Questions about Paul & Jesus’ Differences
This post contains questions raised by Bart Ehrman in the intro text to his course “Paul and Jesus: The Great Divide” at BSA. Reformatting is mine.
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Stephen’s Execution: Dispite Rome and with Saul’s Approval
Claude.ai’s explanation on 3/19/2026. Prompt: Explain how Stephen was stoned to death with Saul/Paul’s complicity, but the common understanding was that only Rome could execute Jews and others who were not Roman. Cite all sources. Claude’s Summary of the Response below. The stoning of Stephen was technically illegal under Roman law, which reserved capital punishment […]
Continue ReadingPaul: Identifies with the Prophets
In a very interesting post on 3/18/2026 at BSA titled “Paul as Jeremiah,” Michael Waddle pointed out where Paul said he was like various prophets. Below is Claude.ai’s summary of Michael’s post. A second response expands on Michael’s comments and other comparisons. Summary The author argues that Paul likely saw himself as a Jeremiah figure, while […]
Continue ReadingThe Widow’s Mites
Margaret Mowczko’s post provides an insightful perspective on the famous story. Claude.ai prepared the following summary of her article. Here is a summary of Marg Mowczko’s views in her January 2026 article “My Two Cents on the Widow’s Mites”: The Traditional Reading Is Wrong Marg argues that the point many people take from this story […]
Continue ReadingRomans 1:4 – What changed at the resurrection?
From ChatGPT Romans 1:3–4 is one of the central texts in debates over early “exaltation Christology” because its wording can be read as describing a transition in Jesus’ status at the resurrection. Critical scholars disagree on how far that transition goes. Core Debate: What about Jesus’ status changed at the resurrection as depicted by Paul […]
Continue ReadingRoman Christianity by Crossan; Luke/Acts
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 ReadingWho Was Phoebe?
This post is ChatGPT’s 1000-word summary of Robin Gallaher Branch’s article, “Who Was Phoebe? A Closer Look at Paul’s Trusted Patron and Emissary.” published by BAS on 2/26/2026. The full article is in his directory in Dropbox. His article examines Romans 16:1–2 to reassess Phoebe’s status in the early Christian movement. Branch argues that Phoebe […]
Continue ReadingWidows based on 1Timothy
The contents of this page are Claude.ai’s summaries of Marg Mowske’s three writings in her The Widows in 1 Timothy 5 (Series) listed below. Part 1. The Different Kinds of Widows in EphesusPart 2. Genuine Widows and Enrolled Widows (pending)Part 3. Young Widows and Female Patrons (pending) Part 1. The Different Kinds of Widows in Ephesus This […]
Continue ReadingConversation: The Evolution of Atonement ***
This post contains the conversation at BSA titled “Jesus sacrifice” started on 2/23/26 by Kimberly Callaway, but first here is an extract from a Bart response to a question. “Technically, if God releases a person from the consequences of their sin based on the death of Jesus he is not “forgiving” (foregoing payment or penalty) […]
Continue ReadingQuestions About Matthew and Paul
Bart Ehrman published his responses to four questions from different readers in a post titled “Important Questions About Matthew and Paul” on January 20, 2026. Below is Claude.ai’s summary of the four questions and responses. The four are:
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