Book Review: The Lost History of Christianity, Philip Jenkins
The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia — and How It Died by Philip Jenkins, 2008, HarperOne. This book could easily have been several things it is not:…
Archaeology, Amarna, and Doubt
I have been in Pasadena the last few days theologizing and schmoozing with fellow leaders in Messianic Judaism at the Hashivenu forum. My roommate, as always at conferences like this, is the inimitable Kirk Gliebe, Rabbi at Devar Emet in…
Reading the Bible as a Forward-Moving Conversation
Hanukkah is a holiday which post-dates the Hebrew Bible. So it would seem that we could say little or nothing about Hanukkah from the Hebrew Bible. Yet the sixth century B.C.E. prophet Daniel foretold events that would lead up to…
Islam and Deceased Middle Eastern Christianity
Very soon I will be reviewing The Lost History of Christianity by Philip Jenkins. I did not anticipate how much I would enjoy this book. I was quite ignorant of many of his points about the history of Middle Eastern…
Dauermann on Jewishism vs. Judaism
My new job with MJTI is a bit of a blur at the moment. We are about to launch a web network that will have a tremendous amount of content. I am bringing together oodles of last-minute details to make…
Textuality
Written words on a page. Old leather bindings. The crinkle of paper turning. Reading sacred texts. Several experiences and observations in recent days bring this topic to mind. For one thing, I started teaching recently with a different style, using…
Is There Anything in the Bible for Me?
A non-Jewish friend recently asked if there is anything in the Bible for non-Jews. Having made a paradigm shift in reading the Bible and recognizing the centrality of Israel, it is actually possible to feel a sense of loss. Years…
Faith Amid Pluralism: A Parable Circa 800 C.E.
Very soon I will be reviewing Philip Jenkins’ The Lost History of Christianity. This is a wow book for anyone interested in: –Continuing Jewish influences on Christianity –The interplay between Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism in the East –Pluralism and faith…
Sometimes asking works . . .
So, I have had several books donated so far just by asking. Thanks to all of you generous friends. My amazon wish list is still there (see two posts below), although I now have a copy of Michael Fishbane’s Sacred…
Triads and Revelation 1:4-6
I get a little naches (joy) when I discover patterns or poetic structures in the Bible. I know that some commentaries find them too easily and I agree we need a little reticence when it comes to identifying such poetic…
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