As the United States gears up for our 250th anniversary in 2026, we should remember that the official start of our Revolution took place in Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts, in April 1775. By exploring our historic roots, we can draw inspiration and lessons for how to survive the Trump 2.0 Administration. There are pitfalls and […]
slavery
Ancient Papyri, Household Codes, Slavery, and non-Western Paul: A Sampling of Current Christian Testament Research
Last year, we reported on the First (2023) Global Virtual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. And we have also discussed Biblical scholarship that has emerged from other SBL meetings (2017, 2020, and 2021). SBL, founded in 1880, is “the oldest and largest learned society devoted to the critical investigation of the Bible from […]
Reconnecting with African Ancestors: New Initiatives in Genetics and Genealogy
Because of our tragic history of slavery, Americans of African descent have often found it difficult to trace their ancestors further back than a few generations. They often run into “brick walls” due to the absence of standard genealogical resources and the way in which records were kept over the centuries. Many Americans (especially those […]
Update on Removal and Renaming of Confederate Memorials: Moving Ahead!
There was very good news recently on the issue of Confederate-themed memorials, symbols, monuments, celebrations and military bases: according to NPR, all nine Army bases that were named for Confederate generals have now officially been renamed. Journalist Jay Price reports, “Fort Gordon in Georgia is now Fort Eisenhower.” As we noted earlier, decades after the […]
Civics Lessons from the Era of Trump: Part II
Last time, we examined several ways in which we American citizens have been educated about the workings of our government, in large part because of the words and actions of the twice-impeached, four-times-indicted former President, Donald Trump. We looked at three Constitutional Amendments (1, 14 and 25), laws versus norms, pardoning, the importance of the […]
Suggested Readings for Black History Month: The Self-Education of White Americans
Some of us believe that much of the onus for solving the problem of racism in the United States should lie with those of us who are white. If slavery is our “original sin” as a nation (or, perhaps a better term, an “unforgivable crime against humanity“), we cannot sugarcoat the fact that it was […]
Current Research on Pompeii, Part II: Paul’s Letter to the Romans
In Part I, we examined some recent research on Pompeii, focusing on archaeological studies. Here we will look at British scholar Peter Oakes’ 2009 book, Reading Romans in Pompeii: Paul’s Letter at Ground Level, which combines archaeological insights from Pompeii with an exegesis (analysis) of important aspects of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. St. […]
Honoring Black History Month
In honor of Black History Month, and in recognition of our deep racial divides, we offer here the list of past blog posts focusing on African Americans, slavery, the Civil Rights movement, the Lost Cause narrative and Confederate monuments, racism, and related topics. 2/5/2016 Reincarnation and Genetics: A Novel Approach to Facing Racism 7/29/2016 SPLC […]
Index to the Fourth Year
Thank you as always for checking in with WisdomWordsPPF! Below is a guide to the past year of blog posts. Here are the other indices: First year (October 2015-October 2016); Second year (October 2016-October 2017); Third year (October 2017-October 2018). US Politics, Trump Administration, 2018 and 2020 Elections Buyer’s Remorse and Self-Forgiveness: Humble Suggestions for […]
The Legacy of Slavery, Part II: The “Lost Cause” Narrative and Confederate Symbols and Monuments
In our previous post, we examined some of the current discussion around reparations for slavery. Many factors are coming together in our society that make it apparent that our “original sin” of slavery still has serious ramifications more than 150 years after the Civil War, ramifications that need addressing sooner rather than later because of […]