Scholars and laypeople have engaged in significant debate about the precise meaning of the word/name “Sheol” in the Bible. At times it seems to be an underworld, at times simply the grave, and at times perhaps something else. A student in my class on the Bible has actually solved the mystery and come up with a definitive answer to the question. Sheol is the name of the big fish in the Book of Jonah. The Biblical text which proves this... Read more
If the purpose of the Bible were that we derive from it a systematic theology, you would think that we would have simply been provided with that systematic theology… Read more
I shared an image that came to my attention on Facebook, simply writing “Discuss” above it. People did so, fervently, in surprisingly large numbers. Here is the image: I would indeed be interested in discussion. But first, I noted that sometimes people make a distinction between a “Christian Liberal” and a “Liberal Christian,” and so perhaps I should do the same with Jesus and Judaism, and ask whether anyone prefers the image below. I should also share a song that... Read more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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