My Upper Room article featured on “The Bible and Interpretation” Web Site

The excellent website, "The Bible and Interpretation" (bibleinterp.com) is now featuring my new article on the Upper Room. In the article, I introduce a number of the issues involved in dating the building and provide a few pictures which also appear in my book. It will serve as an excellent introduction to the topic. For …

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Now Available! The Upper Room and Tomb of David published 4/21/2016d

On Thursday, April 21, McFarland released into publication my book The Upper Room and Tomb of David: The History, Art and Archaeology of the Cenacle on Mount Zion. It has been a church, a mosque and a synagogue. Jesus is said to have dined there. James, his brother, is believed to have been interred there. …

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Omitting the Infancy and Resurrection Narratives: The Gospel of Mark and the Jewish-Christian Leadership in Jerusalem

Even a cursory glance at the New Testament gospels reveals a startling number of differences both large and small in the telling of the sayings and deeds of Jesus. Similarities among the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke are attributed by scholars to the use of the former by the latter two as well as …

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Women in the Earliest Church, Part 5

This is the final part of our survey of the contributions of women to the growth of Christianity in the early-to-mid first century. To this point in the discussion, all of the women (save one) were identified in the New Testament Acts of the Apostles. Having exhausted that source, we now move on to Paul’s …

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Book Now Ready for Pre-Order!

My forthcoming book, The Upper Room and Tomb of David: The History, Art and Archaeology of the Cenacle on Mount Zion, can now be pre-ordered from McFarland. The title appears on page seven in their new spring/summer catalog which can be found here: http://www.mcfarlandbooks.com/catalogs-spring-2016-new-titles/.

The Imagery of the Nativity: Where Does it Come From?

At Christmas time, believers naturally focus on imagery recalling the birth of Jesus. Visual depictions of a crèche filled with figures representing the holy family, wise men, shepherds, angels, and various livestock are meant to recall the events depicted in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. But few may realize that the elements of a …

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Women in the Earliest Church, Part 4

According to the Book of Acts, when the apostle Paul arrived in the city of Corinth in Greece he met up with a husband and wife Christian missionary team of Prisca and Aquila. The text states that the two were among a number of Jews who had been expelled from Rome by the emperor Claudius. …

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Women in the Earliest Church, Part 3

The next woman of the early church that we will now meet doesn’t appear in the New Testament at all. She was said to have been made a disciple in Iconium after hearing Paul preach. Acts (though not Paul’s letters) says that Paul was in Iconium (IK-oh-NEE-um, modern Konya, Turkey) with Barnabas during their joint …

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Official Cover Art and Title Announced!

I am happy to announce that the official cover artwork and title for my forthcoming book from McFarland has just been released! The book will be featured in their spring catalog for release in 2016. I'll post further updates as I get them.

Women in the Earliest Church, Part 2

In the last installment in this series of articles we saw that women, like men, were joining the new movement founded on the belief in the risen Jesus and, also like men, were being persecuted for it. But the traditions tell us there was a definite upside to such faith as well. Peter, the leading …

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