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Your source for all the latest Bible-related and Bible-adjacent news from the month of June 2024 — from archaeological discoveries and academic research to cultural events and conversations, developments in the global church, and more.

Updated daily throughout the month.

Week of June 16

  • June 21 — Ecumenical amends: A Catholic abbey and Baptist university in Oklahoma have agreed to exchange property. Oklahoma Baptist University will return St. Gregory’s Abbey’s 74-acre former holding, while the abbey will grant OBU two parcels totaling 134 acres for future development. (Catholic News Agency)
  • June 20 — An ancient Canaanite shipwreck has been discovered about 56 miles off the Israeli coast. Estimated to be from the 13th or 14th century BC, it is the oldest deep-sea shipwreck ever found, and suggests ancient people had a better understanding of ship navigation than previously believed. (Haartez)
  • June 19 — A group of married Nigerian women are bringing spiritual guidance and practical help to communities in need across the country. Formed in 1930 and now comprising millions of women from many denominations, the zumunta mata has become a critical outreach arm for the Nigerian church. (The Guardian)
  • June 18 — Both the Catholic and Episcopal churches in the US are taking steps to reconcile with Native American believers past and present. By acknowledging and apologizing for past trauma, both churches hope to pave a path forward to better support Indigenous Christians and their ministries. (Catholic News Agency and Religion News Service)
  • June 18 — Pastor Robert Morris of Gateway Church in Southlake, TX has resigned in light of recent revelations about his sexual abuse of a minor in the 1980s. Gateway elders have retained a law firm to fully investigate the claims of the survivor. (Christian Post)
  • June 17 — According to a Pew survey of 10,000 adults, the rate of religious conversion in East Asia is the highest in the world. Over 50% of adults in South Korea and Hong Kong have left their parents’ faith — typically Christianity or Buddhism — sometimes switching between the two, or leaving both behind. (Christianity Today)
  • June 17 — Christians continue to face high levels of violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with over 50 killed on June 7 alone. Local pastors request prayers from Christians worldwide for a return to peace in the region. (Christian Today)

Week of June 9

  • June 15 — Using archaeology and aerial photography, researchers in Jerusalem believe they have discovered the site of the Assyrian conqueror Sennacherib’s camp mentioned in 2 Kings 19:35. (New York Post)
  • June 14 — No laughing matter: Pope Francis called over 100 comedians from around the world to Rome on Friday to praise them for bringing joy in “gloomy” times. Laughing at God as we would a close friend is “not blasphemy,” he said, but comics should be careful about offending people’s faith. (The Guardian)
  • June 13 — A new film based on the life of Jesus will reportedly be the first film entirely in sign language to debut in theaters. “Jesus: A Deaf Missions Film” will release June 20. Though proudly “for Deaf, by Deaf,” the filmmakers encourage the hearing community to come and witness the story of Jesus in a new way. (Religion News Service)
  • June 12 — What was Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)? Asbury Theological professor Ben Witherington III has identified it as Paul’s eyesight, based on a close reading of a similar mention in Galatians 4:13-15. (Biblical Archaeology Society)
  • June 11 — The Vatican is convening a cosmology workshop June 16-21 to discuss quantum theory and relativity. Nobel prize winners and other physicists will gather at the Vatican Observatory and discuss their findings with Pope Francis, who is expected to deliver a speech. (Religion News Service)
  • June 10 — African-American megachurch pastor Tony Evans of Dallas has announced he is stepping down from public ministry to focus on “healing and restoration” of an unspecified old sin, emphasizing that the Biblical principles of repentance he preaches on must apply just as well to himself. (Christianity Today)
  • June 10 — Rev. Matthew L. Watley grew his church, Kingdom Fellowship AME in Calverton, Maryland, from 3,000 members in 2019 to 8,000 today. Kingdom Fellowship now tops the Outreach 100’s list of fastest growing churches in America. (Religion News Service)
  • June 10 — An ancient manuscript known as the Crosby-Schøyen Codex, containing the complete texts of Jonah and 1 Peter, is up for auction in London, with expected bids to exceed $3 million. Dating from around 400 AD, the Codex contains the earliest known versions of both Biblical books. (Christian Today)

Week of June 2

  • June 8 — Pastor Kelvin Washington, PhD resurfaced a partially forgotten figure known in his time as the “Black Sturgeon” for his immense, wide-ranging influence. Charles T. Walker (1858-1921) grew churches from London to Texas, though his home remained in Atlanta, and was a precursor to the “Bible in one hand and newspaper in the other” preaching style. (The Gospel Coalition)
  • June 7 — A pair of European scholars have managed to decipher a fragment of an apocryphal “infancy gospel” of Jesus. Though the material is not canonical and dates from the fourth or fifth century AD, the researchers explain that reading these once-popular texts might help us understand what early Christians believed about Jesus’s childhood. (Newsweek)
  • June 6 — A new commission of religious schools in the United States has convened with the purpose of sharing their strategies and innovations with secular universities, after a recent report indicated that religious schools grew by 82 percent between 1980-2020, while the national average lagged at 57 percent. (The Christian Century)
  • June 5 — An international Bible society group has conducted over 90,000 interviews to better understand why fewer people consider the Bible a foundation in their lives. Their work is far from over, but one area they identify as needing attention is for churches and Sunday schools to better tie the Bible to problems of mental health, sexism, racism, and oppression that young people are facing. (Religion News Service)
  • June 4 — What kinds of fish did Jesus eat with his followers? We can’t be sure, but archaeologists in Jerusalem have identified 16 species of fish eaten throughout Biblical times in the region — some local and some imported from the Nile or the Mediterranean. The most popular by far was the gilt-head sea bream, imported from Sinai. (TheTorah.com)
  • June 3 — Israel is lending one of the earliest Christian mosaics ever discovered to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. for nine months. The 580-square-foot “Megiddo Mosaic” dates from ca. 230 AD (before Christianity was legalized in Rome) and contains a reference to Jesus as God as well as to five women and a Roman soldier. (Haaretz)
  • June 3 — Part of the sarcophagus of Ramesses the Great — believed by some scholars to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus story — has been identified by a French scholar, more than a decade after it was discovered at a Coptic monastery. (Biblical Archaeology Society)
  • June 3 — The Bible found by Elvis Presley’s bedside after he died — filled with his personal notes and highlights — sold at auction for $120,000. (Christian Today)
  • June 3 — Wycliffe Bible Translators is selling its 167,000 square-foot office space in Orlando, Florida, joining other publishers like HarperCollins Christian Publishing and Lifeway Christian Resources in adopting remote-first working style. Wycliffe CEO John Chesnut stressed that the decision is not financially motivated but a strategic business move. (Christianity Today)

Week of May 26

  • May 31 — Louisiana may become the first state to require the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. Though the bill has received approval from the state legislature, it is sure to face legal challenges. Proponents argue for the historical and moral importance of the teachings, while detractors cite both First Amendment issues and concerns about learning the commandments outside the context of a church community. (Religion News Service) 
  • May 29 — The Chosen’s creator Dallas Jenkins has announced the official Season 4 streaming date and schedule. The long-awaited season’s first episode was released June 2 at 7 p.m. ET, the second will be released June 6 at 8:30 p.m., and additional episodes will follow on Sundays and Thursdays. (The Hollywood Reporter) 
  • May 24 — Watch footage of the nearly 40-foot, 3,300-pound cross being returned to the top of Notre Dame Cathedral, five years after the cathedral was significantly damaged by a major fire. The cross was the only part of the entire roof that survived the flames. (AP News)