I am delighted to be part of the Patheos Book Club on Garrett Glass’ novel Jehoshua: Signs and Wonders. Please do visit the Book Club page here, and what other Patheos bloggers like Tim Suttle have had to say about the novel. The novel offers a fictional account of Jesus (I will use that more familiar name, even though he is called Jehoshua throughout the novel) and the earliest decades of the phenomenon of Christianity. Glass sticks entirely to natural explanations... Read more
The above YouTube video is for an upcoming Christian movie (HT PZ Myers). It was shared by Answers in Genesis on YouTube, who will not allow ratings or comments. It is a movie about a parent challenging a biology professor to a debate about evolution, which really ought to end badly for the parent if the movie is realistic, or better still, result in the parent realizing that his and his daughter's faith do not depend on denying what biologists... Read more
I just discovered a Tumblr site called “UndergradHist.” Below are a few of my favorites related to religion, but please do click through and check out some of the others. They are all based on actual quotes from student assignments, and very funny. And to top it all off, here is a coping mechanism for professors who are grading: Read more
There have been a lot of posts about a recent study which showed a correlation between increasing internet use and decreasing religiosity. Some of them have headlines about “the internet killing religion.” It is worth asking some hard questions: If religion can be eliminated by the internet, what was it, and is it something worth keeping? The truth is, however, that it is not at all clear that the internet is killing religion, and quite clear that the internet is... Read more
IO9 shared the news from the official Star Wars website that the cast of Star Wars Episode VII has been announced. It includes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fischer, and many others from the original trilogy, as well as newcomers, including Max von Sydow, who famously played Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told. See also the IO9 article on why, in the casting announcement, it is as if half the population cried out in pain and suddenly was silenced… Read more
Star Wars Day (May the Fourth Be With You) falls on a Sunday this year. One congregation has decided to mark the occasion with a Star Wars themed service. I am disappointed to say that the congregation in question isn’t my own, but I have no one to blame for that but myself! Apparently this happens once every 10 years. I hope to be ready next time – and perhaps we can do something to mark the occasion in my... Read more
The modified quote in my previous post was inspired by the discussion of the opening section of the letter of James in my Sunday school class this past Sunday. The letter fascinates me. It has a couple of mentions of the Lord Jesus Christ, but none of the traditional theological elements one will expect if one is steeped in the letters of Paul. No mention of Jesus’ crucifixion, much less an interpretation thereof as an atoning sacrifice. No mention of... Read more
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