A piece by American composer Jacob Narverud. Read more
A piece by American composer Jacob Narverud. Read more
The Star Trek: Discovery episode “Vaulting Ambition” has a discussion early on about the fact that Emperor Georgiou is not the same person that Michael Burnham betrayed in her universe. But she say that it nonetheless “feels like a reckoning.” When Captain Lorca says that she is, effectively, a “ghost,” Burnham responds by asking if he has never been afraid of ghosts. Paul Stametz encounters a version of himself in a mysterious forest, and he asks whether this is an... Read more
I love sharing new music from lots of sources, but you may be able to guess that this is one that I am especially excited about. This is my son’s composition, an “Adagio for Flute and Two Violins,” which he wrote for this ensemble at his school which include him, another violinist Noah Weiner, and Anna Chinni on flute as the performers. This is the world premiere, and although I expect that an even better-quality recording will be available in... Read more
This page from a children’s Bible, which a friend shared on Facebook, seems to me a perfect illustration of the distortion that so-called “biblical literalists” regularly engage in. They decide what the Bible is allowed to mean (in this example, “wine” or “grape juice”) in advance of their encounter with the text. They then interpret it as saying what they think it ought to, what they assumed all along that it must mean. Then, lo and behold, they claim scriptural authority... Read more
Emma Higgs has been continuing her excellent blog series, Faith in the Fog. Here is an excerpt from her post “Good Religion, Bad Religion”: There have been moments in history where humans have experienced something so far beyond their existing understanding of the world that it transformed their lives. These events, whether we believe them to have been divinely initiated or imagined by human brains, sparked a human response with the intent of preserving the memory and the impact of these transcendent experiences, and... Read more
Scott McLemee has written a review of Candida Moss and Joel Baden’s book Bible Nation for Inside Higher Ed. Here is an excerpt: Nothing in the book impugns the Greens’ motives; while donating their collection to the nonprofit museum has undeniable tax benefits, that is secondary to the real mission of celebrating the Bible and promoting the belief that it is historically accurate and literally true. The good faith of the effort is not in question. But “lacking among the members of... Read more
A while back in my Sunday school class, I sought to challenge the idea that anyone takes the Bible literally, by focusing on some of the things that Jesus says about topics like poverty and possessions. We started with Jesus’ saying about a camel passing through the eye of a needle. I tried to get everyone to face the literal starkness of Jesus’ woes against the wealthy without rushing to explain them away. Eventually we got to the contrast between... Read more
As we gear up for the next public lecture in the series, let me share the video recording of the second public lecture in this year’s Butler Seminar on Religion and Global Affairs. It features Jan Holton’s keynote address, responses from my colleague Robin Turner as well as Kizito Kalima, and an engaging Q&A session afterwards. Be sure to join us on January 23rd and February 27th for the remaining two events in the series, including a double keynote at one,... Read more
Walk a Mile in a Refugee’s Shoes from COIN on Vimeo. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE From: Coalition for Our Immigrant Neighbors COIN Releases “Walk a Mile” Documentary The Coalition for Our Immigrant Neighbors brought together over 400 people at its “Walk a Mile in a Refugee’s Shoes” event on July 23, 2017. COIN is now pleased to share a documentary of that simulation portraying the experiences that many refugees encounter each day. The link to the documentary is https://vimeo.com/246132746. Please send... Read more
Early in the episode, Burnham reflects on whether it is possible to suppress one’s decency, as she needs to in the parallel universe, without it radically transforming you. She observes that they are human, with the same drives, in both universes. Tyler makes a comparison to the tether that reassured him when venturing into space in a suit, something that initially terrified him. The Emperor sends a message to Burnham as captain of the Shenzhou, sending them on a mission to eradicate the... Read more
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