FREE/BARGAIN — Christian Interest

[Difflugia]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

More recently, Simcha has achieved notoriety because of a claim that he, along with a scholar named James Tabor who heretofore, at least, had great academic credentials, made about a tomb in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem. They claim that it is the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth and his family. That's the subject of The Jesus Discovery book that you posted. The implications of that are enormous if what the book says is true--it would seem to have to mean that Jesus Christ was not resurrected (physically/bodily, at least) from the dead.

Tabor is still a respected scholar, but is considered to be somewhat credulous by many of his colleagues. I've watched several of the talks that he's done for Biblical Archaeology Society. Though his attempts at reconstructing the historical Jesus may be a little stretched, his work excavating the Essene sites that are associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls is excellent and steps on fewer toes.

[Difflugia]

Calvinism and the Christian Life by Ian Hamilton is a set of video lectures that is free to download from Ligonier through July 10 at the Ligonier Ministries online store. If you look carefully, you'll see that "Download Audio & Video" shows a price of $0.00.

It is impossible to encounter God’s saving grace and not be powerfully and permanently changed. John Calvin knew this. In this 6-part teaching series, Pastor Ian Hamilton demonstrates that Calvinism is biblical, God-centered Christianity with important implications for our daily lives. This theology is not simply academic. It is a theology for all of life—a theology in which the grace of Jesus Christ shapes everything.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

Tabor is still a respected scholar, but is considered to be somewhat credulous by many of his colleagues. I've watched several of the talks that he's done for Biblical Archaeology Society. Though his attempts at reconstructing the historical Jesus may be a little stretched, his work excavating the Essene sites that are associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls is excellent and steps on fewer toes.

Of course, if he ends up being correct (and I do try to keep an open mind), he won't seem out in left field anymore.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Some may not recognize the name, but Simcha was (and maybe is, I don't know if this series is still being produced) the host and producer of a show called the Naked Archaeologist. In each show, he pursues some question related to the Bible (the Old Testament, at least). In every episode he comes up with an answer that was invariably, it seems, is novel and goes against the prevailing scholarly opinion.

More recently, Simcha has achieved notoriety because of a claim that he, along with a scholar named James Tabor who heretofore, at least, had great academic credentials, made about a tomb in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem. They claim that it is the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth and his family. That's the subject of The Jesus Discovery book that you posted. The implications of that are enormous if what the book says is true--it would seem to have to mean that Jesus Christ was not resurrected (physically/bodily, at least) from the dead.

The problem with that (aside from conflict with scripture which is more fitted for the religion forum) is that Jesus is the Greek for what we would call Joshua and the name was probably pretty common around that part of the world at the time. So just finding a grave with the name Jesus on it in that part of the world isn't that odd. My middle name is Richard and I wager there are a good many men with the name Richard on their tombstones.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by crich70

The problem with that (aside from conflict with scripture which is more fitted for the religion forum) is that Jesus is the Greek for what we would call Joshua and the name was probably pretty common around that part of the world at the time. So just finding a grave with the name Jesus on it in that part of the world isn't that odd. My middle name is Richard and I wager there are a good many men with the name Richard on their tombstones.

Frankly, I am not familiar with all of the proofs that Jacobvici/Tabor advance in favor of their view. I have to feel that there's far more than just an ossuary (box that bones of a person were put in after the flesh was gone--the general practice was to do it about a year's time after the person's death, if I remember correctly) with the name "Yeshua" (Jesus) on it that causes them to believe the way that they do. I actually have had the book that Difflugia posted about the Talpiot tomb, for quite some time, but haven't read it. I guess that I would find out if I bothered to read the book . . . .

[crich70]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Frankly, I am not familiar with all of the proofs that Jacobvici/Tabor advance in favor of their view. I have to feel that there's far more than just an ossuary (box that bones of a person were put in after the flesh was gone--the general practice was to do it about a year's time after the person's death, if I remember correctly) with the name "Yeshua" (Jesus) on it that causes them to believe the way that they do. I actually have had the book that Difflugia posted about the Talpiot tomb, for quite some time, but haven't read it. I guess that I would find out if I bothered to read the book . . . .

There was a documentary on TV some time back. I don't remember much but part of their 'proof' if I recall right was about the name and other related stuff (that I can't remember in detail). And one of the challenges was in relation to how common the name might have been. Many of the names in the Bible were probably common place names back then just as they are now. i.e. James, John, Matthew, Luke, etc. Of course if the guy is saying Jesus didn't rise from the dead then he's in direct conflict with scripture which is probably one reason why he's out in left field as you put it.

[Difflugia]

The Wikipedia article on the Talpiot tomb has a summary of the arguments.

The main argument that the original Talpiot tomb is the "Jesus family" is (as crich70 remembers) based on probabilities calculated for the appearance of the names, which correspond to Jesus son of Joseph, Mara (taken to be Mary, mother of Jesus), Yose (taken to be Joses, Jesus's brother), Jude son of Jesus, and Mariamne (taken to be Mary Magdalene, who is further identified as Jesus's wife).

One of the criticisms with this interpretation of the evidence is that they're trying to use the presence of "Mariamne" both as evidence that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and as evidence that this is likely the tomb of the "Jesus Family". One can't properly do both, but that's where The Lost Gospel comes in. Barrie Wilson believes that "The Confession of Asenath" (which can be read in a translation from 1900 at Google Books) is, instead of a Jewish romance as it appears at first glance, actually a gnostic Christian parable that can be interpreted to mean that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene.

Jacobovici then claims to have external evidence that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married to justify his earlier probabilities.

Where James Tabor fits into this is that he thinks that Jesus's brothers James, Jude and Simeon were the same people as the disciples James, Judas and Simon Peter. He believes that James took leadership of the Jerusalem church after Jesus's death and he sees existence of a Jesus family tomb in Jerusalem as supporting evidence for this.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

The Wikipedia article on the Talpiot tomb has a summary of the arguments.

The main argument that the original Talpiot tomb is the "Jesus family" is (as crich70 remembers) based on probabilities calculated for the appearance of the names, which correspond to Jesus son of Joseph, Mara (taken to be Mary, mother of Jesus), Yose (taken to be Joses, Jesus's brother), Jude son of Jesus, and Mariamne (taken to be Mary Magdalene, who is further identified as Jesus's wife).

One of the criticisms with this interpretation of the evidence is that they're trying to use the presence of "Mariamne" both as evidence that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and as evidence that this is likely the tomb of the "Jesus Family". One can't properly do both, but that's where The Lost Gospel comes in. Barrie Wilson believes that "The Confession of Asenath" (which can be read in a translation from 1900 at Google Books) is, instead of a Jewish romance as it appears at first glance, actually a gnostic Christian parable that can be interpreted to mean that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene.

Jacobovici then claims to have external evidence that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married to justify his earlier probabilities.

Where James Tabor fits into this is that he thinks that Jesus's brothers James, Jude and Simeon were the same people as the disciples James, Judas and Simon Peter. He believes that James took leadership of the Jerusalem church after Jesus's death and he sees existence of a Jesus family tomb in Jerusalem as supporting evidence for this.

Thanks for your research.

[Conan46]

Free: The Lighthouse of Asaph
https://www.amazon.com/Lighthouse-As...=1&*entries*=0

[GtrsRGr8]

Free download of How to Understand the Bible, by Mel Lawrenz. This is a $3.99 Kindle mobi at Amazon. Rated 4.6 stars, from 45 reviews there.

You can get either or both the ePub and/or PDF. There is a free group discussion guide, too, that is available in the PDF.

Follow this link to get the freebie(s). You must register first, but if memory serves me correctly it involves only giving a valid email address and your first name.

[Difflugia]

Four of John Dominic Crossan's books are on sale for $1.99:

Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography
The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant
Excavating Jesus
In Search of Paul

Barnes & Noble: First two Second two
Kobo
Amazon

As has been mentioned before, Crossan doesn't accept that the Bible is historically accurate and his books will reflect that.

[GtrsRGr8]

I know, we've all gotten used to getting copies of Warren Wiersbe "Be" series for free. But, frankly, I don't think that I'm going to live long enough, and you're probably not either, to accumulate the whole set by grabbing only the free ones. And 99 cents for these books is still a fantastic price. If I can pick them up at that price, I'ma buyin'.

This is the 2nd edition.

Be Responsible (1 Kings): Being Good Stewards of God's Gifts (The BE Series Commentary). By Warren Wiersbe. Print list price $14.99; digital list price $12.99; Kindle price now $0.99. David C. Cook, publisher. 242 pages. https://www.amazon.com/Be-Responsibl.../dp/B005SC9XK8.

Book Description
It’s not easy to take responsibility in life. Whether it’s in our jobs, our finances, or even our relationships, we all struggle to take ownership of our habits and choices.
Yet personal accountability is essential to both our personal and spiritual growth.
Based on the book of 1 Kings, this study offers a compelling contrast between those who are accountable to God and others, and those who continually shift the blame to others.

Part of Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe’s best-selling “BE” commentary series, BE Responsible has now been updated with study questions and a new introduction by Ken Baugh. A respected pastor and Bible teacher, Dr. Wiersbe shares how our integrity is connected with responsibility, and encourages us to stay accountable in each part of our lives.

[Manabi]

I couldn't find this thread yesterday and posted this to the non-fiction thread instead. Now that I've found this thread, this is much more appropriate here, so here it is:

The Lost Gospel: Decoding the Ancient Text that Reveals Jesus' Marriage to Mary the Magdalene has dropped to $2.99, previously $10.99. The price dropped on the first of July, and I'm not sure if this is a limited time price drop, or a new regular price.

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Kobo

Google Play still has the book at $10.99, and I wasn't able to check iTunes so I'm not sure if it's discounted there or not.

[TrevorViking]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

I know, we've all gotten used to getting copies of Warren Wiersbe "Be" series for free. But, frankly, I don't think that I'm going to live long enough, and you're probably not either, to accumulate the whole set by grabbing only the free ones. And 99 cents for these books is still a fantastic price. If I can pick them up at that price, I'ma buyin'.

This is the 2nd edition.

Be Responsible (1 Kings): Being Good Stewards of God's Gifts (The BE Series Commentary). By Warren Wiersbe. Print list price $14.99; digital list price $12.99; Kindle price now $0.99. David C. Cook, publisher. 242 pages. https://www.amazon.com/Be-Responsibl.../dp/B005SC9XK8.

Book Description
It’s not easy to take responsibility in life. Whether it’s in our jobs, our finances, or even our relationships, we all struggle to take ownership of our habits and choices.
Yet personal accountability is essential to both our personal and spiritual growth.
Based on the book of 1 Kings, this study offers a compelling contrast between those who are accountable to God and others, and those who continually shift the blame to others.

Part of Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe’s best-selling “BE” commentary series, BE Responsible has now been updated with study questions and a new introduction by Ken Baugh. A respected pastor and Bible teacher, Dr. Wiersbe shares how our integrity is connected with responsibility, and encourages us to stay accountable in each part of our lives.

There are a couple others on sale for 99 cents as well, and those two have been free in the last few months.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by TrevorViking

There are a couple others on sale for 99 cents as well, and those two have been free in the last few months.

CORRECTION: The other one that I saw was either Isaiah or Judges. I didn't check, but it was probably 99 cents when I bought it. They are 99 cents each now. Ephesians is currently $1.99, as are 1 Peter and Acts 13-28. Christianbook will probably have them for $1.59 each.


I saw the Ephesians one, but saw that I had already purchased it at Amazon. So, I knew that it must have been offered pretty cheap before. Knowing me, I doubt that I paid over 99 cents for it. ha

I must be slipping--I didn't see the second one of which you spoke. ha I'll have to find it. I may not have it.