Anthony Le Donne suggested on his blog (and in a recent conference paper) that a story in the Babylonian Talmud, in b. Menaḥoth 29b, might be the first science fiction story. In it, Moses time travels to Rabbi Akiba’s time. But is time travel enough to make a story science fiction? I’ve long pondered this topic, namely when the phenomenon we label sci-fi first begins. Is the appearance of science in the modern sense essential to the definition? It is because of the... Read more
HT Old Testament Space Opera Read more
Today my class on the Bible focused on Song of Songs. This was my first time including the text as a focus. With so much to cover in a semester, it seemed in the past to be an obvious choice for something to leave by the wayside. But since it is highlighted in the textbook I am using for the first time this semester, The Back Door Introduction to the Bible, and since it illustrates just how diverse the contents... Read more
This is a video I made featuring a musical mash-up I created. Let me know what you think of it! SPOILERS: As you’ll have gathered if you watched it, I noticed that there is overlap between the harmonic progression in part of “Carol of the Bells” and part of the “James Bond Theme.” And so I made a mash-up of the two, and overlaid footage from the snowy ski chase in “For Your Eyes Only.” Again, let me know if... Read more
I had my attention drawn to a rather strange article by a Butler student. The article begins by referring to a professor requiring the use of inclusive language – that is, not saying “he” when you mean “he or she” and not using “mankind” when you mean “humankind,” and so on. But the student then goes on to complain as though they are being asked not merely to recognize the existence of people of different genders in mixed groups, but... Read more
Look how Pat Robertson responds to a question submitted to him by a concerned parent related to the Bible and dinosaurs. HT Hemant Mehta Read more
Via David Meadows   Read more
HT Scott Bailey Read more
An interview between James F. McGrath and John W. Morehead has been quoted in a chapter focused on religion and science fiction. Read more
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Finally! Disqus Unsubscribe Button Available
As Sabio Lantz and others have long requested, and I’ve longed to have available, Disqus has finally integrated a separate button into the comment template used on my blog, allowing one to easily subscribe to and unsubscribe from a particular post’s comments. Look for the option at the bottom (and lest anyone be confused or frustrated, note that there is a screenshot below of what the end of a post looks like!):   Read more