One of the many job openings listed on the Butler website at the moment: Scholarly Communication Librarian Position Overview Butler University Libraries invite applications for a Scholarly Communication Librarian, a 12-month, non-tenured (continuing appointment) position with the rank of assistant professor, reporting to the Associate Dean for Collections and Digital Services. The Scholarly Communication Librarian position provides leadership for scholarly communication and digital scholarship initiatives at Butler University Libraries. Scholarly communication is a strategic priority for Butler Libraries and this… Read more
Opening for Scholarly Communications Librarian at Butler University
September 11, 2017 By James F. McGrath 0 Comments
Community Baptist Church
September 10, 2017 By James F. McGrath 24 Comments
I don’t see the problem, necessarily. It is true that few Baptist churches – and perhaps no Baptist churches in our time – are “Communist Churches.” But the meme seems to assume that they could not be, as though there were inherently something unthinkable about the idea. And while that may be true of Marxist/Leninist Communism, which had a distinctly anti-religious bent to it, the Communist Manifesto itself mentions other already-existing forms of communism, among with are Christian varieties. What… Read more
Terrible Review of What Sounds Like a Terrible Book
September 9, 2017 By James F. McGrath 11 Comments
The quotations in the image below, which is embedded in the review of David Fitzgerald’s latest (three-volume!) book of half-baked and poorly-argued nonsense that appeared on the blog Debunking Christianity, is supposed to boil down what is positive about his books to their essence. But in fact it illustrates his inability to recognize when he doesn’t have a valid point and/or is not making a logical, reasoned argument. Here is the image: Let’s consider each of the two points above. First,… Read more
Illicit Antiquities Educational Games?
September 8, 2017 By James F. McGrath 2 Comments
The illegal smuggling of antiquities has been in the news a lot lately (although it has never been entirely absent in living memory, alas). I wonder whether there are games that could be used to teach about this topic in a manner that is fun, and yet does not reward players for doing things that are illegal and/or immoral – or, if it does, at least brings the ethical issues into the player’s conscious awareness in the process. Thebes is one that looks particularly… Read more
Gospels.net Changes Hands
September 7, 2017 By James F. McGrath 0 Comments
I received the following from Andrew Bernhard about a site that he has maintained for many years: Gospels.net. Thank you to all who have visited my site during the past twenty years. I am humbled by the attention it has received and grateful for the opportunities it has provided me to connect with interesting people around the world. I am now pleased to pass gospels.net on to Mark Mattison. I have been impressed by his dedication, as an independent scholar,… Read more
Super Smash Gods Brawl
September 6, 2017 By James F. McGrath 6 Comments
I had this game, “Fight of Gods,” drawn to my attention. It seems to take the “Buff Jesus” meme image and turn it into a video game. If you don’t know the image I’m referring to, here it is: This way of thinking about Jesus – or ignoring him and substituting other symbols – seems to be growing in popularity in certain circles. Someone recently told me to Google “Deus Vult” as an image search, if I wanted to discover a whole… Read more
National Popular Culture Association and the American Culture Association Conference: Coming to Indianapolis
September 5, 2017 By James F. McGrath 0 Comments
I’m really excited about the fact that the major conference in the study of popular culture will be held here in Indianapolis in 2018. It is one that I have long wanted to attend, but given my diverse research and teaching interests (Biblical studies, science fiction, the Mandaeans, music, gaming, and more), I can’t get to every conference that would be of interest. Below is the call for papers for the program unit about games (HT RelCFP). I have developed an academically-useful… Read more
Suffering and Stupid Theology
September 4, 2017 By James F. McGrath 11 Comments
I was already planning to share this graph by cartoonist David Hayward well before Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, and even before my wife heard some Romanian pastors talking about what God’s aim had been in causing the deaths of their children. It certainly reflects my own experience, but it is still worth stopping to ask why it should be the case that, as suffering gets worse, so too do the theological pronouncements that many people come up with. Is is simply that… Read more
White Dives and Poor Old Lazarus
September 3, 2017 By James F. McGrath 1 Comment
Jeff Carter shared the following reworking of a parable of Jesus on his blog: White Dives and Poor Old Lazarus There was a rich white man named Dives who used to dress in fine linen suits and who feasted every day on tasty victuals and wines. At his gate there used to be a poor black man named Lazarus, covered with sores (he did not have health insurance, of course). He longed to fill his belly with even the scraps… Read more
The Immigration Crises
September 2, 2017 By James F. McGrath 0 Comments
The Butler Seminar on Religion and Global Affairs this year is focusing on “Religion, Refugees, and Migration.” It will feature four public lectures on September 19, October 17, January 23, and February 27. Each takes place from 7:00–9:00 pm at the Schrott Center for the Arts on the campus of Butler University, 4600 Sunset Avenue. The flooding in Texas provides for an interesting starting point for conversations about this. If someone needed to flee for their life from flooding in… Read more
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