So what has been happening lately in the study of Paul? Biblical studies blogs, as usual, are a good place to get a sense of things, and that is an important service both to scholars and to the general public. The latter should be asking primarily about the consensus when there is one. The former will know when there is a consensus and if so what it is, and will want to see what is new, not with a view... Read more
While some political commentators and journalists are wondering what will happen as a result of the failure of the climactic prediction of the anonymous source Q that has driven the widespread QAnon conspiracy theory, religion scholars have a lot of resources and insights to offer and a long history of studying similar phenomena. My choice of title for this post is intended to draw attention to this. There is a book by the same title, When Prophecy Fails, that is... Read more
The call for papers for the Society of Biblical Literature 2021 annual meeting is now live on the SBL website. The conference will be held in San Antonio if meeting face to face is possible by November of this year. I want to highlight the call for papers from the program unit with the shortest name: Q. Here it is: Call For Papers: The Q Section is pleased to offer three sessions for the 2021 meeting: 1. Q and the Historical Jesus/John:... Read more
A Facebook friend shared a song idea on Facebook, I expressed appreciation and shared something of my own from a while back, and before I knew it an idea that I floated a decade ago was now a topic of serious discussion again all of a sudden. I’m talking about a Panentheist and Progressive Praise Project, an effort to create songs for a worship setting that are theologically and socially progressive. In many churches, due to the relative dearth of... Read more
So you’ve acquired a scholar in your household. Perhaps you’ve been wanting one for a while and came across one at a local charity store (likely among the second-hand books). Perhaps you married or gave birth to someone not really knowing their characteristics. Either way, I hope that these suggestions for maintaining the emotional, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing of this individual with whom you share some sort of space will be useful. I never really managed to articulate my own... Read more
I and others have been talking a lot about how conservative Evangelicalism has been training congregants to embrace conspiracy theories. Do you know what the #1 predictor is of someone’s likelihood to embrace a conspiracy theory? Whether they’ve previously embraced a conspiracy theory. I’ve talked about this before as I’ve tried to do what little I could to argue against internet misinformation promoting things like young-earth creationism and Jesus-mythicism. Holding completely implausible views about the past can seem like something... Read more
I am so thrilled to be able to share the amazing artwork that Macey Dickerson created for the cover of my forthcoming book What Jesus Learned from Women. I was happy when Cascade indicated they were willing for me to commission artwork from a local artist for the cover, and the result exceeded my already very high expectations knowing Macey Dickerson’s work. As I said on Facebook, they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but thanks to this... Read more
This post is an effort to back up and ask about the roots of the worldview and subculture that led to the Capitol insurrection in Washington DC. It has become clear from numerous examples that it is not the Christian character or use of scripture that leads Republican Trumpists who claim to be Christians to oppose all things Democrat, at times violently. John Fea noted how frequently Barack Obama quoted scripture, and that Joe Biden may outdo him on this... Read more
Our contemporary world witnesses contrasting approaches to sacred spaces. While in some regions (especially in Western Europe) there is a decrease in the interest for religious buildings as places for worship due to the decline of the number of practicing believers, and they are sometimes reused as public institutions, hotels or restaurants, in other regions one can testify for a revival of an intense attention to religious architecture. This is manifested either through the large-scale construction of national churches (e.g.,... Read more
Venue: Lindell Boulevard Speakers at this event: Frances Howard-Snyder (Western Washington University) Mark Silcox (University of Central Oklahoma) Lisa Schoenberg (Slippery Rock University) David Baker (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) Philosophy through Science Fiction Stories Book Launch and On-the-Spot Writing Contest Philosophy through Science Fiction Stories: Exploring the Boundaries of the Possible (Bloomsbury 2021, edited by Helen De Cruz, Johan De Smedt, and Eric Schwitzgebel) We are happy to announce the approaching publication of the anthology Philosophy through Science Fiction Stories. This... Read more
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