For the past few years when I’ve arrived at the Psalms section of my class on the Bible, I’ve shared a couple of examples of psalms in popular music: “By The Rivers Of Babylon” by Boney M and “40” by U2. I usually end the class with a song that segues nicely into the next subject, Wisdom literature: “Turn Turn Turn” by The Byrds. I’m sharing the songs below. Do you have other recommendations for the Bible set to music? Read more

I’ve never understood the appeal of the notion of a multiverse for atheists. It substitutes, in place of an infinite God, an inexplicable mechanism capable of producing an infinite number of universes. Among those universes, presumably one has Jesus spontaneously rise from the dead (in an infinite universe or multiverse, everything however improbable happens eventually). Some evolve a universal consciousness akin to certain notions of God. Some evolve superpowered beings akin to the gods of yet other belief systems. Some... Read more

Not long ago I responded to a piece in our local paper, the Indianapolis Star, by Russ Pulliam, entitled “Taking Darwin On Faith“. Pulliam has now published a follow-up opinion piece, in which I get a mention. I’ve offered a brief reply in the comments section. Read more

Today we’ll be tackling the subject of the “kingdom of God” in my historical Jesus class. It is important to survey the breadth of usages to which this terminology is put both in the Judaism of Jesus’ time and in early Christian sources. Obviously one key text is Mark 9:1 and parallels. There Jesus is depicted as predicting that some standing there would not die before seeing the kingdom come with power. I’ve encountered several translations that attempt to reinterpret... Read more

A while back I mentioned a Who’s Who organization (most of which are scams) that seemed to be targeting academics. Today I got another e-mail from the same source, claiming that this is my “final notice.” I can only hope this is true. I suspect that most academics are wise enough to notice when an e-mail arrives in their inbox that does not address them by name, and thus is a mass-mailing rather than an indication that you’ve been singled... Read more

I just happened across a web site with a blog I was previously unaware of, ScripturalTruths. It includes among other things a brief review of my book The Only True God, a discussion of Bauckham’s views on the angel Yahoel, and the divine name in Philippians 2:11. That’s a lot of interesting stuff for one blog! Read more

I’m sure Mark Goodacre is happy at Duke. But if he decides to move to Canada, there is a house listed that would be just perfect for him. Here’s a picture: HT Bad Astronomy (the full realtor listing can also be viewed online). Presumably once you get a house that comes with a TARDIS, time and space become irrelevant anyway… Read more

Today I had someone point out to me a feature in Word 2007 that I simply didn’t know was there. It is possible to create a database of bibliographical entries and/or references, and then to insert them. They are automatically converted to the citation format of your choice (e.g. Chicago, MLA, APA). I know that in the past some have paid for separate programs that do this, and so I was pleasantly surprised to find that this feature is now... Read more

The controversy related to a formerly anonymous blogger at Butler University has begun to appear in the blogosphere on blogs that I read, and since I’m at Butler, I thought I had better post something on this subject, even though I confess to being as confused as anyone. But here are some sources for those interested in finding out more: Inside Higher Ed had a piece about this: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/10/16/butler Squared Peg seeks to chronicle the controversy as it unfolded at... Read more

While most readers are familiar with the great keyboard players of a previous generation (Keith Emerson and Tony Banks, for instance), if you’ve never heard of Jordan Rudess, keyboardist with the progressive metal band Dream Theater, then you’re really missing out. In addition to rock keyboard solos, Rudess regularly plays in classical and jazz styles as well. Here are some samples: He’s clearly incredibly talented, and so the only question is whether you think he looks better with lots of... Read more