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

___________________________________________________________________

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.

Female Images of God: Maintaining Clothing

"Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not." Nehemiah 9:21 In biblical times, weaving of fabrics was mostly a female occupation although there were men who were skilled embroiderers and engravers, such as Oholiab the son of Ahisamach (Exodus 38:23).  The fabrics were linen, flax, and wool.

Sarah Palin Speaks To a Christian Women's Group

Sarah Palin, the former Governor of the State of Alaska (USA) and the 2008 Republican Party candidate for the office of Vice president of the United States, spoke on Saturday 28 April 2012 to the Extraordinary Women's Conference in Birmingham, Alabama (USA).  She referenced the state motto of Alabama, "We dare defend our rights," and called on Christian women to stand up.

"I'm not just talking about our political rights, but the rights we are given as a daughter of God. ... He trusts us with the responsibility to live big, to live bold, to live passionately and to live vibrantly so we can effect change to the world around us."

"Don't be intimidated as they try to reduce you, to mock you, to stop you.  Get off the sidelines.  We were created to make a difference and help others put back together their shattered lives and dreams."

Literacy in the Biblical Era

There are estimates that the level of literacy among the citizenry during the New Testament period was about ten percent.  Even though most people were illiterate, they were not stupid.  There was a long tradition of oral learning and memorization, producing many competent intellectuals and scholars of the Law.  Presumably, many scribes memorized large portions of the Torah and, at least some could read and write.

Raised in the royal Egyptian household, Moses (ca. 1200 BC/BCE)would have been literate, having received a royal education.

Ezra (5^th century BC/BCE) and his helpers taught the Torah to the Jewish population (Ezra 7:25)  The Torah was taught: Deuteronomy 31:12-13, 2 Chronicles 17:7-9, Nehemiah 8:7-8.

In the Pharisaic tradition, men, including Jesus, a carpenter, would stand and read the scriptures in the synagogue.   John 7:15.  “Never studied” meant that he had no formal training. (Other references to Jesus’ literacy: Luke 4:16-30, John 8:6..)

  

The sign on Jesus’s cross assumed that the people who saw the crucifixion would be able to read it.   It was written in three languages to make sure that everyone could read it. (Mark 15:26, Matthew 27:37, Luke 23:37, John 19:20)

The Jewish historian, Josephus (37 - ?100 AD/CE), spoke about Jewish literacy, “… we pride ourselves on the education of our children … (the Law) orders that (children) shall be taught to read …” (Against Apion 1:12.60 and 2.25.204)

On the question of female literacy in the biblical period, remember that this was a completely male-dominated society.  This is one reason that women were so drawn to the teachings of Jesus: He insisted on treating them as persons.  The early Christians continued this: Paul said there is no Jew nor Greek, no male nor female, no slave nor free.

One estimate has it that “for every five or six men who could read and write, there was one woman who was fully literate.” (David M. Scholer, “Writing and Literature: Greco-Roman”,” in Dictionary of New Testament Background, page 1283. Quoted in  JETS 50/4 (December 2007) 747–59, WOMEN’S EDUCATION AND PUBLIC SPEECH IN ANTIQUITY, by craig keener*

http://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/50/50-4/JETS_50-4_747-759_Keener.pdf

When I was at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the Greek scholar and professor, Pastor Frank Stagg, was speaking on the subject of women’s education in biblical times.  While acknowledging that most women of the time were intentionally kept illiterate, Dr. Stagg was sure that many wealthy women were privately educated.  He even discussed the possibility that the reason that the author of the book of Hebrews is not named is that the book was written by a woman.

 

Other interesting links.

“On Ancient Literacy Levels”

http://www.tektonics.org/tsr/tilliteracy.html

Jewish scripture and the literacy of Jesus, Craig A. Evans

http://www.craigaevans.com/evans.pdf

Josephus

http://elfinspell.com/Shotwell11.htm

 Women in Judaism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Judaism

Were there any female writers in the Bible?

http://www.preachitteachit.org/articles-blogs/ask-roger/post/archive/2010/september/article/were-there-any-women-bible-writers/

Barlow Girl

I have to admit that I don't follow contemporary Christian music.  My tastes in music run to guitar-heavy instrumentals (Joe Satriani ), classical music (Wolfgang Mozart , Erik Satie ), and electronic music (Isao Tomita , Kraftwerk ).

I learned of the beautiful music of the three member group known as BarlowGirl  from "The Walk," the blog of Glen Cantrell , a bivocational Southern Baptist preacher in Sikeston, Missouri (USA).  Bivocational pastors work for small churches which choose not to, or are financially unable to, support a full-time pastor.  Though they work full time away from the church to support themselves, most end up working full time at the church also.  They are a special dedicated breed.

BarlowGirl  consists of three sisters (Alyssa, Rebecca, and Lauren Barlow) who produce beautiful three-part harmonies in what is defined as Christian Rock Music.  They have been nominated for ten Dove Awards.

Book Comment: The Lost Apostle: Searching for the Truth About Junia

Romans 16:7 says that Junia was "of note among the apostles."  A female apostle?  The early Church Fathers, Jerome and John Chrysostom, thought so.  The Eastern and oriental Orthodox Churches think so.  Desiderus Erasmus thought so.  The majority of textual evidence favors it.  The translators of the King James Version of the Bible thought so.

The name Junia is clearly a female name and was common during the first century.  The male form of the name, Junias, does not occur in the Bible and is only known to have occurred once in the extra-biblical Greek literature.

A female apostle would put a large dent in the world view of many conservative Christians who seem to have forgotten what Paul said in Romans (but they remember his seemingly contradictory statement in Galatians).  The full participation of women in the Church challenged the "order of things" as did many Christian practices.

Pederson points out that many modern commentators feel that Paul, in each of his letters to the churches, was addressing local questions.  The seeming inconsistency between his statements may reflect that fact.

In his letters Paul clearly and often spoke of women who taught and prophesied.  He even sent one woman, Phoebe,  as his official representative, carrying his personal letter, to the leaders of the church in Rome.

Pederson is insistent that this is not some sort of faddish, liberal-feminist reinterpretation of biblical history but a return to the original customs of the churches before an official church hierarchy rose up and imposed, intentionally or unintentionally, the male domination which was the norm in the outside world.

Everything that is possible to be known about the Apostle Junia is tracked down using church traditions, the early Church Fathers, and secular history.  Branching off from this, Pederson chases down whatever information is available on other prominent early female Christian leaders such as Prisca, Lydia, Chloe, Theda, Agnes, and Phoebe.

She is correct in her assertion that, in discarding the veneration of the saints and their relics, protestants have lost some of their connection to their own history.  Pederson calls not for a return to Catholic practice, but for a renewed commitment to studying the lives of the saints.

This is an excellent, well-researched book which is, at the very least, challenging to some very strongly held modern Christian beliefs which may or may not be correct.  Quoting Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage (d. 858), "A custom without Truth is merely an ancient error."
  
Pederson, Rena, The Lost Apostle: Searching for the Truth About Junia (San Francisco: Josse-Bass, 2006)

Women

"If God made anything better than women, he kept it for himself."  Kris Kristofferson (b. 1936, Texas)

Recurrent Segments in This Blog

From time to time I add new features to this blog.  I will always keep you updated as I do. Currently there are fifteen recurrent segments.  You can search for them on the Labels list at the bottom of the current page.  I welcome suggestions for new recurrent subjects.

Bible Printer's Errors: You have to proofread "vewwy vewwy cahrfuwwy" or you may say something you didn't intend.
Book Comments: Comments on books about Christianity, religion, philosophy, ethics, history, scholarship, Bible study, Christian writing, children's books, publishing, pastoring, etc.
Christian Heresies:  An ongoing listing of the historical heretical doctrines and a few modern ones.
Christians: Mini biographical listings of persons from any period of history who have, at some time in their lives, been identified as Christians. You may be surprised to see some of these people listed here.
Female Images of God: Obviously, if you think about it, God is not male or female. He is both and more. The gender identification of God was given to us so we would have a point of reference from which to understand Him as a Person (He is obviously not an "it.") It may surprise you that the Bible often presents God with female imagery.
Film Comments: Many films address issues of religious and/or philosophical import. Some may provide insights for Christians which were possibly not part of the original intent of the film's director.
Interesting Websites: Websites which present interesting or eccentric points of view; websites of Christian oriented groups; etc.
Lost Books of the Bible: There are books mentioned in the Bible which are otherwise unknown. Other books may be fragments of longer books.
Messianic Prophecies from the Bible: Christians believe that manyOld Testament (TANAKH) passages speak about the Messiah Jesus.
Names in the Bible: The names of the persons in the Bible are not just sounds.  Many have known meanings.
Poetry: Some from me, some from other folks.
Religious Humor: Contrary to what many people think, Christians are not without humor. Look up Rev, Grady Nutt.
Religious Place Names: The religious origins of some place names may not be immediately obvious.
Trivia: Obscure facts about Christianity, the Bible, religion, etc. Some really are trivial, some, not so much.
What Does It Mean?: Many passages in the Bible need a little explaining to make sense to modern readers because they must be understood in the historical and religious context in which they were written. Remember that they made perfect sense to their original readers/hearers.

Christian Cowgirl

http://www.christiancowgirl.net/ is a site which features articles about equine ministries from across the United States, devotionals, contests, riding camps for children, Christian horse-themed e-cards, reviews of books and magazines, jokes, games, photos, polls, message forums, horse/riding industry news, member tweets, etc.

A Christian Sex Magazine from Africa

Intiem, an Afrikaans language magazine was begun in 2006 in Africa and, in 2009, has begun an English language version entitled Intimacy. The target audience is married Christian women from strict religious backgrounds which have often left the women with an unease about physical intimacy. The magazine insists that sex is a gift from God which married Christian women can rightly claim without guilt about not being "good girls."

The magazine endorses strict monogamy and is opposed to same sex marriage or relationships.

"We believe that if a sex act stays within a marriage, is shared by only husband and wife, and both of them are comfortable with and enthusiastic about doing whatever they are doing, it can only be beneficial to the marriage. And this is what God wants for us."

Pope Benedict XVI and the Anglicans

     Pope Benedict XVI has announced that Anglicans who wish to leave their troubled church may unite with the Roman Catholic Church while retaining their own traditions such as married priests.  Critics of the invitation say that it is predatory, seeking to exploit the divisions in the Anglican/Episcopal union over same-sex marriages and and the ordination of women and sexually active gays.  Well, of course it is.

     The critics say that moves such as this endanger ecumenical talks between Catholics and Anglicans.  What really is endangering the talks are the seemingly relentless efforts of liberals within the Anglican communion to veer away from "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." (Jude 3)

Men of quality.

"Men of quality are not threatened by women of equality."

Jill Briscoe, Christian writer and evangelist. (b.1934, England) She has written over forty books and travels and lectures extensively.