Tag Archives: Christianity

The soul of the Roman Empire

Posted on April 25, 2018 by

According to tradition, in the early days of ancient Rome, King Numa Pompilius established a religious institution: the Vestal Virgins.  The Vestal Virgins were chaste priestesses of Vesta, the goddess of home and hearth.  Their duty was to maintain the … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , , , , , | 41 Comments

The decline of religion in western societies

Posted on November 9, 2014 by

Huffington Post UK has published the results of a survey showing that half of Britain thinks religion does more harm than good, and that you don’t need it to be a good person.  This seems to be a trend in … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 46 Comments

What is religion?

Posted on May 7, 2014 by

Pascal Boyer in his book ‘The Fracture of an Illusion’ asserts that religion does not exist.  Boyer points out that “religion” doesn’t exist as a concept in most societies.  When Boyer, an anthropological expert in religion, says that it doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Response to the Response: How God Became Jesus « Christianity in Antiquity (CIA): The Bart Ehrman Blog

Posted on May 2, 2014 by

Earlier this week I reviewed Bart Ehrman’s new book, ‘How Jesus Became God’, and noted that there was already a response book to it.  Now Ehrman has posted a response to that response on his blog.  He posted it publicly … Continue reading →

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How Jesus became God

Posted on April 28, 2014 by

I think most of my readers know that I’m not religious.  However, I am interested in both the history and anthropology of religion.  This interest has led me to read a number of books by Bart D. Ehrman, a New … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

How Jesus Became God | Bart D. Ehrman

Posted on March 31, 2014 by

Bart Ehrman has a new book out, looking at the historical development of Jesus becoming God.  Although I’m not religious, I still find the history of religion interesting, and of the Judeo/Christian tradition in particular fascinating.  I have his book … Continue reading →

Posted in Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Hard Evidence: Is Christianity Dying in Britain? | The Conversation UK

Posted on November 29, 2013 by

Hard Evidence: Is Christianity Dying in Britain? | The Conversation UK. An interesting piece at HuffPost UK, exploring what appears to be the collapse of religion in Britain.  Although there continues to be belief in the supernatural, in other words … Continue reading →

Posted in Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments