The Bible Geek Show

If the sodomites did not want to rape the two angels, then why did Lot have to offer up his daughters? What is your opinion of the Testaments of the 12 Patriarchs? Is it possible that Luke couldn't narrate the death of Paul (in Acts) precisely because it was the Petrine christians that bumped him off? That would really throw a spanner in the works for his purpose of healing the divisions between t...

God tells the serpent he will slither. The assumption is that he lost his legs. The Bible doesn't say how he got around before. So was it was a winged serpent? What gods from Greek mythology are mentioned in the Bible?  Are sports mentioned in the Bible? Are there two sets of different ten commandments? Judges 11:24: "Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy God giveth thee to possess? So whom...

Are there 2 competing versions of Israel crossing over the /red vSea? Does the Bible teach the Trinity? Are the 12 disciples the houses of the Zodiac? Are Levi and Matthew 2 different people? Might Noah's "bow" in the sky have been the Milky Way? Is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob a single deity or a set of 3? Are the creation stories of Genesis chapter one and chapters 2-3 different stories...

Why should we think Bultmann's "Ecclesiastical Redactor" was Polycarp of Smyrna?

Why do so many people describe the serpent from the Garden of Eden as the Devil? When did people begin to differentiate "religion" from "philosophy"? Why did Paul never write a thorough exposition of his beliefs/theology? Are Genesis chapter 1 and Chapters 2-3 parts of a single story? Or 2 different stories? Who changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday? When Jesus tells the Jews that their fath...

Do any scholars understand Jesus to have been a philosopher like Socrates? What do you know about Watchman Nee, Witness Lee, and "The Local Church" movement? Why does Gerd Ludemann consider "he appeared to Peter and the Twelve" and "he appeared to James and all the apostles" to have originally been rival slogans, subsequently fused together? 1 Clement makes Clement Paul's contemporary, but wouldn'...

Discussion of more of Paul George's fifty-eight items of evidence that Christianity arose late in the first century and probably as a result of the first Roman Jewish war and the destruction of the Jewish temple: e.g., patristic claims that 2nd century bishops were personally acquainted with eyewitnesses of Jesus or that the Gentile Mission began only after the destruction of the Temple, etc.

Discussion of more of Paul George's fifty-eight items of evidence that Christianity arose late in the first century and probably as a result of the first Roman Jewish war and the destruction of the Jewish temple: e.g., patristic claims that 2nd century bishops were personally acquainted with eyewitnesses of Jesus or that the Gentile Mission began only after the destruction of the Temple, etc.

Why do the gospels refer simply "Caiaphas" instead of the full name Joseph ben Caiaphas? If we ended up with Paul's Christology then why do Christians get circumcised? Any notions among scholars that Paul might have been on drugs, schizophrenic, bipolar or something? Why did Irenaeus think Jesus died in his fifties?

I Septuagint Daniel was translated in the 3rd century BCE, mustn't the predictions of the Hasmonean revolt of 165 have been actual predictive prophecies? If the expression "fishers of men" as used in Habakkuk and Jeremiah denotes oppressors of Israel, doesn't the use of it to mean preachers of the gospel imply an unhistorical character for the relevant synoptic passages? Why do the synoptic storie...

I was reading Isaiah 43 and came across this passage concerning the return of the exiles from Babylon sounds a lot like Exodus with the safe passage through water and being saved from Egypt. What’s your view on the prophetic works being used to inspire parts of the Exodus story? You speak of why we might consider Mark written at a later date - my question is "Isn't the existence in Gospel of Mark...

Where in your own scholarship do you think you insert yourself--your personality, your religious beliefs, your ethics, your political beliefs, your worldview--most? And how do you, as a scholar, try to avoid falling prey to that common fate? Is there an early form of Christianity that, had it somehow won out over what became mainstream Catholic (and then eventually also Protestant) Christianity, y...

I'm curious whether any of your opinions on Biblical or Christian history going from a more rare or fringe view toward a more mainstream or conservative one? Is it not a False Dichotomy to say that the only two possibilities are Inerrant Divine Revelation and Atheism? I'm wondering when and how the change as to understanding the nature of authority, authorship, and inspiration of the Bible came to...

What exactly does Orthodox Christianity understand is happening at the crucifixion regarding the incarnation and death of the Son of God? How can a timeless being die, etc.? Why is the Last Supper/Eucharist associated with Passover and not Yom Kippur? I don't understand how there could be an original group of Christians without an individual who prompted all of the enthusiasm about him being the M...

It seems one of the main reasons Christianity was initially attractive was the promise of eternal life. And certainly, going to heaven was always the carrot I saw as a kid a couple thousand years after Christianity began. But isn't that sort of a cheap, crass, or selfish reason to believe in Jesus as savior, to believe in God, to follow the various rules as your church understands them? A reward?...

THE EARLY DATING AND AUTHORSHIP OF THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS: If you find that the swoon theory is not a “far fetched” theory, why don’t you promote it more than say mythicism, docetism, etc.? Do you think in an earlier version Cain’s murder of Abel was actually a human sacrifice? On a recent episode you mentioned Elijah originally being a sun god. Is there any archeological evidence of this? I know yo...

What would Friedrich Nietzsche think of the comic book character Superman? I would like to know if you think the New Testament outlines a clear path to salvation. If so, what must a man do to be saved? Can you please describe what you consider to be Christianities greatest contributions to human society? What is meant by "High Christology" and "Low Christology"? Where do you think we see the earli...

Why is it that the officially sanctioned oracular devices such as the Ephod (Urim and Thummim) are considered acceptable means to discern truth, while those who practice other techniques might earn the death penalty for their efforts? Often the biblical writers don't condemn specific cultural practices, but will speak on their difficulties, e.g., polygamous marriage. Any other examples? Might Jesu...

I know you think that the criterion of embarrassment is not a valid argument for the historicity of Jesus since what is embarrassing for one generation or group of Christians was not the same for another. However, the following points are startling pieces of evidence where the gospel writers are embarrassed enough to revise the story or reluctantly accept it: 1. Jesus's place of birth: Implied as...

Do you think there are any passages in the "Pauline" epistles that look like they might be written by Simon Magus? What do you make of Valentinus’s claim that he was in the apostolic line of “Paul” and had secret teachings through Paul's disciple Theudas? If this is true, and Paul is Simon, can any Valentinian-like doctrine be found in any passages in Paul that might, therefore, be likely candidat...

Is the passage in Revelation 11:7-12 about the 2 witnesses somehow related to the Passion and Resurrection narratives of the gospels? How do you think we can discern if a text critical method produces sound (or sound enough) readings and/or artificially constrains the possible meanings of a text? In the Pistis Sophia, there are references to "five trees," from which five divine beings apparently c...

Bible Geek Holiday Special Dr. Price reads a sermon about the 1947 movie "Miracle on 34th Street" titled "He Really is Santa Claus"

Who are Gog and Magog? It seems like angels have been largely written out of the script for fundamentalists. Is that your experience? Do you think this is a way for fundamentalists to avoid seeming Roman Catholic? What happened to the early Jewish Christians? How did your family react to your apostasy or backsliding or de-conversion or however you describe it? How could Jesus have been genuinely h...

Could you explain the story of Oedipus Rex as a religious figure, who had all the "signs and trappings of a deity" (Alan Dundes) I think I heard you say that the OT doesn't prophesy about a Messiah. Did I misunderstand you or did you say this? Does Matthew 19:13-15 seem to not fit between the other verses? Seems like it was added much later. How would Pilate be able to converse with Jesus? Could J...

Do you know if the term "beyond time and space" began to be used to describe God after Einstein's theories were proven? In the Pistis Sophia, there are references to "five trees," from which five divine beings apparently came (with Melchizedek from the fifth). And Jesus is made to say in the Gospel of Thomas that "there are five trees in Paradise ... and one who knows them will not taste death." W...