Two pieces by this Romantic-era composer, courtesy of YouTube: Read more
Two pieces by this Romantic-era composer, courtesy of YouTube: Read more
I had the privilege of attending a concert at the Hilbert Circle Theater tonight. It featured cellist Zuill Bailey as soloist on Ernest Bloch's Schelomo and Nico Muhly's new Cello Concerto, together with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. They also performed Camille Saint-Saens' Symphony No.3, the “Organ Symphony.” It was wonderful! I had heard Schelomo several times previously (never performed live, only recordings). But I had not realized that the piece took its inspiration from the first chapter of Ecclesiastes. And... Read more
After the sensational headline from last week, it seemed to some that the Dominican Biblical Institute had required Thomas Brodie to resign because of a book he wrote in which he claims that Jesus never existed: Beyond the Quest for the Historical Jesus: Memoir of a Discovery. A new article in The Limerick Leader challenges that claim, indicating that (1) the end of Brodie’s third term as director of the school was expected before the book came out, and he... Read more
The latest in the hilarious “How It Should Have Ended” series. HT SF Signal. This one had me laughing out loud – literally! Read more
The Gospel as it is proclaimed in the New Testament nowhere mentions the process whereby God created. It is never presented as a part of the Gospel message proclaimed by Christians in any way, shape, or form. It isn’t that it is “just a minor tenet” or something like that – it isn’t mentioned at all. People held all sorts of views about the process of creation and the nature of the natural world in those times. And yet we... Read more
Someone asked a question along these lines on Facebook recently, asking what one piece of evidence in particular persuades people to adopt the view that they do. There are multiple things that I find particularly indicative. The reference to a dome in Genesis 1 is itself significant. But the point becomes even clearer if one knows other creation stories from the Ancient Near East. In the Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation epic, Marduk slays Tiamat (their version of the more... Read more
I've been asked to contribute a couple more entries to a reference work, The Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, which I have contributed to before. The two new entries are the sections on film/movies, under the following subject heading entries: Illegitimate Offspring Kinship of Jesus The first is self-explanatory, and connects with the research I have done on the question of Jesus' illegitimacy and his social status. The second presumably includes both the family of Jesus in his... Read more
From yesterday's Non Sequitur. Read more
With all the discussion of J. J. Abrams agreeing to produce Star Wars Episode VII, when he is already involved in the Star Trek franchise, made me think that it was worth sharing this classic bit of humor again, “Star Trek: How It Should Have Ended.” It brings the two franchises together, although not in a way that is likely to be part of an actual J. J. Abrams movie. 🙂 Read more
From yesterday’s Bizarro Comics. Read more
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