This episode begins with Jack opening his eye in the island. But it isn’t the first time. He hears Hurley calling for help. He has landed in the water and is floating using a guitar case. Jack jumps in to help him, but the water is shallow and they can stand. Kate is in a rock, unconscious, but she is OK. Then it moves to 46 hours earlier and picks up where the previous episode left off. Eloise takes her... Read more
The above quote from Rachel Held Evans came to my attention soon after a New York Times article noted the misuse of “safe space” as an attempt to try to protect oneself in universities from uncomfortable ideas; and just before Andii Bowsher noted an article in the Telegraph about 38% of churchgoers keeping their liberal views on same-sex relations secret. Here’s an excerpt from what Bowsher wrote: Now, what I find interesting is the implications about church life because 38% is a big... Read more
The governor of Indiana Mike Pence has signed the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” and made it law in Indiana. While legal experts have argued that similar legislation in other states has yet to be used successfully to justify discrimination, many are still concerned. My question at this stage is how progressive Christians and others concerned about social justice and equality should respond to the legislation, and perhaps protest it. For instance, if someone thinks that this legislation causes harm in ways that are against... Read more
In the video above, Tony Burke talks about the Secret Gospel of Mark. See also his post on his blog about the latest episode of Finding Jesus and whether Jesus had a “secret brother.” Read more
The episode begins where the previous one ended, with Sun sitting in her car, planning to kill Ben Linus. She gets a call and talks to her daughter. When she has Ben at gunpoint, Ben says that Jin is still alive and he can prove it. In the past, we see Danielle’s team picking up the numbers broadcast. Jin will help them reach the radio tower. One of the team, Nadine, disappears, and then they hear the smoke monster. It... Read more
The discussions about my recent post on the topic of university education (which has since become a letter to the editor and posted online by The Collegian) reminded me about this topic that I had saved as a draft blog post to come back to later. NBC and Hemant Mehta covered the attempt of a Bible college in Illinois to get the prestige that the label “degree” brings, but while bypassing the standards that accreditation seeks to ensure. I find that... Read more
A friend shared the above flyer on Facebook.Does anyone else remember 88 reasons Why The Rapture Will Be in 1988? People have been offering calculations like this since before the time of Jesus. Doesn’t the fact that all such calculations have been wrong suggest that it is not just the specific calculations, but the very act of calculating, that is the problem? Read more
Frauke Uhlenbruch asked on Facebook for some suggestions for titles for an essay on the Bible and science fiction. Here are some of my suggestions: Biblestar Galactica The Scriptures of Distant Earth Where No Interpreter of the Bible Has Gone Before “Use the Bible, Luke!” The Book of Fahrenheit 4:51 The Binding of Isaac (Asimov) From the Book of Chronicles to the Martian Chronicles Other commenters suggested these: Brave New Bible A Scripture Darkly We can interpret it for you... Read more
The Bechdel Test is a way of highlighting the male-centeredness of modern television and film. The test is simple: ask how frequently two female characters talk about something other than male characters. It has been applied to Doctor Who, for instance, and I shared an infographic on the subject here. Beth Birkholz, a Lutheran Pastor ,applied the Bechdel Test to the Bible, and was not impressed by the results. Ruth turns out to be one of a very few stories... Read more
The episode begins with the Oceanic Six on the boat. Jack and Kate talk about Aaron and what to do about him. Kate says she wants to claim that the child is hers. Then, three years later, Kate is with Sun, and borrows some clothes. Kate leaves, and Sun gets a delivery. It is surveillance data, including photos of Ben and Jack, and also a gun hidden in a box of chocolates. Kate goes to see the lawyer who came... Read more
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