Today we talked about Star Wars (among other things) in my religion and science fiction class. One student presenter raised the question of how often “The Force” is mentioned throughout the six movies. Here is the answer. Count carefully! Also relevant, in case you haven’t seen it before, is the action figure of The Force: Read more
I’m grateful to J. K. Gayle for drawing the data graphed above to my attention. It shows just how recently the obsession with being “biblical” and all things “biblical” began to take off. There is a lot that can be learned by looking at how the frequency of a word changes over time in publications. Read more
A news article recently drew attention to the phenomenon of people gathering to drink beer and sing hymns. And then my pastor mentioned “Pub Theology” in his sermon on Sunday, which is apparently a popular phenomenon not just here in Indianapolis but in many other places. This is their logo: It sounds more like the informal gatherings at the SBL annual meeting than like most churches I’ve been to – and that isn’t a bad thing, from my perspective. But... Read more
Mark Goodacre pointed out that there is now a website for the series “Bible Secrets Revealed” which will be debuting on Wednesday on the History Channel. Read more
This classic interview from more than a decade ago is still worth watching, as it explores George Lucas’ spiritual vision and the nature of mythology in extremely interesting ways. Read more
From SMBC via Marc Cortez Read more
I am extremely grateful to IVP for sending me a review copy of Open Hearts in Bethlehem: A Christmas Drama. Ever since I read his Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke, I have had an enormous appreciation for Kenneth Bailey’s scholarship on the cultural background to the New Testament. And his most famous contribution is probably his work on the cultural background to Luke’s infancy story. That work is summarized and... Read more
Tomorrow in my class on religion and science fiction, we’ll be talking about non-theistic religion depicted in science fiction, in movies like Star Wars and Avatar. Today Religion Nerd brought two links to my attention. One is a Fox News interview about Jediism. The second is Benjamin Svetkey’s article “Church of the Jedi” about spending time with a group of practicing Jedi. Here’s a quote: “No, we don’t worship Yoda,” says Tennessee-born Ally Thompson, a pretty, chatty 28-year-old Padawan (and... Read more
I just learned that New Testament scholar Jerome Murphy-O’Connor has passed away. He was a remarkably insightful scholar, capable of being very traditional and/or very creative in trying to make the best possible sense of the evidence. Those who have traveled to the Holy Land will or should know his The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide (which I quoted on the blog in the past). His consideration of the topography of the setting of Jesus’ arrest continues to inspire and... Read more
Jeremy Myers shared this drawing a child made on a bulletin, which asked them to draw their favorite part of the mass: I consider it a real privilege to attend a church, Crooked Creek Baptist Church, where the only reason I am glad it is over is because by that point I am starting to get seriously hungry and am ready for some lunch. But I love teaching Sunday school, and being part of the music team, and consider both... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In