In honor of Women’s History Month, here is a sampling of resources about women, especially focused on the early Jesus followers, the New (Christian) Testament, nascent Christianity, and the ancient (Western) world. We are grateful for the scholars (both male and female) who have brought women out of the shadows over the past several decades! […]
The notion that religion and science do not mix is belied in our day by the Informal Education Community Anchor award through NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement. The Anchor designation, located within the NASA’s Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions (TEAM II) competitive funding program, was created in 2021 “in recognition that local institutions […]
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 […]
One of the most significant results of the 2022 midterms was the election, across the country, of the “most progressive Democratic Caucus in decades.” With wins of almost all of the 18 candidates supported by the Democratic Progressive Caucus (DPC), the DPC will now have 103 members in the 118th Congress (Senator Bernie Sanders [VT] […]
The issue of family values has been a theme of American conservatism and the Republican Party since at least the 1970s. Generally speaking, those values as articulated by the right have come in the form of attacks on LGBTQ rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, sex education in schools, abortion rights, certain government programs, supposed “socialist” […]
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 […]
In our previous post, we examined the pagan backgrounds of Christian practices that take place most often in Sunday worship services. Here we will look at special liturgies of the Christian church and miscellaneous Christian practices that have roots in the goddess and god cults of antiquity. Special liturgies Weddings and marriage. According to the […]
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) […]
Previously we have examined the women around St. Paul, noting that, contrary to comments about women incorrectly attributed to him that have been used to oppress women in both church and society, Paul actually worked closely with many women in leadership positions and had great respect for them. Most of the women in these positions […]
In several previous posts, we have looked briefly at the women around St. Paul and his great respect for them (The Trials and Tribulations of Translating Scripture 2; Ancient Corinth II; and Paul’s Female Colleagues). Here we will examine the women of Romans 16 in more depth (the full text of verses 1-23 are copied […]