Posts Tagged 'history'

Well, it has been a long time since my last posting.  For a number of reasons.    However, I am pleased to say that there are nine world religion video summaries that are now available on iTunes U!   They are a part of the RELS201 Introduction to World Religions course that I teach at APUS.  I hope that you find them to be useful.

Here is a test – does the subject line above strike you as intriguing or uninteresting?  Well, believe it or not, if you identify yourself as either Jewish or Christian, you should find it interesting.  Monotheism and monolatry both have to do with how the people of the Old Testament / Hebrew Bible (and also today) viewed God.  How many gods are there?  What is his (their) nature?  How should he be worshipped?  Those are pretty big questions!

I reviewed a great book a couple of months ago called Jesus and the God of Israel, in which the author (Richard Bauckham) described the similarities, differences and relationship between monotheism (the belief in the existence of one God) and monolatry (the exclusive worship of one God).  Fascinating book.  In Bauckham’s opinion (which I agree with), the Old Testament reflects both, and somehow, the two wind their way together in both Judaism and early Christianity, and they influenced how Jesus was understood and responded to in the first century.  If you like to “think deeply” about the nature of God and Jesus, you may enjoy this book!

Have you ever wanted to look at a 1,600 year old manuscript of the Bible?  If so, you can now go to Codex Sinaiticus and view digital images of the actual pages of the ancient codex.  It is pretty impressive, especially since the actual pages themselves are stored in various locations around the world and are not easily accessible.

The hand-written Greek text contains both the Septuagint and the New Testament, and you can zoom in/out, and view both transcriptions and translations of the codex.  Check it out!

There is a recent article at EmailWire.com that states that the model of “distance education” is over 100 years old.  Which is true.  Unfortunately, however, the article also links modern online education with older distance education.  And that, in my opinion anyway, is a faulty comparison.

What is the difference, you ask?  Good question.  :-)  

Another question from a few years ago (I like digging up these old ones!):

Question - “What is the difference between guides and angels?”

Reply -That is a good question, and the answer depends to a small degree on what your current understanding of the two terms is (ie. in what context are you using the terms, etc.). Anyway … a little historical background helps define the two terms.

For those of you who like original language and manuscript stuff, here are three very cool sites:

• The Aleppo Codex (Hebrew Bible / Old Testament)
• Codex Sinaiticus (Septuagint and New Testament)
• The Great Isaiah Scroll (Qumran / Dead Sea)

Happy reading! 

Water from a Deep Well: Christian Spirituality from Early Martyrs to Modern Missionaries, by Gerald L. Sittser (InterVarsity Press, 2007)

It takes a gifted writer to walk his readers down a well-worn path, and still be able to point out new or yet unseen discoveries along the way. Yet that is exactly what has been accomplished in Water from a Deep Well. Why not spend this fall with Sittser as your tour guide, as you travel through 2,000 years of history and delve into the thoughtful nuances of well-known (and sometimes not so well-known) themes of Christian spirituality, ranging from mystics to martyrs, and from saints to sinners.

The First Copernican: Georg Joachim Rheticus and the Rise of the Copernican Revolution, by Dennis Danielson (Walker & Company, 2006)

What is it like to walk in the shadow of a giant? It takes a special person to grasp the genius of someone else’s yet-unpublished masterpiece, and then passionately, relentlessly and obsessively bring it to the rest of the world.  It takes a person like Joachim Rheticus – the first (and for a long time, the only) disciple of Nicholas Copernicus.  Throughout the pages of The First Copernican, Danielson does a masterful job of describing the relationship between the two visionaries, the mystery and intrigue of medieval science, religion and politics, and the final outcome of Rheticus’ own personal and scientific struggles as he introduced the Copernican revolution to the world.

A Little Guide to Christian Spirituality: Three Dimensions of Life with God, by Glen G. Scorgie (Zondervan, 2007)

In the crowded field of Christian spirituality, seldom does a single book come along that combines academic research, personal insight, and spiritual analysis as effectively and accessibly as Glen Scorgie’s introductory handbook.  Penetrating in insight, and robust in investigation, A Little Guide to Christian Spirituality is a wide ranging yet concise and practical exploration of the essence of Christianity spirituality; once you pick it up, you will be hard-pressed to put it down until you have mined the riches of every page.

It is definitely “recommended reading”!

Here is a paper that I wrote about a decade ago (I feel old now) – it is one of the spiritual disciplines that I not only studied, but also subsequently applied in my personal life (and the relational and spiritual benefits have been amazing!):

“[There is] as basic moral principle which pervades biblical ethics – namely that the service of God and mutual human care are inseparably bound together. God will not be worshipped acceptably by those who neglect justice and compassion.”¹

Introduction
Throughout the history of God’s people, the nature and purpose of the sabbath has consistently caused considerable disagreement and confusion. For some, it has provoked many nightmares of legalism (eg., do I eat at home or in a restaurant? do I observe it on Saturday or on Sunday?). For others, the sabbath is some vague concept that became irrelevant and outdated centuries ago. In the Old Testament, however, the sabbath plays a fundamental role, and its influence appears throughout the text. The Hebrew term shabbath occurs 104 times² in the Old Testament (most frequently in priestly and prophetic sections and never in wisdom literature), and it is not surprising, therefore, that the importance of the sabbath is picked up in the writings of the New Testament, especially as seen in the actions of Jesus.