Author: william

Down through the ages there have been various imaginations about ‘what is imagination?’ One of the more interesting is by Samuel Coleridge (1772–1834), the 19th century poet famous for “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” and “Kubla Khan”. Coleridge said there were three types of imagination.[efn_note]Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, and H. J. Jackson. Samuel Taylor Coleridge…

In one of the core passages in the New Testament, Jesus says that “all the law and the prophets” can be summarized in two commandments:[efn_note]Matt 22:37 ff. Both of these commandments are themselves quotations from the Jewish Scriptures/Old Testament, namely Deut.6:5 and Lev.19:18.[/efn_note] “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your…

In a previous post I discussed the difference between the two Greek words for love AGAPĒ and PhILIA prominently used in the New Testament: AGAPĒ is more like ‘love as action/commitment’ (“actions speak louder than words”) vs. PhILIA which is more like ‘love as affection, companionship.’ An analogy would be that on their wedding day,…

I walk up to a door and put the wrong key in the lock. It doesn’t turn. Do I keep trying that same key over and over again? Silly me, of course I do! Until it finally dawns on me I might be using the wrong key! We sometimes do something similar when we’re asking…

The nature of ‘soul’, even limiting oneself to how that word is used in the New Testament, is an enormous topic to which I could not hope to do justice in many lifetimes. But with your indulgence I have some thoughts for your consideration. First of all, the Greek word for ‘soul’ is PsUChĒ (more…

The Gospel of Mary takes place after Jesus’ resurrection. Last week I reviewed our sources: two small fragments in Greek likely from the 3rd century, and a longer version in Coptic likely from the 5th century. Even with these three sources, we’re still missing over half of it. Meanwhile, the two Greek fragments together are…

In the first few centuries after Jesus, there was an enormous variety of understandings of who He was, and what His life, death, and resurrection meant. On this topic quite a few contenders for the title of ‘sacred book’ were written and circulated, most of which didn’t make it into our official Bible. One of…

The ancient Greeks had a vocabulary for Time that may be helpful for understanding various passages in the New Testament. Three words we’ll be considering are ChRONOS (usually translated just ‘time’), KAIROS (usually translated ‘opportune time’), and AIŌN (usually translated ‘eternity’ or ‘age’). First we’ll consider ChRONOS and KAIROS, then AIŌN. ChRONOS is the passage…

Every scripture [is] God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for improvement, for instruction in justice, in order that the person of God be capable, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17) This is one of the primary verses supporting the unique status of the Christian Bible. There is an aspect to this verse,…