With the publication of Bart Ehrman’s book How Jesus Became God and the response How God Became Jesus by a team of scholars, Jesus is in the news again. That’s a very good thing. It’s also terrific that scholars are rising to the challenge of responding to the skeptical questions raised by the likes of Ehrman…. Read More
The Present and Future of Biblical Theology
In his influential address, “Discourse on the Proper Distinction between Biblical and Dogmatic Theology, and the Right Determination of the Aims of Each,” Johann Philipp Gabler (1753–1826) lodged the programmatic proposal that scholars ought to distinguish between biblical and systematic theology. In his lecture, delivered at the University of Altdorf in 1787 (the year the… Read More
The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife?
The New York Times includes an article by Laurie Goodstein, “A Faded Piece of Papyrus Refers to Jesus’ Wife.” According to the article, Karen L. King of Harvard Divinity School announced at the International Congress of Coptic Studies in Rome yesterday that a 4th-century Coptic papyrus fragment includes the line, “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife,’”… Read More
What Does the Bible Say about Marriage and the Family?
The definition of marriage is not up to us to decide. Marriage is God’s idea, not merely a social contract between consenting adults. Now it’s understandable that those who don’t believe in a deity don’t trace the roots of marriage back to God. It’s less obvious why those who claim to be Christians—or at least… Read More
Ehrman-Wallace Debate Wrap-Up
Thanks to those of you who were following my tweets from the debate. As promised, here are some further reflections on last night’s debate between Bart Ehrman and Dan Wallace. First of all, both men did a good job presenting their case and responding to each other’s questions. Bart Ehrman is a skilled debater and… Read More