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: […]
The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) tried something new in March 2023: holding a virtual global meeting. SBL was founded in 1880 and is “the oldest and largest learned society devoted to the critical investigation of the Bible from a variety of academic disciplines.” SBL holds an Annual Meeting in North America (which now draws […]
The Via Egnatia, which ran from Constantinople in the east to Dyrrachium, Albania, in the west, was one portion of the more than 50,000 miles of well-built roads of the Roman Empire. It was along the Via Egnatia, in part, that St. Paul and his companions spread the Christian message, visiting friends and family, preaching […]
In celebration of Women’s History Month, we offer here an updated list of our blog posts about women, goddesses, goddess worship and female imagery. Enjoy! Posts since late March 2021: Rounding Out Women’s History Month: Current Women Leaders around the World Current Research on Pompeii, Part I: Archaeology Current Research on Pompeii, Part II: Paul’s […]
As we have seen in past posts, the early Jesus movement – which ultimately became Christianity – originated in a polytheistic environment: people of the Roman Empire worshiped multiple female and male deities. This means that Jesus himself, his earliest followers and those who later identified as Christians lived and worked among devotees of Aphrodite/Venus, […]
Thank you for your interest in these blog posts! Here is a listing by topic for posts since October 2021. (Some topics overlap.) Social and Racial Justice, Diversity Honoring the Wampanoags Today and Moving Toward a More Perfect Union, November 26, 2021 Suggested Readings for Black History Month: The Self-Education of White Americans, February […]
On several occasions, we have examined aspects of the ancient city of Philippi in northern Greece. We have noted its connection with St. Paul, including archaeological evidence for women’s involvement in pagan cults and Roman religion as the early Jesus movement was growing, and we noted how women may have carved the unique rock reliefs […]
As we have noted on several occasions, Western civilization as we know it emerged in a polytheistic (multi-deity) environment from the earliest times. The beginnings of the West as we know it today can be traced to the Middle East. The Jewish man Jesus of Nazareth lived from about 4 BCE (Before the Common Era) […]
Introduction Nurses throughout the United States, and indeed throughout the world, have been on the front line of care during the pandemic. They are among the heroes in our communities, but we know that they are facing severe challenges as individuals and as a profession. There has been a nursing shortage for years, and that […]
The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), founded in 1880, no longer focuses primarily on literature – the texts of the Bible in their original languages (Hebrew for what is generally referred to as the Old Testament and Greek for the so-called New Testament). The Society’s international membership of over 8,000 is open to professionals and […]