Prof. D. Stephen Long writes: I think it appropriate that reasonable people of faith begin to refer to Trump as antichrist. I don’t come to that conclusion lightly…The obvious contradiction between Trump and his administration’s response to white supremacists and to those protesting on behalf of black lives demonstrates a demonic force at work that must be named by all of us who at baptism pledged to resist sin, death, and the devil, “the spiritual forces of wickedness,” or “the... Read more
I’ve mentioned before my interest in writing a book that explores something like “a year of living justly.” You can read about it in an earlier post on my blog. My thoughts returned to the idea again recently after reading a post by Chris Bateman exploring supermarkets as part of our human cyborg existence. Here’s a sample from the post: To ask about the moral and behavioural effects of supermarkets is to face the general condition of the contemporary cyborg... Read more
Maximus Nyseen writes: There are two dominant heresies alive in American Christianity today, which would be fundamentalism and nationalism. Fundamentalism advocates an entirely unhistorical theological viewpoint that the Bible is a scientific textbook, and that any scientific hypothesis, theory, or fact that “opposes” some supposed scientific principle believed to be written in the Bible must be rejected as some sort of atheist attack on the faith. This is a fairly modern heresy, one that entirely rejects historical theological discovery and exegetical... Read more
Paul Cornell has written a few very short stories to help you make it through the lockdowns and quarantines that you may be experiencing. The first is “The Shadow Passes” and is in text form. The second, “Shadow of a Doubt,” will immediately remind you of Christian discussions of repentance and the idea that “all you need to do is say sorry.” The third is called “The Shadow in the Mirror” and gives another perspective on the story. The discussion... Read more
Here is the title and abstract for my presentation in the upcoming Enoch Seminar Conference Online: “Deity, Devil, Demiurge: The Shared Origins of Monotheism, the Problem of Evil, and ‘Gnosticism'” James F. McGrath, Butler University When it comes to the strands of ancient religion traditionally referred to as ‘Gnosticism’ and their most distinctive characteristics, the attempt to explain the existence of evil by positing an inferior creator is far less puzzling than that these traditions consistently identify the God of... Read more
This is the 50th episode of the ReligionProf Podcast, and so perhaps a momentous occasion that ought to be marked! The podcast, as you presumably know, has been on hiatus for the summer and was shifting to being occasional rather than weekly or bi-weekly. But there was a conversation I wanted to have and to share with you, and even the pandemic couldn’t prevent it. You might wonder why a pandemic would prevent a podcast episode from being recorded, given... Read more
As I’ve watched events unfolding in my nation and around the globe, I’ve dared to hope that perhaps at long last we may have reached a tipping point and there may be a critical mass of people who are finally prepared to act to bring about deep, genuine, and lasting change. I’ve also been proud to see my son own son as well as other Butler University students, alumni, and colleagues vocal in public ways and eager to give money... Read more
CALL FOR PAPERS via RelCFP: Boston University Graduate Program in Religion Student Association Presents a Virtual Conference: RELIGION AND THE FUTURE Conference Date: Sunday, October 18, 2020 Keynote Speaker: Sylvester Johnson, Director, Virginia Tech Center for Humanities Just as the religious gaze into the past for holy histories, divine guidance, and ritual instruction, so too do they yearn for the future to inspire hope, bring peace, or inaugurate apocalypse. The future forces reckoning with technological change and adaptation to environmental catastrophe.... Read more
I was deeply disappointed to see a friend and fellow Christian posting things that were untrue on Facebook. These were things that were blatantly untrue even without fact-checking for those who know even a smattering about politics and history. But fact-checking also revealed deeper levels of misinformation about what was posted. I think it is important to challenge the spread of misinformation. Not only because it harms the reputation of Christianity when it is associated with lies. Not only because... Read more
A Statement on Black Lives Matter, Right to Protest, and Bible as Prop The Council of the Society of Biblical Literature and Executive Staff of SBL issue the following statement: We are appalled at the murder of George Floyd on 25 May 2020 by police. We grieve the murder of Breonna Taylor and many others who have died because of anti-Blackness. We are committed to the clear and unequivocal assertion that Black Lives Matter. We applaud the spirit of protest... Read more
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