A major article in Newsweek on “Why We Believe?” — timed for the Haloween season — explores the paranormal and the human mind. The summary explanation why? — “Belief in the paranormal reflects normal brain activity carried to an extreme.” From the November 3, 2008 issue.
Archive for October, 2008
Why we believe?
Thursday, October 30th, 2008Archaeologists report finding oldest Hebrew text
Thursday, October 30th, 2008A breaking story reports a new Hebrew textual find in the Elah Valley, where the story of David and Goliah is set. The text reportedly consists of five lines on an ostracon and contains the words “judge,” “slave” and “king.”
NYTimes: Find of Ancient City Could Alter Notions of Biblical David
Ancient Hebrew Research Center: Oldest Possibly Hebrew Inscription Possibly Found
Bloomberg.com: Unearthed City Near Jerusalem Revives Debate on Biblical David
Is Obama a (or the) Messiah?
Monday, October 27th, 2008100,000 people showed up for an Obama campaign rally in Denver on Sunday, October 28. Later in the day another 50,000 showed up in Fort Collins. With the 2008 presidential election only a week away, Obama phenomena dominate the news. The dimensions of his appeal have been inspiring comparisons of biblical proportions, including reflections on messianic expectation.
New DSS Exhibit revisits the Essene Hypothesis debate
Sunday, October 26th, 2008The Jewish Museum in Manhattan is running an exhibit entitled “The Dead Sea Scrolls: Mysteries of the Ancient World” until January 4, 2009. As reported in The Jewish Week, “The exhibit highlights much of the new archaeological evidence that might challenge the original de Vaux hypothesis. But it does not take a side, whereas most Dead Sea Scroll exhibits in the past have — and heavily favored the de Vaux theory.” With a response by Joe Zias.
Additional recent DSS articles:
What color is your Bible?
Sunday, October 26th, 2008Yet another re-packaging of the Bible markets it for this the age of enviromental awareness. Will this “Green Bible” help save the earth while it tries to save souls?
Update on the “James brother of Jesus” ossuary
Sunday, October 19th, 2008The October 16, 2008 issue of Time Magazine has a ossuary update article entitled ” Exposing the ‘Jesus’ Brother’ Fraud.
Sarcophagus “son of the high priest” Inscription
Sunday, October 12th, 2008A newly discovered sarcophagus bears the Hebrew inscription “son of the high priest”. It was found in the West Bank in the course of installing a wall and dates to the era Jesus of Nazareth.
Judges and Heroes
Thursday, October 9th, 2008cnn.com has a news item about their top ten heroes of 2008. We have described the judges of the biblical book of Judges as tribal and community heroes. Have a look at this article and compare these modern heroes with the heroes of the biblical age. Are these the types of people you would identify as heroes? If not, who woiuld you choose?