This Week in Word from the Bird

Posts for 16-20 Jan 2023

Monday: Was There "Belief" in Greco-Roman Religion? (Free Sign-Ups)
One of the assumptions frequently made about religion in antiquity is that Greco-Roman religions were about ritual, while Christianity was about belief. It is a standard line in Roman history and in Christian theology. I know that assumption, I’ve often repeated it myself. However, while researching my Jesus among the gods, it became apparent to me that it is not entirely true.

Wednesday: Story of My Books # 18: Jesus the Eternal Son (Free Sign-Ups)
Book # 18 was Jesus the Eternal Son: Answering Adoptionist Christology (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017). In this book, I try to show that adoptionist christology, the idea that Jesus becomes the son of God at his resurrection or baptism, often thought to be the earliest christology, does not really become a view until the late second century.

Friday: Jordan Peterson on the Logos in Ephesus (Paid Subscribers)
According to Jordan Peterson, the Logos provides a framework in which moral values can be logically sustained and our duty is to live in accordance with the Logos. We need to “wake up” and accept “our moral burden to bear in the adventure of life.” To me, this sounds like a theory of religion somewhere between Hegel and Hannity.