An Interview with Dr. Joseph Bessler.

Dr. Joseph Bessler challenges and delights us with his suggestions that learning what we can about the historical Jesus contributes to the betterment of society. The surprise of the past few decades has been the revelation that our traditional teaching of Jesus has been used to silence the voices of any 'other.' Certain texts reinforce certain theologies. But the loving gesture of listening to others brings to our attention surprising texts we have not noticed before.

An interview with Dr. Arthur J. Dewey

Arthur Dewey explains how the "blood curse," based on Jesus's trial before Pilate, has been taken out of context and turned into a false basis for blaming Jews as a whole for the death of God. The "trial" in the Gospel of Matthew (which could not have taken place historically) was based on Mark's original critique against the leaders of the Jews. This was another one of many squabbles among different Jewish factions.

An interview with Dr. B. Brandon Scott

Dr. Brandon Scott explains the complicated history of resurrection. It was not an Easter celebration during biblical times, but the hope of God's restoration of things was handed down from Daniel and the Maccabees. Sacrifice was widespread in the ancient world, not because of sins, but as an act intended to realign the world with God. Writing of Jesus's death come from a conviction that his death was not defeat but that God made him alive.

Bernard Brandon Scott is the Darbeth Distinguished Professor of New Testament Emeritus, Phillips Theological Seminary, Tulsa. He is a charter member of the Jesus Seminar and co-chaired Westar's Christianity 1 Seminar. Scott is the author and editor of many books, including The Real Paul: Recovering His Radical Challenge, The Trouble with Resurrection, Hear then the Parable, and Re-imagine the World: An Introduction to the Parables.

Early Christian Texts is celebrating the 50th episode of our Bible and Beyond Podcast! We have collected snippets from ten episodes featuring several of our interviews since the podcast first aired in 2019. All fifty episodes have been quite unique and fascinating, but these ten excerpts exemplify the depth and breadth of the topics we covered — from why anyone should even look at extracanonical writings to the meaning of Jesus' passion.

This month Shirley interviews Perry Kea, an expert scholar on the Book of Acts. Dr. Kea explains why the objectives of the author of the Book of Acts differ from simple historical documentation. The letters of Paul provide an excellent example of such differences and illustrate why the objective of the Book of Acts is inconsistent with historical facts. Stories in Acts were a means of using resources to address other questions, such as the source of authority for the new Christian movement.

Dr. Jennifer Stollman, a Conservative Jew, surprised herself by discovering a couple of 'game-changers' in her reading of Paulson's book, Illuminating the Secret Revelation of John: Catching the Light. As a self-described activist, Stollman was startled to consider an elevated sense of God that challenges traditional beliefs in the permanence of evil. A second 'game-changer' for Stollman was the new interpretation of Eve as a partner for Adam, an idea lifting women from being complicit and susceptible.

An interview with Dr. Eric Vanden Eykel

'The Magi' of antiquity were usually religious professionals who were almost always associated with people in power, such as kings. But they were not kings themselves. Therefore Dr. Eric Vanden Eykel thinks the author of the Gospel of Matthew uses the characters of 'the magi' (instead of the shepherds who appear in the Gospel of Luke) to make a political point about the kingly identity of Jesus. A close reading of the details about the star and the gifts in Matthew also supports the political message.

An interview with Elizabeth Schrader Polczer

Elizabeth Schrader Polczer claims that there has always been controversy over Mary Magdalene's name and birthplace. She argues that Mary Magdalene was probably not from Magdala. So the name we use to refer to her should be 'Mary Magdalene' and not 'Mary of Magdala' for both historical reasons and the fact that Mary appears in better light if she came from Bethany instead of Magdala. However, Polzcer discusses the conflicting evidence from antiquity and concludes that acknowledging multiple legitimate interpretations is probably the best way to honor her memory.

An interview with Rev. Kyndall Rae Rothaus

Kyndall Rae Rothaus, a popular young female minister, tackles the ancient Mary Magdalene smear campaign as an example of the damage which can be done by mistaken assumptions. To her, it's yet another example of the way people discredit strong women, both in the past and today. She believes that unraveling the Mary Magdalene smear campaign can help all people discover the divine feminine within.

Scholar Jae Han describes the ancient Manichaean Christian religion as an outsider in the minds of Roman western Christians because it originated in Persia. Manichaeans considered themselves Christian, but heresiologists called them "Manichaeans." In the same vein, Manichaeans called Catholic Christians "Jews." From a Western perspective, if any religion originated in the East, it can't be truly Christian. It was unnatural for Westerners (Romans) to consider a religion Christian if it originated in the East.