I think it is important to think and reflect a little further, to dig a little deeper, in relation to the subject of my recent post about Abraham and child sacrifice. Clearly I am willing to be critical of the story, to disagree. But I also am profoundly aware that my perspective on child sacrifice as something horrific is itself shaped by the Biblical tradition and one or more of its trajectories. I see the problematic nature of the story... Read more

Here’s my first attempt at video recording myself and posting it on YouTube. I talk for about 5 minutes about a topic touched on in my book, namely the difference between Mark and John about whether or not Jesus was anointed when he was buried. I’d gratefully welcome any feedback on how I might do it better next time! Read more

Are there plans to have some sort of bibliobloggers’ get-together in Boston at SBL this year? If not, there should be! Read more

There is a need for a way for drivers to draw attention to those who, through their failure to use their turn signal when driving, make the road a more dangerous and more stressful place. The current signal (a glaring angry look) appears not to serve as an effective means of communicating the point clearly, as it is easily confused with the very similar international gesture for “hang up and drive”. I suggest that we begin to use a swift... Read more

Over on The Burial of Jesus blog, I’ve shared the debate between William Lane Craig and James Crossley about the resurrection of Jesus, which apparently took place back in 2007. A major reason for writing my book on the burial of Jesus is the relevance of that subject to how we view the traditions about the empty tomb, resurrection appearances and so on. So obviously this debate interests me. I’ve embedded a YouTube version of the debate over on the... Read more

N. T. Wrong shared this cartoon from YouTube about someone finding himself in the same situation as Abraham in the story in Genesis. What do you think of the advice his co-worker gives him? I also liked this cartoon that was shared at The Rev’s Rumbles. I’m not sure why exactly… Read more

If I speak in the languages of peoples living and dead, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have a PhD and can fathom all sorts of mysteries and significant amounts of knowledge, and if I have the common sense to know that “faith that can move mountains” is a metaphor, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body... Read more

The Mandaean text Dmuth Kushta (“Image of Truth”) has only been published in booklet form by Majid Fandi al-Mubaraki in 2002, and isn’t even in the Drower collection. In it, there is a reference to a “king of the Nasoraeans”. This could be an important historical clue, perhaps comparable in value to the reference to Artapanus in the Haran Gawaita. Or it could simply reflect the use of “king” as a term for a “priest”. The entire phrase in which... Read more

Good news! My book The Burial of Jesus: History and Faith is now available for purchase at amazon.com. I do hope that some of my regular readers will read it, and will let me know what they think (whether here or at the blog I’ve created specifically for the book). But I’d be particularly grateful if you could find the time to recommend the book for purchase by your local university, seminary and/or public libraries. If they ask for a... Read more

Evolving Thoughts shared this wonderful clip under the heading “Cleesing the God Gene“: Elsewhere around the blogosphere, New Scientist has an article on the possibility that evolution may have preceded life. Undeception has an interesting post on “First Things and Last Things“. And Peter Rollins talks about our desire for a master we can dominate. Read more