2021-11-12T07:50:14-05:00

Last updated on: November 12, 2021 at 7:50 am   By

Special Panel: Mysteries of Dune: Esotericism, Occultism, and the Magic of Melange updated: Wednesday, November 10, 2021 – 7:43pm full name / name of organization: Southwest Popular/American Culture Association contact email: [email protected] categories (up to 5): fan studies and fandom film and television interdisciplinary popular culture religion deadline for submissions: November 14, 2021 In recognition of the mainstream attention brought to Dune by Villeneuve’s adaptation, the Area for Esotericism, Occultism and Magic at the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association invites the proposal of papers... Read more

2021-11-12T16:20:31-05:00

Last updated on: November 12, 2021 at 4:20 pm   By

Call for Papers: The Matrix Revisited The cultural and social impact of The Matrix franchise is self-evident.  Its depiction of full virtualization of human consciousness presented in materialistic dystopian metaphor coincided with the rapid development of the internet as a context for global information exchange, entertainment, commerce, and cultural expression, assuring its continued currency.  The red pill/blue pill meme has been deployed across political and ideological boundaries and has already developed multivalent significances in multiple contexts; The Matrix has lent its aesthetics to innumerable derivations... Read more

2021-10-30T22:15:04-04:00

Last updated on: October 30, 2021 at 10:15 pm   By

Recently I have been listening to the audiobook of John Bergsma’s book Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Revealing the Jewish Roots of Christianity. Although there are specific details in Bergsma’s argument that I am not persuaded by, he nicely highlights the many convergences between Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. At various times similarities between John the Baptist, Jesus, the Gospel of John, and the Pauline churches are noted. Scholars debate whether John the Baptist’s time in the wilderness... Read more

2021-11-03T19:50:24-04:00

Last updated on: November 3, 2021 at 7:50 pm   By

It’s official: I will be presenting at Starbase Indy this year. Here is the brief description of my talk: Do People Google in the 23rd Century? Indianapolis Mariott East, Salon B, November 28th 11:30am – 12:30pm Dr. James McGrath On Star Trek the Enterprise computer is full of answers from Starfleet’s records. Star Wars has its Jedi archives. Babylon 5 had access to records and Doctor Who had the Matrix long before The Matrix. But all of these are more... Read more

2021-11-02T08:32:34-04:00

Last updated on: November 2, 2021 at 8:32 am   By

A call for papers via RelCFP: Hello, everyone. I’m editing a series with Rowman & Littlefield/Lexington on a line of academic books critically analyzing elements of Jewish science fiction and fantasy (that’s the series title). https://rowman.com/action/series/les/lexjsf As such, I’d love some authors with concepts to write about. So far, we have one coming out on Goliath, one on Yiddish fantasy prologues to films and sitcoms, and a short series on the history of all Jewish SFF. The call for books is ongoing–topics big or... Read more

2021-10-28T06:54:57-04:00

Last updated on: October 28, 2021 at 6:54 am   By

Very soon I’ll have an update to share about some of my own science fiction writing, with some stories I’m really excited about becoming part of projects that I’m delighted about in and of themselves. In the meantime, here are some videos, stories by others, and a few approaching submission deadlines for fictional stories which I wish I had the time to write something for, or had something ready to go that would fit, but alas I don’t. To begin... Read more

2021-10-26T12:07:40-04:00

Last updated on: October 26, 2021 at 12:07 pm   By

Here are a couple more reviews of What Jesus Learned from Women that have been posted by readers. If you never visit the UK Amazon site you’ll miss this one from Craig Bach: There are many obvious examples of Jesus speaking with women, but put them all into context and a theme emerges – across Gospel traditions – suggesting that women played a very important role in Jesus learning and thus his ministry. Prof. James F. McGrath needs to be... Read more

2021-10-24T14:28:05-04:00

Last updated on: October 24, 2021 at 2:28 pm   By

My adult Sunday school class at Crooked Creek Baptist Church has read Genesis 1-3 together, often on the occasion of Evolution Weekend. Today, for the first time, we pressed on into Genesis 4, with the aim of carrying on studying the rest of Genesis and perhaps beyond. The expected questions came up. Why did God prefer Abel’s offering to Cain’s? Where did Cain’s wife come from? Who was Cain was afraid would kill him when he was driven out from... Read more

2021-10-19T07:57:50-04:00

Last updated on: October 19, 2021 at 7:57 am   By

Via John Morehead: CFP Journal of Gods and Monsters Upcoming Special Issues The Journal of Gods and Monsters is a peer-reviewed, open access journal that seeks to explore the connections between the sacred and the monstrous. “Religion” can refer to the world’s religious traditions or to ideas that are religious in a substantive sense, such as God, demons, or death and the afterlife.   However, the journal will also consider articles that explore the “religious” dimension of culture in a functional sense as relating... Read more

2021-10-16T18:55:21-04:00

Last updated on: October 16, 2021 at 6:55 pm   By

Let me begin with the delightful opportunity I had to talk with Jaime Clark-Soles and Lucy Peppiatt about our three books which intersect around the theme of women in the Bible. Our three books are Women in the Bible, Rediscovering Scripture’s Vision for Women, and What Jesus Learned from Women. I also recently recorded a podcast episode for the Two Cities podcast focused on my book What Jesus Learned from Women. Here’s the blurb for it: In this episode we’re talking about... Read more

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