Rod's Religion Page

One of the New Testament Apocrypha, probably written in the 1st century. It differs from other stories about Paul in describing his relationship with the young Thecla. As Paul was going up to Iconium after the flight from Antioch, his fellow-travellers were Demas and Ermogenes, full of hypocrisy; and they were importunate with Paul, as if they loved him. But Paul, looking only to the goodness of Christ, did them no harm, but loved them exceedingly, so that he made the oracles of the Lord sweet to them in the teaching both of the birth and the resurrection of the Beloved; and he gave them an account, word for word, of the great things of Christ, how He had been revealed to him. And a certain man, by name Onesiphorus, hearing that Paul had come to Iconium, went out to meet him with his children Silas and Zeno, and his wife Lectra, in order that he might entertain him: for Titus had informed him what Paul was like in appearance: for he had not seen him in the flesh, but only in the s...

There were many religions in the Roman era. Mithraism was particularly popular among the common soldiery. From a poem by Rudyard Kipling: The Song of Mithras Mithras, God of the Morning, our trumpets waken the Wall! “Rome is above the Nations, but thou art over all!” Now as the names are answered, and the guards are marched away, Mithras, also a soldier, give us strength for the day! Mithras, God of the Noontide, the heather swims in the heat. Our helmets scorch our foreheads, our sandals burn our feet. Now in the ungirt hour – now lest we blink and drowse, Mithras, also a soldier, keep us true to our vows! Mithras, God of the Sunset, low on the Western main – Thou descending immortal, immortal to rise again! Now when the watch is ended, now when the wine is drawn, Mithras, also a soldier, keep us pure till the dawn! Mithras, God of the Midnight, here where the great Bull dies, Look on Thy children in darkness. Oh, take our sacrifice! Many roads Thou hast fashione...

THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE The Old Testament (the Jewish Bible) Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy The first five books of the bible are variously referred as The Law, The Pentatuch (meaning the “five books” or “five scrolls”), The Septuagint, (which means “70”), and, to Jews in particular, the Torah (which can mean “instruction” or “law”). These are thought to be written around 1600-1450 B.C. The Septuagint refers to the translation of the original Hebrew into Greek by 70 scholars in the 3rd century B.C. Joshua Esther Hosea Judges Job Joel Ruth Psalms Amos l Samuel Proverbs Obadiah 2 Samuel Ecclesiastes Jonah 1 Kings Song of Solomon Micah 2 Kings Isaiah Nahum l Chronicles Jeremiah Habakkuk 2 Chronicles Lamentations Zephaniah Ezra Ezekiel Haggai Nehemiah Daniel Zechariah Malachi The Apocrypha (= to be hidden) Not seen as divinely inspired. Written 300-100 B.C., mostly in Greek The First Book...

R oman Emperors from the New Testament Augustus (27 B.C.-14 A.D.) - Luke 2:1 Tiberious (14-37 A.D.) Luke 3:1, 20:22, 23:2; John 19:12-15 Gaius [Caligula] (37-41 A.D.) Claudius (41-54 A.D.) Acts 11:28, 18:2 Nero (54-68 A.D.) Acts 25:8-12, 21

A satirical look at the more incredible depictions in the bible by the satirist who published on the website "Russel's Teapot." Click to enlarge Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Numbers 22:28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” Job 41:21 His [the dragon 's] breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth. Isaiah 51:9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon ? Isaiah 27:1 In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. Mark 5:13 H...

This is a derogatory version of the life of Jesus, growing out of the response of the Jewish community to Christianity. The tradition presented here is most commonly dated to approximately the 6th century AD. The text itself is closer to the 14th c. There is no scholarly consensus on to what extent the text might be a direct parody of a now lost gospel. H.J. Schonfield argued that it was so closely connected to the Gospel of the Hebrews that he attempted to reconstruct that lost work from the Toledoth. Text from Goldstein, Jesus in the Jewish Tradition, pp. 148‑154. Most of the notes are mine, but they are clearly marked ([G] = Goldstein, [AH] = Alan Humm) In the year 3671[1] in the days of King Jannaeus, a great misfortune befell Israel, when there arose a certain disreputable man of the tribe of Judah, whose name was Joseph Pandera. He lived at Bethlehem, in Judah. Near his house dwelt a widow and her lovely and chaste daughter named Miriam. Miriam was betrothed to Yohanan, of the...

by Hayyim ben Yehoshua Much concern has been expressed in the Jewish media regarding the activity of "Jews for Jesus" and other missionary organizations who go out of their way to convert Jews to Christianity. Unfortunately, many Jews are ill‑equipped to deal with Christian missionaries and their arguments. Hopefully this article will contribute to remedying this situation. When countering Christian missionaries it is important to base one's arguments on correct facts. Arguments based on incorrect facts can easily backfire and end up strengthening the arguments of the missionaries. It is rather unfortunate that many well meaning Jewish Studies teachers have unwittingly aided missionaries by teaching Jewish pupils incorrect information about the origins of Christianity. I can recall being taught the following story about Jesus at the Jewish day school which I attended: "Jesus was a famous first century rabbi whose Hebrew name was Rabbi Yehoshua. His fath...