Sophia in the Shell

From the AcademicBiblical community on Reddit Explore this post and more from the AcademicBiblical community

The Suffering Servant passage is a eulogy for the prophet who wrote earlier parts of Second Isaiah.

(Or so argued Joseph Blenkinsopp.)

www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBi...

From the AcademicBiblical community on Reddit Explore this post and more from the AcademicBiblical community

Want to know everything we don’t know about the apostle Andrew?

www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBi...

From the AcademicBiblical community on Reddit Explore this post and more from the AcademicBiblical community

Wrote something up (collected excerpts from scholars, really) on what we know about the apostle Thomas! What was his name? Who was his twin? Are his Acts based in history?

Thomas has the honor of being the first apostle to make me hit the Reddit post length limit.

www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBi...

Did a little literature review on what we know and don’t know about the apostle Bartholomew!

www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBi...

Listening to The Caliphs podcast and nearly choked on air hearing the traditional account of how Marwan I died.

I think we can all relate to the embarrassment of watching someone “on your side” make a bad argument.

But imagine being a monothelite at the Third Council of Constantinople when one of your allies brings out a dead body and says he’s going to prove your position via necromancy.

The most interesting part of the argument is the linguistic analysis suggesting that the Testimonium Flavianum may actually be fairly neutral, contrary to the way typical English translations of it read blatantly pro-Christian.

I’m not even a Muslim but learning about Islamic history is turning me Shia. At least in the original political sense. Even being exposed to tellings from both sides, it seems like Ali really was getting wronged left and right!

Thanks!

TIL! Is it still true that some ecumenical councils were followed with orders to burn the writings of this or that figure, for example the works of Arius after Nicaea? Or is that apocryphal (or real, but more properly attributed to political figures than the Church?)

Donald Trump entering the business of deciding the theological bounds of Christianity is not discouraging my conviction that he is, at his core, a Byzantine Emperor.

Saw a recommendation for the podcast The Caliphs recently. I’ve really been enjoying it. If you like Mike Duncan inspired chronological history podcasts and have an interest in early Islamic political history, this one is high quality. I think the host, Zayd, recently wrapped it up at ~90 episodes.

Almost forgot to post it here, but I put together a sort of literature review on what we do and don’t know about the apostle(s?) Jude (and?) Thaddaeus:

www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBi...

There are some real gaps, unfortunately. For example, the 1991 Ferguson translation of Stromateis 1-3 is very good, but I’ve searched far and wide for a modern translation of 4-7 and I think it simply does not exist yet.

Wrote up a review of what we know and don’t know about the apostle Philip!

www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBi...

From the AcademicBiblical community on Reddit Explore this post and more from the AcademicBiblical community

A reminder that I'm doing a Reddit AMA starting at 2 today! Get those questions in.

Luke: “The Force?”

Kenobi: “The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field which sustains all living things. It surrounds us, and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together. You see, Luke, the Force is what we call ‘actus purus,’ infinitely real and infinitely perfect…”

Can’t wait to hear the review!

I try to avoid interacting with this stuff, but the fact that the creation pseudoscience folks really think they have something lately with “rocks don’t bend” is… funny.

Thanks for this!

From the AcademicBiblical community on Reddit: What we (don't) know about the apostle James of Alphaeus Explore this post and more from the AcademicBiblical community

Wrote a bit about what we know and don’t know about James, son of Alphaeus!

www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBi...

Then, 26:34-35 (transl. Haleem)

“Pharaoh said to the counsellors around him, ‘This man is a learned sorcerer! He means to use his sorcery to drive you out of your land! What do you suggest?’”

2/2

Interesting if subtle discrepancy in the Quranic telling of the exodus:

First, 7:109-110 (transl. Haleem)

“The leaders among Pharaoh’s people said, ‘This man is a learned sorcerer! He means to drive you out of your land.’ Pharaoh said, ‘What do you suggest?’”

1/2

From the AcademicBiblical community on Reddit: What we (don't) know about the apostle Simon the Zealot Explore this post and more from the AcademicBiblical community

Did a write-up on Simon the Zealot!

www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBi...

François Bovon on the Acts of Philip:

“Here we find the episodic story of an apostolic group composed of Philip, Bartholomew, and Mariamne, [and] a pair of talking animals, a kid goat and a leopard, on a single missionary journey to the city of Ophioryme.”

I love apocrypha.

So exciting! I see previous entries in this series are a quick online order away, so I look forward to grabbing a copy when it is available!

From Sophia_in_the_Shell's profile on Reddit Explore this post and more from Sophia_in_the_Shell's profile

My reading schedule is here, but within buckets it’s just ascending by surah number.

www.reddit.com/u/Sophia_in_...

It’s based on Farrin (2019) which in turn is based on Sinai (2017)

Qur’an 15:6-8, transl. by Haleem:

“They say, ‘Receiver of this Qur’an! You are definitely mad. Why do you not bring us the angels, if you are telling the truth?’ But We send down the angels only to bring justice…”

Love when opponents’ arguments are preserved! Makes me think of gMatthew.

First thread of many, finally officially started my Qur’an reading today!