History in the Bible

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Christianity
**History in the Bible**

A guide to the history presented in the Bible, for people of all faiths and backgrounds, presented by an independent podcaster, and biblical studies buff. I explore the religion of ancient Israel, the beginnings of Christianity, then finally the evolution of the heirs of Abraham to the year 200. I discuss every single book in every Bible (there are more than you think!). Lightly garnished with a dash of drollery, a soupçon of scrutiny, and not one ounce of objectivity. Not one ounce! The main narrative concluded in January 2024. But I continue to publish Afterlife shows.

Latest Episodes:

Bonus 44: Biblical Chronology with Gil Kidron I Jul 31, 2022

Show notes

In this bonus episode, Gil Kidron of a Podcast of Biblical Proportions and I wade into biblical chronology.

3.18 Christians Under the Roman Gaze Jul 17, 2022

Show notes

In the second century, there were three groups of Jewish-leaning Jesus clubs: the Johhanines, the Nazoreans, and the Ebionities. These had either vanished or been absorbed into gentile Christanity by the year 200. While that was happening, the Christian movement came to the attention of the imperial authorities. Writing in 110, governor Pliny only knew they seemed to be vaguely seditious, and had depraved practices, such as meeting before dawn. Forty years later, Christians had gained an appalling reputation. They refused to participate in any of the state rituals that bonded the emperor, the people, and the state to the gods. They were unpatriotic. Even worse, they were wicked sexual deviants with barbaric rituals. The Romans viewed them as witches. I finish the episode by introducing the earliest Christian apologies, books written to defend the faith from the calumnies made against it.

Bonus 43: Top Moments in the Old Testament/Tanakh I Jun 26, 2022

Show notes

In this bonus episode, Steve Guerra of the History of the Papacy podcast and I take a look at some of our favourite moments in the Old Testament or Tanakh. First, Steve wonders what the deal is with Melchizedek. Then Garry shows how a single verse about the patriarch Enoch spawned a whole literature. Back to Steve, who finds some surprising verses in Psalm 137. We conclude with the old she's not my wife she's my sister scam, which Abraham and Isaac pull three times

Bonus 42: The Twelve Minor Prophets VII: Malachi and Joel Jun 12, 2022

Show notes

Malachi writes in Persian times. The rebuilt Temple has not ushered in an ideal age, the governors of Yehuda are not Davidic, and the priests and people have lost their watchfulness about God's coming. Malachi attacks this malaise. The priests are corrupt. The people are unfaithful. All must repent.

Joel writes of locusts and famine. An ecological catastrophe is divine retribution for apostasy. He exhorts the people of Judah to repent, fast, and pray to avert these calamities.

3.17 Quest for the Rabbis II: The Mishnah May 29, 2022

Show notes

The Mishnah is the first great product of the rabbis. Traditionally it was codified around 200 CE by Rabbi Yehuda haNasi. It appears from nowhere. The Mishnah bears no resemblance to anything in the Tanakh/Old Testament, nor in the vast Jewish apocalyptic literature of preceding centuries.

3.16 Quest for the Rabbis I: Origins May 08, 2022

Show notes

The origins of the rabbis, dated to the second century CE, are shrouded in fog, for reasons we do not understand. Why did the Jews cease writing histories after the year 100? Why do we have no histories from the Babylonian Jews. Where did the Mishnah, the foundational document of Rabbinic thought, dome from? I also discuss the evidence that historians of antiquity use, and how they assess that evidence. Especial thanks to Dr. Bret C. Devereaux, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for his amusing insights.

Theme music "Inspiring Teaser" by Rafael Krux, https://filmmusic.io/song/5672-inspiring-teaser, license https://filmmusic.io/standard-license.

Bonus 41: Baruch and Jeremiah, with Gil Kidron Apr 17, 2022

Show notes

In this bonus episode, Gil Kidron and I discuss Gil's theory that the scribe Baruch was instrumental in writing (or editing or redacting) the book of Genesis, using the life of his master the prophet Jermiah as a model.

3.15 Tumultus Iudaeorum Mar 27, 2022

Show notes

On the death of Herod the Great in 4 BCE, the Judean state was a prosperous, self-governed, and stable kingdom. It was Rome's best buddy in the Levant, with territories extending beyond the Jordan and into Syria. Thriving Jewish communities could be found from Spain to Egypt. Over a span 70 years, the Judeans launched three insurrections against the Romans. The consequences were catastrophic. 140 years after Herod's death, the Temple and Jerusalem had been razed, the Judean self-governing province crushed, and its people scattered to the winds. Within the empire, the Romans thereafter applied a heavy hand against many diaspora Jewish communities.

Theme music "Inspiring Teaser" by Rafael Krux, https://filmmusic.io/song/5672-inspiring-teaser, license https://filmmusic.io/standard-license.

3.14 After the Apostles II: Holy Books and Blessed Bishops Mar 06, 2022

Show notes

My second ep about the apostolic fathers, those who followed the disciples. Here I discuss the anonymous authors of the epistle of Barnabas, the gospel of Peter, and the Shepherd of Hermas. All of them were candidates for inclusion in the New Testament. We should be grateful that the virulent anti-Jewishness of the epistle of Barnabas never made it. The gospel of Peter was a best-seller, more popular than the gospel of Mark. It gives an account of the actual resurrection, which none of our canonical gospels do. And what a whacky account it is! The Shepherd was often referred to by the fathers, and is to this day popular with Christians. The Shepherd brims with homely homilies and sermons. The final father is the famously long-lived Bishop Polycarp. It is said that he was mentored by the disciple John, and corresponded with Ignatius. He may have known the great Christian figures of the mid-second century: Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Marcion, and Montanus. If that is so, Polycarp was the man who joined the disciples to the fathers of the imperial church.

3.13 After the Apostles I: Out of the Mist Feb 13, 2022

Show notes

By the year 70, all of the disciples save perhaps John, were dead. Their inheritors are traditionally known as the Apostolic fathers, although many scholars would object to that appellation. I explore the fathers in this and the next episode. In this show I present the very earliest: Bishop Clement of Rome, and the anonymous author of the Didache, a fascinating look into earliest Christian practices. Along the way I speculate about the relationship between Jewish and Christian practices of the time. Who took what from whom? I finish up with the earliest Christian commentator, Papias of Hierapolis; and with Ignatius of Antioch.

Theme music "Inspiring Teaser" by Rafael Krux, https://filmmusic.io/song/5672-inspiring-teaser, license https://filmmusic.io/standard-license.

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