The story of the Dead Sea scrolls is separate and distinct from the findings in Upper Egypt called the Nag Hammadi Library. However, the stories are very similar. In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd stumbled onto a collection of ancient fragments in a cave above Khirbet Qumran at the north end of the Dead Sea. He … Continue reading The Story of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Author: Great Books Guy
Monkey Business
Money Business (1931) Director: Norman McLeod Monkey Business is technically the third Marx Brothers film, after Animal Crackers, though it is the first to feature an original screenplay. The plot is simple. The Brothers play four hideaways aboard a cruise liner. They try to avoid the ship's security guards, while accidentally getting involved in rival … Continue reading Monkey Business
Notes on the Epistle of Barnabas
The Epistle of Barnabas comes down to us among the Christian apocrypha of writings. Tradition holds that Barnabas was the author - the same Barnabas mentioned in Acts. However, the text itself is anonymous. Some early Church Doctors accepted the epistle as canonical, but theologians like Eusebius considered it non-canonical. The letter is distinct from … Continue reading Notes on the Epistle of Barnabas
Thoughts on the Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel of Thomas was found among the Coptic translated texts in upper Egypt, known collectively as the Nag Hammadi Library. It announces itself as a collection of Jesus's sayings that were transcribed by Didymos (meaning "twin" in Greek) Judas Thomas (meaning "twin" in Aramaic). Jesus says: "whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will … Continue reading Thoughts on the Gospel of Thomas
Notes on the Life and Works of Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) Rembrandt was born in 1606 in the Dutch Republic (no the Netherlands) to a miller and a baker's daughter. Since much of his artwork has had such religious influence, Rembrandt's mother was a Roman Catholic and his father was a member of the Dutch Reform Church. Rembrandt grew up in Leidin, … Continue reading Notes on the Life and Works of Rembrandt van Rijn
Early Autumn
Louis Bromfield was a fascinating man. He was an Ohioan by birth who lived as an expatriate in France for many years, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Edith Wharton and Gertrude Stein, before returning to the United States around 1939, before the outbreak of World War II in Europe. He studied agriculture at Columbia … Continue reading Early Autumn
Thoughts on the Shepherd of Hermas
The Shepherd, as it has come to be called, was the first great Christian allegorical book among which many later texts would follow, like John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Like The Apocalypse of John or the letter of Paul, The Shepherd is written in the first-person, as a reflection or a vision. It was likely written … Continue reading Thoughts on the Shepherd of Hermas
The Story of the Nag Hammadi Library
The story of the origins of the Nag Hammadi texts is fascinating, dark, and full of intrigue. It is perhaps best told by Elaine Pagels in her monumental book, The Gnostic Gospels in 1979. The scene is 1945 in Upper Egypt. Near the town of Naj 'Hammádì is a mountain filled with hundreds of caves … Continue reading The Story of the Nag Hammadi Library
Notes on the Twelve Apostles of Jesus
Who are the twelve apostles of Jesus as described in the Gospels of the New Testament? Simon "who is called Peter" was born somewhere around 30 AD and died perhaps between 62 and 64 AD. Tradition holds that he was martyred under the emperor Nero Rome by being crucified upside-down during the time of the … Continue reading Notes on the Twelve Apostles of Jesus
A Vision of Horror and Apocalypse in John’s Revelation
The Book of Revelation is one of the more dark and foreboding texts in the Biblical canon. It continues the ancient eschatology found in the works of Daniel and others, prophesying a dark vision of the future. In the same way that Daniel generally refers to the troubling times of Babylon and its treatment of … Continue reading A Vision of Horror and Apocalypse in John’s Revelation
