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An Imagined Dialogue for the Dispute Between Paul & Barnabas in Acts Part 2 by Angus Nisbet

Here Angus Nisbet continues his discussion of Paul and Barnabas and the dispute they had, where he gets into more fascinating issues, involving what might lie behind the dispute and how non-canonical writings that did not make it into the NT might help us figure it out.  There are some controversial views here.  What do you think? Remember: you as a Platinum member not only get access to all Platinum posts written by other Platinums, but you also can write some yourself!  You don't have to be thoroughly well-versed in the field to write one!  Do you have any thoughts or ideas or curiosities you would like others to see and respond to?  Send us a post!! ******************************* In this second post on the imagined dialogue between Paul and Barnabas for their dispute mentioned in Acts 15: 37-40, I begin the first of 3 sections of the dispute dialogue, in which of Paul’s responses to Barnabas make use of Paul’s actual writings from his New Testament letters.  In this first section of the imagined dialogue, [...]

2024-10-27T19:37:06-04:00November 1st, 2024|Acts of the Apostles, Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|

An Imagined Dialogue for the Dispute Between Paul & Barnabas in Acts Part I by Angus Nisbet

Here is the first of a four-post thread for Platinum members by long-standing Platinum member Angus Nisbet.  It is a terrifically imaginative discussion of Paul and Barnabas (focused on the book of Acts) that touches on a wide range of issues that we deal with a lot on the blog -- Paul's conflict with other apostles such as James; the views of Christ and salvation dominant among the earliest Jewish followers of Jesus; early Christian Gnosticism; the reliability of the book of Acts; and ... more!  Angus will be interested in your feedback, and so will I! Remember: you as a Platinum member not only get access to all Platinum posts written by other Platinums, but you also can write some yourself!  You don't have to be thoroughly well-versed in the field to write one!  Do you have any thoughts or ideas or curiosities you would like others to see and respond to?  Send us a post!! ****************************** This first post is an introduction to a series of 3 further posts, in which I have [...]

2024-10-30T10:13:05-04:00October 28th, 2024|Acts of the Apostles, Paul and His Letters, Public Forum|

October 2024 Gold Q&A Replay

Gold & Platinum Members, Thank you so much for submitting your questions and attending the live Q&A yesterday. For those of you who were not able to attend the Q&A live, the replay is ready and available for your viewing. Please find the replay at this link: October 2024 Gold Member Q&A Replay Mark your calendars now. November's Gold Q&A live recording is scheduled for Sunday November 17th at 7pm ET. We will send out a reminder and a link to attend live as we get closer to the date. We hope you enjoy the replay and look forward to seeing you next month! Jen

2024-10-21T13:23:21-04:00October 21st, 2024|Public Forum|

October Gold Q&A – Get Your Questions Answered!

Gold & Platinum Members, Your moment is here—get ready to fire off those questions for the October Gold Q&A! If all goes according to plan, Bart will be recording on October 20 at 7-8pm ET, with the replay dropping later that week. Got something simmering on your mind, or maybe a curiosity brewing? Now’s your chance to ask anything related to the blog. Bart will give it his best shot! How to submit: Shoot your questions over to [email protected], and we will gather them all up for Bart. Deadline: Make sure to send your questions by Friday October 18, 2023—just before midnight (whatever that means in your time zone). Pro tip: Keep it short and sharp! The clearer and more focused your question, the better chance it has of being featured. And hey—zingers are always appreciated! You can join the meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85000509720?pwd=qcT3gyDXphxPii5dVHlSmUTuaGpebJ.1 Looking forward to it!

2024-10-18T10:19:53-04:00October 12th, 2024|Public Forum|

Platinum Webinar for October: “The Literacy of Jesus: Could the Christian Savior Read and Write?”

Dear Platinum Members, If you missed the live session of this quarter's Platinum Webinar, fear not. We have recorded the talk and it is now available for you to view. This webinar addressed The Literacy of Jesus: Could the Christian Savior Read and Write? Bart covers a lot of fascinating ground in this talk, including: Why this topic is even a question. Context around literacy in ancient societies. What the Bible says (and doesn't say) about Jesus reading and writing. ...and so much more. Please enjoy the lecture here: Platinum Webinar: The Literacy of Jesus (October 2024) Hope to see you next time! -Jen  

2024-10-10T10:38:35-04:00October 9th, 2024|Platinums, Public Forum|

Platinum Webinar: Could Jesus Read and Write?

Dear Platinum Members, Our next Quarterly Platinum Webinar is set for Wednesday, October 9, 2023, at 7:30 pm ET. For this talk, I’ll be tackling a question that has been widely debated among scholars and enthusiasts alike: Could Jesus read and write? While many have pondered this over the years, the scholarly evidence and interpretations are far from settled, and there’s more to the story than you might expect. I’ll explore the latest research and perspectives, followed by a Q&A and discussion, where we can really unpack the topic together. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Here's the Zoom link: Quarterly Platinum Webinar I hope to see you there. Bart

2024-09-26T22:02:57-04:00September 26th, 2024|Public Forum|

Gold Q&A: Ask Your Questions!

Hey Golds and Platinums: It's that time again — the moment you've been waiting for: the September Gold Q&A is just around the corner! If all goes according to plan, I'll be recording it next weekend. Got a question on your mind? Whether it’s big, small, or somewhere in between, send it my way and I’ll do my best to tackle it. Send your questions to [email protected], and Jen will compile and send me the list. DEADLINE: Get your question in by 11:59pm Thursday September 26 (whenever that is in your time zone). Concise, direct questions stand the best chance of being answered — and if you’ve got a zinger, even better!

2024-09-20T17:03:01-04:00September 20th, 2024|Public Forum|

Special Gold Members Event: A Live AMA (Ask Me Anything)

Hey Gold Members, I much regret that we did not get a July Gold Q&A out (there were scheduling and sundry other issues), and I want to make up the loss by doing a special event on the evening of Monday September 16, at 8:00-9:00, Eastern Time, a Live GOLD-ONLY Q&A.  You ask the questions, I answer them. Do NOT send questions here in a comment to the post.  (Any that do come in that way will immediately be sent up into stratospheric oblivion.)   The way it will work is instead this: If you have a question (just one please) send it into [email protected] Keep it concise and directly relevant in some way to anything we deal with on the blog. We will choose a selection of them to represent a range of interests and topics. If yours is chosen, we will contact you a day or so in advance to ask you to ask it live at the time of the event, so it will be direct "you-ask-I-answer" event. The DEADLINE for submitting your question [...]

2024-09-09T14:49:58-04:00September 9th, 2024|Public Forum|

The Next Ten Commandments Platinum Guest post by Douglas Wadeson MD

Here's another guest post by Platinum member Doug Wadeson, who once again brings out some startling issue just from what the Bible says that most people don't see, or at least blithely ignore.  What do you think? If you like Doug's work (I do!), he has started a new blog, that he describes as providing "off-beat articles about the Bible."  Interested?  Check it out:  TheBibleUndressed.blog – A doctor dissects the Holy Book at https://thebibleundressed.blog For now, let's get to Doug's reflections on the heart of the Bible: the Ten Commandments! (And remember: you too can post on most anything you'd like connected to the blog, as a Platinum member for other Platinum members) ************************* There is a controversy these days about Louisiana requiring that the Ten Commandments, the Decalogue, (King James version no less) be posted in public schools.  I wager that few people who support this can list the ten laws.  I will also wager that even fewer people have ever turned the page to study the next set of commandments.  After all, the [...]

2024-09-06T16:26:06-04:00September 6th, 2024|Public Forum|

August Gold Q&A–Get Your Qs In!

I'll be recording another Q&A for all Gold & Platinum members soon, so here's your chance to take advantage of this perk. Send me whatever question has been nagging at you (blog-related, of course!). Short, to-the-point questions of general interest are most likely to get answered. Send an email to Diane at [email protected], and she'll compile all your questions for me. DEADLINE: Please get your question in by Friday the 16th at midnight (whenever midnight is in your time zone).  

2024-08-01T09:28:42-04:00August 5th, 2024|Public Forum|

A Remembrance of John Shelby Spong–Platinum Post By Ray Zubler

I am pleased to be able to post this post by platinum member Ray Zubler; it is a recollection/commemoration of John Shelby Spong, whom many of you know of as one of the great voices that spread criitical knowledge of the Bible and early Christianity to broader audiences.  Spong was a bishop of the Episcopal Church who nonetheless realized the deep problems posed by the Bible and traditional theological views for modern thinking people.  Spong discussed these issues *within* the context of the Christian church as a Christian church leader, and so he reached a large number of Christians who would pay no attention to critical scholars on the outside.  Ray has here presented some very helpful reflections on him and his work. Remember: you too can present a Platinum Post to Platnium Members as a Platinum yourself!  Anything related to what we do works!  Let me know if you're at all interested -- or just send us a post. ****************************** “Faith can never rest on perceptions that are intellectually unbelievable.” – John Shelby Spong [...]

2024-07-02T15:19:56-04:00July 12th, 2024|Public Forum|

Free Lecture on Paul’s Life and Letters, Thursday (July 11)

I will be giving a free remote lecture this Thursday, July 11, at 1:00 pm EST.  You're welcome to come!   Sorry 'bout the time -- but I'm in England and so it'll be early evening here. The lecture is designed to be a lead-in to the annual New Insights into the New Testament (NINT) conference that will be happening on September 21-22.  The conference will feature ten speakers who will each give a 50-minute talk with Q&A, all on topics (of speaker's choice) connected with the life and letters of Paul; the talks will all be geared to a general audience at about the level we address things here on the blog and in my online courses (www.bartehrman.com).   The speakers are some of the top Pauline scholars in the cosmos.   We haven't announced the conference yet, but will soon, with instructions about how to register etc. Whoever registers for it will receive a recording of my Thursday lecture for free.  In it I will be presenting basic background into Paul to help get everyone up [...]

2024-07-08T14:27:37-04:00July 8th, 2024|Public Forum|

The Evolution of Jewish Monotheism–Platinum Post By Daniel Kohanski

Were ancient Israelites and then later Jews actually monotheists?  What would that actually even mean?  Did their belief in the gods/God change over time?  Here is an intriguing and informed discussion by Platinum blog member Dan Kohanski.  What do you think?   ****************************** The Evolution of Jewish Monotheism[1] Monotheism—the idea that there is one and only one divine Being in the universe—is the underlying foundation of Judaism. Jews reaffirm this twice a day by reciting the Shema, the basic statement of the Jewish faith: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One." This belief is said to have started with Abraham and established for all by Moses at Sinai as one of the Ten Commandments: "You shall have no other Gods besides Me" (Ex. 20:3). But is this really the way it happened in history, even in Biblical history? I suggest that the idea of monotheism evolved only gradually among the ancient Israelites, and even after it was generally accepted by their descendants the Jews, it was not completely so until Roman [...]

2024-07-07T15:21:01-04:00July 8th, 2024|Public Forum|

July Gold Q&A: Your Turn

Summertime, and Gold Q&A time! I'll be recording another Q&A for all Gold & Platinum members soon, so here's your chance to take advantage of this perk. Send me whatever question has been nagging at you (blog-related, of course!). Short, to-the-point questions of general interest are most likely to get answered. Send an email to Diane at [email protected], and she'll compile all your questions for me. DEADLINE: Please get your question in by Friday of next week (07/12/2024) at midnight (whenever midnight is in your time zone).  

2024-04-09T14:46:06-04:00July 5th, 2024|Public Forum|

Platinum Webinar July 6

Platinum members, it's time for our quarterly Platinum webinar, where Bart and just Platinum members get together on Zoom. Because Bart is in a far time zone, we'll have to start early--1:00 PM EDT (check your time zone). This time, Bart's topic will be "How Can Historians Discuss the Miracles of the New Testament?" Of course, there will be time at the end for questions...be prepared! Zoom link: Platinum webinar July 6, 1:00 PM EDT But don't worry--we'll record the webinar and post for all Platinums to watch, so no problem if you can't participate live.

2024-07-02T15:16:22-04:00July 2nd, 2024|Public Forum|

May Gold Q&A Video

Here's May's Gold Q&A video--a little delayed because of Professor Ehrman's heavy summer travel schedule: https://vimeo.com/968002151/4f376bd297?share=copy  

2024-06-26T11:11:36-04:00June 26th, 2024|Public Forum|

June Gold Q&A: Whaddya Wanna Know?

Gold and Platinum members, Time again for our monthly Gold Q&A. Is there something in the New Testament that puzzles you or doesn't make sense (imagine that!)? Put it in a (short, to-the-point) question and send it to Diane at  [email protected]. DEADLINE: Please get your question in by Thursday next week (06/24/2024) at midnight (whenever midnight is in your time zone).  

2024-04-09T14:39:53-04:00June 17th, 2024|Public Forum|

Platinums! Time to Upvote a Platinum Post!

It's time again for Platinum members to vote for a Platinum post to be published to the whole blog (exciting!). Here are links to the posts, in case you want to refresh your memory--then vote! Does God Have Chromosomes? by Doug Wadeson, MD Atonement Doctrine by Manuel Fiadeiro Did People Have Time for Jesus? by Doug Wadeson, MD Could Moses be Thutmose, the Overseer of the Borderlands? by Serene

2024-06-11T10:57:52-04:00June 17th, 2024|Public Forum|
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