Morgan Guyton is trying to get a hashtag going that responds to the one that says #ImaChristianBut. For many of us, we stand for equality, we treat others who do not share our religion or ideology with respect, and do other such things not despite being Christians but because we are Christians. My friend and colleague Brent Hege said something on that very topic in a talk he has been preparing, and so I asked for permission to turn what he said... Read more
I’m grateful to Jim Davila for pointing out that Vocabulary for the Study of Religion is going to be available. Click through to see the price set by the publisher, and compare that to the price on Amazon, and then you’re sure to want to snatch up a copy from the latter… You can read my contribution on “Monotheism” on my Selected Works page. Read more
The question is facetious, but I presume readers are aware of the genuine issue that lies behind the question. If not, I will sum it up briefly: The Gospels of Matthew and Luke both provide genealogies for Jesus. They contradict one another in after David except for a brief convergence around Zerubbabel. So why propose – even in jest – this solution to the two male parents of Joseph who were purportedly distant cousins of one another? The reason is because this... Read more
Two blog posts by Chuck Queen intersected with one another, and both made important points in memeworthy fashion. In one of his posts, Chuck focuses in on the oral tradition that preceded, influenced, and in some cases is incorporated into the New Testament. He writes: The written documents that constitute our Bible are snapshots of an evolving, developing, dynamic faith frozen in time. The faith reflected in these written sources thrived in an oral culture that did not depend on written... Read more
The American Academy of Religion Facebook page suggested that there might be a need for conference bingo, rather like the “first faculty meeting of the year” bingo that was recently featured in the Chronicle. I thus created the cards below. They should work at most conferences, and not just the ones I attend like AAR and SBL. If you decide to print them off and play, let me know! Made using this online BINGO card generator. Read more
I’ve done a fair amount on the use of the Hebrew Bible in the New Testament, but very little on the use of earlier parts of the Hebrew Bible in later parts of that same corpus. Someone asked me for recommended reading on that topic, and so I offered to post the question here. Two books that I found fairly quickly which look like they might be potentially relevant to this topic are Stephen Chapman’s The Law and the Prophets:... Read more
Neil Carter shared the image above, and wrote a whole blog post on a topic which is summed up well in this tweet of his: “It’s not that I trust the US government, it’s just that Truthers seem to have a MUCH higher view of what they can accomplish than I do.” I hesitated to stir up this hornet’s nest right on 9/11, and so let a few days pass before sharing it. Read more
For those interested in a third party perspective on Richard Carrier’s recent blog post about me and my review article, Stewart James Felker offers his thoughts on the matter. Read more
Behind the Gospels: Understanding the Oral Tradition: Understanding the Oral Tradition. Eve’s book is probably one of the most important books related to the historical Jesus and the Gospels to be published in recent years, since it brings together and evaluates the full range of New Testament scholars who have offered proposals in recent years related to memory and oral tradition. Its short length is not due to a lack of attention to detail, but rather the author’s knack for summing... Read more
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Coming Soon: The World Table
Patheos has been in talks with The World Table for a while now to bring the two platforms together. I’ve volunteered to be among the first Patheos bloggers to add the comment system to my blog. It looks very promising for precisely the aim that I have always had, which is to foster serious conversation and keep trolls from ruining that. If you haven’t heard of The World Table before, please do click through to find out more about it! Read more