The Bible Geek Show

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The Bible Geek Podcast 21-015 Sep 10, 2021

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In biblical times, how could one distinguish a Jew from a Samaritan by outward appearance? Where did Paul derive the information we read in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26? What do you think of the recent introduction of inclusive language in the New American Standard Bible? Might Thomas have been the “Twin” brother of Jesus? I could imagine a situation where a historical figure, increasingly understood as a more and more exalted figure, is equated and conflated with a mythical personage who developed separately, but is there a simpler solution? Assuming there was a common source, the "Q", why was he deleted, quenched, made to disappear? Unless it was Josephus? Does the Ipuwer Papyrus really verify Exodus? If the Romans fabricated the Gospel or adapted it, why did they pick the Levant as the source? What was the point of the “whole burnt offering”? Might the things that are said about Simon Magus have been based on things John the Baptist's disciples said about Jesus, according to the Mandeans? As to the apologetic technique of "interpreting the less clear passage by means of the more clear," is it legitimate to apply it to 2 passages within a single work, or within multiple works by the same author?'

The Bible Geek Podcast 21-014 Aug 20, 2021

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Do you think that back in the times at the beginnings of Christianity, there was an organization or brotherhood similar to the modern day Masons that ran parallel to Judaism, and later to Christianity, that served as an incubator for the kinds of syncretic ideas that seemed prevalent in the unorthodox sects of that era? Why is it assumed Matthew and Luke each used some third source (M or L) as opposed to just writing that unique material? : Might the famous devotional poem "Footprints" based on Acts of John 93? When and why did critical scholars begin dating gnosticism as a post-Christian constellation of beliefs? The judgment passage in Revelation 20 says “books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. Doesn’t the book of life actually make the whole ‘judgement’ aspect of the story completely redundant? The 5th century BCE Elephantine Papyri strongly suggest a Jewish community with little if any knowledge of the Torah and who shockingly violated several aspects of Deuteronomi law (such as polytheism) yet seek and seemingly get permission from priests in Jerusalem to build their own temple! Had any of these people ever read the Pentateuch? Why do scholars say, e.g., Mark was the first Gospel, 1 Thess was Paul’s first epistle? Why are they passing off scholarly guesswork as known fact? Please recommend a book explaining the meanings of “the Son of Man.” Who or what is Azazel? 2 Esdras 6 says God created Enoch and Leviathan together on the Fifth Day, then goes on to say that Adam was finally created on the sixth Day. Enoch was created BEFORE Adam? What is going on there? When do you think Christians first considered themselves as having a different religion than Jews? And perhaps leadingly (in terms of what I wonder), do you think that we may not be looking at a splinter, but rather a merger of Jewish sects and gentile sects that found enough compatibility to join disparate groups? How do you understand or explain the lack of first-century Christian texts? Is the war enough to explain it, or is the lack of a prominent Palestinian Christianity possible? Gerd Theissen describes the messianic secret in Mark as "a literary form given to the 'monotheistic' reservations about a life of Jesus bathed in the divine splendor." (p.96) The way I understood him--using Wrede, apparently--is that somehow presenting Jesus literarily as not claiming he was.

The Bible Geek Podcast 21-013 Jul 30, 2021

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What do you make of Matthew 27:52? I Corinthians 2:8 mentions the “archons,” usually translated as rulers of this world. Are archons necessarily celestial or can they be earthly? Why would a celestial being be crucified by celestial beings? Occurrences of “12” in Homer. In the Book of Revelation, are those who are thrown into the Lake of Fire annihilated, or do they endure eternal punishment? E.A. Speiser points to the Hurrian law which allows to adopt his wife also as his sister. Does this figure into the stories of the Patriarch claiming his wife is actually his sister? Is Matthean priority still a fringe opinion? Do you think that the refusal to practice apologetics is in itself apologetics? Despite the claim that salvation comes by faith, fundamentalists insist on particular doctrines as necessary for genuine faith. Isn’t this salvation by works? It’s bizarre to me to read all of this New Testament theology into a single verse of the Old Testament. Why not expound the OT text in its own right?

The Bible Geek Podcast 21-012 Jul 09, 2021

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Tell us about Bruno Bauer. Do you know whether anyone has made a serious, well researched argument to change the BCE/CE dating scheme to something more centered in the Western/Hellenistic/Enlightenment Eras? Might the Emmaus story be based on a dream? Or the resurrection appearance of Romulus on the Alba Longa? What do you make of the references to antinatalism in the Bible? Is the passage in Revelation 11:7-12 about the 2 witnesses somehow related to the Passion and Resurrection narratives of the gospels?

The Bible Geek Podcast 21-011 Jun 28, 2021

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I think the Jesus ben Ananias account in Josephus is actually about the Gospel Jesus as an old man. If this Ananias is the high priest of the Gospels, then Joseph Caiaphas was his son in law, and Jesus was his grandson. I'm curious about the origin of the idea found in many religions that pain and suffering somehow appeases a deity. In the epic movie, “The Life of Brian”, Monty Python members pose some questions about Christianity and Judaism. Why was the mention of the name of the God Jehovah a taboo? Why were women not allowed at stoning to death as punishment? Did liberation revolutionary groups exist, and were they all talk and no action? Is there any knowledge or writing or commentary exclaiming that the Christian religion was a Death Cult? Which of your books discusses the disorder of text in John? Seth Andrews said there were multiple authors of Mark. I have not heard that before. Do you agree? Why is the virgin Mary so important in the catholic church?

The Bible Geek Podcast 21-010 Jun 24, 2021

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My understanding is that "Paul" means something like "humble" or "small." Is that the idea? That this character goes from being the powerful persecutor Saul to the small and humble little Paul? Or is it more likely that there was some vague historical memory of a Paul who played into Jewish or Christian communities, and the memory of Simon Magus was grafted in some way onto that actual Saul/Paul? What you think of the Elton John/Bernie Chapin song “Levon,” appearing on the classic album “Madman Across the Water”? John 8:44 uses the phrase "You are from the Father of the Devil." Might this be a play on Romans 8:29 which says Perhaps the author is portraying the people that Jesus is addressing as the brothers of the Devil by claiming that they are from the Father of the Devil? Where Jesus cries out "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" If Jesus was God, why is he asking himself why he is being abandoned? Was Peter real or mythical and why do you feel that way? Please explain about local text variants and textual families. A while ago, you were discussing Lamech, son of Methuselah, married to Ada and Zillah, indicating that the implication was that “lamech has wives from A to Z.” Does this translates into Hebrew with their different alphabet? In Acts 15, why did food sacrificed to idols, blood, and strangled steak make the cut of laws that Gentile Christians needed to follow? Why these things and not the more morality-based laws? Was the long ending of Mark used for candidates for baptism as it is a cento? of Jesus's narrative/used in scenes in the synoptic gospels. Do you think the sayings in Thomas that parallel Synoptic sayings had a similar source by oral tradition? Were the Gnostic Thomas sayings older?

The Bible Geek Podcast 21-009 Jun 23, 2021

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Christians often criticize atheists for believing that the universe was created from nothing. How do they square this with their belief that God created the universe ex nihilo? I wondered if you've been following the story of "the Shapira document." What is your general take on Strobel and his Case For Christ? I can explain the idea behind Bayes theorem in a way that ANYBODY can understand without using any math. Where might the Zodiac killer have derived the idea that people he killed would become his slaves in the afterlife? Did the Assemblers of the New Testament pre-determine that it must have 27 books because of the Trinity (3x3x3=27)? Was a big reason that the Book of Revelations was included in the Canon that it was thought to have been written by the same author as the Gospel of John? Could St Paul’s letters have been written much later than the conventional dating of the 50’s AD? We are told that Esau was also called “Edom” (“red”) because he gave up his birthright for “red” stew. He also just happens to be born “red all over.” But Edom is known for its red sandstone. And people think this is real history?

The Bible Geek Podcast 21-008 Jun 14, 2021

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What was that parallel Bible you said you liked so much? Is there any reason to believe that the Q character from Star Trek was named after the Q source from Bible scholarship? How widespread is the belief that OT theophanies were appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ? What’s wrong with Joseph Atwill’s arguments? What book sets forth the fundamental historical-critical axiom that in any choice between a more or less spectacular version of the same event, the less spectacular is preferred since if the more colorful were first available we cannot account for the fabrication of the more mundane? When did modern scholars first conclude that the Pauline letters were written before the Gospels? Is God’s original name “Jealous”? In a recent episode, a fellow listener referred to Pilate's question "What is truth?" as "a glib dismissal of Jesus". Personally, I can't see as mere glibness; to me, the entire conversation is about collision of values. Please comment on the Kalam argument as put forth by William Lane Craig: I wonder what your opinion might be of Rene Guenon, Ananda Coomaraswamy, and Frithjof Schuon - the trinity of perennialists? Would the Stendhal syndrome explain early Christian spiritual experiences? Is there good reason to consider 1 Peter a forgery?

The Bible Geek Podcast 21-007 May 19, 2021

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Do we know why Jesus declares woes upon the “unrepentant” cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum in Matthew 11 and Luke 10? Which is more likely authentic: Luke 6:20 (“you poor”) or Matthew 5:3 (“the poor in spirit”? Is Luke redacting Matthew, or is Matthew redacting Q? In the Odyssey, only Eurycleia recognizes Odysseus’ secret identity, then rats out 12 maids who were in cahoots with the Suiters. Is this reflected in Mark’s gospel with the anointing woman, Judas, and the 12? Justin Martyr, an early Christian apologist who died around 165 CE during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, never quoted any of the canonical gospels. Does this mean that the canonical gospels were largely unknown in the mid-second century even to big-name apologists such as Justin? Can you recommend any books on the Bible and Astrology that use an historical scholarly approach and its use in ancient religions? Isn’t post-exilic Israel a perfect example of a situation that has occurred numerous times in history: that of a split between an aristocratic few and the more numerous people they despise? Does 1 Cor. 15:5 contradict the gospels?

The Bible Geek Podcast 21-006 May 06, 2021

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Is there a work that gives a good overview of the different models of how Christianity could have started? Genesis and Exodus use the term "Pharaoh" as if it's a proper name, while also referring to the "King of Egypt." Ezekiel refers to "Pharaoh King of Egypt," again like 'Pharaoh' is the name, and 'King' is his title. Same in 1 Kings 3:1 and 1 Kings 9:16. What's going on here? I wanted to know if you could speculate on the logistical process of how Pau's letters could have been assembled and collected. Does the Greek style of the NT indicate a first century origin? Does it matter if religious experiences are based on fictive deities? Were any of the towns Jesus said to have visited real? Why did the Catholics decide to make Peter the first pope? So what will heaven really be like?

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