Answers in Genesis created the text image above. I think the evidence suggests that in churches where education is important, it has a positive impact, one that Ken Ham and his ilk would like to combat and undermine, and see replaced with indoctrination in their deceitful garbage. Read more
OK, so somehow I had missed, until Jeff Carter and Jonathan Bernier drew it to my attention, that there is a game which is an authorized variation on Settlers of Catan, called…Settlers Of Canaan! I will keep an eye out for it at GenCon tomorrow. Of related interest, Minion Games has one called Kingdom of Solomon which also looks interesting. Much less useful looking is the Solomon's Temple Board Game. It seems to envisage Solomon's temple being built under constant... Read more
Chris Heard has the honor of being the first person that I know from SBL that I have met at GenCon. We didn't just happen to run into each other, but arranged to meet for lunch. It was great to chat about gaming, Christianity, Biblical studies, and some of the possible ways these might intersect. GenCon has me thinking about ways to utilize role playing gaming in courses that I teach, or that I could teach. For instance, I could... Read more
A couple of images which together articulate the approach to nonviolent activism and reconciliation that has characterized Desmond Tutu's career. I am looking forward to seeing what the Desmond Tutu Center created at Butler University and Christian Theological Seminary will do to further those aims. Read more
I suspect that humanity will always have to contend with prejudice in one form or another. But that doesn’t give us license to stop struggling against it. It is exactly the reason we must press on and continue to do better, to demand better, to show that it’s possible. The effort is its own reward. — David Mack (via IO9) Read more
Charles Häberl wrote a new blog post, about a connection between the traditions of the Yazidi and the Mandaeans, noting that both groups have been in the news lately because of their persecution by ISIS in Iraq. Click through to read his post, including a transcription and translation of part of the Mandaean Book of John. Of related interest, in searching for an image to accompany the post, I learned that there has been a Yazidi comic book character, detective John Corbeau. Read more
And if you haven’t seen it, the latest trailer for the upcoming first episode of the new season of Doctor Who has Clara uttering the same words: “You’ve redecorated…I don’t like it.” Read more
This came my way via Facebook. I’ve often thought it ironic that people in a time when modern medicine has eliminated so many diseases that are part of nature, have the luxury of talking about living in harmony with nature. Nature provides things which we have evolved to eat, and so can be better for us than synthetic, high-fructose corn syrup-laden products. But food poisoning and illness are “natural,” and I am grateful for the advances in understanding and technology which allow... Read more
One thing that unites many churches, the Imperial elite in Star Wars, and those who attend renaissance fairs, is the wearing of robes. I wonder how many different kinds of robes I'll see at GenCon this weekend (my Baptist church isn't a robe-wearing sort of place). Have you ever had a robe or other costume-related mishap? Did you try to play cool, like the imperial guard in the comic? Read more
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