[Professor Flusser] was dynamic, imaginative, passionately interested.
How a Book is Born: Teach it To Your Children: How Kids Lived in Bible Days
Stories? Me? Write stories? That was my gut response when the scientific adviser for my book, “Teach it to Your Children: How Kids Lived in Bible Days,” made one of his first suggestions to me, because until then, my specialty was non-fiction—informing readers how people lived in Bible times.
Farms, Shepherds, and the Cycle of Life
My favorite image of Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-16). I’ve never come close to laying down my life to save our sheep from wolves or coyotes. I don’t camp outside with them in a desert, or lead them for miles to find food and water. But I do care deeply for these gentle creatures. In their quiet acceptance of God’s Will—just being what they are—they teach me to trust that “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalm 23), no matter what.
The Genesis of What Did Jesus DO All Day?
After leaving the convent and marrying, I taught high school Confirmation classes for my church. During one discussion of the Gospels, I reminded my students that Jesus was a Jew. “He was NOT!” cried one teen, his face red with anger at what he perceived was an insult. Stunned, I began to collect outside articles to share with the class, historical and archaeological material on first-century Jewish culture in the Holy Land. The idea for a teen book—one that would bring Jesus and His world to life, and show how Christianity sprouted from a Jewish foundation—began to grow.
Three Keys to Personal Happiness
What are some of the things that make you happy? I mean truly happy. While different things make different people happy—different strokes for different folks—I believe there are some keys that can enable us to experience personal happiness.
At last, Hebraic heritage resources for children and teenagers!
During the past few months, two books about the Jewish roots of the Christian faith have been published that are geared for our children and teenagers.
Unconditional Love
My wife, Lenore, and I have dealt with a great many people who, because of various circumstances in their life, are unable to feel loved—by God or anyone else. In fact, they often describe how they feel as “numb” or “empty.” They often view themselves as unattractive, unlovable, and worthless. This is in spite of the fact that many of these people are considered successful in their chosen field.
Christians and Biblical “Law”
Jesus was Jewish and so were his disciples. He did not start a new religion, but his movement was consistent with being one of several sects of first-century Judaism. There were probably essentially very few non-Jewish followers of “The Way” (Jesus, Yeshua) for the first ten years or so after his death and resurrection.
Unintentional Anti-Semitism in the Church
I heard an all too familiar theme surface in an otherwise good sermon with regard to the recognition and acceptance of Jesus as Messiah: “The Jews just missed it!” Sadly, this affront by categorization also shows a total lack of recognition of the role of Jews in the early church and in their making the message of salvation through Yeshua (Jesus) available to non-Jews. It is as if Yeshua appears on the scene, is rejected by the Jews, but is welcomed with open arms by the non-Jews.
Are There Absolutes for the Christian?
With the emphasis on relativism and situational ethics in popular culture, one might wonder if there truly are any absolutes to guide us as Christians. Perhaps we can excuse any or all behavior or lifestyle on the basis of “that’s just the way God made me—besides, Jesus paid the price for my sin so everything’s cool!”
Interview with Professor David Flusser
In 1977 David Flusser was interviewed for a BBC documentary produced by Peter Armstrong entitled, “Who Was Jesus?” An excerpt of this documentary was recently made available to the public. Watch a clip of Flusser’s interview below.
Register Now for New David Bivin Workshop!
For thirty-three years David and Josa Bivin have traveled each year to Europe and North America to teach Hebrew, give lectures and conduct workshops for fellow disciples of Jesus. This year’s tour will feature workshops in the United Kingdom and the United States.
SERIES: Jesus And The Oral Torah
In this series, Bivin attempts to show that Jesus considered the commandments of the Oral Torah to be authoritative.
And Where Did You Go for the Seder?
We are now in the middle of Passover week and one frequently hears the question, “And where did you go for the Seder [the special home service on the first night of Passover]?” Answers are varied: “To my family’s home.” “To friends.” “To a hotel in Eilat.”
Gentiles Demand All These Things
Jesus’ homily on worry (Matt. 6:25-34 ∥ Luke 12:22-31) is compared with two other ancient Jewish texts. All three sources describe gentiles as people obsessed with the basic necessities of food and drink and clothing.
Messiah (a poem)
JerusalemPerspective.com proudly presents the poetry and artwork of Elhanan Ben-Avraham.
I happily stand corrected!
After reading my “Jehovah, A Christian Misunderstanding” article, a Jerusalem Perspective Member provided several impressive references, pointed out that the Christian reading “Jehovah” can be traced to Raymond Martin’s Pugeo Fidei (1270 A.D.), and may have originated much earlier, even as early as the ninth century!
Engaged: Eternally Dwelling In Hell?
Becker discusses a JP article where one verse of Mark has Jesus using an idiom which might be misunderstood by translators. Becker purports that the discovery should engage our readers on the topic of death after death.