The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis
A friend shared this cartoon from “Inherit the Mirth” on Facebook. I was entertained by it immediately, but only later it struck me that it can also be used to make a serious point. The Bible and other ancient Jewish and Christian texts use manna as a symbol – for the word of God, for [...]
It is interesting how some modern readers simply assume that ancient individuals and authors shared their supposed literalism, and their focus on facts and history and science, all of which are thoroughly modern concerns. If we look at what Jesus is depicted as saying about Genesis 2 in the Synoptic Gospels, he points to the [...]
I was delighted to see David Bailey quote a recent article by Joshua Moritz, in which he points out that the Bible uses the same verb to refer to God creating or making the lightning, or a baby in the womb, as for making sea creatures, and beasts of the field, and human beings, in a [...]
Ian posted this wonderful game idea on his blog, inspired by (among other things) the way fundamentalists deal with the diversity and contradictions within the Bible. If you play it, let me know – indeed, feel free to use the comments section here to play or at least start a game! There Are No Contradictions! [...]
A student shared the above with me. All these years teaching the Bible, how did I miss the bestiality? The depiction of it as a novel, as though the entire thing were a single piece of literature in a single genre, is also well off target. But presumably the point (however much one may criticize [...]
An interesting conversation between Tom Thatcher, professor at Cincinnati Christian University, and Tyler McKenzie, teaching pastor at Northeast Christian Church. Whatever you think of some of the details of the conversation, it reflects a dialectic approach that progressive Christians can embrace: On the one hand, recognizing that doubting and even disbelieving the Bible is not only [...]
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