Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath - Page 4 of 1158 - The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis

Secret Mark and Rock Lyrics

March 21, 2018 By James F. McGrath

Some months ago, there was a Salon article about Stairway to Heaven and what is really there when it is played backwards. I’ve been thinking for a while now that there is a useful comparison that can be made between the phenomenon of people detecting backwards messages in rock music, and the detection of alleged signs of forgery (supposedly reflecting homosexual emphases and overtones) in the Secret Gospel of Mark. Just like the meme that “there are backwards messages in… Read more

Resurrection and Hope

March 20, 2018 By James F. McGrath

11 Comments

I received an e-mail from a blog reader a while back, and have long meant to share it here in case others found it – and my reply – interesting. Dear Dr McGrath I have been a follower of your blog for a while now, always enjoyed hearing your opinions on religion and biblical interpretation. While I appreciate that you are doubt a busy person, I had a couple of questions in regards to some of the things I’ve read… Read more

What Does Crucifixion Sound Like?

March 19, 2018 By James F. McGrath

1 Comment

One of the questions that I ask students in my course on the Bible and music is “what does crucifixion sound like?” We survey a range of treatments of the passion story that involve music, including straight settings of biblical text, classic oratorios that combine biblical and other material in their libretto, and also cinematic depictions. The contrast between the music that accompanies some of the crucifixion scenes in this latter category is very striking indeed. Here are some examples:… Read more

Can a Muslim Follow Jesus?

March 18, 2018 By James F. McGrath

24 Comments

There was quite a bit of discussion a while back about whether the Muslim God and the Christian God are the “same God.” I had said a little about the topic in some posts written at that time. But now I want to explore some related questions in more detail, in response to a blog reader who contacted me (longer ago than I care to admit!) to ask me what I thought about certain matters. Here is the relevant part of what he… Read more

Banished from the Heavenly Boardroom

March 17, 2018 By James F. McGrath

9 Comments

When this was shared on Facebook, the following question was posed in a comment: Did God banish Satan because he thought dinosaurs were better, or because Satan used poor grammar? While I could have just shared this bit of humor and been done with it, I actually feel I should follow with something a bit more serious, because there is something of a connection – indeed, a fairly direct one – with a topic that we discussed in my Sunday… Read more

The X-Files: Nothing Lasts Forever

March 16, 2018 By James F. McGrath

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The episode starts with doctors harvesting organs. We hear a snippet of talk radio about chemtrails, and then get to see a vampire hunter, who uses biblical and other Christian religious language, praying for mercy and crossing herself. In the Cathedral of the Sacraments in Washington DC, a priest speaks of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ, reading from John 6. Scully is attending the service when she gets a phone call. Mulder and Scully go to… Read more

Gnostic America Conference

March 15, 2018 By James F. McGrath

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April DeConick shared this information about a conference that is coming up very soon – in less than two weeks, in fact! Gnostic America Conference I am pleased to announce the Gnostic America Conference. We will convene at Rice University on March 28-31. The conference is free and open to the public. We are exploring the afterlives of Gnosticism in America. In addition to cutting-edge paper presentations by 20 international scholars and graduate students, we have some spectacular special events… Read more

Canon and Nitpickery in Star Trek Fandom and Other Religions

March 14, 2018 By James F. McGrath

3 Comments

Recently, Adam Kotsko blogged about Star Trek and canon (a subject of ongoing interest of mine, as you are undoubtedly well aware). Here is an excerpt from there: I am a Star Trek fan, and I’m here today to talk to you about canon. But I will warn all the hardcore fans who are relieved to be on safe territory: my fandom has taken a strange form. When I was a kid, I was a loyal Next Generation viewer, and I even read a… Read more

Timeless Returns (History Professors from the Future)

March 13, 2018 By James F. McGrath

2 Comments

Tom Gauld’s cartoon from The Guardian is about a topic that I have understandably long been fascinated by, given my joint interests in history (in particular that of early Christianity) and time travel. It struck me anew as the TV show TIMELESS returned to our screens, with two historians, mother and daughter, finding themselves aligned on opposite sides of a conflict that involves traveling into the past to not merely observe history, but seek to change it. If there is a… Read more

#CFP The Material of Christian Apocrypha

March 12, 2018 By James F. McGrath

1 Comment

The Material of Christian Apocrypha University of Virginia November 30 to December 1, 2018 Confirmed speakers: Mary Cunningham (Nottingham), Maria Evangelatou (University of Southern California), Derek Krueger (UNC Greensboro), and Robin Jensen (Notre Dame) We invite abstracts for a conference on the “Material of Christian Apocrypha,” hosted by the University of Virginia’s Department of Religious Studies and McIntire Department of Art, under the auspices of the North American Society for the Study of Christian Apocryphal Literature. We hope to assemble a group… Read more