Category: Gnosticism
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New Book Now Available – Constantine and the Divine Mind
Just in time for the holidays… my new book is now available for order direct from the publisher’s website! Click here to order: https://wipfandstock.com/constantine-and-the-divine-mind.html Thank you so very much to everyone at Wipf and Stock for their support of this project! And thanks to everyone involved during the editing and proofing process, including Menashe Israel,…
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New Book Preview Video – ‘Constantine and the Divine Mind’
The final manuscript of my new book, Constantine and the Divine Mind: The Imperial Quest for Primitive Monotheism, is now off to the publisher to be finalized before printing. In celebration of this milestone, I’ve put together this short preview video to help introduce the subject of the book, why I wrote it, and a…
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‘Origins of Sin – The New Heretics and the Metaphysics of Disobedience’ (Presentation)
This weekend I had the pleasure of participating in the Theological Conference hosted by Atlanta Bible College and Restoration Fellowship in Atlanta, GA. I was honored to be able to present some of my Master’s Thesis research on the history of the doctrine of original sin. As I mention in the presentation, I am currently…
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“Revisiting Homoousios: Origins, Intentions, and Aftermath” (Presentation)
This month I was honored to have my lecture, “Revisiting homoousios: Origins, Intentions, and Aftermath” featured on the excellent Trinities podcast hosted by Dr. Dale Tuggy. This presentations was delivered earlier this year at the 2018 Theological Conference hosted by Restoration Fellowship and the Church of God General Conference. Dr. Tuggy has dutifully put together…
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Dealing with Objections to GJohn as anti-Gnostic polemic (H&J Part 05)
Could the Gospel of John really contain anti-Gnostic sentiments? As we have seen in previous entries, many scholars throughout history have thought so. But others have argued against this idea. Before we enter into an in-depth analysis of John’s relationship with Christian or Hermetic Gnosticism, it will be helpful to first deal with several possible…
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The Targets of the Fourth Gospel (H&J Part 04)
If the Gospel of John really is, in part, a polemic, then just who was the gospel written against? In this entry, I propose that the Fourth Gospel contains a multi-front polemic directed towards several groups which can still, at least in a general way, be identified: Jews who rejected Jesus and his followers the…
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John’s Mission and Method (H&J Part 03)
What was the purpose of John’s gospel? What sort of changes did John hope to affect in and around his community? Just who made up his community? And by what means did he work to bring about these changes through his account of the ministry of Jesus? In this entry I will begin arguing that…
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GJohn as Polemic: A brief history of John studies (H&J Part 02)
Many have believed the Gospel of John stands against a backdrop of intra-Jewish community conflict. But could the Fourth Gospel also have a relationship with early Gnosticism? Could the gospel actually contain a carefully structured argument against Gnostic opponents or ideas current in John’s first-century environment? Many scholars, both ancient and modern, have thought so. In…
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H&J on Audio – Introduction and Part 01: “The Primacy of John”
Happy to introduce the new Hermes & John audio series! This series will provide those interested in the Hermes & John project with another way to digest all the research. The paper which accompanied my recent presentation at the 2017 Theological Conference is rather long and packed full of information. Since not everyone is able…
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2017 Theological Conference
Happy to announce that next month I will be speaking at the 2017 Theological Conference in Atlanta, GA. The annual gathering, hosted by Restoration Fellowship, will feature presentations by an array of scholars, pastors, researchers, and a variety of voices from around the Biblical Unitarian community. I’ve been working diligently on this project, hence the…
