Everything can be connected to a Friends episode, in my experience, and most things can be usefully illustrated with some scene from Friends. A case in point is the exchange about evolution that takes place between Ross and Phoebe. While I enjoyed this episode, the more I’ve thought about it, the more disappointed I’ve become with Ross’s final reaction when Phoebe accuses him of having caved on his beliefs. The confidence that we have in scientific, historical, medical, and other... Read more
Call for Papers: The Age of the Pulps: v Submission date for 400-word proposals—: 1 June 2019 Contact—: Thomas Connolly ([email protected]) The genre of science fiction was “born” in April 1926, when Hugo Gernsback published the first issue of Amazing Stories. Of course, stories of technological speculation and scientific fantasy were to be found long before the brightly coloured pages of the pulp magazines—yet Amazing Stories is credited with providing early SF with its first dedicated publication venue. The subsequent... Read more
Centre for Cultural, Literary and Postcolonial Studies (CCLPS) ‘Science Fiction Beyond the West: Futurity in African and Asian Contexts’ Symposium at SOAS Date: 12 July 2019Time: 8:00 AMFinishes: 12 July 2019Time: 5:00 PM Venue: Brunei Gallery Room: B104 Type of Event: Symposium The contested space of the future, how it is envisioned and theorized, and what this reveals about our present moment is an area of increased academic inquiry in the humanities and social sciences. The urgency of paying attention to what is to come becomes ever clearer,... Read more
Sper ca majoritatea cititorilor blogului meu (care nu stiu limba romana) sa-mi ierte acest interludiu romanesc. Acest mesaj este pentru voi care intelegeti romaneste si va rog pentru ajutorul vostru. Incep cu povestirea unei intamplari. In perioada in care am locuit in Romania, am vizitat anticariatele de cate ori am avut ocazia. O data (cred ca la Sibiu) am intrat intr-un anticariat care avea ceva carti despre religie de pe vremea perioadeicomuniste. Mi s-au parut interesante dar ciudate, prezentandu-l pe Isus ca pe o persoana pur mitologica cu trasaturi si... Read more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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