I have strong disagreements with those who think that Jesus's death resolved sin's problem, Paul's gospel is only about Jesus's redemptive death, and John's Jesus is divine.
Why are there differences in the gospels? Are they historically reliable?
First of all, the gospels we have in the New Testament are not eyewitness accounts. They are all anonymous and we don't know who wrote them. The title of the gospel was added in the second century CE to make distinctions among the different gospels. We believe that they were written down at least 40-60 years after Jesus died. All of them were written in Greek. This is odd given the fact that Jesus and his disciples spoke Aramaic. Jesus's disciples were Galileans and illiterate; therefore, they could not write in Greek. Until the gospels were written down by Greek-speaking persons, a variety of oral traditions about Jesus had been circulating in different regions beyond Palestine, including Greek-speaking regions.
Key Concepts in the Tanakh
חֶסֶד (hesed): mercy, kindness, love
God is hesed. Therefore, people should be also kind and loving with one another.
*For example: Book of Ruth
How much do we know about Mary Magdalene?
In order to understand who Mary Magdalene was, we need to find the closest or earliest sources about her. Scholars believe that the four canonical Gospels are the best sources about Jesus we can rely on although they are not accurate 100 % historically speaking. These gospels were written down about 40-60 years after Jesus died. Mary is recorded very briefly in several places of the four canonical Gospels (Matt 27:56, 61; 28:1; Mk 15:40, 47; 16:1, 9; Lk 24:10; Jn 19:25; 20:1, 18). In these Gospels, she appears to be a strong follower of Jesus, a witness to his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. Jesus drove the seven demons from her (Lk 8:1-3; Mk 16:9). Other than the above, we don't have information about her.
Do the Ends Justify the Means?
What do you think about Naomi's plan to seduce Boaz through Ruth? Is it her faith that God provides security and the future through Ruth and Boaz?
1 Cor 14:33b-36 is considered an interpolation by many scholars. I told my students that this passage is out of the blue. It is not connected with all previous chapters and all the following. This passage is abrupt. It is said that women should not speak in the church and if they have questions they must ask their husbands at home.