Roman Empire
A new biblical epic, ‘The Book of Clarence,’ captures the political side of the messiah
By Andre Henry — January 11, 2024
(RNS) — An irreverent biblical comedy counters decades of whitewashed and stiff-necked biblical narratives.
Why early Christians wouldn’t have found the Christmas story’s virgin birth so surprising
By Rodolfo Galvan Estrada III — December 20, 2022
(The Conversation) — The idea of virgin birth has been part of Christianity since the start, but its significance has shifted over time.
A scholar of Jewish studies airs a few inconvenient lessons of Hanukkah
By Mark I. Pinsky — December 19, 2022
(RNS) — Prominent Middle East archaeologist Eric Meyers offers a view of Jewish uprisings, including those that followed the Maccabees, and their actual consequences.
War in ‘civilized’ Europe is nothing new. Here’s why white Westerners think otherwise.
By Kathryn Gin Lum — March 22, 2022
(RNS) — Europeans are supposed to be the ones who save ‘heathens’ from their bad behavior.
New book plumbs the role of the Herods in forming early Jewish, Christian views
By Yonat Shimron — August 17, 2021
(RNS) — In his book “The Herods: Murder, Politics, and the Art of Succession,” Bruce Chilton, a professor of religion at Bard College, places the dynastic family that ruled Judea and Israel for the Romans front and center.
No, the COVID-19 vaccine is not linked to the mark of the beast – but a first-century Roman tyrant probably is
By Eric M. Vanden Eykel — April 7, 2021
(The Conversation) — A scholar argues that Nero is the person identified in the Bible as 666.
What lessons can the clergy sex abuse crisis draw from a 4th-century church schism?
By Cavan W. Concannon — March 25, 2019
(The Conversation) — The Donatists offer a lesson about the risks to the integrity and cohesion of institutions when they shield abusers rather than protect the victims.
Why the Christian idea of hell no longer persuades people to care for the poor
By Meghan Henning — October 25, 2018
(The Conversation) — The idea of an afterlife as a moral tool goes back to the Greeks, but in present times, the concept of eternal perdition has radically changed.
Catholics and Jews mark history of the menorah with first joint show
By Josephine McKenna — February 20, 2017
ROME (RNS) During the Roman Empire the menorah became a strong cultural and religious symbol for Jews, as a joint Vatican and Jewish exhibit points out.
Kenyan lawyer on quixotic quest to nullify trial of Jesus
By Fredrick Nzwili — July 30, 2013
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) A Kenyan laywer is asking the International Court of Justice based at The Hague to nullify the conviction and sentencing of Jesus.
Candida Moss debunks the ‘myth’ of Christian persecution
By Lauren Markoe — May 14, 2013
(RNS) Growing up Catholic in England, Candida Moss felt secure in life, yet learned in church that Christians have been persecuted since the dawn of Christianity. As an adult and a theologian, she wants to set the record straight.
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