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
Thanks to Patheos, I have two copies to give away of the book which I blogged about yesterday, The Christian World of The Hobbit by Devin Brown. I will select the winners at random from among those who comment on this post you are currently reading. An eligible entry is a comment that mentions something that you love or appreciate about J. R. R. Tolkien and/or his writings – including but not limited to The Hobbit. Or one that explains... Read more
On Facebook and elsewhere, I’ve begun to see signs of the extremism which I am convinced does not characterize everyone on that side of the political and religious spectrum, but which will need to be addressed by other conservatives who recognize it as not merely inappropriate hyperbole, but expressions of hatred, if we are to have any chance of moving forward as a society in a positive fashion. What sorts of things am I referring to? First, there’s the comparison... Read more
The votes are in, the election ended, and the bibliobloggers have spoken! The gathering of bibliobloggers – and I am going to once again invite any theobloggers and other bloggers about religion as well – will be Sunday, November 18th, at 7pm at Kitty O’Shea’s, an Irish pub located at the Hilton in Chicago. The directions on Google Maps include this priceless detail: Those who need to attend receptions that evening will find it convenient to do so, I believe. Read more
President Obama has been re-elected. Despite what some may say, the challenge ahead of us all is not to avoid being rounded up by presidential stormtroopers, to rescue the Constitution from being torn to shreds, or to find a place to hide and wait out the apocalypse. The challenge is whether we can find a way – as the vast majority – to marginalize those voices of extremism, rancor, and hatred on both sides of the main political divides. The... Read more
I am grateful to have the opportunity to participate in the Patheos Book Club this month, focused on Devin Brown’s book The Christian World of The Hobbit. A book by this title might seem to some to be precisely the sort of book that they typically gravitate towards or make a concerted effort to avoid. But to both sorts of readers, I would like to emphasize that Brown’s book is distinctive, not least because of the distinctive and subtle-yet-profound way... Read more
Now that the votes are being counted, I feel like I can say what I foresee happening. I predict that either the Democratic or Republican candidate will win the election. I predict that, if the economy does better or worse, it will have less to do with who was elected president than with other factors. I predict that the majority of doomsday-like predictions made by opponents of the winner will not come true. So by all means talk about the... Read more
American composer Elliott Carter has passed away at the age of 103. Here is a quote that I think is worth reflecting on from the article about his death in the New York Times: As a young man, I harbored the populist idea of writing for the public…I learned that the public didn’t care. So I decided to write for myself. Since then, people have gotten interested. It would be interesting to know how many of the biggest musical, theatrical,... Read more
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