My book The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context, forthcoming from University of Illinois Press in March of 2009, is now available for pre-order on amazon.com. A page has also been created for The Burial of Jesus: History and Faith and so I expect to be able to announce that it is available for purchase soon. Presumably this means that you can go ahead and start recommending one or both of these books to your local... Read more
What should you do if God tells you to sacrifice your child? Abraham (according to the story in Genesis) said “Yes Lord” and took Isaac up Mount Moriah. According to the story, he was interrupted before he could go through with it by a voice that said “Now I know that you fear God…” I think most of us today would be more likely to react by saying “Now we know that Abraham fears God” if he refused to respond... Read more
Today I received my proof copy of The Burial of Jesus: History and Faith. After soliciting some feedback on how the final version looks (I can’t be objective about this, obviously), I gave my approval for the book to become available for purchase. It should be available within a week or so. I’ll let you know! Read more
Having provided round-ups of my blogging on Intelligent Design and on LOST, I thought I’d follow up with a collection of my posts on creationism. There is some overlap with the subject of Intelligent Design, but enough distinction (and enough separate posts) to make it seem worth doing. I’ve put serious ones, and in particular ones showing the problems with the way young-earth creationists misuse Biblical texts, towards the beginning. Creationism’s Cartoon PhysicsTeaching the Genesis Creation StoriesEvidence and Faith: The... Read more
“Religious beliefs cannot remain what they were before the rise of modern science any more than ancient scientific beliefs can. It would be absurd to insist that ancient religious beliefs should remain unchanged when our whole view of the universe has changed radically” (Keith Ward, The Big Questions in Science and Religion (West Conshohocken: Templeton Foundation Press, 2008) p.4). Read more
The Bad Astronomy blog over at the Discover magazine web site mentions me and links to my post on “Evolution and Indoctrination“. To think that if Jim West hadn’t posted what he did, none of this might have happened… Read more
The Dharma Wants You site is still recruiting for the Dharma Initative. To register you first take a test. There is someone talking in places in a language I don’t understand. Presumably there are clues to be found on the site. One thing you can do after registering is create your own quiz. Click here to take the one I created. Read more
Jesus Creed reflects on apostasy from orthodoxy. Metacatholic points out a Christian reconstructionist web site about Palin. Debunking Christianity has a game theory approach to Genesis 3. It is problematic, but also interesting, and certainly worth a look. For a rabbinic approach, check out the wonderfully-named Sefer Ha-Bloggadah. As I wait for my book to become available, I’m glad that documentaries and blogs are keeping interest in the burial of Jesus alive. Sandwalk asks whether science should speak to faith. Read more
I was surprised when, seeing a New Testament position in New York City advertised recently, I did not feel extremely tempted to apply. As a native of NYC, I do miss it, enough so that I was rather glad when, coming back from an overseas conference trip not that long ago, we missed a connection and had to spend a day in the city waiting for the next flight back to Indianapolis.  I’m glad, however, that I was teaching... Read more
Here are links to all the substantial posts I’ve written about LOST (so far): LOST: The Island and the PeopleReligion and Morality in an Infinite MultiverseLOST in a Parallel UniverseLOST in a Zoroastrian MultiverseLOST TheoriesLOST Tabula RasaLOST and SolitaryLOST Mothers of the ChosenWhy the Red Sox Always LOST the World SeriesDeus ex Machina LOST BooneLOST Exodus from Season 1LOST WhispersLOST Teddy BearLOST Book of the LawNathan the LOST Prophet?LOST BodyLOST in a Hot Air BalloonOceanic Flight 815 Was Shot DownLOST:... Read more
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