Nicola Denzey Lewis

Nicola Denzey Lewis

Nicola Denzey Lewis is a visiting associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Brown University. An award-winning teacher and researcher, she is a frequent contributor to Bible Odyssey. She is also featured in documentaries on the Bible and Early Christianity on the History Channel, the BBC, and CNN's new six-part series, Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact, and Forgery.

This is a painting of Paul in prison made by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1627.

Roman Imprisonment

What is known about Christian imprisonments by the Romans?

A fragment of the Gospel of Mary

Noncanonical Gospels

What other gospels did not make it into the Bibles of today?

Detail of a page from Codex Sinaiticus (circa 350 C.E.)

What Was the Original Language of the Bible?

The Bible’s singular authoritativeness seems to be uncompromised by the many translations that have been created in the past few millennia.

Oyrynchus Papyrus

What Are Noncanonical Writings?

Early Christian writings that are not typically included in the New Testament can still reveal much about religious history and about the doctrines associated with Christianity today.

Babylonian administrative documents (cuneiform tablets) confirm that Jehoiachin

Does the Bible Relate to History “as It Actually Happened”?

The Bible includes some forms of historical writing that each have their own way of being accurate or true, even if they are not objectively accurate.

Babylonian administrative documents (cuneiform tablets) confirm that Jehoiachin

Does the Bible Relate to History “as It Actually Happened”? (Spanish)

La Biblia incluye algunas formas de escritura histórica que tienen su propia forma de ser exactas o verdaderas, incluso si no son objetivamente exactas.

Nicola Denzy-Lewis
Agrippina crowns her son Nero with a laurel wreath. Aphrodisias Museum

Christian Martyrdom

Christians faced persecution intermittently from the first century C.E. until the legalization of Christianity in the fourth century.

rome-forum
Codex II

Was the Gospel of Thomas Gnostic?

The origins of the Gospel of Thomas—and the accuracy of its classification as a Gnostic text—are enigmatic.