IO9 shared a variety of bits of test footage from auditions for parts in science fiction and superhero TV shows and movies. The bit of script that was used for Paul McGann’s audition to play the 8th Doctor includes some fascinating details, which never made it into the TV movie he starred in. Could any of them find their way back into the show at some point? Click through to see some of the others! Read more
I liked this Biblical parody of the well known meme-image that aims to infuriate nerds. It works just as well. If you are a Biblical scholar, or just someone who knows the Bible well, did it make your head explode? From Cake or Death Read more
Of course, there is a particularly famous visit of the Doctor to Utah, well known to Doctor Who fans. But I was referring to a visit in or before 5,000 BC, as per this rock painting: HT Joel Watts Read more
Cdbren, a young-earth creationist commenter who was caught engaging in dishonest practices on this blog a while back, has made a reappearance, this time to (among other things) complain about my focusing on chalk deposits like the famous White Cliffs of Dover as counter-evidence to young-earth creationism. But as commenter Ian pointed out, it is a case that gives young-earth creationism a wonderful opportunity to show whether or not it can use science to demonstrate the validity of its claims.... Read more
Tom Thatcher sent around the news about an exciting-looking conference to be held in Baltimore prior to SBL in November, on the theme of John, Jesus, and History. The keynote address will be by James Dunn. Read more
I was recently asked by a friend whether the test in the photo below was real. Apparently it is, and comes from Blue Ridge Christian Academy. Click through to see the second page. It is disturbing that a child sent to the school by a parent who had no idea this garbage was being taught there would get 100% on the test – indicating indoctrination and lack of understanding of science. But not all recent news related to this topic... Read more
I presume that this sign is intentional and not a spelling error: From This Isn't Happiness, HT Jeff Carter on Facebook Gods were, and then later a single God was, thought to be capricious and terrifying in ancient times. The divine was thought to be, or later to be expressed through, what we today call forces of nature. Shaking ground, lightning bolts, tornados, all assumed to be expressions of divine wrath. People tried as they might to figure out what... Read more
I was struck by a statement Richard Carrier made on his blog, and I wonder whether it is not telling of something fundamentally amiss in his approach to the matter of the historical Jesus. Carrier mentions a talk which he will be giving, in which he will ask “what it might mean to study Jesus if there were no religious assumptions built up even in secular scholarship–if Jesus were treated the same way as Hercules, for instance.” If what is... Read more
The Biblical Studies Carnival for April 2013 has been posted on the blog ἐνθύμησις. Click through to enjoy it, and many thanks to Jacob Cerone for hosting it! Read more
This image came to my attention via God on Facebook. It features a homeless man with a sign that asks “Which religion cares the most about the homeless?” And then multiple receptacles for money labeled with different religious identities. This doesn't work as a way of demonstrating something. Is the photo a set up or something a homeless man really did? Did atheists and agnostics give more because they normally would or because of a desire to “win” in this... Read more
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