A Virtual File Cabinet for Our Studies of Christian Origins & Hebraic Faith
By Claude.ai on 3/31/2026. That is one of the genuine tensions that critical scholars themselves debate. This is actually a point where critical scholars themselves identify a significant discontinuity. Here is what the scholarship actually says: The Forgiveness Problem: Ehrman’s Direct Assessment The most direct critical-scholarly voice on this is Bart Ehrman. Ehrman argues that […]
Continue ReadingThis post contains the conversation at BSA titled “Jesus sacrifice” started on 2/23/26 by Kimberly Callaway OP, Kimberly Callaway – Help! I don’t understand first century jewish theology that lead to deciding human sacrifice was needed for god to forgive sin. I’ve read some of Bart ehrman posts. And all his popular books. I think […]
Continue ReadingFrom Claude.ai on 2/18/2026. First Prompt: What do critical bible scholars cite as passages in the Gospel of Luke are taken from the Gospel of Mark but Luke removed where Mark said Jesus died for a person’s sin i.e. atonement? Cite all scripture from the NRSVUE. This is a great question about Synoptic source criticism. […]
Continue ReadingBelow is a response to the “conversation” or thread at BSA titled Atonement or Forgiveness, How About Neither? that began on October 9, 2025. The post begins with an interesting position by Charles Bledsoe, and comments by Michael Waddel and others are interesting. One of Schaun Wheeler’s responses is below. I like this, but I […]
Continue ReadingFrom Claude.ai, Sonnet 4 in Explanatory Mode. Prompt: Explain the differences, scholars who support each, and when they appeared of the ransom theory of atonement; the substitutionary theory; and the alternative moral exemplar theory. To understand these three theories of atonement, let’s first establish what we’re exploring: how does Christ’s death on the cross accomplish […]
Continue ReadingBelow is from a Post/Thread at BAS here by Willie Pankey, Retired Academic Librarian. Some scholarly observations to consider: “Most scholars agree that the doctrine of bodily resurrection is a fairly late development within the writings of Judaism. The first unambiguous declarations in the OT of resurrection from the dead occur in Daniel 12:2 and […]
Continue ReadingIn addition to the below, see a post here about Tophet. Jeremiah 6:20 20 Of what use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me. Jeremiah 7 21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of […]
Continue ReadingThe three videos below are from Dr. Tabor’s YouTube series Lost in Translation. He shows how Paul has misinterpreted OT verses to support his gospel, which differs from Jesus’ teachings. Tabor from the video’s description – Paul’s foundational verse for what he calls “my gospel,” is taken directly from a quotation of the Hebrew Prophet […]
Continue ReadingJohn 20:30-31; Life in his name through believing 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in […]
Continue ReadingFor a concise summary go to Dr. Bart Ehrman’s post The Gospel of Luke in a Nutshell, January 29, 2025. See the Italicized extracts below. Luke is often considered the most “gentile” of our gospels, both because of its distinctive portrayal of Jesus in terms familiar to ancient pagan readers and because it stresses that […]
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