Category Archives: History

Suetonius, Nero’s Dreams, and Biographical Memory

Posted on October 14, 2019 by Celsus

Several years ago, back in Spring 2011, I took a graduate course taught by prominent Classics scholar Marilyn Skinner on ancient biography and Suetonius’ Life of Nero. One of the most interesting sections of the biography is a series of … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Biography, Classics, Dissertation, Exegesis, Historical Jesus, History, Literary Theory, Religious Studies, Weird Stuff from Antiquity | Tagged Ancient Biography, Dreams, Flight to Egypt, Gospel of Matthew, Herod the Great, Historical Jesus, Mimesis, Moses, Nero, Suetonius | 6 Comments

Authorial Third Person Narration–in Thucydides, Josephus, Xenophon, and Caesar–Versus the Gospel of Matthew

Posted on July 18, 2018 by Celsus

One of the issues that pops up frequently, when discussing the authorial anonymity of the Gospel of Matthew, is how a number of Classical authors refer to themselves in the third person, when narrating historical events in which they themselves … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Exegesis, History, Literary Theory | Tagged Anonymity of the Gospels, Authorial Third Person, Calling of Matthew, Gospel of Matthew, Historiography, Josephus, Julius Caesar, Matthew the Disciple, Thucydides, Xenophon | 4 Comments

David Bryan on N.T. Wright and the Argument from “Anachronistic Anastasis” by Eric Bess

Posted on April 1, 2018 by Celsus

[Below is a guest blog by my friend Eric Bess, which deals appropriately with a topic pertaining to Easter and how to interpret the nature of the resurrection event.] General Problems of Reasoning and Rhetoric One of the most common … Continue reading →

Posted in Exegesis, Guest Blogs, Historical Jesus, History, Miracles, Resurrection | Tagged Dale Allison, Daniel Smith, David Bryan, James Charlesworth, Markus Bockmuehl, N.T. Wright, Richard Miller | 7 Comments

More of the Same: Eric Bess Reviews Sean McDowell’s “The Fate of the Apostles”

Posted on September 22, 2017 by Celsus

Below is a guest post by my friend Eric Bess, in which he reviews Christian apologist Sean McDowell’s book The Fate of the Apostles: Examining the Martyrdom Accounts of the Closest Followers of Jesus. McDowell defends the apostolic martyrdom argument for the resurrection, … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologists, Christology, Guest Blogs, Historical Jesus, History, Miracles, Resurrection, Reviews | Tagged Accounts of the disciples' deaths, Argumentum Ad Martyrdom, Christian Persecution, Deaths of the Disciples, Disciples died for their beliefs, Disciples Martyrdom, Eric Bess, Resurrection of Jesus, Sean McDowell, The Fate of the Apostles, What happened to Jesus' disciples?, Would the disciples die for a lie? | 1 Comment

Ten Reasons to Reject the Apologetic 10/42 Source Slogan

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Celsus

[As of April 2nd, 2013, one of the authors of The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus — Mike Licona — has acknowledged factual errors in the book’s section dealing with the 10/42 apologetic (pg. 128). I have revised the article in … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Historical Jesus, History | Tagged 10/42 Apologetic, Apologetic Errors, Apologetic Exaggerations, Caesar vs. Jesus, Cliffe Knechtle, Did Jesus exist?, Douglas Jacoby, Evidence for Jesus, Frank Turek, Gary Habermas, Historical Jesus, JP Moreland, Michael Wilkins, Mike Licona, Norman Geisler, NT Wright, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach, Tiberius Caesar | 24 Comments