A Podcast All About Christianity
One of the most intriguing figures in Christian history for me is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer argued for complete nonresistance and yet was implicated in a plot to assassinate Hitler. Bonhoeffer was too conservative for liberals and too liberal for conservatives. Eric Metaxas attempted to turn him into an evangelical culture warrior in his bestselling biography. … Read More “Letters and Papers from Prison” »
One of the biggest threats to what would become orthodox Christianity was Gnosticism. There had been other theological innovations in the early church but Gnosticism was the most radical. And the most confusing. A helpful book for moderns readers to understand this complex movement is The Gnostics: Identifying and Early Christian Cult by Alastair H. … Read More “The Gnostics – Review” »
There seems to be a lot of interest in what are known as the “Gnostic Gospels.” People are drawn to these mysterious books that never made it into the New Testament. One of the most well known authors in this area is Elaine Pagels. Beyond Belief is supposedly focused on the Gospel of Thomas. Although … Read More “Beyond Belief – Review” »
I enjoy the “A Very Short Introduction” series of books. Of course the authors are limited in what they can write in these short books. The book on Paul is written by E.P. Sanders. Sanders is an influential New Testament scholar. He was one of the pioneers of what is known as the New Perspective … Read More “Paul: A Very Short Introduction – Review” »
One of my favourite writers on early Christianity is N.T. Wright. I have read many of his books and when I was asked what I wanted for my birthday, I knew it was Paul: A Biography. Wright has written many books on Paul but this one is unique. In some ways it is a bridge … Read More “Paul: A Biography – Review” »
I am a firm believer that understanding the New Testament requires some understanding of its Jewish context. I don’t mean that Judaism is only Christian context, it has great value as a major faith. But the New Testament was written in a Jewish context by (mostly) Jewish authors. I’m always looking for good resources in … Read More “Judaism Before Jesus – Review” »
Anything about the Jesus Myth Theory quickly comes up on my radar as it is one of my main areas of research. For that reason, Bart Ehrman’s Did Jesus Exist? has been on my must-read pile for some time. In some ways, this is a surprising book for Ehrman to write. Ehrman is a former … Read More “Did Jesus Exist? by Bart Ehrman – Review” »
