Is Marriage a Good Thing?
Marriage has fallen on hard times of late.
As of 2020, US News and World Report documented how the US marriage rates have dropped to historic lows. Indeed, since records were kept from the early 1800’s, at no point in our history have people been married so infrequently.
But it’s not just declining rates—the people who are getting married are getting married later. Just let these numbers sink in: In 1978, the number of people between 18 and 34 who were married was nearly 60%. As of 2018, that number felt to 29%.
Now, it would be all too easy to look at these numbers and declare we just live … Continue reading...
A Wonderful New Book on Parenting Teens
Ok, let’s just get it out there. Parenting is hard. And parenting teens is particularly hard. Even more, parenting teens in our current cultural moment is exceptionally hard.
While every generation has “new” challenges, it is fair to say that the current generation has more than its fair share. We are faced with an increasingly secular culture, unprecedented social media pressures (and temptations), and record-breaking rates of depression and anxiety.
Unfortunately, Christian reactions to this matrix of challenges is not always healthy. Some parenting models become super aggressive, overly restrictive, and operate out of a fear-based mentality, sometimes exacerbating the very problem they are trying to solve. More than ever, … Continue reading...
One of the Most Overlooked Arguments for the Resurrection
Well, soon it will be Easter. That wonderful time of the year when we remember (and celebrate) the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
But, not all will be celebrating. There are many that find Easter to be a senseless holiday—apart from, perhaps, the joys of Sunday brunch or chocolate eggs. After all, it is argued, we all know that people don’t rise from the dead. And there are no reasons to think it happened in the case of Jesus of Nazareth.
In response to such skepticism, apologists have been making their best arguments for the resurrection. There’s the empty tomb. There’s the fact that women were the first eyewitnesses … Continue reading...
The Dead Sea Scrolls, the Book of Esther, and the Argument from Silence
When we want to know how the New Testament canon developed, we have a number of sources at our disposal. Most fundamentally, we have patristic sources—the writings of the church fathers—which can show us when books were known, read, and cited.
We also have archaeological evidence at our disposal. We continue to find manuscripts of the New Testament, particularly at the site of Oxyrhynchus among other places, showing that early Christians knew and used these books in some fashion.
But what do we do when a particular book is missing from either of these sources? For example, Irenaeus does not mention (or quote from) the book of Philemon. Should we … Continue reading...
Announcing My New Book with Oxford University Press
Since this blog is primarily designed to put out lay-level content on the origins of the New Testament (among other issues), I don’t normally talk about the more technical scholarly projects I am working on behind the scenes. So, here’s a little update on what I’ve been up to academically.
1. First, I am pleased to announce that I have signed a contract with Oxford University Press for a forthcoming volume entitled, Miniature Codices in Early Christianity. The volume will be appearing in the Oxford Early Christian Studies series.
I have been working on the subject of miniature codices for more than twenty years now, ever since doing my … Continue reading...