Jesus raising Lazarus

Extracanonical (noncanonical) writings from early Christ groups are not in the New Testament canon but are valuable for understanding early Christianity.

New Testament gospels fit the Greco-Roman genre of a bios, a “life,” an ancient biography promoting the subject’s image, not expected to be a factual account.

Genre, the literary type of a biblical writing, tells us what to expect and not to expect from it.

Reading the Bible as literature can mean looking for love in Genesis 2:4b–25 instead of gender norms and marriage rules.

Fundamentalist & Creationist readings of Biblical Creation stories as science distort the Bible’s literary power with literalism its writers never intended.

Bible translations of Romans 16:1-2 can portray Phoebe as leader or helper depending on choices for diákonos (deacon) & próstatis (patron, benefactor).

Paul did not write all the New Testament letters attributed to him. Seven undisputed letters are his. Three may be. The Pastoral Epistles are pseudepigraphical.

The storytelling that created narratives now in the Bible included and united groups.

Biblical scholars use gospel parallels to compare synoptic gospels. Passages about Judas Iscariot show gospel writers’ distinct points of view.

The Creation Story in Genesis 1 is a great work of literature. With creativity & imagination, a person today can meditate on to marvel at natural world.

The Bible is not a unified source for ethical mandates but a collection of texts by authors from varied historical contexts. It represents many viewpoints.

Critical biblical scholars do not share a core statement of faith or religious beliefs. Scholars’ fundamentals are methods of approach and results that can change with additional research.

How to read the Bible without fundamentalism and literalism? Historical criticism, biblical storytelling, and discussion can deepen understanding.

Biblical literalism & Fundamentalism opposed Enlightenment biblical historical criticism. Biblical interpretation skills without Christian dogmatism mean thinking for yourself.

Son of God (Divi Filius) was a Roman imperial title that early Christians used for Jesus. How people understand the divinity of Jesus has changed.

The Apostle Paul wrote letters (epistles) to early Christian communities using Greco-Roman letter forms studied by scholars of epistolography.