I think the origins of Judaism and the peoples of Israel and Judah is a fascinating topic. So much of the world looks back to figures like Moses, David, and Solomon, who are shrouded in both myth and the opaque political landscape of the Levant following the Bronze Age Collapse and the end of Egyptian hegemony in the region. I listened to a video exploring that topic with archeology, I’ll share a link to it for you:
It always fires my imagination thinking about the origins of this people being amongst a time of adaptation to imperial withdrawal. I find post-Roman Britain similarly fascinating for similar reasons. I’d like to start with people like Israel Finkelstein’s popular stuff on the topic.
I’d like to start sitting down with the text of the Bible itself and look at it alongside some sort of commentary on the origin of the text. I’d like to find a good Bible for that. I never really studied it through any religious tradition that I was brought up in, as my mother, despite having her personal religious beliefs, never really invested me in any formal church during most of my childhood. It’s amazing that we have the letters of Paul, someone who was so close in proximity to the founder of Christianity.
I’ve listened to a lot of lectures from Bart Ehrman on the history of early Christianity. I’ve particularly enjoyed learning about the historical Jesus. I’ve come to read Ehrman’s historical Jesus through a leftist lens as a figure who resisted imperialism through an apocalyptic/messianic religious movement. It’s really made me reflect on how groups of people respond to the daily reality of oppression in their lives, and what outlets of action they might take. Sometimes I’ve found myself comparing my reading of Ehrman’s Jesus to other examples I see as apocalyptic religious movements against imperialism, such as the Taping Rebellion in China or the Mahdist Revolt in Sudan.
For Islam, I tried several years ago to look for popular historical-critical scholarship on the origins of it’s holy text or life of its founder, only to discover that that’s apparently harder to come by as that kind of scholarship is not as well explored as in the other Abrahamic religions. I’ve had some better luck recently after Ehrman pointed his viewers to a scholar he’s doing a joint seminar with who’s trying to explore those questions. I’ve been able to find a couple of good channels that talk about that stuff pretty well. The stuff about the Alexander romances inspiring some Quran passages sounds fascinating.
And, yeah, Bart Erhman is good! I also, among other reasons, really grew to re-embrace Biblical Christianity through analyzing Jesus through a Leftist lense as well as philosophically through an existential understanding through people like Paul Tillich. His ‘Systematic Theology’ is excellent but massive, his other works are just as rewarding too.
If you’re looking for a good book of Scriptures, I recommend the Jewish Publication Society’s Jewish Study Bible. And Harper Collins’s Study Bible. I never learned Hebrew so I can’t comment on the Jewish Study Bibles’ translation, although it reads and seems great. But I did study ancient Greek and the Christian scriptures in Greek specifically and I really recommend the NRSV translation, none are perfect but it’s excellent.
If you’re interested in reading probably the only critically academic book I’ve read on the Qur’an that comes from a Shi’a perspective, which I personally sympathize with, I really recommend Stephen Shoemaker’s Creating the Qur’an! Ehrman also had him on for a guest post on his blog which seems to summarize his book if you want to read that.
I think the origins of Judaism and the peoples of Israel and Judah is a fascinating topic. So much of the world looks back to figures like Moses, David, and Solomon, who are shrouded in both myth and the opaque political landscape of the Levant following the Bronze Age Collapse and the end of Egyptian hegemony in the region. I listened to a video exploring that topic with archeology, I’ll share a link to it for you:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SSXmf0fnhMU
It always fires my imagination thinking about the origins of this people being amongst a time of adaptation to imperial withdrawal. I find post-Roman Britain similarly fascinating for similar reasons. I’d like to start with people like Israel Finkelstein’s popular stuff on the topic.
I’d like to start sitting down with the text of the Bible itself and look at it alongside some sort of commentary on the origin of the text. I’d like to find a good Bible for that. I never really studied it through any religious tradition that I was brought up in, as my mother, despite having her personal religious beliefs, never really invested me in any formal church during most of my childhood. It’s amazing that we have the letters of Paul, someone who was so close in proximity to the founder of Christianity.
I’ve listened to a lot of lectures from Bart Ehrman on the history of early Christianity. I’ve particularly enjoyed learning about the historical Jesus. I’ve come to read Ehrman’s historical Jesus through a leftist lens as a figure who resisted imperialism through an apocalyptic/messianic religious movement. It’s really made me reflect on how groups of people respond to the daily reality of oppression in their lives, and what outlets of action they might take. Sometimes I’ve found myself comparing my reading of Ehrman’s Jesus to other examples I see as apocalyptic religious movements against imperialism, such as the Taping Rebellion in China or the Mahdist Revolt in Sudan.
For Islam, I tried several years ago to look for popular historical-critical scholarship on the origins of it’s holy text or life of its founder, only to discover that that’s apparently harder to come by as that kind of scholarship is not as well explored as in the other Abrahamic religions. I’ve had some better luck recently after Ehrman pointed his viewers to a scholar he’s doing a joint seminar with who’s trying to explore those questions. I’ve been able to find a couple of good channels that talk about that stuff pretty well. The stuff about the Alexander romances inspiring some Quran passages sounds fascinating.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Thanks! I’ll check out that video!
And, yeah, Bart Erhman is good! I also, among other reasons, really grew to re-embrace Biblical Christianity through analyzing Jesus through a Leftist lense as well as philosophically through an existential understanding through people like Paul Tillich. His ‘Systematic Theology’ is excellent but massive, his other works are just as rewarding too.
If you’re looking for a good book of Scriptures, I recommend the Jewish Publication Society’s Jewish Study Bible. And Harper Collins’s Study Bible. I never learned Hebrew so I can’t comment on the Jewish Study Bibles’ translation, although it reads and seems great. But I did study ancient Greek and the Christian scriptures in Greek specifically and I really recommend the NRSV translation, none are perfect but it’s excellent.
If you’re interested in reading probably the only critically academic book I’ve read on the Qur’an that comes from a Shi’a perspective, which I personally sympathize with, I really recommend Stephen Shoemaker’s Creating the Qur’an! Ehrman also had him on for a guest post on his blog which seems to summarize his book if you want to read that.