When I blogged about theological themes in the Doctor Who Christmas special, “The Snowmen,” two major concepts of divinity were notably absent: polytheism and Deism. That’s not because such ideas were not touched on in the episode, but because I omitted one of the interesting bits of conversation in the episode, focused on the role of the Doctor himself. On the one hand, Vashtra tries to depict the Doctor in language that could have been pulled straight from Deism, or... Read more
Now that Christmas is over, I can share some music I saved until now, since I had more Christmas music than I could fit in before it would have to wait another year! Dănuţ Mănăstireanu shared a version of this classic piece, sometimes known by the English translation of its title, “Woman of Ireland,” performed by Norwenn Leroy. I wasn't as moved by that rendering as I had been by others in the past, and so I determined to find... Read more
I have long loved this quote from “The Moonbase.” And so given the echoes of the Second Doctor’s adventures, and the theological aspects, in “The Snowmen,” I thought I would share this image plus quote that came my way on Facebook. Even though I am pretty sure he is holding his 100-year diary, with Patrick Troughton holding the book that way, I can’t help but think that the image was chosen because he looks a bit like a preacher holding... Read more
Tonight’s episode of Doctor Who, the long-awaited Christmas special “The Snowmen,” did a wonderful job of preserving the humor, magic, and terror that make Doctor Who more than a science fiction show. SPOILERS AHEAD! The episode begins with a Doctor that is gloomy and withdrawn, having decided to try to avoid becoming attached to anyone as he still carries the scars of what happened to Amy and Rory. And yet the tone is not at all gloomy – on the... Read more
From The New Yorker. Read more
Helen Bond has a new article in The Bible and Interpretation, “Ten Things I Learnt about Jesus by Writing a Book about him.” It offers a nice, balanced overview of some key points related to both the methods and the conclusions of the scholarly quest for the historical Jesus. The book she is referring to is The Historical Jesus: A Guide for the Perplexed. I have yet to read it, but it sounds like it might be a good textbook for... Read more
For a great many conservative Christians and their atheist counterparts, Christmas is about believing that angels really told shepherds about the birth of a baby, and that a star did the same for Persian astrologers – and the annual seasonal activity of fighting over the literal truthfulness or falsehood of those stories. For some, Christmas is about time spent with family, which of course it really and truly is – but the same can be said of a great many... Read more
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The preceding Christmas wish is offered in accordance with the Articles of Christmas previously posted on this blog. Read more
“Don Oíche Úd i mBeithil” (That night in Bethlehem) performed by Altan. HT Richard Hall. Read more
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