Religion Call for Papers passed on an exciting bit of news: The European Association of Biblical Studies will be holding a workshop in Leipzig next summer on science fiction and the Bible! There’s more information on the EABS website, and the call for papers opened today. Sounds like something I really ought to find a way to go to. The workshop is organized by a doctoral student named Frauke Uhlenbruch who appears to have a longstanding interest in the topic.... Read more
This marks the start of the season when a small remnant of liturgically-minded Christians (including some of us American Baptists!) mark the countdown to Christmas – and a comparable number of Doctor Who fans count down the days to the Christmas special. Either way, the symbolism relates to the arrival of something or someone long awaited. And those who are interested in the intersection of religion and Doctor Who, recalling the jumbled history of Christmas vaguely understood and remembered by... Read more
The Christian Century has released its issue with recommendations for Christmas gifts. This year they had a science fiction category, and Gabriel McKee and I wrote the recommendations. Click through to read them! Fuller reviews of Shada and Existence can be found in separate posts on my blog. Read more
Another modern classic in the making. Read more
Via a Facebook friend, I learned of a collection of the 42 worst nativity sets (although the last one I actually kind of like). But this kitchen time Nativity is full of Advent symbolism, since you can use it to count down. And since Advent starts tomorrow, I thought I’d share it: Read more
Via Stephen Carlson on Facebook Read more
A letter to yesterday's Indianapolis Star had an interesting response to the annual “keep Christ in Christmas” hubbub. What if Christians kept just Christ in Christmas, and let go of all the stuff that is not specifically Christian? What if they let go of the trees, and the gifts, and Santa, and secular Christmas music, and just focused on Jesus, and the other stuff was moved to a separate holiday (the letter proposed New Year's Day)? I suspect that the... Read more
It’s time to start sharing Romanian Christmas music again. This is a favorite of mine, performed by the Bucharest Madrigal Choir. Read more
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