It is well known that some conservative Christians accuse liberal Christians of simply going with their personal preferences, in a manner that can be and has been called “Talladega Nights theology.” (If you don’t get the reference, click through to see the video clip). That is a danger – and not exclusively for liberal Christians. But be that as it may, the accusation does not always fit. David French’s post (to which I linked above) suggests that the acceptance of not... Read more
I wonder how many self-proclaimed Biblical literalists actually take Genesis 1:16 completely literally. I’ve asked before about the earlier part of the verse, which seems to imply that the moon is a source of light in the same way as the sun is. But today I’m asking about the very final statement, “He made the stars also.” We can see stars in all their stages of evolution through our telescopes – indeed, we can see complete galaxies of them which... Read more
BLT shared this wonderful remake of a famous scene (when the media reported prematurely and incorrectly that “Dewey Defeats Truman”: It was inspired by this bit of misreporting, which Jim West shared a screenshot of on his blog: If you have been hiding under a rock somewhere and still don’t know what this is about, the news broke earlier today that the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Obama healthcare reforms, known as the “Affordable Care Act.” Most... Read more
Commenter Admiral Mattbar shared a link to a site, “The Beatles Never Existed.” I got a glimpse of it, but the next time I tried to reload it, it was as though it was not there. I began to wonder if perhaps I should become a “The Beatles Never Existed” web site mythicist… But then there it was again. The argument on the web site seems as though it could have been inspired by – or an intentional parody of... Read more
I’ve just posted on the project blog a draft of my translation of chapter 35 of the Mandaean Book of John, the second and longer of the two chapters focused on the story of Miriai. While chapter 34 was relatively mundane by comparison (but still incredibly interesting, in my opinion!), chapter 35 is full of symbolism and metaphor. It continues with the same tone of anti-Jewish polemic as in the previous chapter. Those familiar with the academic study of the... Read more
One of the students on the Israel trip has made a series of videos about the trip – one for each day we were there. They are nicely edited, with a mixture of regional and other more familiar music for the soundtrack during sections with scenery and locations. I think you’ll enjoy them! If you would like even more, another student has set up her own blog with photos, information, and thoughts about the places we visited. Read more
Several bloggers and media outlets are reporting that a Christian textbook used in Louisiana points to the Loch Ness Monster, and stories perhaps inspired by Godzilla, as allegedly evidence against evolution. Under new legislation, a voucher system will essentially mean that taxpayers support this sort of thing. It seems as though it should be a parody – but so did Answers in Genesis’ billboard with a fire-breathing dragon. Yet both are disturbingly real. The report from Scotland – Nessie’s alleged... Read more
This past Thursday I had the privilege of attending a book launch dinner for my colleague Paul Valliere’s new book, Conciliarism: A History of Decision-Making in the Church, published by Cambridge University Press. I had the privilege of reading the New Testament section prior to publication, and am looking forward to reading the rest of the book. The focus is on exploring the church council not as a simple fail-proof solution to church decision making (far from it), but as... Read more
Mythicism is not so much a conspiracy theory as a mass of cobbled improbabilities that can only be compared to explaining the existence of a discovery by postulating that the scientist credited with formulating it was really created by a mad scientist who invented the first and a third who created the one who created him. This is comparatively easy to do when all you have is the theory and an opinion about it. After a dozen mad scientists have been postulated,... Read more
Now that I have your attention, I should presumably next reassure you by saying “NO!” But hopefully you are still asking yourself why on earth anyone would ask the question in the first place. The reason is a discussion in my Sunday school class last week. We’ve been working through the Book of Revelation, and reached the first reference to the “morning star.” Near the end of the book, Jesus himself will be described as “the bright morning star” (Revelation... Read more
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