Monthly Archives: August 2017

Murphy-O’Connor-Damascus and beyond

Posted on August 31, 2017 by

“Have I not seen the Lord”  (1 Corinthians 9:1).  “He appeared to me” (1 Corinthians 15:8).  “He (God) called me through his grace and was pleased to reveal his son to me so that I might preach him among the … Continue reading →

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Murphy-O’Connor-the problem of Paul as persecutor

Posted on August 29, 2017 by

I am continuing to read Jerome Murphy-O’Connor’s Paul: A Critical Life. Paul says that he persecuted the church. The author of Luke/Acts goes into considerable detail about this.  Luke’s account includes Paul’s presence at the stoning of Stephen, the implication … Continue reading →

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Murphy-O’Connor-Paul, the Pharisee

Posted on August 28, 2017 by

“As to the Law, a Pharisee” is the way Paul characterized himself in Philippians 3:5. Luke has further statements about Paul’s pharisaism.  Paul studied in Jerusalem under the famous teacher Gamaliel I, a Pharisee   (Acts 22:3).   Luke’s Paul even claims … Continue reading →

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Murphy-O’Connor-Tarsus

Posted on August 25, 2017 by

Murphy-O’Connor has a detailed chapter in Paul, a Critical Life about Paul’s youth in Tarsus. It is true that it is Acts, not the letters, that speak of Tarsus.  However, Paul is clearly a diaspora Jew and his statement in … Continue reading →

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Murphy-O’Connor-Claudius and Gallio

Posted on August 23, 2017 by

When Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, in Paul: A Critical Life, deals with the various known political figures in Acts, he discriminates between those that are well attested and those where Luke has a general idea but is just guessing at the details. … Continue reading →

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Murphy-O’Connor-bedrock dates for Paul’s life

Posted on August 22, 2017 by

Today I begin to report on my new reading project, Jerome Murphy-O’Connor’s Paul: A Critical Life.  Early in the book he develops his chronology of Paul the Apostles’ life. I had read Robert Jewett’s A Chronology of Paul’s Life and … Continue reading →

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Hebron, Jerusalem and the United Kingdom

Posted on August 17, 2017 by

Beginning next week I am going to turn my attention to the New Testament for a while. But before I do, I want to make a final note regarding what I have read and thought about over the last few … Continue reading →

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A bit of a ramble about chronological order in the Bible

Posted on August 15, 2017 by

Any time you tell a story, you need to put it in some kind of order. My bias is to use chronological order. But I recently saw the movie Arrival where the challenge is to communicate with alien beings who … Continue reading →

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Sparks and the age of the Song of Deborah

Posted on August 10, 2017 by

Beginning in April of 2005 I blogged for several weeks about Kenton Sparks’ book, God’s Word in Human Words. Sparks has now made available on the Internet his paper “Religion, Identity and the Origins of Ancient Israel”, which was originally … Continue reading →

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Eclipse hysteria touches the Bible

Posted on August 9, 2017 by

The Kansas City Star anticipating the solar eclipse on August 21, which will be total here, published an article with this headline:  “Was Jesus crucified during a solar eclipse? NASA shows one occurred in 33 A.D”.  This caught my attention … Continue reading →

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