Type: Watching a movie about the South that I grew up in (the movie is set in the period of the early sixties leading up to the Civil Rights movement and the deaths of JFK and Medger Evers)  was in various ways like nearly being hit by a car—- it was too close for comfort. Much too close to the bone.  And it was not just any sort of movie, it was a powerful movie—- to say the least.  It… Read more

If you haven’t read Blaise Pascal’s  famous Pensees,  you need to put it on your to do list.  It is essential reading for any thoughtful Christian who wants to reflect on the truth.  Larry Hurtado has recently been mulling over some of Pascal’s famous sayings,  and here is a little meditation on one of them, which still rings true today. ——— Hurtado says…. My posting on scholarship and personal stakes drew some attention, and so I dare to make another… Read more

Let me first say, I’ve done time in the Bod,  that is in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.   It is full of musty wonderful antiquarian books, which one is not allowed to check out.  Thank goodness.  Some are still chained to desks or reading tables or lecturns. The Bod is about the last place in the English speaking world one would think to look for anything modern or computerized when it comes to books.  Hence, my surprise that they… Read more

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/us/14immig.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23 Read more

Here is another fine post by my friend Larry Hurtado. ——————– larryhurtado | August 5, 2011 at 11:43 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pYZXr-aH I’ve recently been alerted to software that produces a visual depiction of comparative word/phrase frequencies in texts, a “cloud” visual in which the comparative frequencies are represented by comparative sizes of the words/phrases (probably old news to dedicated bloggers).  Here’s the web site where you can make your own experiments: http://www.wordle.net/ There is a site… Read more

Sometimes serendipity just happens.  And it happens at unexpected times and in unexpected ways.   Well I guess that’s why they call it serendipity.   Tonight my wife was going to a dinner as part of a meeting about sustainable agriculture and community sponsored agriculture.   Asbury University is going to start a student farm,  to help students who are going to do overseas missions so they will be able to help the people they will serve with something as basic as subsistence… Read more

It’s a long climb up the hill to become a Bible scholar.  And finally, there is a book out that tells you how it can be done— at least one man’s journey, namely mine.   Zondervan has done a nice job with the production, and it is now available on Kindle, at Amazon at CBD etc. I will just say that, of course there are many ways to become a Bible scholar, some easier than others, but there are certain constants… Read more

Let’s admit it,  Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts are some of the best American actors in the business,  hands down.  In various ways, they are some of the most likable.  I mean, who can hate Forrest Gump personified, or Everyman?  And Julia with those angular looks and funky smile and laugh and ability to play a whole variety of roles is something to behold.  She is never dull and boring. So when I heard they were doing a movie together… Read more

Here is yet another useful post from my friend Larry Hurtado on recent scholarship on Greek manuscripts.  BW3 —————– Early Christian Manuscripts Volume larryhurtado | August 3, 2011 at 9:38 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pYZXr-aC Over the last decade or so, a number of scholars have emphasized the study of early Christian manuscripts as artifacts of ancient Christianity.  NT textual criticism has tended to focus on NT manuscripts and mainly for the wording of NT texts.  But in… Read more

There are good books, and there are great books on the historical Jesus, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Historical Jesus (Baker, May 2011, $22.99 list).  falls into the latter category, on top of which its a lot of fun to read.   Bruce N. Fisk has done what I wasn’t sure was possible at this juncture —- make the Third Quest for the Historical Jesus interesting and entertaining again.  The greatest compliment I can give to a book is, that… Read more