On the Bowdoin College website, there is a podcast featuring Jorunn Buckley. Here’s the description: Assistant Professor of Religion Jorunn Buckley, the world’s leading scholar on the Mandaeans – an endangered Middle Eastern religious sect – talks about how she became involved in human rights work on their behalf. Click here to download it and listen! In response to a question asked in a comment on another post, I would also like to mention the fact that, at present, the... Read more
Brian LePort has posted two wonderful blog entries about stereotypes regarding denominations, as indicated by Google search autocomplete data. I thought I would check what happens when I type in the labels that I wear – American Baptist and progressive Christian. Neither has anything for the entire phrases (such as “Why are American Baptists” or “Why do progressive Christians”). But here’s what it suggested based on partial or similar phrases: Apparently American Baptists are insufficiently in the public eye to... Read more
Another reason why amateurs are less likely to come up with innovative and plausible new interpretations of data is the fact that amateurs and hobbyists are rarely fully acquainted with the range and depth of scholarship on a given topic. I learned today that Bryan Lewis has created a comic illustrating something that is the common experience of would-be doctoral students and amateur thinkers alike: Rarely if ever is an idea completely new. If you think that mythicism, for instance,... Read more
Larry Hurtado has a post on scholarship and why he is suspicious of those who claim to have come up with a definitive solution to something despite not being trained in the relevant skills, languages, etc. I’ll quote it at length, since it says a lot that is important: I have to say that it’s curious that someone with no training in a given field, lacking in at least some of the linguistic competence required (both relevant classical language and... Read more
If you’ve never heard them, the series of music videos known as “Animusic” are delightful. Here are a few samples: Read more
I just happened to come across this video of Neal Schon performing the tune to Amazing Grace as a guitar solo. Then the entire band Journey, with Arnel Pineda on lead vocals, then performs “Who’s Crying Now?” Read more
Val Webb has shared a lecture she has been delivering, with the title “In Defense of Doubt.” It includes the following: Denigrating religious doubt is a matter of power and control — and a large dose of threat for religious authorities if people think for themselves. Yet honest creative doubt has long been central in church history. The psalmists raged against Divine absence and Job refused to be quiet. Early Christianity was a ferment of doubt and disagreement until Emperor... Read more
Alin Suciu has successfully defended his dissertation – and I wish him heartfelt congratulations! He has kindly made the dissertation available on his blog. It is on the text often referred to as “The Gospel of the Savior” but which Alin emphasizes is not rightly placed in the Gospel genre. Hence the title of his dissertation is: Apocryphon Berolinense/Argentoratense (Previously Known as the Gospel of the Savior). Edition of P. Berol. 22220, Strasbourg Copte 5-7 and Qasr el-Wizz Codex ff. 12v-17r... Read more
Kimberly Knight wrote the following words in the conclusion to her post, “A lesbian and a fundamentalist walk into a bar”: We as progressives tend to bend over backward to affirm all paths as equal. But to be raw and honest, I believe there is a capital T truth and I do not believe it is on the path that Billy currently is following. The true north of Scripture is Love, a love that is active with in-breaking Grace, a... Read more
From The Far Left Side. HT Hemant Mehta. I think this cartoon makes two important points. One is that human beings are perfectly capable of fighting over things other than religion, and so blaming human conflict on religion is probably a mistake. The other is that those of us who want to see less violence and hatred in the world should not think that spreading our religion or lack of religion will accomplish that. Indeed, the thinking that spreading my... Read more
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