Matt Brake wrote a wonderful post exploring a central question raised by the story Silence by Shusaku Endo, made into a film by Martin Scorsese. Matt writes: I can’t help but think that Rodrigues’ ultimate sacrifice—giving up the hopes of eternal life—for the sake of these Japanese villagers is an act of love that would speak in a powerfully Christ-like manner to all observers and to all of those who heard about it. And if this is the case, what... Read more
As I unwisely allowed myself to get dragged into a conversation on another blog with someone whose behavior led to him being banned from this one, I was struck again by the difficulty that many mythicists seem to have with distinguishing between the question of Jesus’ existence, and the question of whether certain ancient sources, and/or certain contemporary apologists, make accurate claims about that ancient figure. And so of course my thoughts turned to the bacterial flagellum. I’ve made comparisons... Read more
Inside Higher Ed featured an article on a subject that is near and dear to my heart. It is one of three “F words” that they focused on. In this case, I am referring to “fun,” and here’s what they said on the subject that is directly relevant to my interest in gamification: One of the greatest impediments to great teaching is the assumption that boredom is an indicator of rigor. Not only does this idea fail under the slightest... Read more
Details have been announced about the 2019 ΘeoCon, which this year will take place at Messiah College in Pennsylvania on September 28th. I’m including the general information about the event from the website below. But before moving on to that, let me first ask if any other academics with an interest in the intersection of pop culture and theology might have an interest in putting a panel together. If so, let me know. Otherwise, feel free to propose a standalone... Read more
I was very happy to receive a message from the pastor of my church, Rev. Mark Pittman (of Crooked Creek Baptist Church), in response to reading my book The Burial of Jesus: What Does History Have to Do With Faith?, published by Patheos Press (in ebook format, second edition). Here’s what he said: James, just finished a cover-to-cover-one- sitting-binge-reading of your The Burial of Jesus. I appreciated the early NT101 chapters as you lay the groundwork for your later conclusions. Really... Read more
My guest on the podcast this week is my Butler University colleague Dr. Deborah Saxon. She speaks with such enthusiasm about the importance of extracanonical Gospels and other such texts not merely as an academic interest, but for the church. I hope that her words are heard far and wide. One of the great things about having a blog as well as a podcast is the opportunity to embed additional content alongside the audio recording. And so to start with,... Read more
Fantastic Religions and Where to Find Them Deities, Myths and Rites in Science Fiction and Fantasy July 2-6, 2019 Velletri (Rome) Call for Papers https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/3818379/fantastic-religions-and-where-find-them-deities-myths-and-rites The conference purports to be an occasion for an interdisciplinary discussion about the representation of religions in Fantasy and Science Fiction literary production and in any possible artistic manifestation connected to the two genres. The themes the conference intends to tackle are the following: Representation of “historical” religions. Why does an author represent them in... Read more
Given that I am working on a book about things Jesus learned from women, I was delighted that someone in my Sunday school class noticed the imagery of a woman giving birth used in John 16:21-24, when Jesus speaks of the experience of childbirth. How does the analogy Jesus makes there relate to the book I am working on? What does it tell us about Jesus? First things first. You would think it could be treated as obvious that, if... Read more
As I’ve thought about what to cover in a book on theology and progressive rock that I’ve begun working on (and for which I’m delighted to say a contract has been issued – more on that soon), one topic that has come to mind is that of continuity. This isn’t unique to prog, to be sure, but it certainly provides numerous illustrations. Is Pink Floyd really only Pink Floyd while Syd Barrett is with them, or only after he leaves,... Read more
Jim Burklo offers this helpful illustration between Christianity and cooking, between the Bible and a recipe book. Imagine that you memorize a book of recipes. You quote passages from the recipes, with breathless enthusiasm, to other people – whether they care to listen or not. You follow each recipe to the letter. You chop and mix and bake and cook according to the instructions. You show off the finished product, proclaiming its absolute superiority to all others. But you never... Read more
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