A central value David Bivin promoted on Jerusalem Perspective is the struggle against historical distortions of Jesus that, throughout the ages, fostered anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism in Christian research.
Love That Costs: Jesus, the Good Samaritan, and the Enemy Next Door
The Parable of the Good Samaritan is a deeply unsettling mirror, revealing that love of one’s neighbor is tested not with strangers at the far edges of the world, but close to home—at our own doorstep, among those with whom we share past conflict, mistrust, disappointment, and hurt.
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Purity Halakha in the Story of the Hemorrhaging Woman
Does concern for ritual purity explain why the hemorrhaging woman touched Jesus’ tzitzit?
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Man With Edema
According to Jesus, God sets aside his divine prerogatives in order to alleviate human suffering.
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Coordinating Ritual and Moral Purity in the New Testament
Taking another look at how John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Apostle Paul related to issues of ritual and moral purity.
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What’s Wrong with Contagious Purity? Debunking the Myth that Jesus Never Became Ritually Impure
The view that Jesus could not be affected by impurity and that Jesus was able to spread his purity to others is based on faulty assumptions and invalid inferences.
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Halakha in the Gospels
The Gospels describe Jesus and his followers as keeping halakha to a relatively high extent; they were a group to whom the law was important.
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He Could No Longer Openly Enter a Town: A Synoptic Study in Light of an Early Luke
According to Mark, after one of Jesus’ very first miracles, Jesus would no longer openly approach a town in public, but instead avoided the crowds who continually sought him out.
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Two Neglected Aspects of the Centurion’s Slave Pericope
Ritual impurity and the tensions resulting from Roman imperialism are two aspects of the Centurion’s Slave pericope that often go overlooked.
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Possessed Man in Girgashite Territory
Holiness and purity play a hidden role in the story commonly known as the Gerasene Demoniac.
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