Academics in the field of religion who are also fans of Doctor Who are finding themselves torn. The major conferences in our fields, the annual meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Academy of Religion coincide with the broadcast on television – and showing in theaters in 3D – of “The Day of the Doctor,” the 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who. I have a ticket to see it at the theater nearest Baltimore that I could... Read more
David Hayward’s latest cartoon illustrates an important point about interreligious dialogue, as well as about cross-cultural interactions. It is easy to see the oddness in the beliefs and customs of another, and very difficult to see how equally odd our own seem to others. Decking a status with flowers may seem bizarre and pagan, while pulling a dead tree (or stranger still, an imitation of a dead tree) into one’s house and decking it with garlands seems perfectly normal. I... Read more
Greg Jenks has shared his essay “The Quest for the Historical Nazareth” on Academia.edu. It deals with the subject in a manner that the apologists for Christianity and Jesus-mythicism do not. Also of interest is Matthew Ferguson’s impression of the Gospels as a student of Classics (linked to by Richard Carrier). Like many mainstream New Testament scholars, Ferguson sees similarities to the novels of that period which were a popular form of historical fiction. And like them, he says (as many other... Read more
I was delighted to discover the blog of Scott Paeth, religious studies professor at DePaul University, and even more delighted that the discovery was of posts related to Doctor Who! There was an older post, “The Gospel According to Doctor Who,” which has now been followed up with a post “Religion and Doctor Who” interacting with something I wrote here recently. For all the Tweets about the Doctor Who and Religion conference at the University of Manchester, check out the... Read more
There are a wide array of videos related to the Gospel of Thomas available online, collected on the Gospel of Thomas website. They include a Gospel of Thomas movie the delivery of which is customizable. Here’s one version that is on YouTube, courtesy of Mark Goodacre’s blog: There are also excerpts from documentaries such as this one: and a lecture by Dale Martin: Read more
There’s a relatively new feature on the Patheos website: Patheos Public Square. The current topic is “Does America Need a Civil Religion?” Read more
Joel Watts shared some of the tweets from conservative Christians about the upcoming History Channel documentary series, “Bible Secrets Revealed“: Read more
I was delighted to get to hear the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra perform tonight, although dismayed that I had to leave at intermission. My son wasn’t feeling well, probably as a result of Halloween partying and candy consumption. But the first half was, fortunately, the part that I was most excited about. I love music of the late Romantic era, and the first half of the program was Gustav Mahler’s Totenfeier, which later became the first movement of his Symphony No.2... Read more
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