Whether you look at Albrecht Dürer’s (1471-1528) famous woodcut of Jesus Christ which he based upon the picture given in Rev. 1:12-16 or at other less famous attempts to capture John’s iconography, it is clear that John had no interest in making Jesus aesthetically competitive with the other gods and goddesses of the Graeco-Roman world. … Continue reading A REALLY UGLY JESUS
PAGANS PERSECUTING PAGANS
GRANT Graeco-Roman Antiquities & the New Testament There are things you can tell about an entire ocean even if you have only one cup of water from it. Naturally a scientist would like to have as many cups and as broad a sampling as possible, but even a single cup is of some help. … Continue reading PAGANS PERSECUTING PAGANS
WHEN IS LOVE NOT ENOUGH?
Who knows why some believers in Thyatira thought that being loving toward others is enough to please God; perhaps they had only heard of the 2nd Great Commandment and not realized that there is a prior one that requires even more, namely a deeply rooted devotion to God (Matt. 22:34-39). In any case, some of … Continue reading WHEN IS LOVE NOT ENOUGH?
BEASTLY NUMBERS
GRANT Graeco-Roman Antiquities & the New Testament There are things you can tell about an entire ocean even if you have only one cup of water from it. Naturally a scientist would like to have as many cups and as broad a sampling as possible, but even a single cup is of some help. The … Continue reading BEASTLY NUMBERS
GEOPOLITICAL JESUS
Emperor Hadrian Forget what you learned in elementary school, what Hollywood has depicted, and perhaps what your Bible Professor might have implied about “flat earth” theories in antiquity. Folks living at the time of the New Testament did not believe the world was flat and had four corners. The prophet John and his contemporaries knew … Continue reading GEOPOLITICAL JESUS
LEARNING TO CURSE FROM MOSES
GRANT Graeco-Roman Antiquity & the New Testament There are things you can tell about an entire ocean even if you have only one cup of water from it. Naturally a scientist would like to have as many cups and as broad a sampling as possible, but even a single cup is of some help. The … Continue reading LEARNING TO CURSE FROM MOSES
Molding Citizens for the Kingdom of God 