History In The Bible

Paul's letters say that he spent 17 years in Arabia Nabatea, in Damascus, and in what is now southern Turkey. In all those long years, he met the disciples precisely once, and then only Peter and James the brother of Jesus. I call this Paul's lost mission. The Book Acts ignores it. The chronology of Acts is impossible to reconcile with Paul's letters.

Paul's letters are puzzles. Why do we have so few? Paul loved to write. We should have 90 or more letters, not the scant dozen we have. And why don't we have letters from Paul's contemporary missionaries? How do we reconcile the vast differences between the three Pauls shown in his letters?

Keynote ep: Paul is the major protagonist in the Book of Acts. His letters comprise almost half the books in the New Testament. After Jesus, Paul dominates the New Testament. His letters are the earliest Christian documents we possess. But that is only thanks to the accidents of history. The overwhelming personality of Paul tramples that of the disciples into the dust. Not even Peter and James, brother of Jesus, can withstand the force of nature that is Paul. Paul is the first to launch a systematic campaign to bring Jesus to the pagans, in the face of opposition from the Jerusalem Jesus club. Paul accidentally constructs a theology of sin and death, and invents the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist. Yet Paul seems to know almost nothing about the life of Jesus. What gives?

The first chapters of Acts describe the perfect community of the Jerusalem Jesus club. Events take a dark turn after the first five chapters. The club is beset by tribulations. The disciples decide to appoint a set of deacons, middle-managers. That turns out not so well for the deacon Stephen. Stephen is accused of blasphemy, and delivers the longest speech in the book. He is the first to die for his faith after Jesus. Wemeet Simon Magus. Peter converts Cornelius, a pagan Roman. In his last major appearance in Acts, Peter is arrested, released by an angel, and disappears for parts unknown. And the disciple James the son of Zebedee, brother of the Beloved Disciple, is killed by King Herod Agrippa I.

I introduce the book of Acts. The book tries to harmonise the deeds of the two great apostles: the pro-Jewish Peter and the pro-gentile Paul. Paul's letters say that Acts is telling porkies. The first third of the book is centred on the Jerusalem Jesus club. The book of Acts describes the disciples' earliest Jesus club as a golden age, a hippie commune, but a commune with a dark side. The disciples are arrested, but keep escaping from prison. The authorities eventually give up, letting them go after a light flogging. The Saducees appear in a rare cameo.

What solid statements can we make about the life of Jesus? Who did Jesus think he was? We can never know, but we can make some guesses. Certainly, he thought he was like an Old Testament prophet. He believed that God's kingly rule was about to intervene. Jesus believed that his mission was to prepare the Jews for God’s imminent intervention in the world. Did Jesus intend to found a new religion? I doubt it.

None of the gospels recount the resurrection. They tell of the discovery of the empty by Mary Magdalene and some other women, and then move to Jesus post-resurrection appearances. The resurrection happens off stage. The Gospel of Peter is the only document that describes the actual moment of resurrection. The gospels present differing accounts of Jesus' appearances after his death. Did he appear in spirit, like an angel, or as real fleshly human? How many people did he appear to, and when, and where?

This is a bonus episode for season two. Steve Guerra and I tackle the the book of Daniel. We all know the book's stories of Daniel: the lion's den, the fiery furnace, and the writing on the wall. We discover a book of two parts, one of which claims to be a reliable history of Babylonian times. Spoiler: It's not. The second half is the only apocalypse in the Old Testament.

Jesus' death is the supreme sacrifice. The Son of God takes upon himself the sins of the world to redeem all of mankind. From the disparate gospel accounts of Jesus' death, what can we actually say is dependable evidence? The gospels give us two surprise cameo appearances: Simon of Cyrene, and Joseph of Arimathea.

After the Last Supper, Jesus and his mates take a post-prandial stroll in the dark to the Mount of Olives, a 30 minute walk due east of the Temple. Jesus had delivered an apocaplytic sermon at the mount the day before. According to the gospel of John, Jesus serenely accepts his fate, and refuses to ask his Father to save him. The synoptic gospels challenge that. In those gospels, Jesus lashes out at his disciples. As the company return from the Mount through the Garden of Gethsamene, Jesus asks his Father to save him from death. Jesus is arrested at the Garden and sent for trial. The gospels can't get their story straight about the trials. Was Jesus tried by the Jewish Council? Was he just interrogated, but not tried, by the high priest? Was he sent to Herod Antipas? Was he taken before Pilate once or twice? The gospels disagree. One thing that the gospels furiously agree upon is in exonerating the Roman prefect, and dumping all the blame on the Jews.

After Jesus has resurrected Lazarus, he briefly flies to Ephraim, outside of Judea, for fear of the Jews. He quickly regains his confidence, and returns to Bethany, and the home of Lazarus. From there he moves to Jerusalem to participate in the annual Passover. In Jerusalem, he and his disciples partake in a final meal. Judas betrays Jesus. The gospel of John disagrees with the synoptics as to the dating of the Last Supper: the day of Passover, or the day before? John uses the supper to introduce a bunch of theology. He also introduces the mysterious Beloved Disciple, and a new divine entity, the Paraclete.

The Passion story story begins with Jesus in Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem. Jesus is staying with his best buddies Martha, Mary, and the risen Lazarus. Jesus arranges with his students to organise a grand parade for his entry into the capital. That goes swimmingly. Ebullient from his grand reception, Jesus marches into the Temple, determined to destroy its commercial activities. Jesus then delivers a little apocalypse at the Mount of Olives.

The notion of the Trinity is one of -- if not the -- most difficult concepts in Christian theology. Steve Guerra and I plough through centuries of Jewish and Christian thought to try to make sense of it. Part two of two.

As so often, the synoptic gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke tell a different story of the third and final act of Jesus' life compared to the gospel of John. In the gospel of John, Jesus spends six months in Judea before his death, and is attacked by the authorities because he raised Lazarus from the dead. John has Jesus deliver a series of confusing speeches about his relationship with God. Against John, the synoptic gospels assert that Jesus spent a few weeks traveling to Judea, and only a week in the city.

This is a bonus episode for season two. My long-time collaborator, Steve Guerra, attended the IntelligentSpeech podcasting conference in New York in June 2019. I appeared with Steve thanks to the magic that is Skype. We talk all things Biblical. I hope you enjoy this bonus show. The conference was organised by Roifield Brown, producer of numerous podcasts: How Jamaica Conquered the World, and The Things That Made England, amongst others. Roifield was the man who introduced me to history podcasting.

After the Big Three disciples come the forgettable bit-players, the Nondescript Nine: Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew (also known as Nathaniel), Matthew, Thomas Didymus, James son of Alphaeus, Judas (also known as Thaddaeus), Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot.

The notion of the Trinity is one of -- if not the -- most difficult concepts in Christian theology. Steve Guerra and I plough through centuries of Jewish and Christian thought to try to make sense of it. Part one of two.

Keynote ep: Jesus had an inner cabinet of three disciples: Simon Peter; and James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Only they have significant speaking parts. The often appear together at many significant moments, such as the Transfiguration. The rest of the disciples are ciphers. Peter is by far the pre-eminent disciple, named more often in the New Testament all the other disciples put together. He is Jesus’ devoted wombat, an impulsive, exuberant, and eminently likeable individual. But he fails when put to the test. A work attributed to him, the Apocalypse of Peter, provided all our modern images of hell. Western church fathers held that the disciple John wrote the gospel of that name, Revelation, and three letters. The Eastern church and modern scholars are dubious. James was the first disciple to be martyred, by Herod Agrippa. He is memorialised at the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

Jesus' mission to Galilee does not go as well as hoped. The Pharisees and scribes attack him for teaching and working wonders on the sabbath. Jesus spars with the Jewish factions many times. Jesus attacks the Pharisees for their petty legalism. Modern interpretations of these accounts hold them to reflect the situation when the gospels were written, projected back into the time of Jesus. Jesus' Galilean ministry concludes with his Transfiguration, where he stands between Moses and Elijah, and the voice of God again declares that Jesus is his son.

Most of Jesus ministry was conducted in Galilee. This time is stuffed to the brim with miracles and parables. Jesus exorcizes demons, raises people from the dead, and cures the sick. He feeds thousands, walks on water, and calms the storm. He teaches parables about old wine into new skins, mustard seeds, pearls, and weeds amongst the wheat. He meets Mary Magdalene. Jesus predicts his own death. Peter professes him the Messiah and Son of God.