Was Paul the Jew the Founder of Emerging Christianity?

Dr. Tabor is professor of Christian origins and ancient Judaism. He has his B.A. in Greek from Abilene Christian University (1966), his M.A. in Religion from Pepperdine University (1971), and an M.A. and Ph.D. in the History of Ancient Mediterranean Religions in the Humanities Division of the University of Chicago (1974, 1981).

Tabor has combined his work on ancient texts with extensive field work in archaeology in Israel and Jordan, including work at Qumran, Sepphoris, Masada, and Wadi el-Yabis in Jordan. Over the past decade he has teamed up with with Shimon Gibson to excavate the “John the Baptist” cave at Suba, the “Tomb of the Shroud” discovered in 2000, and ongoing work at Mt Zion. Most recently, Tabor, along with Rami Arav,  have been involved in the re-exploration of two tombs in East Talpiot; the controversial “Jesus tomb” and a related tomb less than 200 feet away that has ossuary inscriptions Tabor and Arav interpret as Judaeo-Christian.

Among his publications are Things Unutterable (1985); A Noble Death (1992); Why Waco: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America (1995); Restoring Abrahamic Faith (2008) and the New York Times bestselling The Jesus Dynasty: A New Historical Investigation of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity (2006).

In 2012 Tabor published two books: the first, co-authored with Simcha Jacobovici, The Jesus Discovery: The New Archaeological Find that Reveals the Birth of Christianity (Simon & Schuster) that offers a comprehensive overview of both of the Talpiot (“Jesus family”) tombs in Jerusalem with all the evidence brought together and Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity (Simon & Schuster).

Cosponsored with Disciples Divinity House at Vanderblit University.