Revelation 8-9: A Bitter Pill to Swallow

Last updated on: September 9, 2012 at 8:23 pm By James F. McGrath

Today in my Sunday school class we tackled chapters 8-9 of Revelation, featuring the seven trumpets. We discussed the attempts of some futurist interpreters to see in the locusts Russian attack helicopters capable of launching nuclear missiles, or in Wormwood the Chernobyl disaster (Chernobyl means “Wormwood” in Ukrainian). The biggest problem with that approach is that it renders the text incomprehensible to everyone except the modern interpreter, and thus represents a form of hermeneutical imperialism. But another serious problem for... Read more

A Mathematical Review of Proving History by Richard Carrier

Last updated on: September 9, 2012 at 8:04 pm By James F. McGrath

Regular commenter Ian has posted a review of Richard Carrier’s recent book, focused on the use of Bayes’ Theorem. It can be found on his blog Irreducible Complexity. Read more

May The Faith Be With You

Last updated on: September 9, 2012 at 1:46 pm By James F. McGrath

IO9 has previously shared examples of religious statues and iconography being transformed into superheroes, and when I’ve seen them I’ve shared some of them here. Today, IO9 shared samples of what an artist has done with statues and imagery of the Virgin Mary. Below are a couple of them. Click through to see more. It is worth contemplating such images not because of some inherent geeky coolness they may have, but because they force us to ask interesting questions.... Read more

Matthew West – Forgiveness

Last updated on: September 9, 2012 at 8:31 am By James F. McGrath

Christian music often gets a bad rap – but it is not as though there isn't just as much bad, superficial, and corny music around just generally. Indeed, the tribalism that segregates “Christian music” from the rest of music (which by most definitions includes some “Christian music”) involves some artificial segregation, and this was the subject of a recent post by Fred Clark. Be that as it may, however much a particular style typically seems trite or at odds with... Read more

Happy Anniversary, Star Trek!

Last updated on: September 8, 2012 at 11:54 pm By James F. McGrath

I wasn’t about to let the day end without wishing Star Trek a happy 46th anniversary. Presumably everyone saw the Google doodle for the occasion. In other news, the next Star Trek movie is going to be called Star Trek Into Darkness. Read more

Doctor Who: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

Last updated on: September 8, 2012 at 9:01 pm By James F. McGrath

I’ve been writing a lot about how Doctor Who has from the very outset been several different types of show. One of them, comedy, is to the fore in much of tonight’s episode of Doctor Who, “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship.” But other genres are there alongside it, and at times come to the fore, including suspense, mystery, and drama. Spoilers ahead! The Doctor does something new-ish, gathering a “gang” for this particular mission, including Queen Nefertiti of Egypt. It is... Read more

Young-Earth Creationists Don’t Believe That Creation Was Finished in Six Days

Last updated on: September 8, 2012 at 2:55 pm By James F. McGrath

I have been having an interesting conversation on Facebook with someone who describes himself as a young-earth creationist. I was surprised when this individual said that it is a problem for Christians who accept evolution that God is said thereby to have made diseases and other things which Christ fought against. It seems to me that the opposite is the case, and so I asked him whether he doesn’t believe that God made the flesh-eating bacteria, the parasites, the viruses,... Read more

Admiral Ackbar on Genesis 3

Last updated on: September 8, 2012 at 9:28 am By James F. McGrath

Joel Watts shared the above photo on Facebook. I remember some people not getting the point when I shared the meme image with Admiral Ackbar at the Last Supper warning “It's a trap!!!” I wonder whether this one will be any different. As soon as I saw the image, it reminded me of another image from the Admiral Ackbar meme: I wonder whether the two images are not really saying the same thing, talking about the same human experience –... Read more

Time Stand Still

Last updated on: September 7, 2012 at 4:23 pm By James F. McGrath

Rush – Time Stand Still I turn my back to the wind To catch my breath Before I start off again Driven on without a moment to spend To pass an evening With a drink and a friend. I let my skin get too thin I’d like to pause No matter what I pretend Like some pilgrim who learns to transcend Learns to live as if each step was the end. Time stand still I’m not looking back But I... Read more

A Note on the Terminology “Progressive Christian”

Last updated on: September 7, 2012 at 12:24 pm By James F. McGrath

I’ve found myself using the the terminology of “progressive Christian” more and more, as a way of indicating where I see myself within the broad spectrum of contemporary Christianity. But a comment seems to be in order. If people who hear the term understand that this is referring to one of the many ways that people who are Christians view the world and approach their faith, then great. But if people are getting the impression that somewhere else one can... Read more