Dr Paul Allen

  Since the biblical writers make reference to other historical works such as the Book of Jashar (Josh 10:13), the Annals of the Kings of Israel (1 Kgs 14:19), and the History of the Prophet Nathan (2 Chr 9:29), it may be assumed that there once existed a library of historical books from which to draw.  However, none of these cited works are available to us now. This can be frustrating to us, but at least it indicates that the editors chose to draw on a set of rich traditions available in their own time. The apocryphal or deuterocanonical books also contain historical books that add to the story of Israel’s interaction with other nations. Thus, First and Second Maccabees provide some remarkable information on the Hellenistic period (c. 300–60 BCE) that answers many questions about the intertestamental era between the close of the Hebrew canon with Ezra (c. 400 BCE) and the beginning of the Christian era.  In particular, there is a picture drawn of the culture wars in whic...

  We can only speculate. But we do have some evidence to go on. Our best evidence indicates that the book of Acts was widely circulated among Christians around A.D. 90. Acts tell us all about Paul’s life as a travelling missionary for Christianity. These tales of Paul’s journeys, his adventures, his hairbreadth escapes, his hardships and suffering as he sought to spread the Christian faith must have been exciting reading for the early Christians! Many of them would have known little or nothing about Paul. But when the book of Acts was published, they wanted to know more about him. Then, when they discovered that he had died a martyr for the faith, those Christians would have recognized that here, indeed, was a Christian hero! It has been pointed out that the Book of Acts could guide a person interested in collecting Paul’s letters to seven of them. If some early Christian had the Letter to the Colossians and the Letter to Philemon, then the Book of Acts would tell him or her where ...

Unless you’ve been on an extended vacation from popular culture, you know there’s been a discussion about how we got the New Testament. Dan Brown’s blockbuster novel  The Da Vinci Code  based its conspiratorial plot in part on the notion that other gospels had been eradicated by spiteful church authorities and an emperor openly partial to orthodoxy. The success of the novel prompted many churchgoers to ask whether or not all the books that should be included in the New Testament actually were. To be sure, Dan Brown took a lot of liberties with the facts in his story. But what if we’re not dealing with fiction? The New Testament itself tells us that there were books written by apostles that didn’t make it into in the Bible. Surprised? Let’s take a look. 1 Corinthians 5:9 In 1 Corinthians, Paul himself mentions an earlier letter he wrote to this same church: “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people” (1 Cor 5:9). While some interpre...

[Paul] writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. [ 2 Peter 3:16] Which books from the ancient Jewish culture are Holy Scripture ? For us that seems a very difficult question, but at the time the books were written it was not. The Holy Spirit confirmed the writings of Moses, the prophets, David, and the apostles, with signs and wonders. The Spirit caused believers to recognize instantly the voice of the Master in these writings, and they were immediately added to the list of sacred books. Peter speaks of Paul’s letters as part of Holy Scripture in 2 Peter 3:16. The list of inspired books of the Bible is called the “canon” of Scripture. Satan tried to confuse the issue in the second century A.D. First, he worked through the gnostic heretics to produce a lot of obviously fake gospels and...