Some people approach the Bible as though there were scientific tests that can be conducted to determine the genre, the meaning, and other important details about a text in the Bible. It might be kind of cool. Drop Genesis 1:6-7 into a vial of hydrochloric acid. If it dissolves, the dome is metaphorical. If not, it is literal. But in fact, texts are not like that. Rarely is there no agreement on what a text means – the Voynich Manuscript... Read more
Scot McKnight shared the above infographic. If most who are raised atheists do not remain atheists, I reallywonder what they become. Read more
For those who may not have seen this already (I shared it here about a year ago). Episcopal Church Memes shared it today on Facebook, adding the following comment: Icon of St. Arbucks, patron saint of coffee hour and coffee drinkers. It is said that he once survived for an entire year, consuming nothing except the eighth sacrament. Read more
I’ve been meaning for a while to blog about an article by Hank Campbell which reflected on an episode of Cosmos. He notes the tendency to poke fun at Archbishop Usher’s calculation of the age of the earth, so badly wrong from our perspective, while never poking fun at Johannes Kepler, who held a similar view. Here is a sample from the article: Neil Tyson tells us about Ussher and then we fast forward to modern geology and how much... Read more
I love visiting port cities in Israel with students, because they illustrate in physical terms the connections that existed between this region and other civilizations around the Mediterranean. Yesterday we visited Old Joppa, which turns up not only in Jonah and Acts but also Clash of the Titans (the rock is still known today as Andromeda Rock). Today we visited Caesarea Maritimia, with its theater, hippodrome, and aqueduct built by Herod the Great. See more photos on the trip... Read more
This has been circulating for a while, but some readers may not have seen it. The question, of course, is…signed by whom?! Read more
Via Pharyngula Read more
Roger Wolsey shared some thoughts about Jesus as yogi. His starting point, unsurprisingly, was the Gospel of John, ch.17, where Jesus is depicted as praying, and even after acknowledging the distinction between the only true God and himself as the one God sent, he then goes on to blur the two in mystical interrelatedness, so that he and God are one, and so too his disciples. I’ve mentioned before that the idea of Jesus as mystic – as one who,... Read more
Keith Reich posted on the subject of belief within Christianity. He is worth quoting at length: Many see Christianity as a “belief system.” That is, Christianity is about believing the right stuff. And belief used in this sense is defined as giving your mental agreement to a set of statements., such as, “Jesus Christ died for our sins,” or “Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, of one substance (homoousios) with the father.” To believe these statements, for much... Read more
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Great Quips
A couple of commenters on the blog made quips that are worth sharing. Jack Collins pointed out that, when he was young, he was never told: “Son, we're atheists. Put on your Sunday worst and we'll go not worship stuff.” And Andy Sherwin said to someone who brought up pedophilia in a discussion of same-sex marriage: I'm pro-marriage equality, but only as long as two straw men don't marry each other. Tell your argument I'm sorry. What are some great... Read more