Tag Archives: Old Testament

Did the Exodus really happen? The Exodus is not a literal historical account, but it doesn’t matter

Posted on 11/04/2012 by

Worth your reading time: Did the Exodus Really Happen?  Knowing the Exodus is not a literal historical account does not ultimately change our connection to each other or to God, writes Rabbi  David Wolpe

Posted in Archaeology, Biblical Studies, History | Tagged , ,

Peter Hitchens on a “text of terror”: Psalm 137, verse 9

Posted on 29/03/2012 by

‘In Canterbury there are many lingering traces of the lovelier England that has now been pushed to one side by bulldozers, money, worldliness and egalitarianism.  The cathedral itself (surprisingly small for the mother church of Anglicanism) on a sunny late … Continue reading →

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Pic of the day: Early 19th. century Book of Esther on parchment, probably from Italy

Posted on 10/03/2012 by
Posted in Visual Arts | Tagged , ,

Quote of the day: William Barclay on ‘problem texts’ in the Bible

Posted on 06/02/2012 by

‘We may sometimes feel that there are certain parts of the Bible with which we are out of sympathy; if we study these parts they will often be the very parts which end up giving us the richest harvest.’ ~ … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies, Quote of the Day, Theology | Tagged , , , , ,

Pic of the day: The Book of Joshua by Jim LePage

Posted on 05/01/2012 by

Jim LePage writes: Joshua is a brutal book.  It’s filled with death and destruction.  On multiple occasions, the Israelites go into cities and kill every living thing.  Men, women, children, animals . . . “not sparing anyone that breathed.”  All at … Continue reading →

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More biblical dilettantism to come from Hollywood: Steven Spielberg sets his sights on Moses’s life story

Posted on 17/11/2011 by

Steven Spielberg sets his sights on Moses’s life story The directing giant is in talks to bring the life story of Jewish figure Moses to the big screen in Gods And Kings. The director and producer, 64, is hoping to … Continue reading →

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Philip Jenkins on the Canaanite genocide: the Old Testament’s ‘texts of terror’

Posted on 30/10/2011 by

‘It would be easy to cite these gruesome Biblical stories as a foundation for a New Atheist rant, and that’s absolutely not my intent.  Paradoxically, what I have been trying to do in recent years, especially in my book Laying … Continue reading →

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Alexander Goldberg on the Old Testament book of Job

Posted on 16/10/2011 by

Alexander Goldberg: The Book of Job The Book of Job is the first document in history to take seriously the question of why really bad things happen to really good people. The Book of Job, part 1: Who was Job? … Continue reading →

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Is the biblical ‘Sea of Reeds’ the Red Sea or an inland reedy lake? Colin Humphreys gives his view

Posted on 19/08/2011 by

In My View the Biblical Sea of Reeds is the Red Sea by Colin Humphreys, Professor and Director of Research, Selwyn College, Cambridge In summary, it is clear from the biblical reference to where Solomon built his ships, that yam suph … Continue reading →

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Quote of the day: David Wenham on the Apostle Paul, Adam and creation

Posted on 22/07/2011 by

‘What was Paul’s view exactly about how the world was created?  What was his scientific point of view?  Now, Paul was somebody who lived in the first century, and Paul did not understand modern science.  When he thought about creation, … Continue reading →

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Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou is “more like an undergraduate . . . than a serious academic”

Posted on 08/04/2011 by

Does ‘The Bible’s Buried Secrets’ confirm the BBC’s anti-Christian bias?  One well-informed London viewer thinks so: I watched the The Bible’s Buried Secrets on BBC 2 last Tuesday evening.  It is a new series, presented by Dr Francesca Stavrakopoulou, which … Continue reading →

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Doug Chaplin on Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou and the Garden of Eden

Posted on 31/03/2011 by

Doug Chaplin comments on the last of the ‘Bible’s Buried Secrets’ presented by Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou: As before she declines the opportunity to give much airtime to scholars who disagree with her.  Her preferred narrative is her scholarship versus the faith … Continue reading →

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Quick, call Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou: God has a wife & now the Holy Spirit has a husband!

Posted on 30/03/2011 by

The Holy Spirit as Wife of Adonai in Mandaeism by Dr. James McGrath I’ve been spending some time this evening working on the Mandaean Book of John.  In looking up a passage in the important but puzzling text known as Haran … Continue reading →

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Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou & ‘Bible’s Buried Secrets’: top scholar on ‘God’s wife’ Asherah

Posted on 30/03/2011 by

Evidence for Asherah by Judith M. Hadley Asherah has appeared paired with Yahweh in positive ways.  Furthermore, the early eighth century BCE prophets do not condemn Asherah worship.  The worship of Asherah was evidently acceptable before the Deuteronomistic reform movement gained momentum … Continue reading →

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Why God having a wife isn’t a “buried secret” despite Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou’s claims

Posted on 27/03/2011 by

Published by Eerdmans in 2005. Hardcover: ISBN 978-0802828521 Softcover: ISBN 978-0802863942 On Google Books. More on Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou and ‘The Bible’s Buried Secrets’: Profile of controversial BBC religion presenter Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou Blog comment on controversial BBC religion presenter Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou Tim Bulkeley answers … Continue reading →

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Historian James Hannam on Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou and ‘The Bible’s Buried Secrets’

Posted on 27/03/2011 by

‘What is the buried secret?  It seems to me that Dr. Stavrakopoulou is an Old Testament Bart Ehrman trying to turn mainstream scholarship into something radical that is a serious problem for the Christian (and Jewish) faith.  It’s neither and … Continue reading →

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Geoff Gummer responds to ‘The Bible’s Buried Secrets’ and Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou

Posted on 25/03/2011 by

The Bible’s Buried Secrets – Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou She seems to repeat quite often that she is a Biblical scholar, so obviously she thinks she needs to reinforce that fact. This is probably because she makes quite a few outlandish … Continue reading →

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Church minister reacts to Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou and ‘The Bible’s Buried Secrets’

Posted on 24/03/2011 by

‘What a strange programme this was!  Francesca Stavrakopoulou ‘exposed’ how the Bible ‘lies’ to us about monotheism, yet the evidence she drew was from the Bible itself!  Even more strangely, she implied that because the inhabitants of Israel before 600 … Continue reading →

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David Jenkins on Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou, atheism and ‘The Bible’s Buried Secrets’

Posted on 24/03/2011 by

‘Atheism is itself a religion, one which is gradually gaining ground in the West.  Stavrakopoulou, like most atheists, exhibits tedious political correctness — even worse, though, is the BBC’s use of a member of one religion to ridicule the beliefs … Continue reading →

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Is Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou trying to beat Dan Brown at his own game?

Posted on 23/03/2011 by

‘The Bible’s Buried Secrets’ is trying to beat Dan Brown at his own game, says Alexander Lucie-Smith: The entire Old Testament is the history of a struggle between strict monotheists and syncretists, those who wished to follow the Gods of … Continue reading →

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Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou, and why ‘God’s wife’ Asherah is anything but a ‘buried secret’

Posted on 23/03/2011 by

Bible’s Buried Secrets: ‘Did God Have a Wife?’, review I’m not sure I’d call Asherah a secret as such: in 2005, for example, William G. Dever published a book — titled, as it happens, Did God Have a Wife? — … Continue reading →

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Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou, Yahweh and his ‘wife’ Asherah: archaeo-porn for the masses

Posted on 22/03/2011 by

This is the best response to the BBC program that I’ve come across.  Anyone interested in this subject should read it: Yahweh and Asherah: More Archaeo-porn for the Masses by Mike Heiser Several people have sent me this link on whether … Continue reading →

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Atheist Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou believes in God’s wife & other ‘Bible’s Buried Secrets’

Posted on 22/03/2011 by

Atheist believes in God’s wife OK, believes “in” might be a stretch, but an atheist scholar does believe that the Judeo-Christian God may have been married . . . That there were many gods (and goddesses) worshiped in ancient Israel is no surprise if … Continue reading →

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Tom Sutcliffe on Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou, physical beauty and ‘The Bible’s Buried Secrets’

Posted on 22/03/2011 by

With tongue firmly in cheek, Tom Sutcliffe of The Independent remarks: It would be improper to mention Dr Francesca Stavrakopoulou’s looks.  Clearly whoever commissioned a three-part series on Biblical scholarship for BBC2 was entirely indifferent to the fact that it … Continue reading →

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Did the BBC and Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou “Bash the Bible”?

Posted on 16/03/2011 by

Yes, according to the Catholic Truth Society’s blog Compass: The best part of all came when our guide looked squarely into the camera and said, “These are religious, not historical writings.” That apparently, was her greatest discovery.  Programmes such as … Continue reading →

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