Two Critical Books about Young-Earth Creationism

Last updated on: December 22, 2020 at 9:19 am By James F. McGrath

I was delighted to provide an endorsement for Derrick Peterson’s new book Flat Earths and Fake Footnotes which will be out soon. Here’s what I wrote: Derrick Peterson combines painstakingly detailed historical research with a delightful writing style to tell the story of a famous war that never actually happened. Through primary source after primary source Peterson uncovers the neglected truth that the supposedly eternal conflict between religion and science is a myth, not only in the technical sense of a... Read more

Merry Christmas!

Last updated on: December 23, 2020 at 7:45 pm By James F. McGrath

I want to wish all readers of my blog who celebrate it a very Merry Christmas! The story published I published in the first issue of AcademFic has a Christmas connection, and so initially when I announced that I thought I’d share some other seasonal links along with it. In the end, there were so many that I opted to keep them for a separate Christmas post. For those who stick more strictly to the church’s calendar, the actual connection of... Read more

Introducing AcademFic: Volume 1 (2020)

Last updated on: December 22, 2020 at 9:28 am By James F. McGrath

I have mentioned here a few times an endeavor that started as a seeming realistic desire and has now become something real that I am both incredibly proud and incredibly humbled to have had the privilege to spearhead. In addition to all the writing that academics are required to do for our professions, many of us write fiction. We do so for a wide array of reasons. Sometimes we just have stories that take shape in our minds and that... Read more

The Mandalorian Season 2 Finale: Deus X-Wing Machina

Last updated on: December 21, 2020 at 10:45 pm By James F. McGrath

I have had many moments when I’ve been eager to blog about the season of The Mandalorian that just finished with that awesome jawdropping finale (“Chapter 16: The Rescue”). We’ve seen over the course of the season the return of Boba Fett and incredible live action performances of characters we had only met previously in animated form, including Ahsoka Tano played by Rosario Dawson and Bo-Katan Kryze played by Katee Sackhoff who was the voice actor behind the animated character.... Read more

Supper’s Ready Live

Last updated on: December 20, 2020 at 9:09 pm By James F. McGrath

I have blogged about the Genesis song Supper’s Ready before (links to those previous posts at the end of this one). After an introduction to Genesis by way of their music from the Phil Collins era, my cousins played for me and then actually gave me one of their LPs, the album Foxtrot which includes the song/suite that is the length of an album side, Supper’s Ready. Long songs/suites are of course typical of prog rock. I will confess that... Read more

John and Jesus as Rebellious Sons

Last updated on: December 19, 2020 at 7:29 am By James F. McGrath

This seems like a natural place to go after my recent post about John’s Christology. As I emphasized already in my first book, John’s Apologetic Christology, there are significant continuities between John and earlier texts, however much we think he may have developed things. Some but by no means all of this relates to Christology, and if the preponderance does it is itself indicative of the fact that the earliest and latest Gospels share a focus on Jesus, however different the language... Read more

Interview with Steve Wiggins

Last updated on: December 18, 2020 at 1:34 pm By James F. McGrath

All readers of biblioblogs presumably know Steve Wiggins’ name, and those who publish academic books may know him as editor for Oxford University Press. As a religion scholar and author of academic books and articles, Steve’s interest in recent years has focused on the genre of horror, leading to the publication of his two most recent books, Holy Horror and Nightmares with the Bible. I am delighted to be able to draw these books to your attention and to share with you... Read more

Teaching Cyborg Students

Last updated on: December 16, 2020 at 10:12 am By James F. McGrath

Our students are in many respects already cyborgs. I’m not sure educators have fully adapted to this reality. We adjusted to chemical enhancements in athletics by implementing drug testing. But the truth is that nowadays most of the chemical enhancements are things that would be used regularly and not just on the occasion of a competition, to build muscle strength. This is also the approach we have taken to the earliest technological enhancements: the internet, the phone, the ability to... Read more

What Jesus Learned from Mary

Last updated on: December 16, 2020 at 8:56 pm By James F. McGrath

I thought about calling this blog post something more controversial, like “Jesus did you learn what Mary knew?” It would have highlighted the theme and indicated that this was inspired by my thoughts about the song “Mary Did You Know?” and the response to it I shared yesterday. The best comment I received in response to the thoughts I shared there was from someone who pointed out that all mothers think their sons are God and can walk on water!... Read more

Mary’s Song: “Yes, I Freakin’ Knew”

Last updated on: December 13, 2022 at 2:49 am By James F. McGrath

I had this wonderful response to “Mary, Did You Know?” drawn to my attention and I had to share it: As a response that accepts the traditional story as given, it strikes me as excellent, managing to make its point forcefully while remaining lighthearted. When writing What Jesus Learned from Women I wrestled with the fact that there are many places where, if we are to say anything at all about women’s perspectives in the life of Jesus or anywhere else... Read more