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	==About Me==
	I am a 'good faith editor' who is gradually evolving into what I hope will be a positive asset for our project. When I mess up, I take a break, carefully read WP, then resume editing. I do not take offense, and try to be balanced, civil and respectful to everyone.

	==WP Core policies==
	I believe in WP core policies! I do '''''NOT''''' believe they can be overruled by consensus, no matter how many ''user accounts'' brought to bear! I also oppose cyber-bullying.

	==Update articles from a NPOV using reliable sources==
	When I retired from my academic position with a major university in 2008, I decided to make myself available as an editor at Misplaced Pages. My area of expertise is Biblical scholarship, particularly the historical roots of Christianity. A lot of new scholarship has been published in the past ten years. I plan to update articles from a NPOV using recently published reliable sources.

	=First Century Palestine=
	It has been the recent focus of Biblical Scholars. We know a great deal about this era, not only because of the ], but also because of the three great histories that examine Palestine at time of Jesus.
	* The '']'' by ];
	* '']'' by the first-century disciple of the ] &
	* ] .
	Last but not least, ] made an extensive catalogue of all the early historical documents describing the beginnings of Christianity. Therefore, although the ] was destroyed, the early history of Christianity has been preserved in '']''

	=List=
	The following is a list of Misplaced Pages articles I am updating with 21st Century scholarship.

	==I. ARCHAEOLOGY==
	] made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire and appointed his mother, ]. In the year 326, he gave her unlimited access to the Imperial Treasury in order she may travel to Jerusalem to locate holy sites and relics of ] tradition.

	Most 19th Century scholars doubted the accuracy of her finds as well as the historicity of the Gospels. However modern archeology has cast new light on the origins of Christianity.

	====Pool of Bethesda and Jesus====
	]
	The '''Pool of Bethesda''' is an area of water in the ] Quarter of ], on the path to the Beth Zeta Valley. The ] describes such a ] in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, which was surrounded by five covered colonnades and was associated with ]. Up until the 19th century, there was no evidence outside of John’s Gospel for the existence of this pool. Scholars argued that this Gospel was written later, probably by someone without first-hand knowledge of the city of Jerusalem, and that the ‘pool’ had only a metaphorical meaning, rather than historical, significance.

	Then in the 19th Century, archaeologists discovered the remains of a pool exactly matching the description in John’s Gospel; confirming the ] accuracy of John’s account.
	*See following link .

	====James Ossuary====
	The James Ossuary is a 2,000-year old limestone box used for containing the bones of the dead. Researchers uncovered it in Israel in 2002. The Aramaic inscription on the artifact read: Ya'akov bar-Yosef akhui DiYeshua, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." It is significant because this archaeological evidence establishes that there was a historical person named Jesus whose father was Joseph and brother was James; as written in the Bible and in the works of Jewish historian Josephus. However, the authenticity of this artifact has been contested and was the subject to heated scholarly debate. There has now been a ruling re the issue authenticity .
	*See following link .

	====Caiaphas Ossuary====
	The '''Caiaphas Ossuary''' is a bone box that archaeologists believe may have belonged to Joseph, son of ], known as the ''High Priest Caiaphas'' in the ]. According to both the ] and the ancient historian ], Caiaphas was the major antagonist of the Rabbi Jesus and his brother ]. Scholars doubted the existence of Caiaphas, until an ] attributed to him was found in 1990.

	*See following link .

	====Pilate Stone====
	The '''''Pilate Stone''''' is the name given to a block of ] with a carved inscription attributed to ], a prefect of the Roman-controlled Judea from 26-36. It has been deemed important, because Biblical scholars once believed that Pilate was a mythical character. Then, in 1961 an inscription with his name was found, confirming the historicity of Pontius Pilate and much of what was written by Josephus.
	*See following link .

	====Nazareth at the time of Jesus====
	It is a small town in Galilee where Jesus lived as a child. Many scholars doubted its existence and argued that it was a mythical place...until archaeologists discovered it.
	*See following link .

	==II. Major historical works about Jesus==
	====JOSEPHUS ON JESUS====
	(Born 37 AD) Josephus, was a renowned first-century Jewish historian who recorded important details about Jesus and his followers. The ''Antiquities of the Jews'', written by Josephus is the earliest and most extensive historical work on the ''Judeo-Christian'' Faith. He writes of a Jewish sect, whose leader was James the Just (the brother of Jesus). The ''Antiquities of the Jews'' also includes sections on John the Baptist, the High Priest Annas, Pontius Pilate, and Jesus called the Messiah. Furthermore, this history gives us valuable insight into the ] at the time of Jesus. The '']'' was written from a Jewish or possibly a Jewish Christian (]) perspective at the end of the First century.
	*See following link .

	====LUKE–ACTS====
	The writer of '']'' was the first-century physician of the ]. Luke's extensive history of the Christianity was divided into two books. The first details the life of Jesus, while the second records the events in ] ] that led to the formation of Christian faith.

	Luke explains that he had at his disposal many accounts that had been drawn up by those who were the first were eyewitnesses and servants Jesus. He himself had carefully investigated everything from the beginning, and decided to write an orderly account of how Christianity came into being. He also records a number of important events to which he was an eyewitness.
	*See following link .

	====CHURCH HISTORY (EUSEBIUS)====
	The ''CHURCH HISTORY'' by Eusebius has great value to Biblical scholars because it preserved many of the early historical documents that described the formation of Christianity. Therefore, although the ] was destroyed, the early history of Christianity has been saved.
	*See following

	====DE VIRIS ILLUSTRIBUS (''JEROME'')====
	''De Viris Illustribus'' (On Illustrious Men) is a collection of short biographies of 135 ancient authors who lived during the formative years of Christianity. It was composed in Latin, by the Church Father Jerome. Historians see this work as extensive catalogue or bibliography of the important early historical documents relating the birth of Christianity. Although the ] was lost, the early history of Christianity has been preserved in ''De Viris Illustribus''.
	*
	*See following link .

	==III. Other historical works about Jesus==

	====Jesus in the Talmud====
	When the rabbi Jesus (and later his followers) put forward their interpretation of the ]; there were those who disagreed. (See ]). After the fall of the Temple in 70 CE, these oral disputes were recorded in the ]. The Talmud reflects the nature of the rabbinical debate between the "Christ" and those who opposed him. Although biased, it confirms much of what the gospels say about the historical Jesus.
	*See following link .

	====Celsus====
	''Celsus'' was a 2nd Century ] philosopher and opponent of ]. He is known for his literary work, '']'' which is the earliest known comprehensive attack on ].

	Celsus explained that Jesus came from a Jewish village in the ]. Jesus' mother was a poor Jewish girl. This girl's husband, who was a carpenter by trade, drove her away because of her adultery with a Roman soldier named Panthera. She gave birth to the bastard Jesus. In Egypt, Jesus became learned in sorcery and upon his return made himself out to be a god. Celsus confirmed the ] but dispited the ].
	*See following link .

	==IV. Oral Gospel Tradition==
	The Oral Tradition (Logia) was not a Christian innovation but an established practice of Palestinian Judaism. Papias, explained that Matthew, who used to be a tax collector and later an Apostle, recorded in writing the Logia (sayings) of Jesus. It was published in Judea in Aramaic but with Hebrew script.

	Over the years many scholar's believed this ''Hebrew Gospel'' of Matthew was the same as the Greek ] found in the Bible. However, this year (2016) renowned Biblical scholar ] in his extensive work on the Oral Tradition has questioned this assumption. When Papias talks about a Gospel by Matthew; is he actually talking about the Gospel that 'we know' about by this name? At first this seems to be a strange question, but in fact what Papias says about the Matthew's gospel suggests he is referring to a book different from the one we have.

	That is easy to demonstrate. Papias says basically ''"two things about the "Matthew" he is familiar with: it consists only of the sayings of Jesus and it was composed in Hebrew. Neither is true of our Matthew, which does not have sayings of Jesus, but is mainly composed of stories about Jesus. Moreover, it was not composed in Hebrew but in Greek, as virtually every critical scholar on the planet agrees."'' Therefore Matthew's written collection of sayings or logia is simply a rendering of the Christian Oral Tradition which is very different from the canonical ] found in the Bible. (Ehrman, '''2016''' p 115.)

	Bart D. Ehrman, ''Jesus Before the Gospels'', HarperCollins, '''2016''' and James D.G. Dunn, ''The Oral Gospel Tradition'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, '''2013''' are two scholarly works that have reshaped our understanding of the the ''Oral Tradition'' and origins of the gospels.
	*See following link .


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Revision as of 16:15, 22 January 2017

This user has an academic degree in History - BA .

This user has an academic degree in Biblical Scholarship - M.Div.

This user has an academic degree in Law - LL.B .

Welcome to the UserPage of Retired Professor

(Note: Please do not edit this page.)

My main area of expertise is Biblical Scholarship

**Ret.Prof**
Personal Life
Ret.Prof
Birthdate:	Autumn a long time ago
Nationality:	World citizen: Have resided in the USA, Israel, Canada, India, South Africa and Europe
Profession:	Priest, Pastor & University Professor
Religion:	I am a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim & a Hindu: See EXPANATION
Marital status:	Married to a great woman
Languages:	English - plus a little Xhosa, Hindi & Urdu
Misplaced Pages Career
Username:	User:Ret.Prof
Registered on:	04 June 2008
First Live edit:	04 June 2008
Present Status:	ACTIVE