I spent a day during Butler’s Fall break at a strategic planning retreat for the Butler University libraries. Being rather philosophically minded, I asked a small group I was in “What is a library?” as a way of trying to generate discussion on our assigned topic. The answer was multi-faceted, and included not only a collection but also curation and the presence of expert help to connect people with the resources that they need. I followed up by asking whether... Read more
I think the graphic above illustrates very well how approaching the Bible expecting scientifically factual information that is literally true leads to dubious conclusions. Thankfully, most so-called literalists and promoters of creation “science” don’t go to these extremes – but if they would exercise the same common sense more consistently when approaching the Bible, they would bring less disrepute on Christianity. HT Brian Le Port Read more
Doug Chaplin shared the above video, and I think it might be useful viewing for those gearing up to present at SBL and/or AAR in November. Or any other conference, or business, or educational institution, or… On a related note, there is a panel session at SBL this year, in which I am participating, on the nature of the conference paper and how to present effectively. My own part focuses on what might be called best practices of the presentation... Read more
I received this today via e-mail from the ARAM Society: ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies is organizing its Thirty Sixth International Conference on the theme of Mandaeism, to be held at the Oriental Institute, the University of Oxford, 08-10 July, 2013. The conference aims to study Mandaeism and its relationship to Near Eastern religions and Gnostic movements. The conference will start on Monday 08th July finishing on Wednesday 10th July at 6pm. Each speaker’s paper is limited to 35 minutes,... Read more
Almost everyone finds the religious, political, and economic views of others "crazy," and often the feeling is mutual! This post looks at how religious, political and economic types of "faith" resemble one another - for better or worse. Read more
Here’s a video (in which I unfortunately didn’t capture the first couple of notes) of music from Super Mario Bros.: And then a couple of Irish fiddle tunes – Porthole of the Kelp: And Toormore Polka No.1 and No.2: Read more
I had to make the time to post about this bit of news that several other blogs have already mentioned (including American Jesus, Slacktivist, John Byron and Joel Watts). Nicholas Cage is interested in starring in a reboot of Left Behind. Most people seem to be excited about the combination of Nicholas Cage and Left Behind. But what really gets me excited and my mind racing is the word reboot. That term has never meant simply a “remake,” but a invention that... Read more
The above is one of several videos I took at this year’s Metropolitan Youth Orchestra Play-a-Thon, held at the Broad Ripple McDonalds in Indianapolis. Read more
Via Gawker (HT Joel Watts on Facebook) I heard a brief speech before the Springfield City Council about homosexuality and gay rights, delivered by Rev. Phil Snider of Brentwood Christian Church in Missouri. Listen to it all the way to the end. UPDATE: Others have since shared the video, including Bob Cargill, who adds some further commentary and discussion. Read more
HT Marc Cortez Read more
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