I had a request for lead sheets (lyrics and chords) for the three information literacy songs I shared here recently. The request came from a teacher who wanted to use them in a high school – to be performed on the ukulele. I would love to have a chance to hear how that sounds! Anyway, having put the lead sheets together, I thought I would share them here. If you perform them or use them in some educational context, I’d be... Read more
This is a quick translation of this passage from the Great Treasure (Ginza Rba), the Mandaean sacred text. It relies heavily on Lidzbarski’s German translation, cross-referenced with the online Ginza concordance mostly when either the German was ambiguous, or I was curious what the underlying Mandaic was. In most instances when I looked because the German was puzzling, Lidzbarski’s rendering of the Mandaic was problematic, and I sought to offer a better rendering. I didn’t have time to work through the... Read more
This classic episode of Doctor Who, “The Time Monster,” is arguably one of the best for discussing the show’s interaction with religion. It has points at which ancient Greek mythology, Buddhism, and Christianity are in view. The story focuses on the attempt by the Master to summon Kronos, the Greek god who apparently really exists as a dangerous chronovore in interstitial time. Here, as in The Daemons and many other episodes which intersect with classic mythology, the answer about the... Read more
Brian Mubaraki has kindly shared some more photos from the Mandaean community in Australia. I’ve made a gallery below, so that you can click on each image to see it larger, and a second time to see it full size if you wish to. Brian shared this information about the photos: The pictures are of the Mandi which was built according to traditional means and methods was erected in time for the Panja of 2008 at the property of Majid... Read more
Here are the three songs that I and my colleague Chad Bauman created and performed recently, trying to convey some key points about information literacy: Which is your favorite? I’m thinking the market for humorous songs about information literacy is now saturated. And so what should be next? How about funny songs related to the academic study of religion? I’ve got a few ideas. Any requests, or suggestions for future topics? Read more
“What if Jesus was Real?” is the title of Joel Watts’ new article in the Huffington Post. Here’s the conclusion: The real Jesus was a Jew, one nearly unrecoverable in the present — but this doesn’t mean he didn’t exist. It just means we have to live constantly with the doubt we may never really find him. As a Christian, this doesn’t bother me much because I have the guidance of Tradition. As a scholar, however, there are times I... Read more
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The Curse of Peladon is another episode that I remember watching when I was young. The clearest memory is of the Doctor lulling the creature Agador using a hypnotic spinning mirror and an alien lullaby. The episode is of interest to those exploring the intersection of Doctor Who and religion, as well as from a postcolonial perspective. King Peladon, of the planet Peladon, is seeking to lead his planet into membership in a galactic federation – trying to help it... Read more
A whole range of interesting materials have popped up on blogs today, and so I thought I’d gather them and share them here. AWOL shared the Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine project (and also Greek Inscriptions) and the Middle East Research Journals project. AMIR mentioned Michael Hillman’s books and other materials for learning Persian language and culture, available on Academia.edu. Anthony Le Donne pointed to a new addition to the collection of publications he has made available online on his web page. Classical... Read more
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