I suppose one could call it the lord’s prayer…but the “lord” in “Lord of the Rings” is usually considered to be a different “lord” than the one in “Lord’s Prayer.” Read more
I suppose one could call it the lord’s prayer…but the “lord” in “Lord of the Rings” is usually considered to be a different “lord” than the one in “Lord’s Prayer.” Read more
I came across several variations on the image below. It is certainly an apocryphal story, but one that may perhaps be worth commenting on. First, the sheer number of these kinds of stories and the variations on them suggest that this is an example of an urban legend. Whether it is based on any actual real-life experience will be impossible to tell. But I suspect that these stories may perhaps be circulated by those who are hoping to get into... Read more
The day before yesterday, I learned that a friend of mine had previously interviewed Tony Banks and chatted with other members of the band Genesis, of which he is a huge fan. Yesterday, the Genesis album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was the focus of an article that came to my attention in The New Yorker. One of the things mentioned in the latter article is the appropriation of Biblical and classical literature in Genesis songs. As I was... Read more
Jeff Carter shared the above photo with me on Facebook. He asked me if I had seen this on my visits to Israel, and wrote: “At the Yardenit baptismal site on the Jordan River, Mark 1: 9 – 11 is displayed in various languages – including Jawa…” I wonder what other science fiction languages are represented around Israel – or languages that can be mistaken for science fictional ones. Read more
Fortress Press featured the above video on its website, which has N. T. Wright, Richard B. Hays, and Michael Gorman talking about Paul’s letters. The website also has a discussion guide as well as a couple of other videos. Read more
A commenter suggested not long after the Ken Ham vs. Bill Nye debate that even Ken Ham’s attempt to retreat into so-called “observational science” does not do him any favors. The Bible’s statements are at odds not merely with reconstructed history of the unfolding of astronomical, geological, and biological processes, but with what we can observe. Even observational science is at odds with the existence of storehouses for the snow, and with the heart being the locus of human thought... Read more
I came across the quote above from Adrian Rodgers. I suspect that he was referring to a faith that passes through challenging experiences in life. But I think it has a wider applicability. A faith that cannot withstand critical examination, questioning, and scrutiny cannot be trusted either. So much of the conversations (if we can call them that) between ideological viewpoints in our time seem marked above all else by fear. Fear that if we recognize the humanity of the... Read more
I will confess that I tend not to expect certain adamant atheist bloggers to offer nuanced and insightful discussions of matters of religion. And so I want to thank P. Z. Myers for challenging my stereotypes. Here is an excerpt from his recent post, “Palimpsest Jesus”: And there he is! Palimpsest Jesus! Once you spot him, he’s everywhere. There is no real Jesus — there’s only this blank screen on which people project their imaginary ideals. So Philip Foster sees... Read more
Recently brainstorming with colleagues, I mentioned to one who teaches Classics that there are references to classical literature in really old Genesis lyrics, such as “The Cinema Show.” And since it also contains one of my favorite keyboard solos to play at the end, here it is. And if, like my colleague, you are a Phil Collins fan, he actually sang the lead part on one song on the same album as “The Cinema Show.” The song is “More Fool... Read more
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