A Virtual File Cabinet for Our Studies of Christian Origins & Hebraic Faith
From ChatGPT on 1/4/2026 and below that are extracts from a good BAR article. Prompt: When did Saul become Paul in the New Testament? In the New Testament, Saul does not undergo a formal “name change” moment like Abram→Abraham. Instead, the shift from Saul to Paul happens quietly and narratively in the book of Acts. […]
Continue ReadingBorg, Marcus J.. The God We Never Knew: Beyond Dogmatic Religion To A More Authentic Contemporary Faith (p. 105). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. Luke 24:45-53 — 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on […]
Continue ReadingBelow is the summary by Claude.ai of the scholarly article by Mark D. Smith (see PDF in his directory in Dropbox), challenging the traditional dating of Jesus’s birth to 4-6 BCE during Herod the Great’s reign, arguing instead that Jesus was born in 6 CE during Quirinius’s census. In my words, he is giving priority […]
Continue ReadingFrom ChatGPT on 11/27/2025. Short answer: No.Nowhere in Acts does the author ever acknowledge, refer to, or even hint that Paul wrote letters. Below is a scripture-cited explanation. 1. Acts never references any letter-writing by Paul In the seven undisputed letters (Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon), Paul frequently mentions writing letters. But […]
Continue ReadingShort ending of Mark Several witnesses, including four uncial Greek manuscripts of the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries (L Ψ 099 0112), as well as Old Latin k, the margin of the Harclean Syriac, several Sahidic and Bohairic manuscripts, and not a few Ethiopic manuscripts, continue after verse eight with small variations. Starting in the […]
Continue ReadingFrom ChatGPT on 6/9/2025. Here is a comparative chart showing how Luke differs from Paul, Matthew, Mark, and John, based on the analysis of Bart D. Ehrman and other critical scholars: COMPARISON CHART: Luke vs. Paul and the Other Gospels Topic Luke Paul Mark Matthew John Christology Exaltation at resurrection (Acts 2:36); avoids pre-existence Jesus […]
Continue ReadingBelow are extracts from Bart Ehrman’s slides used in his lecture series on Luke at BSA titled Luke’s Maverick Gospel: A Vision of Reversals, Lecture 5: The End that Has Not Come. Minor formatting, emphasis, and several scriptural full-text insertions are mine. The Apocalyptic Message of the Jews The Apocalyptic Message of Jesus The Apocalyptic […]
Continue ReadingFrom a BSA post on 4/12/2025. Did Mark’s and Luke’s resurrection accounts intentionally contradict Paul? By: Michael L Waddell Many people have been puzzled by Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 (emphasis added): For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins […]
Continue ReadingThe italicized portions of the Q&A below are extracts from Mikeal C. Parsons’s BAS Library article “Who Wrote the Gospel of Luke?“ Mikeal C. Parsons is a Professor and the Macon Chair in Religion at Baylor University. Parsons is author of Body and Character in Luke and Acts: The Subversion of Physiognomy in Early Christianity (Baker Academic, 2006). Over […]
Continue ReadingFrom Claude.ai – Present how critical bible scholars support the belief that the main task of the Messiah is to regather the tribes of Israel, to gather the nations and pull them back to the one God, and turn them to the way of the ancient Torah. Isaiah 2 and 11, Jeremiah 16, Jeremiah 3, […]
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