In his book Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life, Fr. James Martin talks about the role of humor in the life of the saints–though using “humor” and “saints” in the same sentence might seem counterintuitive to many of us. He recounts the exploits of St. Philip Neri, a 16th c. Italian priest, who shaved half his beard off en route to a ceremony in his honor as a way... Read more
In the September/October issue of Archaeology, I read what may be the single most important reason for why human evolution simply has to be true! In a ground-breaking article, Zach Zorich–whose name will henceforth be sung in praise by all the faithful–shows that evolution makes baseball possible. Let me repeat: without evolution, there is no baseball. If this isn’t enough proof for you, move to Norway and follow ice curling. Zorich’s article summarizes the work of a team of researchers led by... Read more
Over at The Tentative Apologist, Randal Rauser just posted a podcast interview with me on the Bible and evolution. The interview happened a couple of weeks ago at the Society of Biblical Literature meeting in Baltimore. He jumped me when I wasn’t looking, dragged me into a warehouse, tied me to a chair, and stuck a recorder in my face and told me to start talking. Oh wait. No. That wrong. That was something else. Actually, he asked me a few... Read more
At least that’s how Molly Worthen sees it. In the final few pages of her recent book Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism, Worthen focuses on the strategic, persistent, and anti-intellectual use of “Christian worldview” language within evangelicalism. From my perspective, in addition to being probing and insightful, these quotes summarize a main line of the book’s overall argument. The quotes below are from pp. 261-62. Evangelicals are idealists, yes. They are also pragmatists. They talk... Read more
A friend of mine took these photos of a sunrise over Good Harbor Beach, Gloucester, MA. In his words, “I turned it from a nice color picture into a black & white, high contrast print with little detail or nuance of meaning. I did this as a parable of what is being done to Scripture by those who insist on a strict literalist interpretation.” My friend’s comments illustrate two important points. I do have friends. So there. A picture is worth... Read more
A few days ago I posted on my recent trip to the annual biblical scholars’ academic meeting, the Society of Biblical Literature, held this year in Baltimore’s “Inner Harbor.” (If you prefer outer harbors, you’ll have to go to Buffalo or Australia.) One thing I didn’t mention there is something that weighs heavily on me (see here with links to other posts), and I am reminded of it each year at SBL: talented and promising scholars–who have much to offer,... Read more
Just this past week, the Economist ran a story on the evolution controversy in evangelicalism. I can’t say I saw that one coming. A reporter went to the Evangelical Theological Society meeting in Baltimore and sat in on the session with the authors of the recent publication of Four Views on the Historical Adam (part of Zondervan’s Counterpoints series–see Inerrancy volume here). The piece is entitled “All about Adam: The Furious–and Political–Debate about Human Origins.” Political? Ya think? Here are quotes... Read more
In his book Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life, James Martin tells of the time when Cardinal O’Connor, the Catholic archbishhop of New York, was at a fund-raising dinner. At the end of the meal, the master of ceremonies made his way to the microphone and plodded through a long list of all those who had helped with the dinner. Unfortunately, he had a poor memory and forgot everyone’s name.... Read more
The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give him thanks and praise. It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and every- where to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you... Read more
I just got back home from my trek to the annual major nerd geek fest called the Society of Biblical Literature meeting (“SBL” to insiders), where biblical scholars and doctoral students gather once a year, some to mark their territory, others to claim pack dominance, and still others to obsess over their intellectual inadequacies. In my case, all three simultaneously. Some scattered thoughts. So many people, each a different story, each believing what they believe in their own way. Respect. So very... Read more
Peter Enns
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