Last week, Jeff Landry, Governor of Louisiana signed into law a statute mandating that his version of the ten commandments be posted in every classroom in the state.1 As an attorney, I realize that this is a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution and the well-established principle of the separation of Church and State. That […]
Author: Rick Massey
A Few Words About the “Apostle” Paul
Most Christians are aware that sometime after the crucifixion of Jesus, Peter and John under the leadership of Jesus’ brother, James, controlled and maintained the Jerusalem congregation. They sent out emissaries (known as “apostles”) to speak in their behalf to other Jewish congregations across Asia Minor. Some years later, Paul announced that the resurrected Jesus […]
Presenting Myth as an Historical Record
“It isn’t what he doesn’t know that bothers me. It’s what he knows for sure that just ain’t so” I am not sure who first said this (it has been attributed to Josh Billings, Will Rogers, Mark Twain, and others). But it so perfectly fits so many people. Many historians believe there is no evidence […]
Why Should We Care About the Dead Sea Scrolls?
(Based on my previous article from February 2023) If you could step into a time machine and get a first-hand look at the world of Jerusalem in the first century C.E., would you be interested? Would you be willing to pull back the cover and take a look, even if doing so revealed that we […]
The Relentless Pursuit of Ignorance
(Article originally published in 2023) Things did not change quickly in ancient Egypt. But in 1353 B.C.E. there was a new sheriff in town. Akhenaten the son of Amenhotep III made changes that must have had his dad spinning in his pyramid. The establishment priesthood had a nice gig until Akhenaten stripped them of their […]
What’s So Bad About Speaking Greek?
(Slightly revised version of the article originally published on June 30, 2023) In discussions about the New Testament over the years, we always seem to go back to blind spots that keep the parts everyone knows about from making logical sense. Such is the case when we talk about how things got the way they […]
If Blood Could Talk
(Article originally published in 2023) In 1983 I was all in with the Messianic Jewish movement. This was a very personal journey. I never bought into the idea that I, as a Christian, needed to convert Jews to Christianity. Just the opposite was the case. I wanted to be closer to Jews so I could […]
Can a Lie be Big Enough to Break a Camel’s Back?
(Article originally published in 2023) When digging up mysteries that are thousands of years old, new discoveries are only part of the process. Often, we must unlearn what we thought to be true before we can discover hidden gems that were in front of us all along. It turns out that lies can be connected […]
What was The “Other” Gospel?
(Edited version of the article originally published in January 2023) In the classic Mel Brooks movie, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Robin Hood has an important message he wants to convey to the peasants. “Why”, he is asked, should the people of Locksley listen to you?” “Because”, he explains, “unlike other Robin Hoods, I can […]