ReligionProf Podcast with Brian Wesolowski, Part 1

Last updated on: May 8, 2019 at 6:59 am By James F. McGrath

As promised, here in this week’s ReligionProf Podcast is the conversation (actually, for today, just the first half of the conversation) between me and Brian Wesolowski about technology as mediator of grace. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation, and as always, I found it not only an opportunity to express thoughts I already had, but an opportunity to clarify my thoughts and think creatively as I was prompted and provoked to by questions and thoughts that Brian shared. We recorded... Read more

Changing Beliefs

Last updated on: May 7, 2019 at 1:10 am By James F. McGrath

https://nakedpastor.com/marriage-deconstruction-communication-is-key The cartoon above from David Hayward prompted me to share some thoughts about this topic. I hear very often from people who tell me that they have “lost their faith,” when in actual fact I think that all they have done is change their beliefs. I don’t think this is just a quibble about language. Often there is a tension in the mind of people (and families and communities) about this. Most people recognize that changing one’s mind is at least... Read more

How Scholarship Works

Last updated on: May 6, 2019 at 8:04 am By James F. McGrath

When sharing a recent blog post on social media, I offered some thoughts on how academic study works at its most basic level. Here is what I wrote, with some minor improvements and alterations to the wording: Reading some online discussions, you’d think that there is a need for people on those blogs and discussion boards, with no particular expertise in or professional connection with the study of history, to come up with their own methods for historical study. Not... Read more

RIP Rachel Held Evans, Eshet Chayil

Last updated on: May 5, 2019 at 10:42 am By James F. McGrath

I assume that most if not indeed all readers of my blog will have heard by now the tragic news that author Rachel Held Evans has died at the young age of 37, leaving behind her husband Dan and their two children. I’ve been a huge fan of Evans’ writing ever since I encountered her first book about growing up in Dayton, Tennessee, the site of the infamous Scopes trial. She then wowed us all again with her book about... Read more

Canon #CFP x2 (Bible and Beyond)

Last updated on: May 3, 2019 at 8:00 pm By James F. McGrath

Two calls for papers and several other items related to canon came to my attention that I knew I should share. Here they are! Now back to writing about canon and Star Wars…as you’ll see if you read on, that is the reason I thought this so apt for Star Wars Day. May the 4th be with you! https://relcfp.tumblr.com/post/184581214385/cfp-old-wine-in-new-bottles-re-canonizing-the http://relcfp.tumblr.com/post/184595272578/cfp-the-bible-as-book-anthology-and-concept Also of related interest will be Bart Ehrman lecturing about Constantine and addressing misperceptions. It connects to this post for... Read more

What Happened to the Twelve Apostles?

Last updated on: May 2, 2019 at 2:13 pm By James F. McGrath

The post-New Testament stories of the apostles made the news a while back, thanks to the appearance of Tom Bissell’s book on the subject. My own research has not pursued such questions much, with the slight exception of my work on the traditions of Thomas going to India. Even working on the Gospel of John has not led naturally to a focus on what John the son of Zebedee might or might not have done. In my current fiction project,... Read more

Review of Tolkien (2019)

Last updated on: May 2, 2019 at 4:14 pm By James F. McGrath

I was delighted when I was offered the chance to attend an advance screening of the movie Tolkien. One of the first things I did was to try to secure at least one additional ticket so that I could bring along my friend and colleague Frank Felice. He is probably the biggest fan of J. R. R. Tolkien that I know (and as you can probably guess, I know a lot of Tolkien fans). He knows the details of Tolkien’s biography... Read more

ReligionProf Podcast Special: Batman in Bowling Green

Last updated on: April 30, 2019 at 10:38 pm By James F. McGrath

I recently had the opportunity to make a guest appearance on the program at a conference about Batman that took place at Bowling Green State University. I call it a “guest appearance” because I was not originally slated to be on the program, but after a good friend of mine had to cancel after he was already on the draft program, we were able to arrange for a substitution. I thus focused on engaging with his work on the... Read more

Paul around the Blogosphere

Last updated on: April 18, 2019 at 3:23 pm By James F. McGrath

I hope to be able to resume the Paul APB series soon. In the meantime, here is a collection of blog posts related to Paul and his writings that I hope you’ll enjoy! Steve Wiggins shared thoughts on the UMC debates about human sexuality that drive a wedge between Paul and Jesus in a manner that is very common. Here is an excerpt: Ironically the UMC has lined up against the Gospels. Christianity’s sexual hangups began with the apostle from... Read more

#CFP Productive Futures: The Political Economy of Science Fiction

Last updated on: April 25, 2019 at 2:14 pm By James F. McGrath

Call for papers: Productive Futures Productive Futures: The Political Economy of Science Fiction Bloomsbury, London, 12-14 September Keynote speakers: Dr. Caroline Edwards, Dr. Joan Haran Guests of honour: Aliette de Bodard, Zen Cho, Tade Thompson The history of science fiction (SF) is a history of unreal economics: from asteroid mining to interstellar trade, from robotic workforces to utopian communes, from the abolition of money and property to techno-capitalist tragedies of the near future. The London Science Fiction Research Community (LSFRC)... Read more