Around the Blogosphere: The Varieties of Fundamentalisms

Last updated on: October 30, 2012 at 11:48 am By James F. McGrath

Here’s a round-up of some blogging on several topics of longstanding interest: Michael Pahl is leaving Cedarville University due to his views, which are at odds with those of that fundamentalist institution. The university’s president has also resigned. Doug Chaplin asks how any institution with the views Cedarville stipulates in its statement of faith can call itself a university. And the implications of the university’s statements need to be reflected on. They said, Dr. Michael Pahl has been relieved of... Read more

Impact of Sandy

Last updated on: October 30, 2012 at 7:22 am By James F. McGrath

If you are a family member, friend, or other regular blog reader anywhere along the East Coast or in another area affected by Hurricane Sandy, do check in to let me and others know you are alive, when you have the opportunity, and when time and surroundings permit, feel free to share your experiences. A number of major web sites are down as a result of Sandy, including the Huffington Post – and so their UK branch provided this hand-drawn... Read more

Fake Photoshopped Frankenstorm Photo

Last updated on: October 29, 2012 at 2:29 pm By James F. McGrath

There’s an alleged photo of Hurricane Sandy drawing near to New York. I wondered about its authenticity, but I still shared it on Facebook, and then had it pointed out to me that its a fake: It is apparently a mash-up of two photos. If you want real (and for that reason even more impressive) images of Hurricane Sandy, check out CNN’s time lapse image of the storm from space. And then there is also the photo below which George... Read more

Mandaean Studies at SBL and AAR

Last updated on: October 29, 2012 at 10:48 am By James F. McGrath

Here is a round-up of what’s going on at this year’s Society of Biblical Literature and American Academy of Religion annual meetings on the subject of the Mandaeans and their literature (including one by yours truly): S18-134: Nag Hammadi and Gnosticism 11/18/2012 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM Room: S505a – McCormick Place Revisiting the Relationship between the Mandaean Book of John and the New Testament James F. McGrath, Butler University During the first half of the twentieth century, there were... Read more

This Year’s AAR/SBL iPad App is Finally Available!

Last updated on: October 29, 2012 at 9:57 am By James F. McGrath

If you are an iPad, iPhone, or iPod user, and you are attending the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion and/or the Society of Biblical Literature in November, you have been impatiently awaiting the promised iOS app for your device dedicated to the event (just as we did around this time last year). Well, the wait is over! I discovered today that the app is now available for download. Click through to download it – or just search for... Read more

Job Creation: The Beginning

Last updated on: October 29, 2012 at 7:38 am By James F. McGrath

This cartoon from The New Yorker came to my attention via Facebook: The comments on the Facebook page were interesting, with many pointing out that the perspective of Genesis is that God did create jobs for Adam and Eve: gardening. But is it the job of God or government to create jobs for human beings? And if the human beings in question are required to work in specific jobs they cannot choose for themselves, isn't that Communism? And if it... Read more

Frankenstorm

Last updated on: October 28, 2012 at 11:20 pm By James F. McGrath

Hurricane Sandy has been called “Frankenstorm” and this photo of Grand Central Station will communicate to any New Yorker how seriously it is being taken: If everyone comes out of this OK, I predict that someone will name their newly-founded heavy metal band Fränkenstörm… To everyone I know in the path of the storm, stay safe, and keep in touch with those of us who are worried about you, when you are able to. Read more

The Eternal Gospel

Last updated on: October 28, 2012 at 2:59 pm By James F. McGrath

In Revelation 14:6-7, the author says that he saw an angel bringing the eternal gospel in order to proclaim it to every nation, language, and people. Futurist interpreters claim that this shows that by that stage all Christians have been raptured or killed, and so an angel has to deliver the message. But anyone who reads Revelation carefully will note not only the absence of a “rapture” but also that it is a false dichotomy which suggests one has to... Read more

Thoughts on the “Authority” of the Bible

Last updated on: October 27, 2012 at 12:25 pm By James F. McGrath

There are many people who toss around phrases like “the authority of the Bible” without giving sufficient thought to what they are saying – much as we have seen politicians toss around the language of “God's will” with insufficient prior theological reflection. And so here are a few thoughts on the subject of “Biblical authority” which I hope will generate discussion. 1. The Bible is not inherently authoritative, any more than the Qur'an is, or the Code of Hammurabi, or... Read more

Doctor Who: Terror of the Autons

Last updated on: October 26, 2012 at 11:27 pm By James F. McGrath

The episode Terror of the Autons, the first episode from the second season featuring Jon Pertwee as the Doctor, is an important one in the history of Doctor Who for a number of reasons, not least of which is that it saw the introduction of the Master, another renegade time lord, and former classmate of the Doctor’s, one who had previously been a friend but could now play the role of arch-nemesis. Of course, the Doctor had encountered other time lords... Read more