ramesses the Great was associated not with the Generally Accepted Date (GAD) of pi-Ramesses slaves led away by Moses in Exodus. Ramesses the Great is not the pharaoh of oppression. Ramesses is evidentially linked to the book of Judges, Chapters 4 and 5.
“In the topographical list of Ramesses II at Karnak that we have already mentioned, a route through the Jezreel Valley is described as follows: Qerumin-Qishon of Jabin (Ybn)-Shimshon-Hadasht.”
Do you agree with Krahmalkov that the list of Ramesses II refers to Jabin whose army general Sisera was defeated by Deborah and as a result Ramesses II must be linked with his list to the time of Judges and cannot be the pharaoh of the Exodus?
No. I can’t imagine any bona fide Hebrew Bible scholar does. If you hear of one, though, let me know.
A world leader publishes a topographical list including contemporary municipalities and their leaders.
This dates him, rather than incorrectly dating him generations earlier.
Bona fide Hebrew Bible scholars and archaeologists know the difference between tradition and accurate history and will publicly make statements that side with evidence, objectivity and reason over political consensus with tradition.
I, personally, will not insult the intelligence or reputation of bona fide Hebrew Bible scholars and archaeologists, or even undergraduate students, but if the Biblical Archaeology Society publishes an article to the contrary, it will be read with interest.
Some time in the past year or so, you recommended The Great Courses. I agreed with the suggestion at the time (probably didn’t say so!), and already had several of yours. I’ve gotten more into TGC during the lockdown, right now doing one by Eric Cline on the great archaeology sites of the world. I’m also doing one on music and math, and some others. There are tons of them on pretty much every topic under the sun, and you can often get the online video only version for $30 to $60. Not at all bad for a course by an expert on the topic. Reading some very good books too, but I’ll limit this comment to TGC.
Okay Bart this is what I have found. It is not about me. It is about the people who are in front of me right now who need help. There are people out there that are starving, literally and figuratively. I walk two hours a day listening to The Great Courses to catch up on what has happened since I was in seminary.
On Sunday mornings at 9:30 I walk it out into the cul-de-sac of my seniors community and deliver words of hope.They could care less about the nuances of theology and textual criticism. It’s amazing to see how people change when they have hope. It is even better when they do not have to worry about food. But then again I am a heretic. JMTCW
I HIGHLY recommend two documentaries available to stream on Netflix. The first is called “BEHIND THE CURVE”. It’s about a group of people who believe the Earth is flat, but the specifics of what clearly false things they believe aren’t the point, as much as the empathy shown for the people and the insight it gives into our humanity. This movie runs about 90 minutes. Even if you don’t love it as much as I do — I’ve watched it twice through already and will likely watch it again — if you ever find yourself asking “How could anyone possibly believe X?” this movie goes a long way toward giving a general answer.
I just finished reading “A History of the Bible” by John Barton (published in 2019). It was superbly researched, excellently organized and written, and very thought-provoking. How I see the Bible has changed as a result of reading his book. I highly recommend it!
The second movie I recommend is also about humanity, but it’s human vs. Artificial Intelligence. It’s called “ALPHA GO”, which is the name of the computer program that went up against the best Go player in the world. For anyone who hasn’t heard of the game Go, like Chess, it is an ancient 2 person strategic game, but it is more popular in Asian countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea. Also, it has a lot more possibilities to analyze. The Alpha Go games against professionals in this movie took place in 2015 and 2017. i.e. It took nearly two decades of computer power advances after Chess AI won against a top Chess professional (in 1997) to do something similar for the game of Go.
I sincerely believe we are in a ‘time out’ that is being orchestrated by God. The world for the last couple of generations have increasingly turned their back on God and chosen to dance with the devil who turns the world into a greedy rat race. God is no longer welcome in our public schools, our court rooms or our government. In this current crisis our leaders turn to science but do not turn to God in prayer. Until they do I do not believe this will end anytime soon and the devil will remain in the details.
More specifically I would highly recommmend Johnathan Cahn’s book entitled, ‘The Oracle’ to explain what God’s plan is and it all relates to the Jewish tradition of the Jubilee that happens every 50 years. We are currently experiencing a Shemitah. Even Donald Trump is factored in as being chosen by God for a purpose but I won’t spoil it for you by telling you what that purpose is. Ken
Since you ask, here’s a suggestion I’ve made before:
This is a plug for The Great Courses, and especially Great Courses Plus, their streaming service.
This is a wonderful resource. In addition to many of Prof Ehrman’s (and other “religion”) courses, there is much else: “technical” courses (geology, astronomy, chemistry, physics, math); “humanities” (literature, music, art, history, philosophy); “languages” (French, German, Greek, Hebrew); “crafts” (cooking, fabrics, guitar, piano); etc.
Those familiar with tGC know that they are the gold-standard of on-line teaching. Full courses, typically 24-36 lectures, with excellent teachers and superb production quality.
>>>AND, especially at this time, I’ll point out that the first month of streaming is free. So for fellow blog-readers who (for some reason…) might find themselves looking for something to fill some suddenly-free time, this might be a great opportunity to decide if tGC is a good fit for you.
(Also, many local libraries carry items by tGC for free, both on their shelves and through their “digital media” sources.)
[P.S. And to be clear, I write simply as a (very) satisfied customer. I.e. as the saying goes I send them money; not the other way round. 😉 ]
Maybe this can be tangentially related to the blog. I’ve been playing Dungeons and Dragons via video chat (Bart, did you have any views on D&D as a fundamentalist?). We found the game is actually better in some ways because we’ve now embraced technology to augment the game.
Taking free online courses from big name universities at http://www.edx.org. I guarantee there is a course on their that will interest people here. There are 48 courses that come up in a search for religion.
D&D came well after my fundy days. Yes, I’m that old.
I recommend the historical novel “As a Driven Leaf” by Milton Steinberg, a prominent mid-20th Century rabbi. It is about a famous/infamous Jewish heretic, Elisha ben Abuyah, a leading 2nd Century sage, who (in the book’s telling) lost faith in faith-based religion and set off to find truth by reason alone. His journey, which included brief encounters with Jewish and gentile Christians, took him deep into the pre-Christisn Greco-Roman world. While there is not much actually known about Elisha, whom the Talmud refers to as “aher,” I.e., “the other one,” the novel brings to life the early Rabbinic period in Palestine before and during the Bar Kochba revolt of 132-135 CE. It includes some well-known vignettes from Rabbinic literature about major Jewish religious figures of that era, such as Rabbi Akiva. It’s a great read, incorporating theology, philosophy, history, friendship, betrayal, and romance, and I think some participants on this blog would find it most interesting.
Greetings Dr. Ehrman,
I am currently finishing up the book “Heaven and Hell – A History of the Afterlife”. I have enjoyed it very much and think you should have it engraved on your tombstone (perhaps in Latin) for future historians.
My suggestion relates to the blog insofar as it deals with charitable giving – one of your main motivations to keep the blog going. Living comfortably on a pension and Social Security, I viewed my stimulus check as a windfall I could easily share with others. I donated mine to Doctors Without Borders and the International Rescue Committee, but see no reason why blog members in the same situation could not donate to the blog. Acts 20:35.
Pax vobis cum!
Great! As you know, it’s one of the Charities the blog regularly supports.
Thank you for this, Bart. After learning of you and your work listening to your recent Fresh Air interview, and looking at your work while shopping for your latest book, I found “Misquoting Jesus” and am enjoying the second chapter. Just followed you on Twitter and found this blog.
I’ve continued a years-long read of Joyce’s Ulysses, and your work has been a nice respite from having my brain scrambled by Leopold Bloom’s day.
I recently finished (and thoroughly enjoyed) Isabel Wilkinson’s “The Warmth of Other Sun’s”. The Great Migration of our African American brothers and sisters was such alien history to me, especially as a lifelong Pacific Northwest dweller. The lives she documents and the sociological approach combined to form what I found to be an inspirational and uplifting read.
I’m looking forward to learning more through your work and this community of critical thinkers. I’ll also be telling my Tarheel undergrad stepson to take a class from you when he “returns” to Chapel Hill for his senior year.
I suggest watching Dr. Ehrman’s public debates. If you have not taken the opportunity to watch any of those you are really missing out. It is fascinating to see how scholars interact with one another on topics they are passionate about and disagree on. Dr. Ehrman is a fantastic debater. He is funny and whimsical and very entertaining. Enjoy!!!!
I have a question that I wanted to ask you in your webinar on heaven and hell. In your blog, “Related Suggestions for Isolation”, you had mentioned that misinterpretations of the book of Revelation led to soon expectations of the end of the world and mixed with modern views has affected film and fiction. On that note, do you think new modern ideas of the afterlife will affect the Christian view of the afterlife? Take for example, the belief that some people think that our world is a artificial simulation and that reality is nothing but an illusion. Could that new popular way of thinking effect how Christians think of the afterlife down the road?
I doubt it. But we’ll see! Or our grandchildren will….
Bart, if you are into meditation, my mother has been practising and teaching meditation for 40 years and has written some books on the subject.
This is her website if you’re interested: https://www.meaningbydesign.co.uk/meditation
I’ve been unable to see her or my father father for several weeks now as I’m afraid I may unwittingly be a virus carrier and infect them. Being under effective house arrest can be extremely frustrating at times, but some people have it a lot worse than I do, and I keep reminding myself of that. A crisis like this can bring out both the worst in people and the best in people, but I’d say so far it’s overwhelmingly the latter. And it will be over eventually.
Keep well and stay healthy everybody!
Thanks! Yup, it’s hard all around, especially for/with/about the elderly among us.
What is your opinion of “Testament: The Bible and History” (1988) book by John Romer (the Archaeologist/Egyptologist)? I think he’s an excellent writer, and the TV series (although dated) is fascinating and visually stunning. His books on ancient Egypt are also remarkably well done. The stories he has about the New Testament (and the sites) were interesting and provocative, along with his possible (although incomplete) origins of the Old Testament and the evolution of the Israelites (and their culture) from Canaanite society (at the Bronze-age-Iron age boundary).
I haven’t read it, I’m afraid. It’s amazing what I haven’t read….
For those also intrigued with Dr. Ehrman’s statement (June 15, 2018, post “Why I Am Obsessed with Jesus) about Christianity becoming “the most powerful, religious, cultural, social, political and economic force in our form of civilization”,
now may be an opportune time to find out how all that happened by reading his book, The Triumph of Christianity.
I just finished Triumph. Talk about a perfect storm!
What about a virtual dinner with you. Maybe you can call for donations for help for the covid-19 pandemia.
Interesting idea…..
Bart, during isolation, I can suggest you check out my question in the “The Rest of the New Testament” Discussion Forum titled, “Does Jesus Deny Worship In Revelation?” 😉
There, I ask: is it not clear that Jesus is the angel in Revelation 22 who is denying worship by John?
I made some highlights there which show some of the textual evidence which hints at this in both the Greek and the English translation…
I would appreciate any help from you to understand the language there used… Thanks! :O)
You’ll notice that this angel speaks of the Lamb as a separate being from himself in ch. 22. I would say that one of the big points of Revelatino is that Jesus *does* receive worship, most obviously in ch. 4. Moreover, no where else in the book is one of teh angels — lots of them there — identified as Christ.
Two suggestions:
1. Many blog members have spent decades on their religious quests/searches. I would suggest that each of them write a summary of what they have learned then their distributing this summary to family members and friends for “civil” discussion. The writer will learn a lot in this process and such summaries might save family members and friends a lot of time.
2. I also suggest that everyone write a will and also an estate summary outlining one’s finances. This virus has now killed over 50,000 Americans and effective drug treatments of viruses are rare and vaccines take time to develop and, hence, we are just getting started with this “thing.” And the political “happy talk” about it going away “like a miracle” is just not likely to be true. How many deaths does it take for them to really get it? When will they ever learn? Sorry, this is serious stuff and, as a physician, I am not being “political,” but truthful. I am really amazed and impressed that science has a “test” out so quickly, but the rest is probably going to be slow, very slow, going.
I’d like to recommend C. S. Lewis’s space trilogy, which (sadly) nobody reads nowadays. It’s infinitely better and more enjoyable than Lewis’s Narnia chronicles or his works of apologetics. I was introduced to the first book in the series at the age of 12, when I was sick in bed, and a kindly elderly neighbor went out shopping and bought me a book she thought I’d like. It was called “Out of the Silent Planet.” I was hooked, and a year later, I managed to get hold of “Voyage to Venus” (a.k.a. “Perelandra”) and “That Hideous Strength.” The books can be enjoyed by anyone aged 12 and up, and once you start reading them, you’ll want to go back and re-read them (like Mark Twain’s and J.K. Rowling’s works). Here’s the blurb for the first book:
“Lewis’s first science fiction novel. Elwin Ransom, a Cambridge academic, is on a walking holiday in rural England, when he is abducted, to the planet of Malacandra (Mars), where he and his kidnappers encounter intelligent beings, of more than one species. Interesting events ensue, for good and for ill.”
Read here: https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20140326
More information here on how the books came to be written: https://www.cslewis.com/out-of-the-silent-planet-cosmic-voyage-as-spiritual-pilgrimage/
Enjoy!
Something different: During this lockdown I’ve been learning programming with this brilliant and free app called SoloLearn (there are ads though). I would recommend Python as the first language to get familier with if it is first steps you’re taking on this study.
Thanks for this idea, Bart! I am impressed by the fact that no one else had boxes of magazines and journals from 2016 ish to go through. It was a journey all right. I get New Scientist, the Forward (now online only), Oprah, and the Journal for Spiritual and Consciousness Studies (m/l focused on what we might call Spiritualist kind of content). Since my piles started before the 2016 election, I learned what “how people thought things were going to turn out” seldom turned out that way, which may have application in this time as well.
In terms of practice, for those who do Centering Prayer, I recommend Cynthia Bourgeault’s book The Heart of Centering Prayer: Nondual Christianity in Theory and Practice. If you want to understand that there are different points of view and what different schools of thought think about it, – including comparisons of various forms of meditation, this is a great book. Also easy to read. For me, this book was key to reinvigorating this practice for me.
Bourgeault is also author of The Wisdom Jesus, another of my favorites, but may not be everyone’s cup of tea..
What I’m doing: Communing with my beloved feline companion as well as with the butterflies and other critters in my yard–sending appreciation for their being here!
I thought I remembered one Latin phrase (from my H.S. algebra teacher) for “Thus crumbles the cookie” as “Sic friat crustulum,” but Yandex says ’tis “Ita arescit crustulum.” Hmm, perhaps, since I may be mis-remembering, plus since class with my proper Latin teacher was over a half-century ago for me, I’ll take your cue and look into actually learning some Latin!
Hi Dr. Ehrman, I received an email from Amazon that I’ll (finally!) have my copy of Heaven and Hell this Saturday and I cannot wait!
Unrelated Question: I recently re-listened to an old episode on the Unbelievable podcast on your book “Forged” with Darrel Bock. He argues that Paul is capable of saying things in his authentic letters that are similar things he says in the alleged psuedgraphic letters i.e. Ephesians 2:3 where he (allegedly Paul) talks about being “carried away by the lust of the flesh” with what authentic Paul says in Romans 2 and 3 about every Jew falling short of God’s glory. Other examples would include the tension of salvation having already happened as opposed to happening in the future.
I’m not at ALL opposed to the notion of forged epistles but it also seems very possible that Paul just contradicts himself as were all prone to do at times? With varying letters through varying years it almost makes sense he would make overlapping statements?
I hope this doesn’t sound too nonsensical, thanks as always!
Yes indeed, I think he could too! Who doesn’t say different things at different times? But if you read a column tomorrow that claims to be written by Donald Trump saying that we need to appoint more liberal justices to the Supreme Court, I think you might wonder if it really was written by him. (The arguments for non-Pauline authorship of these writings, of course, is far more nuanced than this. If you want to see how it actually works, look at my book Forgery and Counterforgery)
Thank you! I swear I have a million different questions that pop into my mind every day and being able to ask an expert about my musings is such a fantastic resource.
The Egyptian Ministery of Antiquities is releasing virtual visits to their main monuments and museums (including the coptic museum) and are just great.
After so much literary sources I am refreshing the archaeologic information of the subjects I´m interested in ( Dura Europos, Late Antique jewish and christian remains and, ahá, new books on the origins of Islam).
I started with meditation a couple of years ago and instead of avoiding thoughts, i let them come randomly, without trying to control what comes to my mind. Sometimes useful, sometimes not quite so, but it is always interesting to see the paths your thoughts take.
Hope you all stay safe
Learn New Testament Greek and Learn Biblical Hebrew by John H. Dobson
They are meant to get beginners reading in the original languages, and are expected to be used as introductory texts (with recommendations for further study included). They are excellent resources for beginners which get you reading immediately, and wait until later in the book to start using grammatical terminology.
I’ll be starting the Hebrew next week.
Good luck. You’ll need someone to guide you though, to explain things and answer question and correct mistakes. Otherwise, I can tell you (having taught Greek for 40 years) it ain’t gonna work. And the problem may be that you don’t realize it ain’t workin’ (or at least workin’ right)
I agree. I just don’t have access to a course in my area (occasionally there is an intensive course online which is a year’s worth of material crammed into 8 weeks–which I will take when I retire but just can’t can’t with a full time job), I have a shelf of additional materials, and I will never ever try to write it or translate anything for anybody.
For example, one of the things I’ve noticed in awe is how important word order is for the creation of emphasis, and how complex an undertaking this is. I’ve read about people who spend their entire careers studying just that, and I’ll simply never be able to understand that even with help.
So this is just something I’m doing as a hobby, and am fully and painfully aware of my own limitations. Just the fact, however, that I got a response from a famous textual critic who helped with the NRSV is enough to make my week.
I’d suggest trying to find someone locally or online you could ask questions of. My sense of Greek generally is that emphasis created by word order is not going to be your highest mountain. (Not that it’s not interesting and sometimes important, but it’s neither as important as a hundred other things or as difficult to figure out, once you start being able to read it a bit) Good luck with it!
I’m a bit late to this party but my recommendation along with TGC is Yale’s free courses, including Prof. Martin’s NT course. Also, EdX has a Jewish Matrix of Early Christian Lit for “free” but you have to register. And FYI, there’s expanded copyright-free access to Hathi Trust items if you have some institutional affiliation. I begin to remember how I wound up sleep-deprived in Grad School. -Eliza