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
I’m grateful to Bloomsbury to have been given the opportunity to review the book Jesus and Brian: Exploring the Historical Jesus and his Times via Monty Python’s Life of Brian, which was just released. Not everyone is aware that the famous Monty Python film reflects not just sharp British wit, but also profound understanding of the ancient context in which Jesus lived. A recent conference focused in on this, and this volume publishes the papers from that conference, which took place at... Read more
When I saw this quip that Phillip shared on Facebook, I immediately thought that it deserved to become a meme, on the sort of demotivational poster I’ve made above. If you like it, please share it! Read more
It is ironic that Richard Carrier’s blog post which accuses me of lying about his work blatantly misrepresents what I wrote. No one who has read things I’ve written – or listened to things I’ve said – would ever believe that I claimed that the Gospels have no symbolic stories in them, when I have so often said the opposite. The infancy stories (which I’ve discussed before) in the Gospels are just that – and are much like the infancy stories told about other historical... Read more
IO9 drew attention to the release of a video featuring the Doctor returning to Karn and having an intriguing conversation there. Watch the above to whet your appetite for the new season, which premiers in just over a week! Once you’ve watched it, feel free to come back here and discuss who the “he” is that wants to see the Doctor. Read more
A recent article by Robert Gagnon is the only occurrence on the internet of the phrase “a certain James F. McGrath.” In the article, Gagnon makes the unsubstantiated accusation that “liberal” institutions penalize conservative scholars for doing genuine research (the scare quotes are also his and also unjustified). Ironically, Gagnon teaches at a seminary which embraces his stance as well as that of others who disagree with him. In the Spring 2011 issue of the seminary’s magazine Panorama, one of his... Read more
Matt Emerson wrote a blog post about source criticism, much of which he finds problematic. The post concludes with the following questions: First, if the 1) methods, 2) assumptions, 3) conclusions, and 4)philosophical underpinnings of the seminal works for both of these theories are questioned by virtually all contemporary biblical scholarship, why do we still refer to them as if they represent scholarly consensus or as if they are the only way to understand the composition of the Pentateuch and Former Prophets? Second, how can any non-confessional scholar look... Read more
“Reading is not like listening to music, but rather like making music. The reader himself is the instrument.” — Martin Walser The quote in the original German is “Lesen ist nicht etwas wie Musikhören, sondern wie Musizieren. Das Instrument ist man selbst.” It comes from his book Des Lesers Selbstverständnis, p.12, and I found it quoted in translation in the essay by Manfred Oeming in Between Text and Text: International Symposium on Intertextuality in Ancient Near Eastern, Ancient Mediterranean, and Early Medieval... Read more
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