I had another new (to me) insight into a text, one that I suspect will be obvious and old hat to colleagues who study the Hebrew Bible but which I will share in the hope that those with more expertise will chime in and say what they think about this topic. Having started a series on doublets – twice-told stories – in the Bible, we found ourselves working through the Lord’s Prayer. From there a natural doublet to go to... Read more
Friends fans will recognize the format of this post as that which episodes of the series took. I had an idea for a book which could be called Friends: The Ones With All The Theology. The book would undoubtedly be of interest, although unlikely to match even a fraction of the popularity of the show itself. Some will react to the idea by pointing out that the characters aren’t particularly religious, much less overtly theological. That, for me, is what... Read more
Returning to the topic of the Bible and music with some items that are new to me and will likely be of interest to you. First, here is a song sung from the perspective of Rachel’s sister Leah: Next, here is a press release about a new book with accompanying app focused on Psalm 27: CCAR PRESS RELEASES INTERACTIVE MEDITATION AND REFLECTION APP BASED ON OPENING YOUR HEART WITH PSALM 27 New smartphone app, based on the a book by Rabbi... Read more
Spot-on analysis from my fellow Patheos blogger Fred Clark: I still love The X-Files, but the mythology of that show was squarely far off on the Them side of the conspiracy spectrum of paranoia. That wasn’t because Chris Carter was himself a paranoid conspiracist, but because he recognized that the fantasy world of paranoid conspiracists makes for a more exciting story. It provided a host of villains and antagonists to prove the mettle of our heroes. And that, I believe,... Read more
Apocalyptica is an interdisciplinary, international, double-blind peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Käte Hamburger Centre for Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Studies (CAPAS) at Heidelberg University. The journal publishes incisive analyses and diverse perspectives regarding the end of worlds. We are seeking submissions that actively explore the apocalypse as a forceful figure of thought in order to grapple with the historical experiences, present confrontations, and future possibilities of (up)ending worlds. Article length: 8,000-9,000 words Deadline: 15 November 2021 Contact: publications@capas.uni-heidelberg.de Thinking with the... Read more
I am getting tired of hearing that online conferences are terrible. If you attended one and it was terrible, that is the fault of organizers and/or participants, not something inherent in the mode of conferencing or the technology used. In-person conferences can be terrible, too. When students say they don’t like (or are not good at) a particular subject, when in fact they didn’t like and had a negative experience with a particular educator or class, we feel frustrated. Yet we... Read more
There is a new call for papers as well as oh so many that have been extended. I may in the end submit something to one or more of them. Take a look and see how many there are and how interesting! First, a conference at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands about theology and aliens: Call for Papers: Alien Imaginations Facing the challenge of first contact Dates: 2022, June 28-30 Venue: Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, University... Read more
Two calls for papers/abstracts proposing book chapters that grabbed my attention, and I am sure that many who read my blog will feel the same way. First: Historifans is looking for contributors who want to geek out and write articles about the connections between contemporary pop culture and their scholarly interests. Historifans is a popular culture history site that seeks to create conversations that link current historical research with contemporary fandoms. We are currently in the process of building a pipeline of articles in preparation for our launch in early 2022. We highly encourage graduate students, early career academics, alt-ac... Read more
Jaime Clark-Soles is the author of an important recent book on the subject of women in the Bible, and she isn’t alone. Hopefully she and I along with Lucy Peppiatt will manage to have a conversation and record it to share with those who are interested in our books and the broad subject area they all relate to. In the meantime, Jaime asked me some questions the answers to which I thought I’d share here. 1. What made you write... Read more
Recent blog post and articles about the epistles and other things related to Paul: David Miller shared readings from his course on Romans Letter writing in the time of Paul The apostle Paul as role model for the reading pastor Is the New Perspective on Paul Heretical? Evangelical Textual Criticism on Romans 8:34 Review of Lisa Bowens on African American Readings of Paul Top 12 Commentaries on Romans Aaron Sherwood, Romans: A Structural, Thematic, and Exegetical Commentary Romans 101: Why... Read more
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