Category Archives: Salm

My journey as a “spiritual atheist”—Pt. 3

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Motive, means, and opportunity Reflecting upon Jesus’ virgin birth, resurrection, and everything in between, I was now convinced that his various biographies as presented in the gospels are pure fiction. Liberal scholarship has amply confirmed this and shown, for example, that the birth stories in Matthew and Luke are incompatible and preposterous as history. King Herod did not murder the babies of Bethlehem—no Roman writer noted such an atrocious act. No star stood still over the village. No census required people to return to their birthplace—a prescription for social chaos, otherwise unknown, that the practical Romans would never have mandated. In other words, Christianity is founded on an invented story—indeed, upon a “lie.” That is a harsh word, but no … Continue reading →

My journey as a “spiritual atheist”—Pt. 2

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Reason from the East My doubts regarding the existence of god received surprising validation about this time through the discovery of Buddhism. While some call Buddhism a religion, others look upon it as a philosophy. Buddhism is atheist and teaches that each person can (and should) find his or her own answers through a combination of effort and reason. I liked Buddhism’s self-reliance, its non-corporatism, and its emphasis on ethics and understanding. It resonated with my desire to live a moral life while searching for ultimate answers. In the 1980s I returned to Oregon and worked for some years at the State Psychiatric Hospital. The work was dangerous and I eventually transferred to a private hospital where admissions were on … Continue reading →

My journey as a “spiritual atheist”—Pt. 1

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The search Long ago as a college music major I spent most of my time practicing piano in “the catacombs”—a series of windowless, graffiti-lined cubicles under the University of Oregon School of Music. The walls were paper thin, and the din from neighboring musicians usually insufferable—but also sometimes fascinating. Practicing required unique non-musical skills: the ability to stop reading the graffiti; the ability to tune out the sonic competition; and (the hardest one for me) the ability to stop writing music on the walls. I wasn’t good at these, and my lessons and grades suffered accordingly.   Under such distracting circumstances I practiced hard and somehow also managed to compose reams of music, dreaming of the day when I would … Continue reading →

My trip to the SBL in Chicago—Part 3

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At the University of Chicago library   Sometimes I travel just to spend time at a well endowed library. Not too long ago I spent a very productive week in springtime at the Graduate Theological Union library in Berkeley. For me, that’s even a better vacation than lounging on the sands of Hawaii. One of my reasons for accepting the SBL speaking engagement was to be able to spend time at the world class Univ. of Chicago library. With about ten million volumes, it’s more than three times the size of the (entirely respectable) Univ. of Oregon library which I routinely use.   Over the previous year I had prepared in advance a list of (mostly obscure) books and articles … Continue reading →

My trip to the SBL in Chicago—Part 2

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BAR rears its head (or raises its rear)   No doubt for logistical reasons, several religious studies conventions took place about the same time in Chicago. The venerable American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) hosted its annual convention immediately before the SBL (Nov. 14-17) at the Chicago Mariott hotel downtown, thus allowing scholars to go from ASOR to SBL without leaving town.   BAR was different. The well known Biblical Archaeology Review is a traditionalist magazine that, IMO, often sensationalizes and not seldom misinforms. Over the years I’ve avoided this rag like the plague. In any case, BAR is published by the Biblical Archaeology Society which elected to compete with ASOR and SBL-AAR by scheduling its annual conference simultaneously a … Continue reading →

My trip to the SBL in Chicago—Part 1

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As mentioned in a prior post, I had to be coaxed into going to the SBL/AAR annual convention, for the academic scene basically turns me off. I observe PhD’s in Biblical Studies not doing their job and reflexively think, What excuse in this modern day and age do you have for perpetuating groundless delusions among your students? I realize that this is not entirely fair, for some committed professors are not tied to a theological agenda. They are few, however, and their voices are drowned out by the hordes of propagandists who—you guessed it—annually populate the halls of SBL mega-conventions. Even fine professors, unfortunately, often have a laissez faire attitude and don’t realize the uniqueness that attaches to either their … Continue reading →

Ten steps to the birth of Christianity: My view

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1. A PREACHER (“Teacher”) is born in Palestine towards the beginning of the common era. He claims to have found answers to the ultimate questions facing mankind and attempts to teach others the “Way” to understanding and fulfillment. His teachings conform to the Gnostic type and are fundamentally secular—the exercise of human reason and the application of effort towards the “understanding of life” (Mandaic: manda d’hayye).   2. THE REBELLION: The Teacher challenges the religious institutions of his time and place (as did the Buddha and Zoroaster before him). He considers Jewish teachings useless and misleading: cant, rite, sacrifice, and obedience. Though born a Hebrew, he rebels against Judaism. 3. THE BEGINNING OF A NEW RELIGION: Some followers listen to … Continue reading →

My upcoming SBL talk on Nazareth archeology

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Today I sent in the draft for my upcoming talk in Chicago at the Society for Biblical Literature (SBL) Annual Meeting (Nov. 17-20). As it happens, the SBL program book also arrived in today’s mail—a 500 page doorstop that all attendees are supposed to carry around with them for four days. Right… The trip to Chicago will be a welcome break from my mundane existence in Eugene, Oregon. Thankfully, my costs have been covered by a generous benefactor. Otherwise, I could hardly afford the $1,000 tab. This will be my first SBL meeting—and probably my last. I was basically dragged kicking and screaming into giving this presentation—because, quite frankly, the academic scene turns me off. I have little interest in … Continue reading →

The Mandeans and Christian Origins (R. Stahl)

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In a recent post I mentioned reading a book by Robert Stahl, “Les Mandéens et les Origines Chrétiennes” (Paris, 1930). I finished it yesterday. Actually, I only read about half the book, because when I was at GTU library in Berkeley (see last post) I photocopied only what I considered the most important chapters. Here’s my comment on this interesting work… Stahl sees the Gospel of John as dependent upon (and as a reaction against) Mandaism (pp. 10, 14). Both emphasize light/life/the word, but the main difference is that the Fourth Gospel carnalizes these in the person of Jesus. According to Stahl, GJohn was a reaction against those who considered John the Baptist to be the “Great Revealer,” and the … Continue reading →

Doing research

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Every year or two I make a special trip to a well-endowed library in order to gather hard-to-find reading material for the next twelve months. One might think I’m in the boondocks but, actually, the local library here in Eugene, Oregon is not at all shabby. After all, the University of Oregon library has an exceptionally large religious studies collection—which is surprising, since the U of O doesn’t even offer an advanced degree in the field. Nonetheless, each month there are generally a couple of books or articles which I really need and which the U of O lacks. So, over the course of the year I compile a list of those sources and, when the list gets to a … Continue reading →