Jason A. Staples
@jasonstaples
Followers
2,824
Following
425
Media
1,303
Statuses
23,628
Ass. Teaching Prof @NCState | Paul & Israel: | Idea of Israel: | Opinions my children’s | Sports: @DocStaples
North Carolina, USA
Joined June 2008
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Cohen
• 388997 Tweets
GPT-4o
• 88172 Tweets
#WWERaw
• 55527 Tweets
Carolina
• 55104 Tweets
Rangers
• 49298 Tweets
Celtics
• 48903 Tweets
Fábio
• 44641 Tweets
Mitchell
• 38707 Tweets
Luciano
• 38593 Tweets
#JACKANDJOKERQ1
• 35433 Tweets
Cavs
• 34062 Tweets
Cleveland
• 27480 Tweets
Bronny
• 25669 Tweets
Garland
• 24993 Tweets
Diniz
• 24932 Tweets
Goff
• 23093 Tweets
Kofi
• 16930 Tweets
Canes
• 16606 Tweets
Daronco
• 10745 Tweets
スナック
• 10622 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
Paul and the Resurrection of Israel is now available for preorder via Amazon (& elsewhere).
I’ve been working toward this book since spring 2003—half my life. Can’t wait to have this one out in the world.
*Affiliate link
21
11
153
These just arrived. I’ve spent half my life on this book, and it’s finally here.
41
28
423
Thesis: Melchizedek is the Tom Bombadil of the Bible.
14
19
296
Broke some new ground as a presider in two sessions at
#SBLAAR2022
. Had each panelist choose “walk-up music” to be played as they approached the podium after introduction. A few kinks to work out in first try, but definitely doing this again in the future.
18
5
190
Yikes. The community notes feature sometimes just pools the ignorance of the community.
Almost every statement here is wrong.
1) The NT is only Greek, not Aramaic
2) Nearly the entire Old Testament was written in Hebrew.
3) Masoretic Hebrew is not Modern Hebrew
Etc.
13
11
175
@ryanburge
Many of my students differentiate between “Christian” and “Catholic,” completely unaware that the latter is a subset of the former and often rather skeptical of any correction on the subject.
20
3
176
@will_Read7
@mbird12
Almost none of the money donated to sports finds its way to the school itself. Sports are basically the marketing arm of the school though.
11
1
159
Finally got the peer review reports on my big book on Paul & Israel today. They were so positive that I that I wept when reading them & have teared up more than once since. After 20yrs of work, I’m so looking forward to having this project finished & released. Humbled & grateful.
9
4
138
We have a cover! I’ve wanted this artwork for this book for years. So glad they went with it.
7
3
128
Just received the best news I’ve gotten in a long, long time. Will say more about it when I can, but today is a good day.
16
2
126
Thrilled to pass along the news that I have signed a contract with
@CambridgeUP
to publish my second book, /Paul and the Resurrection of Israel: Jews, Former Gentiles, Israelites/, with an expected release in early Q2 of 2023. Almost to the end of an exceedingly long journey!
14
7
128
@tedolsen
@WendyAlsup
That’s not what
@bethallisonbarr
argues. She argues that inerrancy *in practice* has often meant certain (ahistorical and decontextualized) *interpretations* have been treated as inerrant. That’s different from arguing against the idea of biblical authority or inerrancy
4
2
125
My article, “Vessels of Wrath and God’s Pathos: Potter/Clay Imagery in Rom 9:20–23” has just published with Harvard Theological Review. It’s open access, so all can download freely!
17
16
114
Just learned
#TheIdeaOfIsrael
has now sold 700 copies. Not sure where that stands on the scale of academic monographs, but I’m happy to see that folks are engaging with my work. Thanks to all who have purchased a copy.
13
4
111
For those who pray: One of my dearest friends from my college days was just diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. If you’re the praying type, I’d very much appreciate you praying for Tom.
9
3
102
@ErinNewtonTX
Not just vomited. Given the diet and water conditions in his region/time, he definitely had diarrhea more than once.
5
0
101
Since CUP wasn’t at
#SBLAAR2021
this year and my book wasn’t available for discounted purchase, here’s a 20% discount (price $31.99) for those interested.
Just go to and use the code STAPLES21 at checkout.
#aarsbl21
#AARSBL2021
7
25
94
I’m betting the Venn diagram of those who say “the Jews killed Jesus” & those who protest the idea that white people in USA carry any guilt for slavery is nearly a circle
7
18
91
@NeilShenvi
Not true, Neil.
1) Other than Romans, Paul sent his letters to groups of people he had previously taught/discipled at length.
2) He sent all his letters w/a reader who was responsible to clarify meaning & explain what wasn’t understood (e.g., Romans w/Phoebe)
5
1
83
Last week, on [date redacted], after hours of hard labor, my warrior of a wife gave birth to a healthy human child of 46cm and 2688g. We decided not to expose the child and have welcomed [name redacted] to our family as a legal and legitimate heir.
16
1
88
#GirlDad
in the process of weaponizing a confident, educated, & strong woman.
#MambaMetality
#MambaForever
0
3
84
Still applicable. The New Testament does *not* teach that God the Father turned his face from Jesus on the cross. That's a modern misreading that misunderstands what is happening on the cross.
I am continually amazed by how many Christians believe God the Father “turned his face away” from Jesus on the cross:
“He has not despised or scorned the suffering of the Afflicted One, nor has he hidden his face from him. But when he cried to him for help, he heard.” (Ps 22:24)
3
1
25
16
9
79
This is going to be one of the best and most important books on the New Testament in a generation. Preorder it as soon as it’s available.
submitted
Jesus and the Law of Moses: The Restoration of Israel and Eschatological Nomism (tentative title) with
@BakerAcademic
coming your way (probably in 2025).
88,000 words on Jesus’ interpretation of the Law in the Synoptic Gospels
26
10
189
4
2
78
Joke's on them: I didn't even apply for the Lecturer in New Testament Origins position, I applied for the position in Mew Testament Origins. More confident meow than ever.
13
0
66
Every time I teach NT or World Religions, my students have to do a short paper after reading the Sermon on the Mount responding to the prompt, “Does Jesus actually expect people to live up to the standards in the SOM?”
About 80-85% of my Christian students say “no.”
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus does NOT teach that his disciples cannot meet Jesus' impossible expectations and commands and that that is why Jesus died.
Rather, Jesus urges his disciples to "practice" and to "teach" Jesus' commands and words (Matt 5:19; 7:24)
2
2
48
8
6
63
@jordanbpeterson
Nonsense. You might want to read the NT before saying such things.
“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27).
2
1
59
@LauraRbnsn
I go through the labor hours required to spin the thread required for various items of clothing in antiquity w/my intro classes. Students are invariably floored that, for example, in the Bronze Age, it would take ~295 hours just to *spin the thread* needed for one pair of jeans
1
4
61
Still the
#1
new release in Judaism on Amazon. Thanks to all who have bought one! Have you gotten your copy yet?
4
4
59
Listening to
@jenniferguo
on the “thankless thanks” in Philippians 4:10-20. Compelling thesis.
3
3
61
I am thrilled to announce that my book, "The Idea of Israel in Second Temple Judaism: A New Theory of People, Exile, and Israelite Identity” has been accepted by
@CambUP_Religion
and should be published by the end of the year
8
3
60
@postbarthian
This whole thread is nonsense. “I would that all men be as I am,” as he then concedes that most won’t wind up following his lead and will wind up getting married instead.
Would be a very strange passage if he was married.
Lots of 1C Jews were unmarried. Just read Philo or DSS
3
2
57
Just got my copy! I suffered greatly over the entries on “Empire” and “Body of Christ.”
Thanks to
@NijayKGupta
and Lynn Cohick for shepherding this through.
3
1
59
Received every chapter, front matter, & bibliography of my book for copyediting yesterday. Finished & sent it all back today. I’m numb. When proofs are in & this book is completely done, the post-project depression is going to be epic. But knowing it’s coming is half the battle
5
1
58
At the start of 2021, I laid out 21 goals for the year. I managed to complete one of them. That’s a 4.7% success rate on the year.
And yet I just sat down and laid out just as many goals for 2022. Here’s to accomplishing more than one of them.
1
2
55
@KaitlynSchiess
IMO, there’s one rule: permission from both friends.
It’s tough out there (I’m so grateful I was married before this era of dating!) The more help good people can get meeting other good people, the better.
2
0
56
@surlybassey
@oakleynow
@LenaHaime
Bingo. Legacy students are the *real* Affirmative Action at elite schools.
0
2
53
@thosm6
@BethMooreLPM
Well, in fairness, Jesus was executed for going to political, so
@BethMooreLPM
is in good company
0
0
53
Looking like a busy
#SBLAAR23
in November for me. Definitely some great panels here, and I’m honored to have such eminent scholars reviewing my /Paul and the Resurrection of Israel/ book in a Monday morning session.
3
0
51
Thanks to everyone who has already bought a copy of
#TheIdeaOfIsrael
. One week left to get pre-orders in! (Pre-orders and first-week sales help a lot!)
3
5
51
Buy my book! And make sure to get extra copies for your priest/ rabbi/pastor/life coach and that crazy uncle you see at the holidays who is really into conspiracy theories.
6
7
48
@rawilson59
@DinahCox
@paulkrugman
As Yuval Harari has pointed out, democratic elections only work if there is agreement on the basics and shared culture among the populace. Such cries of illegitimacy in electoral process (which also have come from left RE: Trump’s election) are evidence that such ties are fraying
6
16
44
Just received word that my article, "Vessels of Wrath and God's Pathos: Potter/Clay Imagery in Rom 9:19–23" has been accepted for publication in Harvard Theological Review.
6
4
50
@Tyler_A_Harper
Some truth there but it’s more complicated because many of those demanding “social justice” are also elites who want to retain their status—and advocating for social justice (in a way that doesn’t require them give anything up) is actually a part of maintaining that elite status
5
6
48
Ice cold take: Rudolf Bultmann set New Testament studies back three generations.
16
1
48
First journal review of The Idea of Israel just released in Bulletin of Biblical Research.
“His ambitious study should accomplish nothing less than a paradigm shift in the way many in the guild think about Israelite identity.”
Thanks,
@paulthomasloan
!
1
4
49
What’s progressive Christian Twitter without a little casual anti-Judaism in the morning?
6
2
46
ICYMI: Recent articles by Paula Fredriksen and Matt Novenson explicitly state the presumption that when Paul says “Israel,” he means “the Jews.” My ANET article for
@ASOResearch
gives a brief summary of why that’s unlikely:
1
14
47
“If we were healthy, well-adjusted people, we wouldn’t be in this field.” -
@sccarlson
One of the truest quotes of this year’s
#AARSBL23
#SBLAAR23
3
4
44
IMO, this article will be the definitive resource on this question for many years to come. It’s one of the best articles on Romans in years.
Now published! My article with JTS on Paul’s addressee in Romans 2-4, dialoguing especially with the ‘Paul within Judaism’ school, is now available to read.
Here’s the abstract for the interested.
Link to access:
19
12
117
4
4
44
“The mouth speaks from that which fills the heart.” (Matt 12:34)
“The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart.” (Matt 15:18)
Conway: The media always wants "to go by what's come out of [Trump’s] mouth rather than look at what's in his heart"
554
145
152
2
13
40
3
2
43
End of semester email exchange:
"Hello,
I am wondering when the final is due. I am busy and knowing the date would help me plan out my schedule.
Thank you,
REDACTED”
"Hi REDACTED,
The due date is on the syllabus and was discussed in class on Monday.
Yours,
Jason”
3
0
42
Talk about an uphill battle. Hard enough to get NT scholars (especially Paul scholars) to read Deuteronomy, let alone anything else in the LXX
In my opinion, all Classicists studying ancient Greek should read at least some of the Septuagint, the largest corpus of Hellenistic Greek literature.
8
6
101
3
1
39
There are so many similarities here to how people (mis)read narratives/characters in the Bible.
The bulk of biblical stories feature characters who aren’t ideal models for emulation. Rather than heroes to be imitated, they’re complex and often tragic case studies.
Ok, one more thread on Achilles and Odysseus and how we should read Homer then I promise I will chill
The reason I am profoundly unchill about this is the confusion of rich epic narrative for simple paradigmatic propaganda
26
263
2K
4
9
41
What a wild week. One of our faculty resigned 20 mins before his first class on Tuesday, so I just built a new class (my 20th separate prep!) *during* the first week of class. Still managed to drive to Florida and play TPC Sawgrass on Friday. Tired.
7
1
41
I’ve had to learn a lesson the hard way this year. I’ve always been hesitant to reach out to managers, editors, etc to check on progress/status of projects, etc. (Not being a bother is a high value for me.) This has been a mistake. 1/x
7
3
40
Really terrific article here from Fredriksen. So much good material. And some really frustrating spots where I think she’s close but very wrong.
For example, Paul would be anomalous indeed among early Jews if for him “‘Israel’ is ‘the Jews’” (376).
🚨NEW PAULA FREDRIKSEN ARTICLE🚨 in the latest JBL!
I've kept quiet about this one for nearly a year now. But it's been my go-to account of 'Paul within Judaism' and is now the closest thing in print to coining 'Paul within paganism'. TAKE UP AND READ!
0
4
30
2
2
39
@asymmetricinfo
Academics are concerned about *both*. Lifting direct words without attribution is an obvious no-no, AND lifting ideas without attribution is verboten.
Either one is a major breach of ethics (unless of course one is politically protected due to position or for other reasons)
0
1
39
Nails it here. Jesus (and Paul) don’t critique legalism. In full prophetic tradition, their critique is *not keeping the law* adequately.
Of course, some NT scholars now: “Paul’s critiques apply to gentiles because Jews obviously followed Torah.”
Jesus: I just came for Israel, and even you law-scholars don't do the law right.
the last two hundred years of Prot NT scholarship: Jesus critiqued his people for nationalism and legalism.
1
2
45
4
5
36
Gave a talk on Critical Race Theory and Christianity at a NC State campus ministry last night. Profited mightily from the work of
@MeditarMestizo
in preparing for the talk. Gracias, hermano.
0
0
38
Uh, anyone want to tell him?
Likelihood of Nancy Pelosi praying for Trump is about the same as the likelihood of Satan running around quoting the Scriptures.
17K
5K
25K
1
1
38
Hot take: Die Hard is not a Christmas movie, it’s an Advent movie.
The first day of Christmas is Dec 25. The events of Die Hard take place on Christmas Eve, which is the final day of Advent.
It should be regarded as one of the truly great Advent movies.
#EndTheWarOnAdvent
4
8
37
Thing is, if you really want to understand Paul, spending a lot of time in Hebrews really helps establish important foundation to understand harder passages in Paul. (Unfortunately, most readers have gone the other direction, misreading Hebrews as a result.)
8
1
35
@janeclarejones
It’s baffling on why the *female* symbol (as per wording in original tweet) would be discriminatory in this case anyway. It’s not a *feminine* symbol, so it’s about sex and not gender anyway
1
0
33
Paul did an unbelievable job getting this thing off the ground and shepherding it through. So thankful to the
@HouChristianU
@HoustonTheoSem
folks who worked so hard to host this. It was a great experience
We’re done! Thanks to everyone who presented, attended, and made our Theology Conference possible. Lots of good convos on “Paul within Judaism” and Pauline epistles generally. Grateful for this little scholarly community I’ve learned a lot from on Twitter.
See ya next time.
5
1
46
2
1
36
When
@TheRealJoshJipp
learned that
@MadisonPierce
just gave
@paulthomasloan
a copy of her new book on Hebrews.
The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.
2
0
36
0
4
33
@ostrachan
Scripture doesn’t claim to be the “Word of God.” Scripture says Jesus is the “Word of God.” Seems pretty important.
1
0
35
What happens when this parent takes the two children (4 & 3yo) outside for some “special time” in nature. This was shortly after they’d gone on about a 1/2 mile trail run
4
1
35
The only place in the Bible where “by faith alone” appears is in James 2:24, where it is preceded by the word “not.”
Of course works are necessary. That’s a fundamental teaching that appears throughout the Pauline letters, and Jesus himself stated it explicitly in Matt 7:21–23.
15
15
34
Oh please let this happen.
According to
@mrRuimy
, Christopher Nolan is in talks to direct and write at least two James Bond films.
They would be true Fleming adaptations set in the period they were written.
2K
5K
69K
3
2
33
Gave same final exam I’ve been giving in an intro class for years. Typical pre-pandemic average for this exam was ~83%. Yesterday, both mean & median were 59%. Minimal effort on the essay questions, which they received a month in advance. I’m at a loss.
3
2
33
Amazing what an uneducated rube Origen of Caesarea must have been to have missed all the obvious indications of multiple characters in dialogue in Rom 3:1–9! We modern scholars obviously know the rhetorical conventions and Greek language so much better than he did!
3
2
32
@thomaslhorrocks
What’s telling is the misguided (& anti-Jewish) idea that “Jesus literally set aside the demands of the law.” False. The passage turns on technicality that her accusers aren’t following demands of the Torah, which requires both parties (not just woman) to be judged. Illegal trial
4
0
32
Jesus: "Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect."
Modern USA churches: "Jesus didn't really mean that. It's impossible to be perfect."
6
8
30
Why do we ever switch back from Daylight Savings Time? Getting dark so early sucks. Every year it gets worse.
4
4
32
The playlist:
@LambDesigns
: We’re Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister)
Lionel Windsor: So What (Miles Davis)
Doug Hoffer: Blinded (Third Eye Blind)
Respondents:
@jenniferguo
: Flight of the Bumblebee
@isaacsoon2
The Final Countdown (Europe)
Me: Why Can’t We Be Friends?
1
0
31
@WomnOfValor
(1) Lack of generational wealth
(2) Need to do productive work beyond owning land, writing letters, and “going to town” (again, see
#1
)
(3) Comfort
(4) Modern heating & air
(5) More functional modern options better suited to modern work/activities
(6) Not owning horses (see
#1
)
3
0
30
Writing is a strange thing. After floundering and grinding away for three weeks, the dam broke on Monday and everything just came so easily for three days (~6k high-quality words). More and better output than the prior month combined. Wish I could find a way to bottle that
1
0
31
This is a terrific book indeed.
3
0
31
@GingerSnapKid
Combination of:
1) Very shallow historical roots
2) Lack of catechesis & clear theological grounding
3) Individualism & commitment to accessible perspicacity
4) Resulting alliance w/consumerist civil religion
5) Suspicion of institutions & training in favor of “everyman”
1
0
31
I never thought I would ever be this bad at Halo. I once was a very good player but haven’t played a video game since my house burned in 2013 (taking my 360 with it) until tonight. Apparently it’s not quite like riding a bike. I am officially old (I type this wearing my readers)
8
1
28
Doing taxes and working through paperwork, nice to see that
#TheIdeaOfIsrael
hit 1001 sales just before end of year last year. Thanks to everyone who has bought a copy!
2
0
29
@PatrickKMiller_
I think Ezra got it wrong, & I think there’s tacit judgment against Ezra’s approach within the text. I also think Malachi’s statements about divorce (2:13–16) are probably about the Ezra situation. My book has a good bit about how Ezra-Nehemiah presents its protagonists as flawed
5
1
29
@markhelmsing
And that’s for those who actually get jobs. Seven articles and eight presentations might not be enough to get a TT job to begin with now.
1
0
30