Wishing all readers of this blog a happy December 6th, the feast of St. Nicholas! Read more
Wishing all readers of this blog a happy December 6th, the feast of St. Nicholas! Read more
It is one of the most disappointing aspects of conservative Evangelicalism that they are strident and loud about matters like “picking and choosing,” the coming of the “antichrist,” and the dangers of compromising one’s faith for worldly gain. And then significant numbers of them, including in particular their prominent leaders, visibly and unmistakably do all of those things, in a manner that is so blatant that there is only one plausible explanation for why Evangelicals more generally are willing to ignore and... Read more
When the above meme was drawn to my attention, I felt I had to share it. The contrast between biblical laws and the Republican tax bill is even starker than the meme from Facebook God indicates. The Torah in fact imposes taxes and tax-like practices that redistribute wealth to those in need, including returning land to its earlier owner once a generation. We need more memes like the one above, because there are apparently large numbers of people in the... Read more
Hemant Mehta shared the image above, suggesting that this is how progressive Christians should advertise in the age of trump. I like it a lot, and yet am troubled by aspects of it. First and foremost, I am disappointed at the sense conveyed that this church merely reflects the values of its urban context. At times in the past, progressive churches have been the influence that made cities progressive. Moreover, I have never seen an example of progressive economics or... Read more
Jeremiah Bailey shared a great idea for an activity for students. Give them the nativity creche manger scene and ask them to identify which items come from Matthew and which come from Luke. Perhaps consider giving bonus points for those who realize that some details – such as the barn itself – are not actually mentioned. On my Butler web space (which I have not updated in a very long time) you can find some class notes of mine from a... Read more
I got a kick out of this meme, which came my way via Episcopal Church Memes on Facebook. Many people think that the Christmas season ends rather than begins on December 25th. The irony is that we could have both – a vibrant Advent shopping season followed by the Twelve Days of Christmas, during which we could listen to all the wonderful Christmas music there is. OK, maybe not all of it… Read more
When I shared a post and meme about the classic notion of the academic in an ivory tower recently, I also shared on Facebook some of my own experience that led to my change of perspective. Here is what I wrote: In my own teaching experience, several things helped me shift away from the classic model of the “disinterested” researcher and “impartial” classroom moderator. One was the recognition that, in the interest of being non-partisan, I was staying silent about... Read more
On the night of November 24th-25th I had what may well be the strangest dream I have ever had. I wanted to write it down so that I remember the details – even though I am sure that some key things had already faded with my waking. The background to the dream is that I was dead, already at the start of the dream, apparently. My wife and I both were in our home, although it included elements of my... Read more
I am overdue to share the trailer for this year’s Doctor Who Christmas Special, which will have the title “Twice Upon a Time.” I am very disappointed that it doesn’t seem to continue the running gag in which an earlier Doctor steps into the different TARDIS control room and says, “Oh, you’ve redecorated! I don’t like it.” But I am excited to see what happens when the show brings back the First Doctor. I didn’t find the performance by Richard Hurndall in... Read more
Apparently now Richard Carrier has his own Gospel. The video above illustrates just how off-target mythicism is in relation to the evidence. The suggestion that the Gospel of Mark is the first inkling of a biography of Jesus ignores the narrative that Paul clearly takes for granted – as well as the indications in Mark that he is telling a story that has been told before. The idea that Mark is just an updating of Moses, Elijah, and Elisha stories... Read more
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