David Hayward posted this cartoon, depicting the sea change in the direction of so many being “spiritual yet not religious”: Some will find the shift from the church at the center to the individual at the center offensive and problematic. But it isn't that different from what Jesus talked about when he said “the Sabbath was made for human beings, not human beings for the Sabbath.” When people place an institution – whether a sacred text, a law, or an... Read more
Brian LePort, in preparation for an SBL paper on the subject, is looking to talk to people who have found their blogging to be an issue when seeking employment. Click through to read his post, and please forward it to anyone that you think might be able to speak to him about their experience, or let him know of cases that can be read about publicly somewhere (most likely on the blogs that got their authors into trouble with potential... Read more
A friend mentioned on Facebook that, when the song “Suspicious Minds” by Elvis came on the radio recently, someone quipped “Admiral Ackbar would like this song.” So she Googled “Admiral Ackbar Suspicious Minds” on a whim and found this video. Hope you enjoy Jedi Elvis! Read more
Brian LePort has mentioned on his blog that he has accepted the sacred duty of carrying the Biblical Studies Carnival flame for this month. Please submit posts to him by clicking through and following the instructions. Read more
I learned today via IO9 that Google has made it as official as Google can make things: “Literally” now means “literally” but also the opposite. Actually, perhaps I should ask whether literally now literally means “not literally,” or whether literally now still means “literally,” but means it figuratively as well as literally. When people misuse literally in this way, it figuratively drives me round the bend… Read more
The Doctor Who episode “Silence in the Library” is particularly popular with Doctor Who fans who are librarians, since the episode is set in a planet-sized library. Butler University recently hired a new librarian, Franny Gaede, who is a Whovian. And so soon after getting to campus, this appeared on her door: I love that, since she is a librarian, Franny used a font that is in the public domain, and an image from a coloring book which permits reproduction... Read more
Check out this musically delightful and wonderfully entertaining arrangement of familiar themes from the music of Star Wars for violin and voice, performed by Lindsey Stirling and Peter Hollens! And on a related note, here is a book that might be a perfect gift for the stormtrooper in your life: Read more
Via Facebook, I learned of the Honest Church Signs Tumblr. They are not real signs found anywhere, but they could be, as some of them hit quite close to home. Here are a few samples. Click through to browse more. Even if they were fabricated using online church sign creators, what honest church signs have you seen? Read more
After I posted about the Zombie Bible series, someone commented on Facebook that they need to do one set in ancient Greece, and call it the Zombie Acropolis. Thinking this was a great pun, I was going to suggest that someone should make a picture. Turns out the internet was way ahead of me: And so the pun of the day award goes to “Zombie Acropolis.” Read more
Via Paul Regnier’s blog, I learned of Strangers in the Land (The Zombie Bible). It is apparently part of a series in which the Bible reimagined with zombies. The author’s web site describes the premise as follows: Strangers in the Land, the story of a zombie apocalypse in 1160 BC Israel, is 412 pages of wild momentum … a world carried to the brink. Four must stand against the dead: The aging prophetess Devora. Hurriya, the slave girl. Zadok, a... Read more
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