Dear Platinum Members, It is time to vote on your favorite Platinum guest posts to go on to the blog at large.  We've had some dandy submissions over the past two months.  Here are the four options. To vote, send the name of your choice to Diane, at [email protected].  Your DEADLINE:  Saturday midnight (your time), March 4.   She will tally the results and I will inform the lucky winner. Remember: you too can submit a Platinum post.  Have any ideas/thoughts you'd like to bounce off a group of very generous and interested readers?  It doesn't have to be brilliant or scholarly: just whatever you feel like addressing connected to the blog.  If you're interested, zap one to me!  If you have questions, let me know.     January 13, 2023 Paul and the Gospels Ryan Fleming January 30, 2023 Recreational Drugs in the New Testament? Doug Wadeson February 3, 2023 Was the Roman Soldier Pantera Jesus’ Father? His Cousin? Omar Robb February 10, 2023 Why Do Muslims Deny that Jesus Was Crucified? Imran M. Usmani [...]

Here Omar Abdul-Robb takes on a brave task -- interpreting the apocalyptic predictions of Daniel chapters 2, 7, and 9.  Have you read these chapters?  Do so!  It's one of the easiest ways of blowing your mind while staying within the bounds of legality.  The interpretation of these passages has been highly contested since antiquity.  Here is Omar's attempt (see http://www.omr-mhmd.yolasite.com) Comments/questions?  Send them along! ******************************   1# I am going to discuss here the prophecies of Danial in chapters 7, 2 and 9, and I am going to argue that there are some right predictions there, which are mixed with so many wrong ones. Therefore, we cannot say that these prophecies have a divine origin as they are mixed with so many wrong predictions. But also, we cannot ignore the conclusion that there are some impressive predictions. So, I am going here to suggest a philosophical model to explain the mix in these prophecies. 2# We can clearly conclude that the prophesy in Danial chapter 11 (the north and south kings) was a man-made [...]

And now *here* is an interesting way to think about whether someone was raised from the dead!  This is a Platinum Guest Post by Ryan Fleming.  It is begging for responses.  What do you think? ****************************** A short story: Suppose you are a French-resistance fighter in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II. One of your countrymen, Jacques, is unbeknownst to you, a Nazi spy. He openly supports passivism towards Nazi authority, keeps the peace, and even promotes paying taxes to the Nazis. Periodically you see Jacques in the company of a Nazi officer. You and your fellow countrymen become suspicious, even fearful. Is he subverting the mental drive to undermine resistance, or at worst, is he giving away secrets, risking the lives of resistance fighters? You and your countrymen conspire to present a charge to Nazi authority that Jacques has raped a woman to see what they will do. You demand Jacques is guilty, present the woman as a witness who emphatically exclaims Jacques raped her, and demands Jacques must be executed. Eventually, Nazi authority, [...]

I am very pleased to publish this learned and intriguing discussion of the one verse in the Qur'an that appears to deny that Jesus was crucified.  That is the standard Muslim view today -- but is it right?  Is that what the verse really says? Our guest poster is Imran M. Usmani and as you will see, he provides significant historical and literary evidence for an alternative interpretation.   Please feel free to comment or ask questions! ****************************** Most Muslim scholars today deny the crucifixion of Jesus based on literal interpretation of a Quranic verse.1 This incurs the wrath of Christians and secular historians, who see it as an attempt to re-write history. It is one thing to hold an opinion or theological belief, but it is quite something else to meddle with the fabric of history. In this article, I shed light on the religious dispute about the crucifixion of Jesus by tracing the origins of crucifixion denial in the Muslim tradition.   The religion of Islam is founded upon three fundamental sources, namely the [...]

I am pleased to publish this unusually controversial and interesting Platinum guest post of Omar Abdur-Robb.   Lots to think about here!  What do you think? ******************************   A Summary of an article: Discussing the conclusion of James Tabor related to the relationship between Jesus Pantera and Abdes Pantera, and presenting a new model for this relationship (Jan 2023). Omar Abur-Robb Library: https://omr-mhmd.yolasite.com   James Tabor has a conclusion in his informative book “The Jesus Dynasty”. He noticed a reference for a tombstone in Germany that was dedicated to a Roman soldier from Sidon with the name “Abdes Pantera”. This immediately grabbed the attention of Tabor and he started studying it. One of his conclusions in the book was that this soldier might be the true biological father of Jesus. Although I totally don’t agree with this conclusion (metaphysically or historically), but still, all of his conclusions represented about 30% of the book, while the other 70% were high quality of information, which made the book valuable. However, I am going to draw the attention to [...]

Here now is promised part II of Doug Wadeson's discussion of drugs in the Bible....  It's way out there, man. What do you think? ***************************** In the previous post I discussed evidence of psychoactive drug use in the Old Testament.  What about the New Testament?  Jesus’ mentor was John the Baptist who seemed to follow along the lines of Ezekiel, although not as extreme: John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins…John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.   Mark 1:4, 6   But was it really locusts?  Allow me to quote from the blog of James Tabor, recently retired professor of Christian origins and ancient Judaism at UNC-Charlotte: The Greek word for locusts (akris/ἀκρίδες) is very similar to the Greek word for “honey cake” (enkris/έγκρίς) that is used for the “manna” that the Israelites ate in the desert in the days of Moses. According to this ancient text [Epiphanius: Panarion 30.13.4-5] [...]

Dear Platinum members, We have had some provocative platinum guest posts , and now it's time  to vote to see which of the following will be posted on the blog at large.  Take a look.  To vote, just send a quick note to Diane at [email protected]  Your deadline:  this coming Saturday, 01/28/2022 midnight your time. And remember — you’re always welcome to submit a post yourself.  Is there 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.  It doesn't have to be highly learned and informed -- just something you'd like some feed back on .  If you're interested, just zap me a note -- or send me a post!   October 17, 2022 Suffering, Evil, and the Range Effect Dennis J. Folds December 9, 2022 Is It A Sin To Be Transgender? Doug Wadeson December 12. 2022 What Would the Apostle Paul Think of The Trinity Joel Scheller January 9, 2023 What Is a Viable [...]

One of the very big issues of New Testament studies is the relationship between the teaching of Paul and the preaching of Jesus.  Are these basically the same?  Irreconcileably different?  Weirdly unalike?  Understandably similar?  Something else? Here in this Platinum Guest Post, Ryan Fleming provides an intriguing approach to the question, which raises lots of questions and should arouse a range of different opinions.  What do you think? And what do you think of sending in a Platinum post of your own?  It doesn't have to be massively learned or informed: just whatever you want to address to a group of otherwise well-meaning, generous, and similarly-interested human beings.  If you have something, send it along!  Or feel free to ask me about it. In the meantime here's Ryan on Jesus and Paul. ****************************** The seven New Testament letters attributed to the Apostle Paul (Galatians, 1 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Romans, Philippians, and Philemon) are generally believed to have been written between 48 CE and 59 CE, roughly 15 to 29 years after the time [...]

Here is a thoughtful and interesting guest post by fellow Platinum member Joel Scheller.  It deals with something we don't get a lot of on the blog -- reflections on what actually would be an adequate approach to theology by modern, sophisticated believers.  Even if you're not a believer, there is a lot of food for thought here. The title Joel gives to it will make sense when you start reading.  It's an interesting conundrum: in what is Christian theology to be rooted?  John Wesley had ideas about it -- and that is certainly interesting historically.  The system has come to be known as the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.  OK, what's it all about and is it time to rethink it within the Methodist tradition?  As an outsider I find it a fascinating question.  Here are Joel's reflections. ****************************** Is it Time to Revisit the Wesleyan Quadrilateral? The Wesleyan Quadrilateral, a termed coined by American Methodist Albert Outler, is a reflection of what John Wesley viewed as the structural elements that inform theology.  Those elements, as listed in [...]