Thanks to IO9 to sharing this explanation of Joseph Campbell’s idea of the hero’s journey, the set of standard features that recur in human storytelling, sometimes referred to as the monomyth. It actually does an impressive job of illustrating not just that there are recurring features, but also that myths, legends, and storytelling often switch up or combine the elements. Read more
Before Vridar had been shut down as a result of a copyright complaint from Joel Watts, I had begun to respond to something Neil Godfrey wrote there. Now that his blog is back (at the different address of Vridar.org), I will do so. But let me first direct readers to some discussion of the events that unfolded resulting in the blog being removed by WordPress. In addition to my own post (where much came to light in the discussion thread), see Ian’s... Read more
David Hayward has done it again. Such a simple and yet such a poignant idea – that in at least some instances, the church has become like Pharaoh. Behaving like tyrants, many authoritarian pastors have become the sorts of oppessive dictators that God's people need to be liberated from. Frequently in Jewish tradition, as well as in some streams of Christianity, the Exodus story is less about what supposedly happened at one time in the past, and more about a... Read more
If you are reading this in Google Reader, you probably need this reminder. Google Reader will cease to be available on July 1st and you will lose all your feeds and other data if you have not exported them before then. I have been using The Old Reader, because I want to be able to share select posts with people. But for those who do not need that functionality, many recommend Feedly as a convenient replacement. But for the short-term,... Read more
As several other bloggers have already mentioned, Jesus Creed featured a post recently about John Walton’s emphasis on the fact that the Bible includes no scientific revelation. Here is a relevant quotation from Walton, a leading Evangelical scholar with particular expertise in Genesis: I just want to make two quick points here. The first one is that in the Bible there is no scientific revelation.That’s such an important point. Israel is not getting any new understanding of the material world,... Read more
I was asked a question on the Mandaean Book of John blog, and thought I’d share my answer here as well. The question was about whether there could have been a historical connection between John the Baptist and the Mandaeans. Here’s what I answered: I think that it is entirely possible that there is some connection between the Mandaeans and John the Baptist, in the same way that there is a connection between Christians and Jesus. But since our oldest... Read more
Hemant Mehta has shared some fascinating infographics indicating which words are used more frequently by atheists or by Christians on Twitter. It is definitely interesting. Atheists not only swear more frequently. They also mention “hell” and “Bible” more often too. But you’ll get more “blessed,” “praise,” and “Jesus” and “Christ” from Christians. Here is one of the infographics. Click through to see some of the others. Read more
M. J. Shepherd posted this cartoon, in response to something Pat Robertson said about DOMA, Prop 8, and Sodom and Gomorrah. It is important to always remember that not everyone, even among conservative Christians, thinks like Pat Robertson. Take a look, for instance, at Jeremy Smith’s post on the “laws of God,” and Todd Mangum’s post-DOMA thoughts on the Biblical Seminary Faculty Blog. Read more
David Hayward's latest cartoon. Read more
Tom Beaudoin, a theology professor at Fordham University who blogs at Rock and Theology, asked Geddy Lee of the band Rush about his thoughts on the relationship between music and spirituality. This was his answer: It is interesting to hear him articulate that a strict religious upbringing killed any love he might have had for religion, and yet go on to speak of spirituality and even karma in a positive way. You can read Tom’s thoughts about Lee’s answer on... Read more
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