For those who may not be from the United States, ICE on the back of the flack jacket stands for “Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” That is the branch of Homeland Security that has been making headlines in recent days by rounding up immigrants in large numbers and deporting them. Read more
Finding music related to the Bible is easy. Coming across a composition in Syriac, on the other hand, is a real rarity. And so I had to draw your attention to this piece by Zad Moultaka. Read more
This PHDComic seems to me to sum up the work schedule of academics really well, at least in my experience. On the one hand, there has been an incredible amount of flexibility, inasmuch as the opportunity has in most cases been there to be involved in family activities and/or travel at times when classes were not meeting. On the other hand, whether it is writing, grading, reading, or any other work-related activity, it doesn’t get skipped. On the contrary, it fills... Read more
Last Sunday in my Sunday school class, I confess that I poked fun at the Left Behind series. References to the past and present in conjunction with the future in Revelation have persuaded me that it is referring in the first instance to the situation of the churches in Asia Minor to which the work was explicitly addressed and sent. But current events might require me to rethink my view of prophecy. After all, Tim La Haye envisaged a deceitful... Read more
Another obvious song to include in a course on the Bible and music is “Creeping Death” by Metallica. If you listen closely to the lyrics, you will not only spot the Exodus story as the background, but will see the specific influence of the movie The Ten Commandments. Read more
I mentioned previously my hope that students would broaden my horizons. That happened during the last class period, as we focused on songs for children. Students shared songs they knew of which I already knew, such as “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands” and “This Little Light of Mine.” But they also shared “The Hippopotamus Song,” otherwise known as “Hip Hip Hooray (Hippopotamus).” The song actually turned out to be simply fantastic as a way of talking about the topic... Read more
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First, here are some new beatitudes by Simon Woodman: Blessed are those who refuse the lie that one life is worth more than any other, for theirs is the future of humanity. Blessed are those who have stared long into the abyss, for theirs is honesty beyond grief. Blessed are those who resist retaliation, for the earth will never be won by force. Blessed are those who would rather die for truth than live with compromise, for the truth will outlive... Read more
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This sign seems like a nice complement to the political cartoon I shared yesterday. The irony that many have been pointing out is that not only the political candidate supported by the religious right, but the leaders of that movement themselves, sound less and less like Christ and more and more like his opposite. And another word for the opposite of Christ is anti-Christ. And if “Alt-Jesus” is simply an alternative Jesus, like “alternative facts,” then let me quote the apostle... Read more
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