Friday, May 31, 2024

This Week in Religion - Ancient text reflects what Christians read before Bible was formed

Lead story

A man holds a yellowed manuscript with gloved hands.

Editor's note:

An important mid-fourth century text, the Crosby-Schøyen Codex, which gave scholars a better understanding of early Christianity, will go on auction on June 11 at Christie’s in London.

Discovered alongside 20 other texts near Dishna, Egypt, in 1952, the codex is part of manuscripts collectively known as “the Dishna Papers” or “the Bodmer Papyri.” The Dishna Papers, produced at one of the first Christian monasteries in Egypt, have been crucial to making revisions to the text of the New Testament. 

According to Ian N. Mills, who teaches classics and religious studies at Hamilton College, the codex itself contains three biblical texts, including the Book of Jonah and the First Epistle of Peter. It most likely once belonged to “book-loving monks” in central Egypt.

Today – for a few million dollars – it could be yours, as Mills writes.

A headshot of Kalpana Jain, Senior Religion & Ethics Editor at The Conversation U.S. and Director of the Global Religion Journalism Initiative.
 

Religion News

How is the ‘Appeal to Heaven’ flag spotted at Alito’s house linked to Jan. 6?

‘Throughout the Trump presidency, the flag became a symbol for Trump, for Christian America, for this insurgent Christian nationalism,’ says scholar Matthew Taylor. By Kathryn Post/Religion News Service

These three anti-Zionists were just ordained as rabbis

The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College still defines itself as Zionist and is committed to Israel's existence and its right to self defense. But it is also open to other perspectives. By Yonat Shimron/Religion News Service

Ahead of elections on June 2, an urgent issue facing Mexico is the rampant violence perpetrated by criminal gangs. The governing party is favored to retain power -- but many Mexicans wish it would do more to achieve peace, including Catholic leaders still scarred by the gang murders of two Jesuit priests in 2022. By María Teresa Hernández/The Associated Press

California evangelical seminary ponders changes that would make it more welcoming to LGBTQ students

Fuller Theological Seminary, an evangelical school in Pasadena, California, is deliberating whether to become more open to LGBTQ+ students who previously faced possible expulsion if found to be in a same-sex union. By Deepa Bharath/The Associated Press

A funeral procession for Judes Montis, a mission director who was killed by gang members. There are people with various instruments walking in front of the hearse.

Hundreds mourn gang killings of a Haitian mission director and a young American couple

Hundreds of people packed into a sweltering church in Haiti’s capital to mourn Judes Montis, a mission director killed by gang members who also fatally shot an American missionary couple who worked with him. By Evens Sanon and Danica Coto/The Associated Press

 

Commentary and Analysis

Laïcité, which historically upheld individual freedom, denies minority rights today, as seen in the ban on French athletes wearing hijabs at the 2024 Paris Olympics. By Armin Langer for The Conversation

The late President Ebrahim Raisi was supposedly being groomed to succeed an aging Ali Khamenei. The succession is a complex process, more dependent on politics than religion. By Eric Lob for The Conversation

Moving too quickly may blow up the church. Moving too slowly means losing the young. By Thomas Reese/Religion News Service

Many Poles were outraged by abortion restrictions put in place during the previous government. That doesn't mean they agree on the path forward. By Patrice McMahon for The Conversation

 
A wide view of a crowd of people releasing paper lanterns into the sky.

People release lanterns during the celebration of Vesak, which marks the day of Buddha's birth, death and enlightenment at the 9th century Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)

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