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Vote on your favorite Platinum Post!

Dear Platinum members, That time again -- an opportunity for you to vote on one of our Platinum guest posts, to see which one will be posted on the blog at large.  Take a look -- they're all terrific.   To vote, just send a quick note to Diane at [email protected] And remember -- you're always welcome to submit a post yourself.  Anything connected to the blog that strikes your fancy that you'd like others to read about?  Any ideas/thoughts you'd like to have disseminated and discussed?  Here's your chance.  Just zap me a note. But for now:  here are the current options! January 23, 2022 Are the Gospels Too Early To Have Legends About Jesus?  Bob Seidensticker February 4, 2022 Are the Teachings of Jesus Realistic? Douglas Wadeson February 7, 2022 The “Common Era”: Invented to Stop Speculations About the End of the World. Daniel Kohanski February 25, 2022 What If Damascus Was In Arabia? Solving a Dilemma in the Life of Paul. Gregory Hartzler-Miller    

2022-03-21T16:18:35-04:00March 21st, 2022|Platinums|

Platinum Webinar! March 8. Why Is the Apocalypse of Peter Not in the New Testament?

It's time for another Platinum webinar; as you know, this is a four-time a year event, for Platinum Members only.  I'm devoting this one to a question that almost none of you will have asked yourselves -- one of those questions you don't realize is amazingly interesting until you realize the issues!   Why is the Apocalypse of Peter Not in the New Testament? You may not know -- or possibly you do: the Apocalypse of Peter almost DID get in (instead of, or along with, the Apocalypse of John).  It was far more popular in the early centuries than, for example, the book of 2 Peter which *did* make it in.   But then its support died out in the fourth or fifth century. But why? It claimed to be by Peter; it was well known; it was orthodox; it was declared canonical by church leaders; and it contains an incredible narrative: it is our first instance of a Christian guided tour of heaven and hell!  So what happened to it? Come and find out.  I [...]

Vote for your Favorite Platinum Guest Post!

Dear Platinum Members, It is time to vote for the next Platinum guest post to become a blog guest post.  The winner's post will go to all blog members for reading and comment.   All the winners so far have been a big success, with  very interesting and postive feedback. Now it's the next round.  Do you remember them?  Wanna read them again?  Willing to vote? Here are the four options.  If you’re willing to vote, please remember:  I am NOT asking which one you think is the most scholarly.  They are all high quality.  I’m asking: which did you find most interesting and, given what you know about the members of the blog, would best address the interests of most blog members? To vote, please send an email indicating your choice to my assistant Diane Pittman, at [email protected] .    You will have until Monday midnight, December 20.  We will tabulate the votes then I"ll announce the winner,  place it in queue, nd let you know when it will appear. Here are the posts! July 29, [...]

2021-12-15T12:52:24-05:00December 15th, 2021|Platinums|

Must Jesus Divide Families? Platinum Guest Post by Douglas Wadeson

Platinum members!  As you know, one of the perks of your esteemed status is that you are allowed to write blog posts for other platinum members to read and interact with.  Do you have anything you'd like to talk about, any views you'd like to put out there for feedback?? Send me a post!  It can be any size up to 1400 words or so.  On any topic we deal with on the blog.  And if you choose (but only if you choose) it can become a candidate (chosen by Platinum members) to be posted to the entire Blog.  So why not?  Get your views out there.  Send me a post! The following is the first of two posts by Douglas Wadeson on  a controversial topic that most people don't know is controversial.  Did Jesus actually believe in "family values" the way they are defined today -- and the way that many Christians simply assume?  A close look at the Gospels can be very revealing.  Here Doug begins to provide it. Your views/comments?  Send them [...]

2021-10-22T11:07:43-04:00October 21st, 2021|Historical Jesus, Platinums, Reflections and Ruminations|

Vote for a Platinum Guest Post to Go to the World at Large!

Dearly Beloved Platinum Members, Here is another round of Platinum posts to vote for, to see which is to appear on the blog itself.  Take a look if you want.  Vote if you want.  Hey, it's all voluntary.  But one lucky winner will have her or his views available broadly, including on my other social network channels. So which do you think you'd like to see out there?  These are all very good.  Make a choice, and send your vote to Diane Pittman at [email protected] .  Diane will tabulate them and then I'll make the announcement and put the winner in the queue.   What We Know Today About Religions and the Afterlife (in the US): Platinum Guest Post by Sharon Friedman   The Reconstruction of Q: Platinum Guest Post by Steve Sutter   Prophecies and Saints in the Book of Daniel. Platinum Guest Post by Daniel Kohanski   Jesus the Healer: Those Darn Demons. Platinum guest post by Douglas Wadeson MD

2021-10-13T18:05:52-04:00October 13th, 2021|Platinums|

Was Matthew Influenced by Buddhist Writings? Platinum Post by Steve Sutter

Platinum Members!  Here is another guest post by Steve Sutter on interesting parallels between Buddhist writings and the Gospels.  What do you think?  Let him, me, and your fellow Platinum folk know! ALSO: The platinum-post well is running dry.  Do you have something you'd like to contribute?  Go for it!  We'd all enjoy it and you can get your thoughts and ideas out there to a generous and welcoming public!  It can be on anything related to the blog, if even remotely! But for now, here is Steve's post. ******************************   Matthew’s Gospel Tinged by Buddhism as Well   It seems to me entirely possible that the authors of the Gospels of Luke and Matthew had knowledge of Buddhist scriptures while composing the content of their manuscripts in the late first century AD. Some parallels are very fascinating.   Using a similar format as articles I published in the Fort Fairfield Journal November 18, 2020 and January 13, 2021, let me again share a sample of Buddhist scriptures, while pointing this time to verses in [...]

2021-03-10T11:46:12-05:00March 9th, 2021|Canonical Gospels, Platinums|

Christian Attitudes toward War, Through the Ages: Platinum Post by Dan Kohanski

I am very pleased to have this interesting post on an unusually important topic for Platinum Members, produced by one of your own, Dan Kohanski.   He tells me that the post has been adapted from part of a chapter, "When God Goes to War," in a book he is working on about the impact of Western religion on the world.  I venture to say the information he presents here includes many things many of us do not know!  Feel free to comment! (ALSO: I'm running short of future Platinum posts: if you can work one up, on any topic of relevance to anything we do -- a broad category -- please send it along) ********************* Shifts in the Christian Approach to War The earliest Christians had the mixed fortune to live under the Pax Romana, the peace of the Roman empire. On the one hand, they suffered from its harsh response to any insult to the state gods. On the other hand, the pax kept the peace. Early Christians could thus afford to argue that [...]

2021-03-02T19:01:29-05:00March 2nd, 2021|Platinums, Reflections and Ruminations|

Platinum Members Webinar!

Dear Platinum Members, As you know, one of the perks of having Platinum membership is that I will be doing a Platinum-only webinar four times a year.   I now want to announce the first one, ever.   It will be held on Thursday, January 21, 7:00 pm EST.   Some of you will be rejoicing that day (from the previous one), some will be in mourning.  But we ain't gonna talk about it. Instead, we're gonna talk about something related to the blog.  The webinar will last 75 minutes: I will give a talk for 40-45 minutes, and after that I will answer questions.   The webinar is open to all Platinum members, and only to them. What should the topic be?   Below are three options.   I will let you vote!  If you would like to do so, please send an email to my assistant, Diane Pittman <[email protected]>; you don't need to say anything to her, just tell her which of these topics you would prefer hearing.  Majority rules! 1.  Does the Book of Revelation Predict Our Future? [...]

2021-01-10T18:37:34-05:00January 9th, 2021|Platinums|
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