Why don't the Gospels describe what Jesus looked like?Every ancient biographer described their subject's physical appearance — except the Gospel writers.

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In this interview, we explore:- Why the silence on Jesus' appearance is MORE surprising than you think- What ancient "physiognomy" reveals about how Greeks and Romans read bodies- The suffering servant problem — why early Christians struggled with an "ugly" Jesus- How clothing in the Gospels reveals Jesus' radical social message- The emperor cult and why Jesus' appearance inverts Roman power- What the transfiguration almost — but doesn't quite — tell us📖 John Nelson's Book: "Jesus' Physical Appearance" - (Amazon Affiliate Link)John's blog - Behind The Gospels

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📱 FOLLOW FOR MORE

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- Instagram: @cjcornthwaite

- Website: ⁠⁠cjcornthwaite.com⁠⁠

- Email: [email protected]

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Conversations with the world’s top scholars of the Bible and Christian origins. 

🔗⁠⁠https://www.footnotefamous.com/⁠⁠

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Patreon - ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/FootnoteFamous⁠⁠ 

YouTube Memberships - ⁠⁠C. J. Cornthwaite - YouTube⁠⁠

Book a 1:1 Conversation With Me: ⁠⁠https://www.cjcornthwaite.com/book-online⁠⁠ 

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Are the Gospels historically accurate? In this conversation with Dr. Richard C. Miller (author of "Resurrection and Reception in Early Christianity"), we examine the evidence that biblical scholars use to evaluate Gospel reliability—and why most historians don't treat them as eyewitness accounts.

WATCH THIS INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE

Dr. Miller's Book:

Resurrection and Reception in Early Christianity (Amazon Affiliate Link)🔍 KEY TOPICS COVERED:- Why biblical studies has been "sequestered" from normal historical methods- How ancient biography actually worked (vs. modern assumptions)- The Julius Proculus parallel: Roman "eyewitness testimony" that evolved over centuries- Why gospel writers had no interest in historical accuracy- The translation fable pattern across Mediterranean cultures- What "son of god" actually meant in the Roman world

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📱 FOLLOW FOR MORE

 - YouTube: @cjcornthwaite 

- Instagram: @cjcornthwaite

- Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠cjcornthwaite.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Email: [email protected]

🎙️ FOOTNOTE FAMOUS

Conversations with the world’s top scholars of the Bible and Christian origins. 

🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.footnotefamous.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL

Patreon - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/FootnoteFamous⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

YouTube Memberships - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠C. J. Cornthwaite - YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Book a 1:1 Conversation With Me: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cjcornthwaite.com/book-online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

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WATCH ON YOUTUBE

Kipp's Book - (affiliate link)

Dr. Kipp's YouTube

IN THIS EPISODE

- How private collectors paid millions for forged fragments

-The telltale signs of Dead Sea Scrolls forgeries

- Table salt crystals as smoking gun evidence- How Museum of the Bible acquired forged Dead Sea Scrolls- The Daniel Wallace "first century Mark" debacle (turned out to be 3rd century)- Josh McDowell's mummy mask destruction scandal- Southwestern Seminary's $500K+ mistake- Why evangelicals are particularly vulnerable to antiquities fraud- The "modern relic collecting" phenomenon- How to spot forged biblical manuscripts━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

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📱 FOLLOW FOR MORE

 - YouTube: @cjcornthwaite 

- Instagram: @cjcornthwaite

- Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠cjcornthwaite.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Email: [email protected]

🎙️ FOOTNOTE FAMOUS

Conversations with the world’s top scholars of the Bible and Christian origins. 

🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.footnotefamous.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL

Patreon - ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/FootnoteFamous⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

YouTube Memberships - ⁠⁠⁠⁠C. J. Cornthwaite - YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠

Book a 1:1 Conversation With Me: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cjcornthwaite.com/book-online⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

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Who was Josephus? What does he say about Jesus? And did the author of Luke-Acts copy from Josephus? I sat down with Steve Mason, one of the world's leading Josephus scholars, to investigate the evidence.

Watch this interview instead

What we uncover is remarkable: the same unusual Greek terminology, the same historical figures mentioned in the same configurations, and historical "mistakes" in Luke that only make sense if the author was working from Josephus's account.

📚 EVIDENCE COVERED:

- The Quirinius census problem (and why it matters)

- Judas the Galilean and Theudas

- why Luke gets them backwards

- "The Egyptian" and the Sicarii - a smoking gun?

- Why Luke calls the Pharisees "the most accurate school"

- The mysterious Lysanias of Abilene

Steve's Books

- Steve Mason, Josephus and the New Testament (Affiliate Link)

- Steve Mason, "Jews, Judaeans, Judaizing, Judaism: Problems of Categorization in Ancient History." (That Famous Paper)

My Article on Jews/Judaeans - Wayward Jews, God-fearing Gentiles, or Curious Pagans?

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📱 FOLLOW FOR MORE

 - YouTube: @cjcornthwaite 

- Instagram: @cjcornthwaite

- Website: ⁠⁠⁠cjcornthwaite.com⁠⁠⁠

- Email: [email protected]

🎙️ FOOTNOTE FAMOUS

Conversations with the world’s top scholars of the Bible and Christian origins. 

🔗⁠⁠⁠https://www.footnotefamous.com/⁠⁠⁠

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL

Patreon - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/FootnoteFamous⁠⁠⁠ 

YouTube Memberships - ⁠⁠⁠C. J. Cornthwaite - YouTube⁠⁠⁠

Book a 1:1 Conversation With Me: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.cjcornthwaite.com/book-online⁠⁠⁠ 

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Paula Fredriksen joins me to discuss her new book "Ancient Christianity: The First 500 Years" - a masterful overview of how diverse early Christian movements evolved into the institutional church.

Watch the interview on YouTube instead.

Professor Fredriksen (Boston University) is one of the world's leading scholars of early Christianity, Paul, and Jewish-Christian relations. Her previous books include "Paul: The Pagans' Apostle" and "When Christians Were Jews."In this conversation, we explore:- How Jewish scriptures in Greek shaped early Christianity- The surprising diversity of second-century Christianities- What we actually know about early Christian persecution- Constantine's complex relationship with the church- Apocalyptic expectations and their evolution- Asceticism, celibacy, and religious authority

Paula Fredriksen, Ancient Christianities: The First Five Hundred Years (Affiliate Link)

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📱 FOLLOW FOR MORE

 - YouTube: @cjcornthwaite 

- Instagram: @cjcornthwaite

- Website: ⁠⁠cjcornthwaite.com⁠⁠

- Email: [email protected]

🎙️ FOOTNOTE FAMOUS

Conversations with the world’s top scholars of the Bible and Christian origins. 

🔗⁠⁠https://www.footnotefamous.com/⁠⁠

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL

Patreon - ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/FootnoteFamous⁠⁠ 

YouTube Memberships - ⁠⁠C. J. Cornthwaite - YouTube⁠⁠

Book a 1:1 Conversation With Me: ⁠⁠https://www.cjcornthwaite.com/book-online⁠⁠ 

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Why do biblical scholars say Paul didn't write half the letters attributed to him? I sat down with Dr. Harry Maier, from Vancouver School of Theology, to understand exactly how scholars determine authorship of ancient letters—and why some of Paul's letters are considered "disputed."

Want to watch this instead? Find the video here!

Dr. Maier's Academia page - https://vst.academia.edu/HMaier

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📱 FOLLOW FOR MORE

 - YouTube: @cjcornthwaite 

- Instagram: @cjcornthwaite

- Website: ⁠cjcornthwaite.com⁠

- Email: [email protected]

🎙️ FOOTNOTE FAMOUS

Conversations with the world’s top scholars of the Bible and Christian origins. 

🔗⁠https://www.footnotefamous.com/⁠

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL

Patreon - ⁠https://www.patreon.com/FootnoteFamous⁠ 

YouTube Memberships - ⁠C. J. Cornthwaite - YouTube⁠

Book a 1:1 Conversation With Me: ⁠https://www.cjcornthwaite.com/book-online⁠ 

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Anders Petersen (University of Aarhus) bridges evolutionary biology and New Testament studies to argue that religion functions as emotional investment in shared symbolic systems rather than abstract belief. We discuss why humans aren't naturally social (unlike bees or ants), how pistis means "faithfulness" not "faith," why the Gospel texts are myths rather than historical records, and what it means to embrace Christianity as a 21st-century tradition rather than returning to Jesus's original religion.

Links

- Prof. Petersen's Academia page

- The Emergence and Evolution of Religion (Edited Volume - Affiliate Link)

Anders Klostergaard Petersen is professor and chair of research at the Department for the Study of Religion at Aarhus University, Denmark. He has published extensively in the fields of Late Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity, as well as on methodological and theoretical questions pertaining to the overall study of religion and culture. He is currently involved in a grand project on cultural evolution with a special focus on the history of religion.

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📱 FOLLOW FOR MORE

 - YouTube: @cjcornthwaite 

- Instagram: @cjcornthwaite

- Website: ⁠cjcornthwaite.com⁠

- Email: [email protected]

🎙️ FOOTNOTE FAMOUS

Conversations with the world’s top scholars of the Bible and Christian origins. 

🔗⁠https://www.footnotefamous.com/⁠

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL

Patreon - ⁠https://www.patreon.com/FootnoteFamous⁠ 

YouTube Memberships - ⁠C. J. Cornthwaite - YouTube⁠

Book a 1:1 Conversation With Me: ⁠https://www.cjcornthwaite.com/book-online⁠ 

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What can 2,000-year-old letters tell us about how Paul actually lived? I sat down with papyrologist Peter Arzt-Grabner to find out what ancient papyri reveal about Paul's real life - and the answers shocked me.

Peter's Academia Page Peter's book, "Letters and Letter Writing" - (Sponsored Link)

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📱 FOLLOW FOR MORE

 - YouTube: @cjcornthwaite 

- Instagram: @cjcornthwaite

- Website: ⁠cjcornthwaite.com⁠

- Email: [email protected]

🎙️ FOOTNOTE FAMOUS

Conversations with the world’s top scholars of the Bible and Christian origins. 

🔗⁠https://www.footnotefamous.com/⁠

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL

Patreon - ⁠https://www.patreon.com/FootnoteFamous⁠ 

YouTube Memberships - ⁠C. J. Cornthwaite - YouTube⁠

Book a 1:1 Conversation With Me: ⁠https://www.cjcornthwaite.com/book-online⁠ 

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Markus Vinzent reveals how the New Testament was actually compiled - and why the Paul's letters we're reading are "third-hand" at best.

Want to watch the video instead? - https://youtu.be/dj4_lfRghZo

📚 RESOURCES:- Vinzent's book: "Resetting the Origins of Christianity" (Affiliate Link)

- Reconstructed Marcionite Paul - - based on Vinzent's initial reconstructions (2023) - OPEN ACCESS

- English Translation based on the team's data-driven refinements (2025) Apostolos English translation: (Affiliate Link)

Follow Markus and his team on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Patristica/

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📱 FOLLOW FOR MORE

 - YouTube: @cjcornthwaite 

- Instagram: @cjcornthwaite

- Website: ⁠cjcornthwaite.com⁠

- Email: [email protected]

🎙️ FOOTNOTE FAMOUS

Conversations with the world’s top scholars of the Bible and Christian origins. 

🔗⁠https://www.footnotefamous.com/⁠

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL

Patreon - ⁠https://www.patreon.com/FootnoteFamous⁠ 

YouTube Memberships - ⁠C. J. Cornthwaite - YouTube⁠

Book a 1:1 Conversation With Me: ⁠https://www.cjcornthwaite.com/book-online⁠ 

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Prof. Mark Goodacre argues that John knew the synoptics... and it's the key to reading it! Mark Goodacre is Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Duke University and author of "The Case Against Q." His research focuses on the synoptic problem, Gospel of Thomas, and Gospel of John.

Want to watch this instead? - https://youtu.be/pzm5C1nAM04

🔗 Mark's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@podacre

🔗 The NT Podcast: https://podacre.blogspot.com/ Mark's Books - The Fourth Synoptic Gospel, https://amzn.to/3IjwpAY(Affiliate Link)-

The Case Against Q, https://amzn.to/4mEAk9N (Affiliate Link)-

"Synoptic Problem, A Way Through the Maze (FREE) - https://markgoodacre.org/maze/

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📱 FOLLOW FOR MORE

 - YouTube: @cjcornthwaite 

- Instagram: @cjcornthwaite

- Website: cjcornthwaite.com

- Email: [email protected]

🎙️ FOOTNOTE FAMOUS

Conversations with the world’s top scholars of the Bible and Christian origins. 

🔗https://www.footnotefamous.com/

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL

Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/FootnoteFamous 

YouTube Memberships - C. J. Cornthwaite - YouTube

Book a 1:1 Conversation With Me: https://www.cjcornthwaite.com/book-online 

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