Getting to know Nazareth
Archaeology continues to reveal new insights into Jesus’ boyhood town and the culture of its inhabitants.
Tag: history
Can I say anything new about the resurrection of Jesus?
I have been re-reading NT Wright’s chapter on the “The Surprise of Resurrection” in Jesus: the final days, where he corrects some doubtful christian ideas about the resurrection, and offers reasons why we should regard the gospel accounts as basically historical.
Which Jesus did you worship this Christmas?
Jesus is such an important and admired character in world history and western culture that everyone seems to want to claim him for their tribe. So there are many different versions of Jesus for us to believe in. Shopping mall Jesus This is the most obvious Jesus, and the easiest to see through. Two months […]
Book review: Beyond the Texts
You can find a lot of different views on the internet about the accuracy of Old Testament history and how archaeology does, or doesn’t, support the Old Testament accounts. Minimalist historians, and internet sceptics, will tell you it’s almost all invented myth, while maximalist historians and christian apologists will tell you that archaeology supports the […]
"Because of her, we can"
Like many countries colonised by European nations, Australia has a sorry two century history of poor treatment of our indigenous peoples, resulting in a significant reduction in their numbers and the quality of their lives. But they have survived, their numbers are building again, and many indigenous leaders are become more forthright in their pleas […]
Letting the Bible be what it is, not what we would like it to be
I didn’t grow up in a christian family, but I was sent to Sunday School from when I was young. And so I learnt to believe that the Bible was true. It was only later, in my late teens, that I began to discover some anomalies in the Bible that didn’t fit what I had […]
How a deep and growing divide is killing Protestant christianity – or maybe renewing it!
Right from the earliest days, there have always been disagreements within the christian community. Some are resolved, but some lead to major splits, new denominations or new doctrinal positions. I have the feeling that a major, and probably irreversible, divergence is brewing in the western Protestant church, between those we may label “evangelical” and those […]
Jesus the social and religious radical – 5 lessons from a dishonourable encounter
The facts about Jesus are clearly stated in the gospels, and they don’t change, but people have so many different understandings of him. The Catholic Jesus or Orthodox Jesus is not the same as the evangelical Protestant Jesus, or the Jesus of liberal Protestant theologians. I think there is probably some truth in all portraits, […]
Australia Day and sensitivity towards our indigenous brothers and sisters
Last night we attended a service of lament and support for indigenous christians who cannot celebrate Australia Day with the rest of the country. The service highlighted issues that I think we all wish weren’t there, or would go away. But maybe we all have some helpful lessons to learn.
Book review: Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes
This is quite simply one of the best and most enlightening books I have read about Jesus and the Gospels. I have learnt so much that has helped me make better sense of the gospels and of my faith (although I am certainly not claiming to be like Maria in the Counting Crows song, Round […]