Features

Let this Cup Pass!
The Futile Quest for The Holy Grail By Ben Witherington III

Most of us remember the dramatic ending of the last Indiana Jones movie, The Last Crusade, when good-guy Jones confronts a wicked quester for the Holy Grail in a room full of cups. A Knight Templar is guarding the vessels, some of which are gorgeous, jewel-studded metal items, others rudimentary wooden cups. But which […]

From Symbol to Relic
How Jesus’ Cup Became the Grail By Eric Wargo

Throughout the long history of Christianity, the Holy Grail has served primarily as a symbol. As Ben Witherington III notes in the preceding article, no early Christian writings indicate that the cup used at the Last Supper survived or was preserved as a relic. Jesus’ first followers regarded the cup as a symbol […]

Circumcision
The Private Sign of the Covenant By William H.C. Propp

And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your seed after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant … every male of yours must be circumcised. When you circumcise your foreskin flesh, it will become a covenant sign between me and you. Throughout your generations, each […]

Dinner with Jesus & Paul
The Social Role of Meals in the Greco-Roman World By Dennis E. Smith

For Jesus and Paul, meals were not simply everyday events. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is portrayed as teaching while at the dinner table, performing miracles at feasts and sparking controversy by his choice of dinner companions. In the churches of Paul, meals were the setting for most if not all church gatherings, whether in […]

Departments

First Lady Jezebel
Despite her bad reputation, her marriage to King Ahab was actually a model partnership By Mary Joan Winn Leith
Gallery
The Wanderings of Cain
Bible Books
Flawed Heroes