Introduction: Project Hail Mary and the Future of Schools and Churches A former student of mine recommended the novel Project Hail Mary to me several years ago, and I have been eager to read it. When the movie came out, I was determined to read the novel first. What prompted me finally read the novel as quickly as I could, and then see the movie, was my university president making reference to it when circulating an article he wrote about AI... Read more
Does AI write better than students? I have been pondering that question from a number of angles over recent days. Here’s why. AI, Writing, and Education Butler University president Jim Danko recently published an opinion piece. Titled “The University is Not Prepared for What Comes Next,” the entire thing was intended to be controversial and provocative. It succeeded. It got me and many of my colleagues thinking and talking. As so often, I feel torn. Not because I am... Read more
Unscriptural doctrines of scripture are a problem in a variety of ways. Some contradict key biblical teachings. Some are incompatible with the evidence the Bible presents about itself. Some are unscriptural doctrines of scripture in both these senses. Let me explain. Doctrines of Scripture that Run Counter to How Its Authors and Characters Treat Scriptures One big disconnect between today’s unscriptural doctrines of scripture and the scriptures themselves is the evidence within the pages of the Bible for disagreement... Read more
There are several new reviews of Beyond Deconstruction as well as several new podcasts. I will share those below. But first, here’s a brief excerpt from the book (pp.17-19, going just a bit further than the Google Books preview does) that is relevant to Easter. I will never forget (and still use in my own teaching) a thought experiment that an atheist commenter on my blog presented to me. They said I could have a machine that could take me... Read more
In her absolutely wonderful book Nerd Faith: 60 Second Sprints of Spiritual Guidance for the Occasionally Uncool, “The Nerdy Priest” offers a devotional for Christian nerds of every variety. The volume isn’t just for fans of science fiction and/or fantasy of the classic sorts. The Muppets and The Princess Bride are mentioned in just the first few pages. This isn’t a book for one sort of fan. It is a book for those who want to explore their faith in... Read more
Candida Moss has a new article out in National Geographic titled “Why John the Baptist Was Once More Famous Than Jesus.” She quotes me in the article, and since I answered some brief questions with very long answers as she was writing it, most of which wasn’t included in the article, I thought I would share my full responses here, in case they are of interest. (1) Who was John the Baptist? There’s so much that we wish we knew about... Read more
AI can seem like magic. I have used the analogy of “showing how the magic trick is done” to refer to what I try to do when I explain the technology. Once you understand the magic trick, it will no longer seem like magic ever again. You can still find the illusion impressive, but you aren’t fooled by it. That’s what is needed right now, when too many fall for the illusion that a chatbot that can play the game... Read more
The title of this post does indeed have the words in the right order – I intentionally wrote “Make great Christianity again.” I’ll explain what I mean by that, but let’s start with what that phrase is echoing and why I’ve changed it as I have. Those who use the slogan “Make America Great Again” have turned the hope that “the South will rise again” and tried to rebrand it as making American great again. The values that are being... Read more
One of the key topics I address in my new book Beyond Deconstruction is how so-called conservative Evangelical Christianity distorts the meaning of faith into something idolatrous. As we have been witnessing the transformation of that group from one that claimed the ethical conduct of a candidate mattered deeply, to one that claims their conduct is irrelevant, I found myself thinking about this unquestioning allegiance to a party, which mirrors their allegiance to their church or denomination. The same attitude that... Read more
I called this post “Paid AIgitators” because it seemed a good way to explore the topic that I want to address today. I know a lot of protestors. They are paid to be clergy, to be professors, to be any number of other things. If they were receiving money to protest, they would have told me how to get in on it. It isn’t just that those who repeat this ridiculous talking point have clearly not done the calculations. What is... Read more
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