Jesus and His Assault Rifle

Last updated on: February 22, 2014 at 6:34 pm By James F. McGrath

Several people have mentioned Jerry Boykin’s statement that Jesus will literally return as a warrior, but with a figurative sword, an AR-15. But the picture above which Scott Paeth shared gets at the heart of the matter, with the obvious disconnect between the words attributed to Jesus and the weapon he is holding. (Benjamin Corey’s post also contains some interesting pictures of a similar sort). I remember the reaction when I blogged about the SNL skit Djesus Uncrossed, which depicted... Read more

Help Your Enemies

Last updated on: February 22, 2014 at 7:53 am By James F. McGrath

“We should help our enemies because it’s what makes us better than them.” This quote from the Doctor is from the graphic novel Assimilation 2 featuring a crossover between Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Read more

The History of Jerusalem’s Most Sacred Site

Last updated on: February 21, 2014 at 3:06 pm By James F. McGrath

HT Christian Brady Read more

What Do You Do When You Run Out Of Ideas For Memes?

Last updated on: February 21, 2014 at 12:29 pm By James F. McGrath

From Tyler Francke’s God of Evolution blog. Read more

First Conference on Heresy Studies

Last updated on: February 21, 2014 at 12:09 pm By James F. McGrath

I recently came across this call for papers that some readers may be interested in: First Conference of the International Society for Heresy Studies May 30-31, 2014 full name / name of organization: International Society for Heresy Studies contact email: Gregory T. Erickson ([email protected]) Deadline for conference proposals extended to March 1st, 2014! The International Society for Heresy Studies announces a Call for Papers for its inaugural conference at New York University, May 30-31, 2014. We will accept proposals for... Read more

Joel Watts has Hated Zwingli for More Than a Century

Last updated on: February 21, 2014 at 8:18 am By James F. McGrath

The image above first came to my attention on Allan Bevere's blog. But today the publisher E. J. Brill shared it on Facebook, adding the detail that it is supposed to be the preface to the 1830 book Zwingli’s Letters and Treatises by Joel Watts. The message of this “Peeface” for us today? Proofread. Carefully. Read more

Where We Focus Our Efforts

Last updated on: February 21, 2014 at 7:07 am By James F. McGrath

The United States lags behind other countries in many respects, despite being wealthier, and in most instances also more populous. We have more money and hours than most other major world powers and developed nations to dedicate to the things we consider important. And so why are things like poverty, health care, and education not doing better? Could the answer be as simple as because we are not dedicating ourselves to changing those things? The quote from David Pakman in... Read more

Finding Your Vocation

Last updated on: February 20, 2014 at 11:46 am By James F. McGrath

This video features a Butler graduate, Dr. Stephanie Slemp, who majored in religion, talking about her choice of major, her vocation and career path, and the role that the Center for Faith and Vocation here at Butler University played in her exploration of and reflection on the decisions she made. Read more

Unfalsifiable Inerrancy

Last updated on: February 20, 2014 at 8:39 am By James F. McGrath

When pastor Peter LaRuffa recently said that he would believe the Bible even if it said 2+2=5, he probably thought he was standing up for Biblical inerrancy. In fact, he was undermining it, showing it to be meaningless. It is less obvious for some people to see the problem when fundamentalist Christians dismiss evidence from history or science that contradicts the Bible. But it is much clearer when it is math that is at issue. Assuming we agree on a... Read more

Inconvenient Evidence

Last updated on: February 20, 2014 at 7:28 am By James F. McGrath

The quote comes from a comment Tyler left on Tony Breeden’s blog, which I thought made an important point very clearly and succinctly. Read more