Alan Garrow has shared a number of videos arguing that the Didache is the source of the Q material. I have not yet had a chance to watch all of them, but I seem to recall having come across this argument before, and having found it problematic because of the similarities between the Didache and Matthew’s versions of material, in instances in which Luke’s more succinct versions are more likely to be original. But I still wanted to spread the word about them, and... Read more
I had someone comment on a Facebook post about the Charleston shooting, suggesting that mental illness must be involved. I responded in a number of ways, including asking whether all the people in lynch mobs in the south some decades ago were mentally ill. On the one hand, to blame mental illness can be a reprehensible attempt at blame-shifting. Jesus taught that murder is simply the ultimate outwards expression of anger and hatred. When we foster cultures or subcultures of hatred,... Read more
I’ve mentioned the song Baba Yetu before. It is music from the game Civilization IV, and the words are the Lord’s Prayer in Swahili. This a capella version by Peter Hollens with Malukah is a nice arrangement. Now that I am diving into learning Swahili, I should probably apply something that has proven helpful with other languages. Learning songs in other languages is a great way to learn vocabulary. Plus we have had the Congolese congregation sing and dance in the... Read more
Scot McKnight blogged about Justo Gonzales’ commentary, The Story Luke Tells: Luke’s Unique Witness to the Gospel. It argues that “Luke” is in fact the “Lucius of Cyrene” mentioned in Acts, and also the Lucius mentioned in Romans (in this last point following Origen). If anyone here has read the volume, or looked into other attempts to argue that case, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts about it. Read more
The quote from Richard Rohr is adapted from his book The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See. Read more
As a New Testament scholar who has blogged about Rachel Dolezal, racism, and the appearance of Jesus, I found this amusing – not least because the father who spills the beans is not Joseph, from whom Jesus would have inherited half of his Middle Eastern characteristics, but God. It is from Don Asmussen’s Bad Reporter comic strip. HT Jerry Coyne. There actually appears to be a religious dimension to the Rachel Dolezal case, with blogger Libby Anne suggesting that her parents... Read more
DISAMBIGUATION: This blog post is not about penile substitution – for information on that topic, go here. Penal substitution is a phrase used to describe a particular view of the atonement, which says that Jesus took the place of the guilty in bearing God’s judgment due to them. Mike Bird (responding to William Walker) and Andrew Perriman (responding to Simon Gathercole) are among those who’ve blogged about the topic recently. If you are still unable to distinguish this from the surgical procedure mentioned... Read more
Tai Gooden recently wrote an article for The Mary Sue, “5 Theist-Associated Themes That Make Doctor Who Successful.” None of them are likely to surprise regular readers here, but I still thought the article was worth sharing. One theme that is mentioned in the article is unconditional love. The image below recalls a scene that is perhaps the most poignant expression of that theme on the show. And of course, if you haven’t done so already and are interested in this topic, take... Read more
I am sharing this image (which I came across on Reddit) because it contains a great pun on Philippians. There is no such verse as Philippians 4:28, and so there does not seem to be a deeper message hidden there. Feel free, if you are so inclined, to have a serious discussion of the serious issue of reproductive rights, despite the frivolous nature of this post. Read more
Daniel Gulotta drew to my attention that a Kickstarter campaign has been started to raise money to pay Bart Ehrman and Robert M. Price’s fees to appear together and debate whether there was a historical Jesus. If you think that would be money well spent, then feel free to contribute to it! Read more
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