Return to Sinai

Click here (UNESCO) to view several pictures of the Saint Catherine monastery complex in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, a site which figures into scriptural stories about Moses, Elijah, and (at least indirectly) Jesus...

Your thoughts about the environment of this site, and its conduciveness to supernatural experiences?

Where is It?

Click here (biblewalks.com) to view some vivid pictures of the archaeological remains at Khirbet et-Tell (lit. 'The ruin of the mound'), which the excavators argue is Biblical Bethsaida, the fishing village referenced in the Gospels...

Do you think that this site would be receiving as much scholarly attention were it not potentially associated with Jesus? Why/why not?

Envisioning Lazarus

Click here (bible-topten.com) to view numerous portraits of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11)...

What are your observations/thoughts regarding how the very same Biblical story can be depicted in such varying manners and moods?

This Jesus Must Die

Click here (YouTube) to view a snippet from Jesus Christ Superstar which aptly captures some of the dilemmas faced by institutional powers facing disruptive peripheral intermediaries...

Road Trip?

Click here (biblewalks.com) to learn more about Sepphoris, the large and opulent Roman city located just 5K away from Jesus' boyhood town of Nazareth...

The Bible never states whether Jesus visited (and perhaps worked) here. Assuming that he did (for the sake of argument), what types of experiences and influences might he have encountered? How might it have shaped his later ministry?

Sculpting Shamanism

Click here (TheStar) to read about Inuit sculptor who's work is deeply informed by shamanism...

Do artists such as Mr. Ruben in some way help to keep these ancient traditions genuinely alive? Or are they able merely to capture glimpses of a lost world?

Exorcising One's Demons

Click here (about.com) to read a short article by a self-professed agnostic/atheist regarding the exorcisms of Jesus...

And click here (beliefnet.com) to browse an article by a Christian professor at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary...

What are your thoughts/observations about how each of these individuals approaches the matter? What are their respective insights and limitations?

A Crowded Cosmos

 

Click here (theoi.com) to view several of the ancient Greek (and later, Roman) daimones: supernatural powers/forces that (usually) did the bidding of the deities...

Any favorites?

Arabic Jesus

 

Click here (WaltersManuscript) to view pages from a gorgeous 17th Century illuminated manuscript of the Gospels by the Coptic Christian community in Egypt, illustrating several of Jesus' healing miracles...

What are your observations/reflections about the artistic style, and the theological values it conveys? Do you have any favorites?

Red State, Blue State ... Peru State

Click here (AFP) to read a quick blurb about how Peruvian shamans weighed-in on the U.S. Presidential election...

Genuine prophecy? Or good poll numbers?

Christian Vision-Quest?

 

Click here (YouTube) to view a scene from The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), a film directed by Martin Scorsese which portrayed a very human Jesus, subject to shaman-like rites of initiation...

What are your thoughts/impressions about this portrayal? Is it (potentially) accurate concerning what Jesus might have 'really' experienced in the wilderness? Is it disrespectful to traditional Christian interpretations? Why/why not?

Interview with a Shaman

 

Click here (shamanicjourney.com) to skim an interview with a Peruvian-Amazonian shaman, who discusses various powers and dangers involved with his vocation...

Does Javier seem to be content with his life's calling? Has he made peace with it?

Early Jesus(es)

• Click here to learn about the oldest known icon of the founder, fully half a millennium after his life.
• Click here to see an ancient fresco, a little closer to the original.
• Click here to learn about a possible (miraculous or fraudulent?) ancient-contemporary version.

What are your own observations and thoughts about this ancient religious iconography? About the controversies surrounding its authenticity?