In the most recent issue of the JBL Journal (vol. 136. no 2, pp. 381-303) Armin D. Baum offers us an article entitled “Content and Form: Authorship Attribution and Pseudonymity in Ancient Speeches, Letters, Lectures, and Translations–a Rejoinder to Bart Ehrman”. The article is in general agreement with Ehrman (as I am) that there was no such things as ‘harmless’ pseudepigraphy, that is a using of someone else’s name without an attempt to deceive some audience. There are exceptions to... Read more

Thanks to Mark F. and Sparrow cartoons for this and other cartoons that appear on this blog. Read more

The challenge of sequels is of course trying to do or say something fresh, so that it’s not just a rerun. To that end, Despicable Me 3 trots out: 1) a twin brother for Gru; 2) a ‘unicorn’ for Agnes; 3) a new villain named Benjamin Bratt though he’s so 80s, totally retro (complete with mullet, M.C. Hammer shoulder pads, and lots of 80s music, cue Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’, etc.). At 90 minutes it should be short enough to keep... Read more

There are many reasons to read John Grisham novels not the least of which is to figure out why so many Americans do read him in an age of non-reading! Of course some of his novels are much better than others. When you are as prolific as John, this is bound to be the case. All of them are readable (yes I’ve read all of them except some of the children’s books), some of them are real page turners, some... Read more

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Courtesy of my friend Mark F. Read more

Here is a fascinating blog post, which I am reposting here, by my friend Philip Jenkins. See what you think. BW3 Alternative Scriptures: Finding the First Scrolls June 12, 2017 by Philip Jenkins I began this “Alternative Scriptures” series by noting the discovery of a “Dead Sea Scroll” type manuscript in the Genizah of a Cairo synagogue, in the 1890s. Tracing the probable history of that document tells a fascinating story. This “Zadokite Fragment” originated either at Qumran or another... Read more

Theological systems, while not bad in themselves, can often lead to very strained interpretations of Biblical texts. Read more

The Botanic Garden in Dublin was one of the first places we went, having gotten on our feet, May 19th, not least because my wife is a botanist and a flower lover, and besides, the Garden is right next to the famous Grave Digger’s pub, which in turn is next to the famous Dublin cemetery where many an Irish bard lies resting, e.g. W.B. Yeats, and where better to put a pub than next to the entrance to the cemetery,... Read more