H(igher)Ed Games

Last updated on: October 4, 2016 at 11:36 pm By James F. McGrath

I’m having conversations with colleagues about making some variations of Canon that focus on core curriculum learning outcomes, literary or musical canons, and one or more new games focusing on chord formation and chord progressions in music. The latter will probably be called “Playing Chords,” since a double pun – on the two meanings of playing, and cards / chords – is more than I can resist. But “ReligionProf’s Games” doesn’t seem like a good fit as a name for my “brand” as... Read more

Trump: Not a Polished Human Being

Last updated on: October 4, 2016 at 11:33 pm By James F. McGrath

After watching the vice-presidential debate this evening, I was struck by many things. But the highlight for me was when, after Pence had brought forth his Evangelical credentials, and then defended Trump for some things he had said by emphasizing that he isn’t a “polished politician,” Kaine responded with a thoroughly appropriate Bible verse, Luke 6:45, “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Recalling that moment after the debate ended, the person I watched the debate with quipped that Donald Trump... Read more

Theology and Science Fiction: Now Available on Amazon.com

Last updated on: October 4, 2016 at 12:15 pm By James F. McGrath

If you’re among those who’ve been waiting for my latest book to be available on Amazon, your wait is over. It is now listed as in stock! In addition to the paperback book, it is also available for Kindle. And you can find it through Amazon in other countries too, with local shipping options. Read more

Elaine Pagels Honored by President Barack Obama

Last updated on: October 3, 2016 at 4:58 pm By James F. McGrath

The video above includes video footage of Elaine Pagels receiving a National Humanities Medal for her work. Fast forward to 26:21 for that part. The video was drawn to my attention in an article in NewsWorks which also includes a lot of interesting details about Pagels’ life. Click through to read it! Read more

That Escalated Quickly

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 2:23 pm By James F. McGrath

Genesis as Ink Blot

Last updated on: October 2, 2016 at 2:15 pm By James F. McGrath

What do you think? Do you find this analogy which Daniel Eaton came up with helpful? Of related interest, see Will Hart Brown’s reflections on comparisons between creation in Babylonian myths and the Bible. Read more

Dust in the Wind (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 8:53 am By James F. McGrath

This meme was inspired by a comment left on Facebook, after I shared Robert Holmstedt’s post about how to render the Hebrew word hevel in Ecclesiastes 1:2 and elsewhere. I think “dust in the wind” (a la Kansas) is a better fit than the Rolling Stones rendering, “I can’t get no satisfaction”… Read more

Theology and Science Fiction Flyer

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 2:30 pm By James F. McGrath

Here is a link to a flyer about my new book, Theology and Science Fiction. It may be useful for you to pass it on to your local university or public library, as a recommendation for them to purchase it. Read more

The Myth of Mythicism and Undebunkable Skepticism

Last updated on: September 25, 2016 at 9:14 pm By James F. McGrath

Jonathan Bernier noted in a recent post “the special pleading involved in rejecting a consensus position adopted by virtually every New Testament scholar (that Jesus existed) while accepting without reflection a consensus position adopted by most but hardly all such scholars. If we are all mistaken on something so fundamental to the discipline, then how can it be assumed without investigation that the majority of us are correct on anything else?” He also writes, “There are matters upon which informed... Read more

Would You Vote for a Machine for President?

Last updated on: September 28, 2016 at 8:52 pm By James F. McGrath

Sometimes my class on Religion and Science Fiction seems to be incredibly practical, despite the impression the title might give. Yesterday we talked about whether it would be a good idea to ask an artificial intelligence whether God exists. The conversations we had were great, and included a contribution from Siri which led to one student being dubbed a “telephone evangelist.” Some of you may remember me blogging about a movie I saw in 2014 at Gen Con called “The God Question.”... Read more