Category Archives: Church History

A Machete Order Reading of the Bible (NT)

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Imagine if you had a free weekend and decided to watch the set of Star Wars movies. There is great debate about the order in which one should watch the Star Wars movies. Should one watch them in the order in which they were released (IV, V, VI, I, II, III) or in historical order (I, II, III, IV, V, VI).

Rod Hilton has proposed an order called – machete order, which preserves the surprise relationship between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker as well as allow for the entire viewing to end on the celebratory high note of beating the Empire. This order has a very “epic” poem approach that “tells the story better”.

I was recently posed a question  about reading the Bible all the way through. Continue reading →

Who wrote the Gospel of Mark (Part V)

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Modified from original published on January 22, 2010

I do from time to time read some of what Bart Ehrman writes as I enjoy studying early church history. His latest book “Jesus Interrupted” is on the list. I have not read this entire book but have read some of it in the book store and online.

In chapter 4, Dr. Ehrman claims that the Gospels were not written by eyewitnesses because the disciples of Jesus could not read or write.

From the Gospels we learn that the disciples of Jesus, like him, were lower-class peasants from rural Galilee. … We have some information about what it meant to be a lower-class peasant in rural areas of Palestine in the first century. One thing it meant is that you were almost certainly illiterate. Jesus himself was highly exceptional, in that he could evidently read (Luke 4:16-20), but there is nothing to indicate that he could write. In antiquity these were two separate skills, and many people who could read were unable to write.
… Continue reading →

Who wrote the Gospel of Mark (Part IV)

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Modified from original published on September 18, 2009

John MarkHaving explored the early evidence from Papias, Irenaeus, the Anti-Marcionite Prologue, Clement, and Origen we have looked at two potentially independent lines of information. One source coming from Asia Minor and the otehr from Alexandria, Egypt. All of the early accounts confirm a lot information regarding the authorship and circumstances regarding the writing of the Gospel of Mark:

  1. Mark was the author.
  2. Mark wrote down what Peter was teaching and proclaiming.
  3. Mark was not a disciple of Jesus (while Jesus was alive).
  4. The book was written in Rome at the request of believers.

What was Peter’s involvement in the creation of the Gospel of Mark? Continue reading →