It is unlikely that many first-century CE Palestinian Jews, especially peasants, during Jesus of Nazareth’s (c. 6–4 BCE—c. 30 CE) time, were literate, beyond perhaps being able to write their names, numbers, receipts, and contracts for common transactions.  Most scholars, therefore, accept the study of ancient literacy provided by William Harris (1989) that around 90% of the rural population was illiterate. Although young boys were perhaps educated in Torah, this did not take place in established schools or institutions, as modern people might think. Moreover, there is little evidence tha ..read more

One of the most prominent features of Jesus of Nazareth’s (c. 6–4 BCE—c. 30 CE) teaching in the gospels is found in his repeated references to God as “Father” (Poirer 2008, 822). This was not a unique invention of Jesus’, and he did not pioneer this point of view. As Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen explains in The Doctrine of God, “nowhere does the New Testament begin from scratch or reinvent the view of God” (2004, 37). The Old Testament was already aware of God’s paternal standing and nature (Deut 32:6; Ps. 103:13; Prov. 3:12; Jer. 3:19; Hos. 11). Verses such as Psalms 2:7 do not contain the term for ..read more

The Ascension is the ascent of Jesus Christ into heaven on the fortieth day after his resurrection. The concept owes itself largely to the author of Luke’s gospel, and in particular the opening section of Luke’s Acts of the Apostles,  “After he [Jesus] said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, wi ..read more

The biblical book of Ruth narrates the story of the titular Ruth, a Moabite woman, in which her marriage to Boaz, the kinsman of her first husband, is the central theme. It presents Ruth’s devotion to her Hebrew mother-in-law, Naomi, and Ruth’s decision to leave her own land and settle in Israelite territory. The book has been dated somewhere in the late fifth or fourth century BCE, although it is set in the later days of the Judges (before 1000 BCE). It begins with a background scenario of a family, two parents and their two sons, living in Moab because of famine back home in Judah. The sons ..read more

The gospel authors never specifically announce the length of Jesus Christ’s ministry. However, the three Passovers mentioned in the Gospel of John (2:13; 6:4; 11:55) indicate that his ministry spanned at least two years in addition to the time between his baptism and the first Passover of his ministry in 30 CE.  An additional year of ministry between the Passovers of John 2:13 and 6:4 may be posited. The Passover of John 6:4 occurred about the time he fed the 5,000. Before this event, the synoptic gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke refer to Jesus’ disciples picking grain in Galilee (Mark ..read more

Loki is a mischievous and sometimes evil god of discord, included among the Aesir (a tribe of gods), who can change shapes at will, sometimes taking on the appearance of other gods or animals like a flea, a salmon, or a bird. Loki was the companion of the great gods Odin and Thor, helping them with his clever plans but sometimes causing embarrassment and difficulty for them and himself. He also appeared as the enemy of the gods. He is described as such in the Prose Edda, “There is yet one who is numbered among the asas, but whom some call the backbiter of the asas. He is the originator of dec ..read more

The avatar, central to Hinduism, refers to an earthly form, mostly human or animal, taken by a deity in order to aid human beings. According to the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu text, the god Krishna says to Arjuna: “Whenever there is a decline of righteousness and rise of unrighteousness then I send forth Myself”. The goal of the avatar is to restore the dharma, namely the maintenance of both the cosmic and the social order. It is the primary concern of the Brahmanical dharma literature, which outline the responsibilities of the priestly caste (brahmin) to produce universal order in the sacri ..read more

Arguably the most popular figure in Mahayana Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara is a bodhisattva of Compassion who is concerned with the needs of those who suffer. The height of his veneration was from the third to the seventh centuries CE in northern India. The bodhisattva is the one who postpones his own buddhahood or enlightenment until he has helped every sentient being on earth achieve liberation or release (moksha) from suffering (dukkha) and the process of death and rebirth (samsara). Avalokiteshvara is commonly depicted with four arms, two of which are crossed over his heart (symbolizing his co ..read more

In Norse mythology, Valkyries (“choosers of the slain”) are warrior handmaidens of the principal god Odin who choose which heroes slain in battle merit a place in Valhalla, the banquet hall of the slain, located in the heavenly role of Asgard (one of the Nine Realms). Valkyries are depicted and described in detail, often as young women outfitted with helmets and shields and wielding swords and spears. Physical representations are present on artifacts, such as runestones (e.g., the Rök and Karlevi runestones), stylized silver amulets, images on stones, and small figures of female warriors brand ..read more

In Norse mythology, Odin is the supreme god and creator. Other names for him include Woden, Wodan, or Wutan. Odin, depicted as a tall, elderly man with a long beard and adorning a coat, is worshipped as the god of wisdom, war, poetry, and the dead. He both rules and resides in the heavenly realm of Asgard, which contains the great hall known as Valhalla, the abode of heroes slain in earthly battle. Female warriors called Valkyries transport the fallen bodies of combatants cut down in battle to this great hall. Odin displays a ceaseless pursuit for wisdom, knowledge, and power. He obtained it b ..read more