Book Comment: Who's Who in the Age of Jesus

The 2005 book, Who’s Who in the Age of Jesus, by professor Geza Vermes, is an extremely interesting book for those who love history, biography, and the Bible.  Dr. Vermes intended the book to emphasize the unassailable historicity and the intense Jewishness of Jesus. 

Many of the people Dr. Vermes discusses are persons you have never heard of before.  He talks, of course, about the Roman emperors, governors, procurators, and legates and the Jewish High priests, but also about important women such a Mariamne and Drusilla,  rabbis such as Yohanan ben Zakkai and Simeon ben Shetah, Jewish mystics such as Simon the Essene and Honi the Circle-Drawer, Jewish revolutionaries such as Simon bar Giora and Judas son of Sapphoreus, writers such as Josephus and Justus of Tiberias,  and important persons.

The book also contains genealogical charts and a chronological table.

Dr. Vermes was born in 1924 in Hungary into a Jewish family, some of whom (including his parents) died during the Holocaust.  The family became converts to Roman Catholicicsm and young Geza went on to become a Roman catholic priest.  Vermes is essentially a scholar and academic and became a specialist in Hebrew, Aramaic, Christian and Jewish history, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the life of Jesus. 

 Dr. Vermes questions some of the traditional Christian understandings of Jesus.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/mar/18/academicexperts.highereducationprofile

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A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

Akiane Kramarik

You can decide about this for yourself.  I am astounded at the accomplished professional level artwork and intrigued by the story.  It may be true, I hope it is, but our faith must be based on the Bible and Jesus.

Born and raised in an atheist family, little Akiane Kramarik at age four began to have visions of Heaven.  Then she began to draw and paint what she had seen.  She's seventeen now and is still painting.  Her parents have become Christians because of what they have seen.

Here is an interview with Akiane at the age of thirteen.

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=MBCC1NNU

And here is a gallery of her art.

http://www.artakiane.com/

First English Language Book Written by a Woman

Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love (ca 1393) is believed to be the first book written by a woman in the English language.  The writer was Dame Julian of Norwich (b. ca. 1342, England - d. ca 1416). She was a hermit and Christian mystic.

A mystic walks into a hot dog shop ...

A mystic walks into a hot dog shop and places his order, "I'll have ...  one with everything."