Samantha Field coined this very apt phrase for fundamentalism’s view of the Bible in a recent blog post. Here is an excerpt: To biblical docetists, cultural contexts don’t have to have any bearing on the text– it’s not really an ancient library of texts gathered together over time and with a lot of arguing. It is divine, it is holy, it is preserved. God intended every word exactly as it was recorded to reach our ears today. They knew that... Read more
DISNEY just issued a press release earlier today, to publicize a product that should appeal to both Star Wars fans and people of faith. The STAR WARS NEW TESTAMENT, which is subtitled the NEW YODA VERSION, will feature a creative adaptation of Jesus’ words, based on the New International Version. Sounds like fun! Here’s the full official text of the release: DISNEY STORE ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF THE STAR WARS NEW TESTAMENT: NEW YODA VERSION To Hit Shelves in the US,... Read more
In news that would be surprising if it were about any other “archaeologist” than Simcha Jacobovici, it has just been revealed that Jacobovici has unveiled yet another historic find – he has also uncovered the original Jesus fish, also made from crucifixion nails. Bob Cargill provided the photographic evidence below. Bob seems to believe that these also served as wedding rings for Jesus and Mary Magdalene, but I dispute his interpretation of the artifacts – personally I suspect that they were more likely used... Read more
NT Wrong has returned to blogging to offer the latest Biblical Studies Carnival. Click through to read it. Some years ago I dedicated a series of blog posts to the question of the true identity of the elusive pseudonymous biblioblogger NT Wrong. Eight years later, and we seem no closer to know the secret… Read more
One of the world’s leading archaeologists announced today that the wedding rings of Jesus and Mary Magdalene have been unearthed during renovations to an ancient church in France. The identity of the artifacts has been confirmed on the basis of the fact that the rings are made from crucifixion nails, and genetic material found on them matches DNA samples taken from the Shroud of Turin. It is being proposed that he rings may also in fact have been the elusive “Q Document”... Read more
Star Wars fans will probably already have heard the news that J. J. Abrams has been authorized by Disney to make revisions to the classic Star Wars films, beginning with the prequels, which have been a subject of controversy ever since their release. Among the changes that are planned, the most important is of course the replacement of Jar Jar Binks’ character in the prequels with BB-8. There will also be J. J. Abrams special editions of the original trilogy as well,... Read more
As I was looking for images that could serve as prototypes or inspiration for the cover design for my forthcoming book, Theology and Science Fiction, I discovered a book title that was proposed but not used by another author. Tony Kriz shared on his blog that his book Neighbors and Wise Men: Sacred Encounters in a Portland Pub and Other Unexpected Places was almost given the title Aliens Saved My Religion: How Religious Foreigners (Muslims, Atheists and Drunkards) Taught me the... Read more
Can mythicism kill an academic career? Making a reasoned case as a scholar for that viewpoint won’t. But that’s not what I’m talking about here. I’m asking about the way the behavior – the insults and illogic that characterizes online mythicism – might train one to mistake the modes of self-expression that are passable on the internet for what might get you tenure at an academic institution. I am writing this because I just read Raphael Lataster’s piece, which appeared in the... Read more
Ever since I came across the McSweeney’s piece “A Generic College Paper,” I have wondered whether showing it to students and talking about it would not help them. It starts, like so many truly awful student papers, with “Since the beginning of time…” Here’s an excerpt: Utterly contrived topic sentence revealing pretty much every flaw of structured essay writing. Therefore, supporting sentence invoking source that exists only in the bibliographies of other cited material (pp. arbitrary to arbitrary + 5). Contemplative... Read more
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