Way back, at the turn of the century, I wrote an article for Festschrift volume: Tim Bulkeley, “Where do you read.” in Mission without Christendom: exploring the site, essays for Brian Smith (Carey Studies in Theology) Auckland: Carey Baptist College, 13-22. Among other things it noted how the assumptions and cultural baggage we bring to [&hellip...
This podcast aims to show you where Nazareth was situated, and why as real estate agents love to say location matters. The helicopter footage has been generously supplied by PreservingBibleTimes from their most useful resources...
In this video we visit the Wadi Qelt, the gorge that cuts down into the steep Judean Hills and so provided a passable route in ancient times between Jericho (in the Jordan Valley and Jerusalem in the hills). We’ll begin near the Ein Prat (Prat Spring) and passing the monastery head down towards the opening [&hellip...
Another video exploring how our preunderstandings (the things that we think we “know” in advance that a Bible passage is about) can make us miss the point...
As part of my seminar on Bible abuse at Easter Camp I talked about how a couple of sorts of context (cotext or social setting and culture) help us understand Jesus parable of the Big Feast (Luke 14:16ff.) more sharply. This podcast is a quick version of that focusing on questions of context. [Updated with [&hellip...
I’ve been asked about the prosperity gospel, which claims that not only does God want to bless us, but that if we do the right things God will bless us. In the context from which it was asked it’s a really important question, in my context too it’s a question that matters. Here’s part one [&hellip...
What does it mean for Christian talk of God as motherly that Jesus called (even maybe named) God as -father-? Then we take a closer look at what Jesus meant when he talked about God as father. Finally I’ll think about what it means for this topic that Jesus was male. There is a lot [&hellip...
Huffington Post article claiming the pais was the centurion’s sex partner produced a little flurry of posts and comment on the biblical blogs. Gavin at Otagosh in Jesus and the Centurion’s boy wrote: “I’m not sure the story actually has much value in terms of current debates on homosexuality.” Is that right?  ...
I’d like to sharpen this one. I am trying to explain and illustrate the second step of the five step process. Making reference mainly to Luke 9:1ff.. Any suggestions you have would be welcome 🙂...
Passover was the greatest pilgrimage festival for 1st century Jews, Jerusalem was packed with people (like for a world cup – only more crowded 😉 celebrating the great liberation from foreign oppression that God worked for Moses and the ancestors in Exodus. No wonder the Romans were jumpy, no wonder the Sadducees on the Sanhedrin [&hellip...