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Gamaliel

Chris — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:11:40 +0000

Gamaliel the Elder (or Rabbi Gamaliel I) was indeed the grandson of Hillel. He is in the “House of Hillel” tradition which tends to be less rigourous than the “House of Shammai”. It would, therefore, be the traditions of Hillel in which Paul was schooled.

Not a lot is known about Gamaliel’s distinctive teachings.

Ancient Rome in 3D

Chris — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:05:17 +0000

The Roman Empire is clearly an important background to not only the New Testament but also Early Christianity. Google Earth have added a new Ancient Rome layer, and it’s good!

Go find out more by looking here and here.

Video Series on Mount Athos

Chris — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:44:26 +0000

Start at the top and work your way down…

Judaism in the First Century

Chris — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:56:11 +0000

The Jewish Roman World of Jesus is a site maintained by James Tabor which looks at the backgrounds to the Judaism(s) which provide the context to the gospels and the New Testament writings in general. Worth a click.

Bultmann and the Jesus Seminar

Chris — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:42:56 +0000

For Dan:

You can find out more about the Jesus Seminar on their site and there is a site dedicated to the output of N T Wright called, unsurprisingly, the N T Wright Page. For more on Marcus Borg visit A Portrait of Jesus.

The ‘morphing’ Jesus is here.

Reader Assignments

Chris — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:21:12 +0000

Enjoy….

Dante’s Inferno

Chris — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:15:16 +0000

“Abandon hope, all ye who enter here”. This famous phrase is written above the gate of Hell in a 14th century poem by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. The poem is called the Divine Comedy and Hell is known as Dante’s Inferno.

The warning is well made, for beyond it is a panoply of horror - severed heads, talking trees, demons, monsters and punishments both cruel and unusual.

But the Inferno is more than just a journey into the macabre – it is a map of medieval spirituality, a treasure-house of classical learning and an acute study of human psychology. It is also one of the greatest poems ever written.

Well worth a listen for a medieval perspective on hell.

Alexandria and Antioch

Chris — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:24:33 +0000

Some sources to help you get your head around these two schools of thought:

Handouts for Matthew

Chris — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:50:49 +0000

They should be winging their way to you soon, but in the meantime here are the lecture notes on Matthew.

Sidetrack and Diversions

Chris — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:44:30 +0000

The books I mentioned yesterday on Teresa/John of the Cross were:

Merton, Thomas (1976) Ascent to Truth (Continuum)
Williams, Rowan (2003) Teresa of Avila (Continuum)

For more on Roman attitudes towards Christians try the superb:
Wilkin, Robert L (2003) The Christians as the Romans Saw Them (Yale)

On the early church generally, Wilken has written the equally good: The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God which was published by Yale in 2005.