I went to see The Last Jedi yesterday afternoon. This post will contain spoilers. If you have yet to see the movie and wish to experience it without having heard about things that happen during it, this would be a good time to stop reading. Bookmark this post and come back after you’ve seen it. Others of you have been eagerly looking for opportunities to talk about the details of the movie with those who have already seen it, and... Read more
I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before. It was there under my (not bright red or shiny) nose, yet I failed to notice it until now. Presumably you have all seen the Christmas decorations purportedly representing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer that children are taught to make using popsicle sticks and which look something like this: Well, it wasn’t until today (I am ashamed to admit) that I noticed what this diabolical invention depicts when you turn it upside down... Read more
This is a really cool conference idea – holding a conference about Vampires in Transylvania, in Romania! It will be held in Sighisoara, which is the birthplace of Vlad Tepes, the historical figure who is regularly associated with Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula despite having little in common. Here’s a snippet from the call for papers: Call For Papers: International Vampire Film and Arts Festival – 7-10 June 2018 The third annual International Vampire Film and Arts Festival will take place... Read more
I assume that other readers of this blog have been surprised by my lack of comment on what others all over the internet have been talking about, namely the new trailers that have been released for The Last Jedi. Things have been incredibly busy, but I am indeed planning on seeing it. I’m more worried about whether holiday travel plans may interfere with me seeing the Doctor Who Christmas episode in a timely manner. Nerdist has analysis and speculations about... Read more
I am ever so grateful to Matthias Henze for allowing me the opportunity to interview him about his new book, Mind the Gap. Here are the questions that I posed to him, followed by his answers: JM: I saw an article in the Times of Israel about your book, the headline of which said that a Bible prof had said that Jesus is “more Jewish” than you think. How did you feel about that headline as a way of encapsulating the... Read more
I decided to break what had been one very long post about two mythicists into two shorter ones (although I will be the first to admit that neither is particularly short, which gives you a sense of why I thought it best to split them). The first was yesterday’s about Richard Carrier. Today’s takes its point of departure from discussions around another mythicist, Earl Doherty. Jonathan Bernier pointed out (in a post which he subsequently deleted, but which Neil Godfrey nevertheless... Read more
Larry Hurtado has written an excellent blog post in which he shows that Richard Carrier is simply not telling the truth, not accurate, and not persuasive on a number of topics central to his claims about Jesus. Here is a sample excerpt: The “mythical Jesus” view doesn’t have any traction among the overwhelming number of scholars working in these fields, whether they be declared Christians, Jewish, atheists, or undeclared as to their personal stance. Advocates of the “mythical Jesus” may... Read more
Students at Butler who want to go on the trip to Transylvania, there is still opportunity to do so. Tell your parents that the trip is what you want for Christmas! 🙂 Here’s some beautiful Romanian Christmas music to help you make your case: Here’s a useful video about Romania that may also be useful, and help persuade you as well as family that you should go! If that doesn’t do it, try this one: And since we end in... Read more
Even before the announcement was made that the U.S. Embassy in Israel will move to Jerusalem, hints in this direction had already had an impact on the State Department warning regarding travel to Israel, which in turn has required me to suspend my short term study abroad trip to Israel. I don’t object to moving the embassy in principle the way some others do. But I do object to the way it has been handled. On that subject, I think this is a great quote from Steve Wiggins:... Read more
I was delighted to have the opportunity to see the new movie Darkest Hour before it opens in theaters tonight. I had been looking forward to seeing it, ever since I first saw publicity about it showing Gary Oldman, with prosthetics and makeup to turn him into Winston Churchill. The movie focuses on a relatively short period in May 1940, starting with the British parliament’s loss of faith in prime minister Neville Chamberlain. After some discussion and much reluctance from both... Read more
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