A Virtual File Cabinet for Our Studies of Christian Origins & Hebraic Faith
Canaanite Worship at Lachish—New Details Emerge by Itamar Weissbein Extract – Situated in the southern part of the Judean foothills (the Shephelah), Tel Lachish controlled a main road leading from the Mediterranean coastal plain to the mountains of Hebron and Jerusalem in ancient times. In the Hebrew Bible, Lachish is known as an important Canaanite city-state, which […]
Continue ReadingThis post contains a 1000-word summary by Claude.ai of a lecture and Q&A by Bart Ehrman at the BSA here. The lecture and Q&A was a little more than hour and is IMHO a very good overview of the events from Constantine’s origins to his death. The 9,000-word transcript is in his directory in Dropbox.
Continue ReadingFrom ChatGPT on 2/18/2026. Modern biblical scholarship widely recognizes that the accounts of King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18–20, Isaiah 36–39, and 2 Chronicles 29–32 are closely related parallel narratives. Below is a structured explanation of the similarities, what scholars say, and the context in which those statements are made. Below that is a verse-by-verse […]
Continue ReadingFrom Claude.ai on 2/18/2026. In addition, after that response is a Q&A with Bart Ehrman’s answer concerning a scripture from Acts that some say shows Luke did believe in Atonement. Talking Points from the text below: First Prompt: What do critical bible scholars cite as passages in the Gospel of Luke that are taken from […]
Continue ReadingFrom Claude.ai on 2/17/2026. Prompt: What is the Apostolic Creed, and how does it relate to the evolution of the Nicaea Creed? [See also the post in this site titled The Councils and Creeds creating the Trinity] Great question — the relationship between these two creeds is often misunderstood. The Apostles’ Creed The Apostles’ Creed […]
Continue ReadingFrom Claude.ai on 2/17/2026. Go to the post here for how the Apostles Creed relates to the Nicaea Creed. Summary – Those in bold are the primary Councils. Council of Nicaea (325 AD) Convened by Emperor Constantine, Nicaea was the first ecumenical (universal) council of the Christian church. Its primary purpose was to resolve the […]
Continue ReadingFrom ChatGPT The Great Trunk Road near Nazareth in the time of Jesus The Great Trunk Road in the Galilee during the first century CE was part of a much older international highway system that connected Egypt to Syria and Mesopotamia. In Roman times, this road system was maintained and integrated into the imperial network, […]
Continue ReadingFrom Claude.ai 2/16/2026. Critical Bible scholars generally approach the phrase “visiting the iniquity of the fathers” (ASV, Exodus 20:5–6) as an expression rooted in the social, legal, and theological world of the ancient Near East. Rather than reading it as a literal metaphysical transfer of guilt from parent to child, they tend to interpret it […]
Continue ReadingFrom Claude.ai. Below are key passages in the Hebrew Bible where God is described with the cluster of attributes: merciful/gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and faithfulness (or close equivalents).All quotations are from the American Standard Version (ASV), as requested. Across the passages below, especially from Exodus 34:6–7, the Hebrew Bible consistently describes […]
Continue ReadingBelow is ChatGPT’s reformatting of the above interview transcript, cut and pasted from the video. Tabor Interview with Aron on Abrahamic Faith 1. Why write this book? There are so many books about Christianity, and they’re all over the map. They’re very complicated, and I think sometimes people lose sight of the simplicity of the […]
Continue Reading