Thanks for this interview with the best Jewish scholar on the Christian Bible today. AJ has the added draw of actually being engaged with her subject - and passionately engaged with her audience. A rare jewel.
Agree with AJ on her gentle interpretation of miracles, but I’d add Bart Ehrman’s take that spreading tales of Christ’s miracles was a chief way of converting pagans to Jesus followers. Without medical science, people of different religions were drawn most to the gods who promised cures and miracles of all kinds.
They did not need to convert for that, there were claims on this everywhere. The truth is they really were healed. Why? Because in the christian community even a slave and social drag would become brother and sister, someone to be loved and respected and not something to be used, abused and discarded. That's the healing as well.
I see the miracle stories as complex and multifaceted. First they serve the purpose of being very much like parables, they teach a lesson. Second, most religions that claim a personal God that loves you also claim miracles because they reassure that God is interested in you as an individual. It shows God is in control and can change or mold life’s chaos into something useful. Many people, even if they don’t believe that God outright heals people will talk about God working in their lives and giving them purpose. It’s a psychology that isn’t intended to be deceptive at all. Those who teach it believe it just as much as those they teach. And lastly, they are intended to show Jesus as fulfilling Jewish scripture and having power over chaos, sickness and death which were not seen as natural forces by those of that age but as demons, angels or gods. And Jesus is spiritually a king of kings having power over the gods, or angels, as spelled out in the book of the revelation where the seals to open the land deed scroll are followed by the trumpets that announce the fulfillment of the transfer as the contents of the scroll are acted on. Then that power is used to punish the wicked by pouring out the bowls. These are directly related to the miracles and the struggle of who has the real power which is tied to the second point, reinforcing both.
@@WhatIfProjectPodcast what eh... Listen in our eastern tradition we have tradition that confirm for us the four writers of the gospel, and in first second century we had a syriac thinker his was BARDISAN, WO GATHERD THE FOUR GOSPEL IN ONE BOOK AND IT USED AMONG THE CHRISTIAN SPEAKIN SYRIAC
@@lovethetruth7875The texts are anonymous and inventing names and people claiming they wrote it does not change that. Any compilation was against the will of these authors as they wrote the only, final and best work about Iesous and all other are false or outright lies. They used, altered other texts and changed thrm to make up their texts.
Well i have a friend who heard voices and some may consider them demons. As he had proper medical care he takes a medication and leads a good live now as the medication helped his brain and they stopped. So praise to Asklepius the good of healing or the doctors who worked their asses off for years to become doctors and the researchers who helped to make the medicine.
@@TorianTammas Your "or" praise this "or" that. Why not both, why the need to posit a conflict as if, thanking God would somehow be opposed to efforts of medicine and people.
@@stephenson19861 Praise to Asklepios the god of healing, praise to Athena the goddess of wisdom, praise to the scientific method, praise to the doctors and nurses.
Thanks for this interview with the best Jewish scholar on the Christian Bible today. AJ has the added draw of actually being engaged with her subject - and passionately engaged with her audience. A rare jewel.
Aj is a lot of fun to listen to
Agree with AJ on her gentle interpretation of miracles, but I’d add Bart Ehrman’s take that spreading tales of Christ’s miracles was a chief way of converting pagans to Jesus followers. Without medical science, people of different religions were drawn most to the gods who promised cures and miracles of all kinds.
They did not need to convert for that, there were claims on this everywhere. The truth is they really were healed. Why? Because in the christian community even a slave and social drag would become brother and sister, someone to be loved and respected and not something to be used, abused and discarded. That's the healing as well.
Great stuff -- so informative and inspiring.
Thank you, and thanks for watching 🙏🏻🙏🏻
I see the miracle stories as complex and multifaceted. First they serve the purpose of being very much like parables, they teach a lesson. Second, most religions that claim a personal God that loves you also claim miracles because they reassure that God is interested in you as an individual. It shows God is in control and can change or mold life’s chaos into something useful. Many people, even if they don’t believe that God outright heals people will talk about God working in their lives and giving them purpose. It’s a psychology that isn’t intended to be deceptive at all. Those who teach it believe it just as much as those they teach. And lastly, they are intended to show Jesus as fulfilling Jewish scripture and having power over chaos, sickness and death which were not seen as natural forces by those of that age but as demons, angels or gods. And Jesus is spiritually a king of kings having power over the gods, or angels, as spelled out in the book of the revelation where the seals to open the land deed scroll are followed by the trumpets that announce the fulfillment of the transfer as the contents of the scroll are acted on. Then that power is used to punish the wicked by pouring out the bowls. These are directly related to the miracles and the struggle of who has the real power which is tied to the second point, reinforcing both.
We do not who write we know Mathew or Marc... I find that little funny
Eh?
@@WhatIfProjectPodcast what eh... Listen in our eastern tradition we have tradition that confirm for us the four writers of the gospel, and in first second century we had a syriac thinker his was BARDISAN, WO GATHERD THE FOUR GOSPEL IN ONE BOOK AND IT USED AMONG THE CHRISTIAN SPEAKIN SYRIAC
Go your business with other topic go and critic tanakh even Christian western they naif
@@lovethetruth7875 oh, ok. Thanks for sharing ✌🏻
@@lovethetruth7875The texts are anonymous and inventing names and people claiming they wrote it does not change that. Any compilation was against the will of these authors as they wrote the only, final and best work about Iesous and all other are false or outright lies. They used, altered other texts and changed thrm to make up their texts.
But if HISTORICAL JESUS NEVER EXISTED.....then this TOPIC just falling apart.
We’re obviously working under the assumption that agrees with most scholarship, that Jesus did exist.
Awesome interview. I'm an ex-atheist and had a bad case of demonic oppression.
I pray 10 rosaries a day now. This stuff is real!
Well i have a friend who heard voices and some may consider them demons. As he had proper medical care he takes a medication and leads a good live now as the medication helped his brain and they stopped. So praise to Asklepius the good of healing or the doctors who worked their asses off for years to become doctors and the researchers who helped to make the medicine.
@@TorianTammasAnd what is actually your problem? Your friend got better, and OP is better, but you seem bitter.
@@stephenson19861 Thank you for your comment. What makes you feel like that?
@@TorianTammas Your "or" praise this "or" that. Why not both, why the need to posit a conflict as if, thanking God would somehow be opposed to efforts of medicine and people.
@@stephenson19861 Praise to Asklepios the god of healing, praise to Athena the goddess of wisdom, praise to the scientific method, praise to the doctors and nurses.
Utterly delusional and unprovable
lol thanks for sharing