From XKCD Read more
From XKCD Read more
In my class on the Bible on Friday, we discussed the Book of Ruth. And as it happened, I discovered that it was possible to encapsulate the three main topics/themes that I wanted to make sure got attention under three headings with alliteration. One topic (the first “r”) was romance. My students were fairly sure that there isn’t really any in the book – certainly not in the sense that we find it in the Song of Songs. As I... Read more
I spoke recently with a reporter from the local paper The Indianapolis Recorder about pastoral qualifications. The article that resulted has now appeared, and I am quoted quite a bit in it, saying things like this: Those who say the Bible is important to them, very often don’t actually read the things that scholars within their own denomination have written about the Bible. We cultivate in many of our churches a strong instinct to respond with ‘amen,’ oftentimes because we have... Read more
OK, from a political perspective as well as that of science fiction fandom, is this a gaffe, as some have claimed? I do not think so. The poster gets the fonts right for the Star Wars and Star Trek references. And so I think there is a deliberate use of science fiction's greatest example of a partisan divide to depict president Obama as not partisan. That seems quite brilliant. But perhaps I am just the victim of a Vulcan mind... Read more
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The Biblical Studies Carnival for February 2013 has been posted at Delving Into The Scriptures. Lots of interesting stuff to enjoy – thank you to Drewe for hosting this month’s carnival! Read more
HT Jim West Read more
David Hayward's cartoon above is accompanied by a comment acknowledging that the church itself may never die, but churches die all the time. The reason some religious believers sometimes manage to persuade themselves otherwise is much the same reason some manage to persuade themselves that evolution does not occur. When change occurs over generations, it is easy for the people of one generation to convince themselves that it is not happening at all. But such beliefs do not change the... Read more
First, Daniel Kirk shared some advice about browser issues when submitting paper proposals – in short, if you have issues with one browser, try another! The SBL paper proposal deadline is a little over an hour away. If you plan to submit one, you need to do so quickly! Bloggers who've submitted their proposals are already beginning to mention them, as have Joel Watts and Dan McClellan. And those who chair sessions are putting out frantic last-minute reminders, as Chris... Read more
Today's Speed Bump cartoon pinpoints an important issue with the notion of an afterlife in which people exist forever more in much the same sort of existence as human beings experience now, with personalities and experience of passing time. It is not just the stereotype of sitting on a cloud playing a harp that seems like it would get old fairly quickly. Any sort of existence that goes on forever is likely to result in boredom eventually. And so why... Read more
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