Doctor Who meets David Hume

Last updated on: August 20, 2015 at 8:24 am By James F. McGrath

This delightful video explains David Hume’s view of miracles and why you shouldn’t believe in them, using illustrations from Doctor Who. Fantastic! Of course, as I have pointed out before, this is precisely the point at which Doctor Who sends mixed messages. It regularly expresses disdain for superstition and belief in the supernatural, and yet depicts precisely the same things supposedly happening as a result of wibbly-wobbly reversals of the neutron flow. When you watch the video, it is definitely... Read more

Consequences of Making the Bible Holy

Last updated on: August 20, 2015 at 6:34 am By James F. McGrath

By treating the Bible as the place to find all of the answers, we have taken away its power to lead us to ask deeper questions. By using the Bible as a weapon, we have weakened its ability to heal. By making the Bible holy, we have stripped away what makes it sacred. Words from a post by Alise on the blog Knitting Soul. Read more

Robot Ethics CFP

Last updated on: August 19, 2015 at 2:01 pm By James F. McGrath

Via the Religion Call for Papers Tumblr I learned about this volume, which I should perhaps consider submitting an abstract for, since I have published on the topic in the past. But I have other projects I am committed to completing before the end of the year, and so am still unsure if I will. But I suspect that blog readers may be interested in it. Robot Ethics 2.0 (MIT Press)Abstract deadline: 10 Sept 2015 (and ongoing)Paper deadline: 1 Feb 2016We are... Read more

Happy Birthday, George Enescu

Last updated on: August 19, 2015 at 10:51 am By James F. McGrath

Romanian composer and violinist George Enescu was born on this day in 1881. To mark the occasion, I’ve shared his Symphony No.3 above. But he is best known for his Romanian Rhapsodies, and so if you are new to his music, or to 20th century orchestral music, that might be a more accessible introduction. Why not just go to YouTube, type in Enescu, and explore? Read more

Mythicism, Creationism, and other Conspiracy Theories

Last updated on: August 19, 2015 at 9:31 am By James F. McGrath

I was made aware of a post by John Anthony Dunne, asking whether there is any parallel in Judaism for what Richard Carrier and other mythicists claim that Paul believed, namely that a celestial being died in the celestial realm. Presumably the closest Carrier can offer is his claim that Adam was buried in the third heaven – although even that claim is open to dispute. How would you answer the question Dunne asks? Lee Basham and Matthew Dentith wrote a... Read more

What Key is the Biblical Canon In?

Last updated on: August 19, 2015 at 6:34 am By James F. McGrath

I decided to share another version of a meme I embedded in a recent post, for those who might have missed it there beneath quite a bit of text. The meme is inspired by something that was said in my Sunday school class (again, as mentioned in that post from yesterday). Read more

The 2019 Mindset List

Last updated on: August 18, 2015 at 12:42 pm By James F. McGrath

Beloit College has published its latest “Mindset List” – a list of things that characterize this year’s incoming freshmen. One is that there has always been a Benoit Mindest List! But perhaps even more striking for many of us are these: Hybrid automobiles have always been mass produced. Google has always been there, in its founding words, “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible.” They have never licked a postage stamp. Email has become the new “formal”... Read more

Quick Thoughts on Paul and the Trinity

Last updated on: August 18, 2015 at 9:32 am By James F. McGrath

Other bloggers have been drawing attention to Wesley Hill’s book, Paul and the Trinity. And you can read some of Hill’s own response to N. T. Wright on the Eerdmans blog, Eerdword. I was recently asked what I thought of it, and didn’t have a copy, and had not read it. But since it was drawn to my attention that Hill interacts with my book The Only True God, I thought I should check it out from the library and take... Read more

Biblical Inerrancy Makes No Difference

Last updated on: August 18, 2015 at 6:34 am By James F. McGrath

Last Sunday, my Sunday school class began talking about what it means to have a canon that came to us through natural human processes. I suggested that, in one sense, it makes no difference. Those who subscribe to Biblical inerrancy do not agree on what these supposedly inerrant texts actually mean. And so one is left to puzzle out and deduce and decide. Indeed, if Biblical inerrantists are correct to claim that God gave an inerrant Bible to ensure that humans who believe the... Read more

Review of Jodi Magness, Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit

Last updated on: August 17, 2015 at 9:48 am By James F. McGrath

I am long overdue to review Jodi Magness’ book Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jewish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus on my blog. It is so full of interesting detail that it simply wouldn’t do to skim through it quickly. Many readers will have encountered at some point a picture book which children as well as adults can browse, depicting life in the time of Jesus, full of pictures and with no footnotes or technical discussions. This book... Read more