In past posts, we have examined women in the first couple of centuries of the Common Era (CE) who may well have been real: Evodia and Syntyche mentioned by Paul in his letter to the Philippians; Apphia, mentioned in Paul’s letter to Philemon; and women mentioned in Chapter 16 of Paul’s letter to the Romans: […]
Tis the season when many of us are singing – and/or listening to – Christmas carols. These carols often reflect the stories of Jesus’ birth as recounted in the New (Christian) Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke, but many others originate considerably later in the Christian tradition. One of these later tales is the Cherry […]
Those of us who call ourselves Christian, or at least have respect and reverence for the figure of Jesus of Nazareth, generally know this man from a very serious, upstanding and ethical perspective. Jesus the man is usually characterized as kind, compassionate, gentle, wise, courageous, obedient to God, a healer, a teacher, and an innocent […]
In previous posts (Trinities; When Early Christians Revered a Female Deity; Trials and Tribulations of Translating Scripture 2; and The Feminine/Androgynous Jesus), we have dealt to some extent with Mary, the mother of Jesus (also known in Christian tradition as the Virgin Mary or the Mother of God). We have seen that, although there is […]
Korinna Zamfir and Uta Poplutz, eds. Reading Women in the New Testament Letters. SBL Press, 2025. Editors Korinna Zamfir and Uta Poplutz have compiled an impressive collection of essays on women in the New Testament who are often overlooked: women in the letters of Paul and authors who came after him. New Testament scholars would […]
The Advent and Christmas seasons in the West, especially in the United States, have become exceedingly consumerized. The origins of the seasons, of course, lie in antiquity, with the birth of Jesus and the stories about this as found in the Christian Testament Gospels and other early Christian literature. We have discussed stories about Jesus […]
Here are some photos of archaeological sites from three cities associated with St. Paul, along with quotes to remind us that his circle included women in leadership roles. Philippi Phil 4:2-3: “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I […]
We have often engaged in discussions of various aspects of the New (Christian) Testament of the Bible; in fact, most of the posts in the Past category have something to do with either the Christian Testament or the social context of the early Jesus movement. We have pointed out the important role of women in […]
Books Paranormal: A New Testament Scholar Looks at the Afterlife. Self-published 2015; printed by Shires Press, Manchester Center, VT Goddess and God: A Holy Tension in the First Christian Centuries. Marco Polo Monographs 10. Warren Center, PA: Shangri-La Publications, 2006 Women and Worship at Philippi: Diana/Artemis and Other Cults in the Early Christian Era. Portland, […]
Evidence from Roman Imperial times is constantly being unearthed in archaeological excavations around the Mediterranean. The newly-discovered structures and artifacts frequently hold information that can teach us more about the people of antiquity. Since the Christian (New) Testament has been so influential in the history of the West, scholars who study Christian Testament texts and […]