A Virtual File Cabinet for Our Studies of Christian Origins & Hebraic Faith
Extracts from Matthew’s Nativity Story, Critically Examined by Paul Davidson. But I want to look behind the textual curtain and see how the nativity stories came about. Matthew’s version provides an interesting example of how biblical authors worked, combining and reinterpreting Jewish scriptures and other literary sources to craft a deliberate portrait of Jesus. I will […]
Continue ReadingFrom ChatGPT, 12/18/2024. The concept of virgin birth, or miraculous conception, is a motif found in various religious and mythological traditions. Below is a list of figures said to have been born of a virgin, along with the sources that describe them: Deities Humans Follow-up ChatGPT response. Prompt – Provide context and list the sources […]
Continue ReadingA 58-minute Podcast at SBL’s Bible Odyssey’s website – Season 2: Episode 72, Body and Blood: The Mysterious Origins of the Eucharist, Date Aired: 6/24/2024. The Eucharist is such a common part of Christian worship that it’s easy to overlook how strange it is—drinking wine that represents Jesus’s blood, eating bread that represents His flesh. […]
Continue ReadingFrom OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com Here is the Old Testament context for the passages Matthew cites as fulfilled prophecy in his birth narrative. Each reference includes an explanation of the original Old Testament context and its alignment (or misalignment) with Matthew’s application. 1. The Virgin Birth: Fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 “All this […]
Continue ReadingMatthew’s Nativity Story, Critically Examined – January 2, 2015 by Paul Davidson From Luke’s Nativity Story, Critically Examined – An excellent article dated January 3, 2016 by Paul Davidson with much more than the extracted title, intro, and table below. Comparison with Matthew’s Nativity Story It is impossible to harmonize Luke’s story with Matthew’s. While there are some […]
Continue Reading16,609,571 views Dec 22, 2020. Part one of FRONTLINE’s four-hour series on the rise of Christianity examines how Judaism and the Roman empire shaped Jesus’ life and traces the beginnings of the “Jesus Movement” in those early years before it was called Christianity. First broadcast in 1998, “From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians” is […]
Continue ReadingIn the Patreon Zoom Meeting on 11/30/2024 (see the primary post here) James Tabor pointed out that Matthew edited Luke to delete the references to John the Baptist potentially baptizing Roman soldiers; i.e. Gentiles. Luke 3:12-14 Matthew 3:7-10 7 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of […]
Continue ReadingFrom OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com, 11/25/2024. The story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, often referred to as the “Samaritan Woman at the Well,” is found in the Gospel of John, chapter 4:1–42. It is a foundational narrative for understanding themes of grace, inclusivity, and worship in spirit and […]
Continue ReadingFrom OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com on 11/16/2024. Prompt: List the scriptures in Matthew where the writer refers to an event fulfilling the scriptures. Cite the scriptures from the NRSV and the context of each scripture in the Hebrew Bible that scholars believe is being referred to. At the end of the response […]
Continue ReadingFrom Claude.ai Walking with God in the Hebrew Bible Here are the key verses from the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) that specifically refer to “walking with God”: Genesis 5:22-24 “Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah three hundred years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were three hundred […]
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