A Virtual File Cabinet for Our Studies of Christian Origins & Hebraic Faith
The following is a transcript of his very insightful 7-minute talk. Justin Martyr will say quite rightly, well, you guys believe that your emperors can descend into heaven, what’s wrong with us believing Jesus could ascend into heaven? We’re doing the same thing. What Luke-Acts did was come up with a counter-narrative. In the entire […]
Continue ReadingFrom Claude.ai on 3/11/2026: How, when, where, and why do critical Bible scholars say Lent began and how it relates to the Jewish Passover and Pentecost? The Origins of Lent: A Critical Scholarly Perspective What Lent Is and When It Likely Began Critical scholars — those applying historical, literary, and archaeological methods to religious texts […]
Continue ReadingJerusalem lies at approximately 31.78° North latitude. Cities at the same latitude are located along a band across North Africa, the Middle East, and the southern United States. Below are major or recognizable U.S. cities located very close to the latitude of Jerusalem (roughly between 31° and 32° North). Cities very close to Jerusalem’s latitude […]
Continue ReadingFrom ChatGPT on 3/11/2026 in relation to the post here titled The Origins of Lent. Prompt: Was the easter baptismal practice [during Lent] preferred or in some way encouraged or practised? Yes. A number of historians of early Christianity have suggested that practical considerations—including climate and water temperature—may have contributed to the preference for Easter […]
Continue ReadingThis post contains the following prompts and responses, listed below with the conclusion copied with the prompts for quick reference. From Claude.ai based on the prompt: How, when, and why do critical Bible scholars say Lent began? The Origins of Lent According to Critical Biblical Scholarship Critical scholars are largely unified that Lent, as a […]
Continue ReadingThis post contains a link to an interview of Bart Ehrman about the “hidden” Christianity that many, including many preachers, do not share with their congregation. Below the link is a ChatGPT summary of the transcript of the interview. The transcript is in his directory in Dropbox. Analytical Outline of the Interview – (Separating the […]
Continue ReadingExtracts from BAS article — Gladiators, Graffiti, and Martyrs – What a Pompeii corridor reveals about the early Christian world by Lauren K. McCormick March 09, 2026 Few images capture the Roman world more vividly than the clash of gladiators in the arena. These spectacles drew enormous crowds across the empire and became one of the […]
Continue Reading3/10/2026 – This post contains the transcript from here of a video of Ada Palmer explaining why so many books from the Library of Alexandria were lost. 01:23:02 – The Library of Alexandria isn’t where most ancient books were lost Dwarkesh Patel One thing I wanted to ask you, back to the printing press. Not […]
Continue ReadingFrom ChatGPT on 3/3/2026. Scholars such as Steven C. Walker and Howard R. Macy argue that humor is prevalent throughout the Bible, while cautioning that it is not like stand-up comedy. The challenge is that humor doesn’t translate well across cultures, languages, and millennia — so what reads as sober narrative to modern eyes may […]
Continue ReadingRobin Gallaher Branch received her Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from the University of Texas in Austin in 2000. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for the 2002–2003 academic year to the Faculty of Theology at North-West University. The links and images below are from Robin Gallaher Branch’s “Latest at BAS”as of 3/3/2026. Feb 26 – Who Was […]
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