I’ve commented on my blog before on Kirk Cameron’s anti-science position and things like that, and so I am obviously not sympathetic to the distorted brand of Christianity that he represents and promotes. I say this up front so that no one thinks that I am pretending to offer an “unbiased” view of his publicity stunt that today impacted the Indianapolis Public Library here in the city in which I live. Cameron had been seeking to host events in public... Read more
I have long loved the Christmas decoration that depicts the four phases of life in terms of Christmas. These are: The Four Stages Of Life: You Believe In Santa Claus You Don’t Believe In Santa Claus You Are Santa Claus You Look Like Santa Claus. These actually correspond quite well to phases in psychological maturation, faith development (Piaget), and interpretation of symbolic stories and myths (Ricoeur). Theologians have embraced these insights down the ages (think of Tillich’s treatment of myth,... Read more
It has been a month since my last blog post. I would have to check but I think that is a record for me. I decided early on, as I contemplated taking a full-year sabbatical for the first time in my life, that I would give myself permission to blog less and sometimes not at all, and do less with social media, limiting those interactions to the genuinely personally and professionally meaningful and to things relevant to my sabbatical research... Read more
Here’s what I’m doing at the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature joint annual meeting in Denver, Colorado. The first of my two papers on Monday 21 November is in session S21-136 of the Q program unit, which will take place from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM in Room 203 (Street Level) of the Convention Center (CC). Here are the title and abstract: Q as a Source of Knowledge about John the Baptist In her groundbreaking study... Read more
At the weekly Friday coffee time at the Visiting Scholars Center at Oxford University’s Weston Library I had the opportunity to give a talk about the Mandaeans and the amazing collection of their manuscripts in the Bodleian Libraries, with some of those manuscripts on display, including not only the Book of John which I was involved in translating, but also Diwan Abatur which is an impressive illustrated scroll. They put lots of tables in a row to allow it to... Read more
While I was reading Andrew Perriman’s book In the Form of a God about early Christology (forthcoming from Cascade and available for preorder from the publisher and on Amazon), and his excellent and insightful treatment of Philippians 2:6-11, I found myself wondering whether anyone had suggested that the first verb, a participle, be understood in the present tense. In other words, Paul’s encomium to Christ follows on from his emphasis on being likeminded in relation to Christ: Have the sort... Read more
People like me who identify themselves as liberal Christians often get asked, “Can you explain the basics of liberal Christianity to me?” I have done so from time to time in the past and thought it was about time to answer the question again. One of the first questions that is sometimes in mind even if not articulated is whether there is any difference between liberal Christianity and progressive Christianity. The short answer is not necessarily, but sometimes. As in... Read more
Doctor Who Explores Theology 24 October 2022 at 7:30 pm St. John’s College, Durham University LRC Lecture Room In this public lecture Dr. James F. McGrath, a “doctor who explores theology,” explores the theology that Doctor Who explores. The classic episode “The Enemy of the World” saw one of many instances in which someone pondered what the Doctor might be a Doctor of. “A Doctor of Divinity?” Astrid Ferrier asks, and the Doctor tries to change the subject. Since then... Read more
This started out as a collection of links, but I also want to float an idea and get feedback on it sooner rather than later. The Gospels depict John the Baptist as predicting someone who comes after him (i.e. one of his followers) being stronger than himself and enacting the judgment that John merely foretells. The Gospels differ on whether John says he is not fit or not worthy to do something with that person’s sandals, and whether the action... Read more
The Sinai Manuscripts Digital Library (SMDL) at the UCLA Library is currently hiring for several grant-funded, remote positions. The SMDL (https://sinaimanuscripts.library.ucla.edu) is a collaborative project between St. Catherine’s Monastery of the Sinai, the Early Manuscripts Electronic Library (EMEL), and the UCLA Library to make available online all manuscripts held in the Monastery library. The project’s focus has been on multi-spectral imaging of palimpsested manuscripts through the Sinai Palimpsests Project and the imaging, description, and publication of the Sinai Arabic and... Read more
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