I was tempted to give this post a title something like “Nevertheless Even So Yet Again At Least Once More Pistis Christou”. But then I thought I might need that title for this post’s sequel. Since there are many readers of this blog whose background is not in Biblical studies, I should say by way of introduction that there is a debate among scholars about whether a phrase used in Paul’s letters, usually rendered in English translations as “faith in... Read more

I just finished reading James P. Carse’s book The Religious Case Against Belief (New York: Penguin, 2008). Although there are occasional factual and other details one might quibble over, the major thesis of the book remains intriguing and provocative. In essence, the central thesis of the book is that there is a distinction that can be made between a religion and a belief system, and it is the distinction that, among other things, accounts for the longevity of religions. Indeed,... Read more

I received a copy of the flyer for The Only True God in Adobe Acrobat format today. Feel free to pass on a copy to the acquisitions person at your university library. The book should be out in just a few months now… Read more

I just finished watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. On the one hand, the idea of extraterrestrials or interdimensional beings (or angels or deities, for that matter) having come to earth and brought the key elements of civilization and technology with them (whether making fire, irrigation, or velcro) faces a problem akin to that of intelligent design. It is the common reaction “I can’t imagine how that came about, so I will posit an external intervention... Read more

Butler University is working on adding Digital Commons (i.e. a central site for access to the research and publications of those at Butler) to its web presence. I’ve begun setting up a Selected Works page for myself. Have others used this type of web resource before? Have you found it useful? Any suggestions or feedback will be welcome! Read more

“Scholars of classical antiquity have argued that ancient literary composition was essentially an oral process based on one’s memory rather than on piles of written notes. What was composed orally was subsequently dictated to a scribe who was the actual writer of the text. Once the author had “published” his work by allowing its reproduction by booksellers and friends, he had lost all influence on its further development. Since no copyright laws existed, the author had no protection against the... Read more

Bad Astronomy has the top ten astronomy images for 2008. Number 4 is aptly described as “beautiful beyond words”: Be sure to go take a look at it at full resolution. Read more

I have to say it, even though it may lose me some credibility in the eyes of older academics (although I suspect they already view me with disdain for blogging, so it probably won’t matter much, except to solidify their impression). I love Facebook. It has allowed me to reconnect with friends from childhood, from college, currently scattered all over the world, people that I long regretted losing touch with. But more than that, it allows them to make the... Read more

Given my Romanian connections, I had to share this (HT Mark Goodacre): Sacra Scriptathe new Romanian journal for Biblical Studies edited by the Centre for Biblical Studiesof Babes Bolyai Universität Cluj-NapocaChief editor: Stelian TofanaExecutive editor: Korinna ZamfirEditorial board: Gjörgy Benyik, Ioan Chirilla, Erik Eynikel, Marius Furtuna, Hans Klein, Lehel Lszai, Ulrich Luz, Sorin Martian, Janos Molnar, Tobias Nicklas, Zoltan Olah, Joseph Verheyden Two issues of ca 120 pages per year. Articles are accepted in English, German, French and Italian.Among the... Read more

Here are the first and second of the new Battlestar Galactica webisodes: http://www.hulu.com/embed/il8TBUWAz4WwVfXVnLR4qQ http://www.hulu.com/embed/e12o0fMh-rbavGLrmS97lw Read more