None other than J. K. Rowling drew attention to this tweet from Mike Pence from back in 2015: Calls to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. are offensive and unconstitutional. — Governor Mike Pence (@GovPenceIN) December 8, 2015 She then added a Biblical quote, challenging his hypocrisy: And now he is saying nothing against the executive order. Mike Pence has sold his soul in the interest of power – but what power have you gained if you are the vice... Read more
Two more major academic organizations have issued statements. I had begun working on one as co-chair of the American Academy of Religion’s Traditions of Eastern Late Antiquity program unit, since our geographical area of focus overlaps with that directly affected by the recent presidential executive order. Now that there is an AAR statement, however, I think I will just say that our program unit affirms this statement: Board Statement on U.S. Executive Order “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the... Read more
From the Society of Biblical Literature’s “Hebrew Bible, History, and Archaeology” program unit: Statement on the recent U.S. Executive Order: “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States” We, the steering committee of “Hebrew Bible, History, and Archaeology” of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and “Methods of Historiography in the Study of Ancient Israel and the Levant” of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) denounce the recent executive order by President Donald Trump banning entry... Read more
Butler University’s president Jim Danko offered the following statement yesterday: PRESIDENT DANKO’S STATEMENT ON IMMIGRATION ON JANUARY 30, 2017 President Danko issued the following statement today (January 30, 2017): Dear Members of the Butler Community, In the wake of the executive order on immigration signed on January 27, I want to reaffirm Butler University’s role as an institution where all people are welcomed and valued—regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or political beliefs. I stated in my... Read more
Another statement from a program unit of the Society of Biblical Literature: It seems that studying poverty, whether in ancient times or today, makes people more sympathetic to the plight of the poor. Read more
There is a petition that all academics are invited to become signatories of: https://notoimmigrationban.com/ I have submitted my name asking that it be added, and I hope that you will do the same if you are a professor. The steering committee of the American Academy of Religion’s New Religious Movements program unit issued this statement: The president of Princeton University issued a statement. Purdue University president Mitch Daniels also had things to say on the topic. And here is what the American Association... Read more
If it has been disheartening to see the actions of America’s president and his supporters, and the harmful effects on people that those actions have had on refugees and other extremely vulnerable constituencies, it has been encouraging to see so many people of different backgrounds being united in their outspokenness against these policies. I plan to share as many examples as I can of people and groups speaking out as I become aware of here on this blog, and in particular... Read more
A biblical opera by 19th century Columbian composer José María Ponce de León. Read more
From cartoonist Pat Byrnes. Is any further comment necessary? Is it necessary to point out that the substitution of lies in place of truth is itself already diabolical, and the rebranding of lies as though they were merely a variant form of truth is even more so? Read more
Here are videos from YouTube with recordings of Susan Bingham’s settings of Biblical stories: Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In