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
A commenter named Stuart wrote the following: Although mythicism has survived attacks from Ehrman and Casey its days may be numbered. A decisive argument against mythicism has been made by a scholar whose competence certainly can’t be questioned. This scholar is Richard Carrier. In his essay “The Spiritual Body of Christ and the Legend of the Empty Tomb” Carrier shows that the first Christians believed that the body of Jesus remained in the tomb and that Jesus was given a... Read more
I apologize that I didn’t manage to find the time until now to mention the conversation about ancient Gnostic intellectuals that has been taking place lately. Read Larry Hurtado’s post that sparked the discussion, April DeConick’s response, Larry Hurtado’s reply, as well as contributions by Mike Bird and Jared Calaway. I think it is fair to sum things up by saying that neither all Gnostics nor all proto-orthodox Christians were intellectuals, and that neither group was devoid of intellectuals. ... Read more
Here’s a larger taste of the latest post at Susan Pigott’s blog Scribalishess, “Leviticus Defiled”, from which the above quote is taken: Leviticus is a book that most Christians simply don’t read—won’t read. They find it tedious and difficult to understand. They say it’s “Old Covenant” so they don’t have to observe any of its strange laws (especially the dietary ones). “Jesus freed us from all that,” they say, happily. They see no real use for it, and say that... Read more
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