Nick Norelli shared the image below depicting ancient Hebrew cosmology, i.e. the cosmological assumptions of the authors of the Jewish Scriptures/Christian Old Testament. (It is from the new Logos 5 software which I am looking forward to testing out and blogging about soon.) Nick asks whether those who reconstruct this view of the cosmos based on the Bible’s language might not be taking that language too literally. I think a distinction needs to be made – and perhaps more than... Read more
Doctor Who fans are looking forward to there being one or more special episodes in celebration of the show's 50th year. In the past there have been episodes like “The Three Doctors” and “The Five Doctors” which brought back actors who played the Doctor previously to play the role as the Doctor encountered his past regenerations. But with the actors who played the first few Doctors having passed away, and some of the others being significantly older now (and in... Read more
A colleague shared this on Facebook, suggesting that it would make for a good exam question in theology to ask students to carefully examine the underlying theological views and assumptions at play. What do you think? Read more
Bob Cargill has posted a call on his blog for letters in support of Christopher Rollston, whose position at Emmanuel Christian Seminary has been placed in jeopardy by a small number of people who objected to an article he wrote. His post includes links to blog posts by those of us who have already spoken out on this topic on our blogs. What Bob is asking for now is for those who may not have blogs but wish to address... Read more
“Life begins at conception” is a common phrase to encounter in discussions of abortion and related issues. Despite what those with short memories may genuinely believe, the issue of abortion and the view that it is murder have not been the views of most Evangelical Protestants for all that long (as we’ve been reminded recently in the posts on this topic by Fred Clark and Jonathan Dudley, among others). It was turned into an issue in order to manipulate people... Read more
I've shared Star Wars and other science fictional religious iconography before, but I think this is the first actual stained-glass window I've seen that depicts Yoda. For the best of the Disney-Star Wars mash-ups, check out IO9's collection, and also a completely different but equally impressive set from Good Comics. Read more
One of the methodological questions that intersects with my upcoming conference paper on the Mandaean Book of John and the New Testament is the question of how, if at all, we can discern whether one text which is later than another is not drawing on that earlier text alone, but also incorporates independent tradition. This question relates not only to the Mandaean Book of John, but many other more or less familiar instances: Matthew and Luke in relation to Mark (and... Read more
Today’s Non Sequitur HT The Panda’s Thumb Read more
The first couple of words seem to have been cut off. I am not sure why it does that on some occasions but not others. All that is missing is my mention that a theme for this week is “Diversity in the Bible” which I then point out connects naturally with the Wisdom literature. Read more
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Textbooks and Commentaries on the Gospel of John
Regular readers and others who know me will know that I did my doctoral dissertation on the Christology of the Gospel of John. With my primary research focus having moved elsewhere, I am delighted when I get to teach my upper-level class on the Gospel of John and return my attention there. I’m still trying to decide which commentary or other textbook(s) to assign for the course. Older ones like that by Raymond Brown are no longer readily available. The... Read more