June
2011
Rome
Over the past few years I’ve become convinced that one of the great holes in New Testament studies is the Roman Empire. Few courses, or textbooks, seem to give much attention to Rome and yet it is the great context in which the New Testament is written. It has become the elephant (eagle?) in the room.
So I am busily beavering away on listing some online resources, but in the meantime go and listen to the University of Bristol on the Aeneid.
November
2008
Ancient Rome in 3D
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!
November
2008
Judaism in the First Century
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.
October
2008
Sidetrack and Diversions
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.