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James Tabor on the 1993 Waco Disaster, Part I
The 1993 Waco Disaster—How Not to Negotiate with Apocalyptic Believers James D. Tabor, retired professor of Religious Studies, UNC Charlotte In this three-part series James Tabor surveys what happened 30 years ago outside Waco, TX as Federal authorities violently confronted a group of apocalyptic believers who believed that David Koresh, their prophetic leader was a final messianic messenger of the book of Revelation. Part I: Setting the Scene for a Fifty-One Day Standoff The FBI agents called to Mount Carmel center outside Waco, Texas, on February 28, 1993, can hardly be expected to have packed their Bibles. In retrospect, it would not have been such a bad idea. The news of the bloody shoot-out between agents of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) and an obscure religious group known as the Branch Davidians, on the peaceful Sunday morning had been flashed around the world. For months the BATF had planned a “search and arrest” assault on the group based on allegations that they possessed illegal firearms materials and were possibly […]
April 15, 2023
James Tabor on the 1993 Waco Disaster, Part II
The 1993 Waco Disaster—How Not to Negotiate with Apocalyptic Believers James D. Tabor, retired professor of Religious Studies, UNC Charlotte In this three-part series James Tabor surveys what happened 30 years ago outside Waco, TX as Federal authorities violently confronted a group of apocalyptic believers who believed that David Koresh, their prophetic leader was a final messianic messenger of the book of Revelation. Part II: Opening the Seven Seals of the Book of Revelation It should be noted that at this point Koresh and his followers had been labeled a “cult” and thoroughly “demonized” in a series of articles called “The Sinful Messiah” printed in the Waco Tribune–Herald beginning on February 27, just one day before the BATF raid. This series, based largely on charges by disaffected former Branch Davidians, painted a grim and bizarre picture of Koresh and his followers, echoing all the stereotypes the public had come to associate with unfamiliar groups or new religious movements that are pejoratively labeled “cults.” Hungry for any “information” about this heretofore unknown religious group, […]
April 16, 2023
James Tabor on the 1993 Waco Disaster, Part III
The 1993 Waco Disaster—How Not to Negotiate with Apocalyptic Believers James D. Tabor, retired professor of Religious Studies, UNC Charlotte In this three-part series James Tabor surveys what happened 30 years ago outside Waco, TX as Federal authorities violently confronted a group of apocalyptic believers who believed that David Koresh, their prophetic leader was a final messianic messenger of the book of Revelation. Part III: A Peaceful Surrender Plan Rejected! Dr. Phillip Arnold and I offered our services to the FBI on March 7. As biblical scholars we had specialized in the history of biblical apocalyptic interpretation and were generally familiar with Adventist groups although neither of us had ever heard of David Koresh and the Branch Davidians before February 28. We studied carefully the fifty-eight-minute tape that Koresh had released on March 2 and began many hours of theological conversation over the telephone with Livingstone Fagan. Fagan had been sent out of Mount Carmel by Koresh on March 23 to act as a theological spokesperson for the Davidians; he was now being […]
April 18, 2023
Good Friday or Easter? CNN OpEd
On Easter Sunday CNN published an OpEd that I wrote to discuss how so many Christians (most I’ve ever known) are not overly compelled by Good Friday but are passionate about Easter. Just, well, check out the church attendance on both days. In the OpEd I argued that it’s because as a rule most Christians prefer the glory to the pain, and in some ways that preference is written into the canon of the New Testament, where the teachings of Jesus of the need to serve others even if it means suffering comes first and then Revelation where the saints are given domination of the earth and a city of gold from which they rule the earth with a rod of iron comes last. The reality is that most Christians prefer the conquering Christ of Revelation to the suffering Jesus of the Gospels — at least when it comes to what they want to see in their own lives. CNN has a policy that does not allow me to reproduce the entire OpEd, just the […]
April 29, 2023
March 2023 Gold Q&A (video)
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April 19, 2023
Did Jesus Believe The End Would Come Within His Lifetime? Platinum Post by Rizwan Ahmed
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May 26, 2023
The 3rd Rail – A Critique of Jesus. Platinum Post by Steve Clark
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June 2, 2023
Dr. Bart D. Ehrman, Apostle to the Atheists. A Platinum Post by Robert Droney
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May 12, 2023
Did The Twelve Become Only Three? Platinum post by Douglas Wadeson MD
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May 3, 2023
Was Levi of Alphaeus the “the Beloved Disciple”? Platinum Post by Gregory Hartzler-Miller, MATS
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May 19, 2023
“You Have Heard His Blasphemy!” But Did They? A Platinum post by Daniel Kohanski
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June 5, 2023
The Road From the “Duo of Philo” to the “Trinity of Nicaea” A Platinum Post by Omar Abur-Robb
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May 8, 2023
The Father and the Son. A Platinum Post by Omar Abur-Robb
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May 15, 2023
Was Jesus Literate or Illiterate? A Platinum Post by Omar Abur-Robb
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May 22, 2023
Was Jesus a Simplistic Person or an Extraordinary One? A Platinum Post by Omar Abur-Robb
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May 29, 2023
May Gold Q&A: Submit your questions!
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May 10, 2023
My New Online Course on Paul and Jesus!
In case you haven’t heard, I will be doing a live, eight-lecture online course comparing the theology of Paul and Jesus on May 27-28. The course is not connected with the blog — it is part of my separate venture for a series I’m publishing called How Scholars Read the Bible. But I mention here because some of you may be interested. Even if you can’t make the live sessions and Q&A, you can purchase the course to watch at your leisure. You can learn about it here: BartEhrman.com The course will consist of four lectures and one Q&A each day. The lectures will be 30 – 40 minutes each. This course addresses one of the most controversial issues of early Christianity: Did Paul and Jesus have the same religion? Should they be considered the “co-founders” of Christianity? Or were the teachings of Paul at odds with the proclamations of Jesus, making Paul himself the founder of the new faith? Few questions can be more significant for understanding the origin of the Christian faith, and the […]
May 23, 2023
May Gold Q&A Video
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May 31, 2023
Mark 13:30–a New Argument for an Old Hypothesis. A Platinum Post From Omar Robb
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September 4, 2023
The Pauline Style and a Discussion About Paul’s Motivation. A Platinum Post From Omar Robb
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September 11, 2023