Saying Grace

Last updated on: June 14, 2012 at 3:35 pm By James F. McGrath

Of Christian prayers, those related to food can be the most theologically problematic. I remember hearing a missionary speak about how others in her mission team had become ill and she had not, and she attributed it to her “praying over her food” – as though (1) her Christian co-workers did not, (2) prayer effectively prevents food poisoning, and (3) God would vindictively punish Christian missionaries with diarrhea because their prayers were not…I can’t even imagine what. Likewise something as... Read more

The Difference Between Praise Choruses and Hymns

Last updated on: June 13, 2012 at 9:04 pm By James F. McGrath

HT Joel Watts Read more

Reformed Cologne

Last updated on: June 13, 2012 at 6:30 pm By James F. McGrath

From Matthew Paul Turner, who clearly was predestined to come up with this brilliant idea… Read more

Miriai’s Story

Last updated on: June 13, 2012 at 2:10 pm By James F. McGrath

One of the first stories I became acquainted with in the Mandaean Book of John is the story of Miriai. Since it is one of the excerpts from the book that had previously been translated into English, it was interesting to spend some time wrestling with some of the obscure terms and idioms in the passage. I’ve just posted a draft of my new translation of chapter 34 of the Mandaean Book of John on the Mandaean Book of John... Read more

Gotta Save Em All

Last updated on: June 13, 2012 at 9:58 am By James F. McGrath

So that’s how he did it… HT Ashley Holmes on Facebook. Click here to watch the same scenario unfold rather differently. Read more

Picking and Choosing, Loving Your (LGBT) Neighbor, and the 76 Things Banned in Leviticus

Last updated on: June 12, 2012 at 11:47 pm By James F. McGrath

Fred Clark began a recent post on his blog by pointing to a list of 76 things banned in Leviticus that someone posted online, and a subsequent self-scoring against the list posted at Tad’s Happy Funtime (click through to see where C3P0 gets a mention). Fred used this jumping off point to notice that pretty much all of us observe some of the things mentioned in Leviticus and consider them to be of ongoing validity, while regarding others as obsolete.... Read more

Superhero Saints

Last updated on: June 12, 2012 at 9:41 pm By James F. McGrath

I’ve been meaning to blog about this since it first turned up on Matthew Paul Turner’s blog (subsequently getting mentioned at IO9 and Greenflame). Superheroes are regularly situated at the intersection of religion and science fiction – see Steve Wiggins’ recent post on Alien Deities as one example – but not always quite as blatantly religiously as this. Artist Igor Scalisi Palminteri turned statues of religious figures into statues of superheroes. Click through to see the series, Hagiographies, on Palminteri’s Facebook... Read more

Inherit the Mirth

Last updated on: June 12, 2012 at 4:41 pm By James F. McGrath

Today I was asked by a cartoonist to remove one of his cartoons from my blog. Unfortunately, the cartoon reached me in a form that was circulating online with no indication of who created it or where if anywhere it was published. The cartoonist in question is Dan Reynolds, and having removed his cartoon with much regret and apology, I am now linking to his web site, in the hope that you may pay it a visit and enjoy Reynolds’... Read more

Marriage Equality Biggest Threat in 500 Years, Says Church Founded by Serial Adulterer and Divorcer

Last updated on: June 11, 2012 at 10:53 pm By James F. McGrath

It seems like it should be an article from The Onion. But it isn’t. A spokesperson for the Church of England apparently really has said that the legalization of same-sex marriage in the U.K. is the biggest threat the church has faced in its 500-year history. The irony is unmissable – except apparently if you are a spokesperson for the Church of England. The article in The Independent on the subject is worth reading to the very end, where a... Read more

O Fortuna Misheard Lyrics

Last updated on: June 11, 2012 at 12:07 pm By James F. McGrath

This is absolutely hilarious (and watching it while consuming a beverage may be hazardous to whoever or whatever is across from you). Enjoy! HT David Meadows and Honey and Locusts Read more

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