Topics Started by peacefulpete

1
Road to Emmaus?
by peacefulpete in
1. watchtower
2. bible
i'll again keep this a brief post.

earlier i posted that jesus, like the ot patriarch jacob "rolled away the massive stone" to release water for his sheep, (jacob and the rock'n rollers).

“surely the lord is in this place, and i was not aware of it.” .
7
Place of a Skull...Whose Skull?
by peacefulpete in
1. watchtower
2. bible
i'll just shoot this short comment that i found interesting.

the gospel of mark at 15:22 says: then they brought him to the place golgotha, which is translated, place of a/the skull (singular noun).. it might be surprising to learn there is no ancient record of any topographical location called "place of the skull".

so, is that because of loss of information or is it suggestive that the 'place of the skull' had more christological meaning?
5
Ezra...Son of God.
by peacefulpete in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
briefly said, the various/diverse ancient stories present ezra as directed by a persian king to establish religious/national law and order in judea.

he is said to have re-introduced the locals and returnees to the law of moses.

he and five others present this law to the people with mixed and brutal results.
2
Be Moneychangers
by peacefulpete in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
there were literally hundreds of 'sayings' attributed to jesus outside the 4 gospel tradition.

many of these sayings had narrow sectarian acceptance while one 'saying' especially had near universal appeal.. "be ye skillful moneychangers.".

this is the most commonly quoted of all traditional sayings.
3
Jacob and the Rock'n Rollers
by peacefulpete in
1. watchtower
2. bible
somehow i had never noticed a detail in the jacob at the well story.

gen 29 (lxx).

1 and jacob started and went to the land of the east to laban, the son of bathuel the syrian, and the brother of rebecca, mother of jacob and esau.2 and he looks, and behold!
6
Ebion
by peacefulpete in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
early christianity was every bit, if not more, diverse than christianity today.

one of the very early sects was named the ebionites.

we have unfortunately nothing left of their own writings apart from a few quotes from what epiphanius believed was their recension of matthew.
2
Babylonian Job
by peacefulpete in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
those new to ancient near east paleography may find it interesting that all cultures have struggled with the seeming injustice of suffering.

the story of job (persecuted/attacked) is one of a number of surviving poetic and prose tales with the theme of the innocent suffering despite entreaties to their gods.

this one often called "poem of the righteous sufferer" is sometimes referred to as the babylonian job.
7
Hole in the Wall
by peacefulpete in
1. watchtower
2. bible
a recurring motif is generally used by writers to connect stories and characters to the past or suggest parallels.

the gospels and acts are filled with them.

an example of this is found at acts, 2 cor, 1 sam and joshua.
26
Jesus the Maintenance Man
by peacefulpete in
1. watchtower
2. bible
i posted on another thread what i thought was an interesting angle, seldom discussed regarding the role of god/logos in holding creation together and its maintenance.

most moderns think of the universe as a self-perpetuating machine, but ancients looked to the god/s to ensure order continued and fertility returned year after year.

we read, throughout the ot, of jews performing prescribed ritual and festivals to ensure god's blessing and providence.
6
Baptism on Fire
by peacefulpete in
1. watchtower
2. bible
going through justin martyr's dialogue with trypho yesterday, i found a variation on the baptism scene :.

88. and let this be a proof to you, namely, what i told you was done by the magi from arabia, who as soon as the child was born came to worship him, for even at his birth he was in possession of his power; and as he grew up like all other men, by using the fitting means, he assigned its own [requirements] to each development, and was sustained by all kinds of nourishment, and waited for thirty years, more or less, until john appeared before him as the herald of his approach, and preceded him in the way of baptism, as i have already shown.

and then, when jesus had gone to the river jordan, where john was baptizing, and when he had stepped into the water, a fire was kindled in the jordan; and when he came out of the water, the holy ghost lighted on him like a dove, [as] the apostles of this very christ of ours wrote.