Those interested in Coptic texts owe a debt of gratitude to Alin Suciu for scanning and making available the out of print and very rare edition of the Coptic manuscripts in the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy, edited and published by Francesco Rossi. I’d been hoping for some time to eventually get hold of a copy to take a look at the texts about John the Baptist, in the interest of comparing them to Mandaean sources. Click through to read... Read more
Lots of people have mentioned Rick Santorum’s outrageous anti-education statement. He said, “It’s no wonder President Obama wants every kid to go college…the indoctrination that occurs in American universities is one of the keys to the left holding and maintaining power in America. And it is indoctrination.” I particularly appreciated Steve Wiggins’ comments, which highlight that the allegedly terrible indoctrinating university educational experience is one that Santorum himself has pursued and profited from: Santorum earned a Bachelor of Arts, with... Read more
Biblicism – the view that one should adhere strictly to what the Bible says, word for word and letter for letter – is the stance adopted (at least theoretically) by many Christians today. It was not the stance of the apostle Paul. Isaiah 59:20 says “”The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the LORD.” Paul “quotes” the text in Romans 11:26 as follows: “And so all Israel will be saved, as it... Read more
Most have probably already heard the news that the proposed creationism bill was approved by the education committee (the bill’s author chairs the committee, so not too much surprise there). This need not mean that it becomes a law when the senate votes on it. A petition has been created to express opposition to the bill. Please click through and sign it. Read more
Here’s a video of clips from every single episode in the show’s history. Enjoy! HT IO9 and Galactica: Variants Read more
Jeff Carter has been reading my book The Only True God and yesterday he blogged about it. Please click through and take a look at what he has to say. Thanks, Jeff, for blogging about the book! (I’ve been under the weather with a really bad cold, and so my blogging and even blog reading has been at a lull). Read more
That’s the title of an article in Slate by Evgeny Morozov, and there are a couple of quotes in which a simple substitution can be made so that they apply equally well to creationists, mythicists, and other denialists. Here’s an example: “In other words, mere exposure to the current state of the scientific historical consensus will not sway hard-core opponents of vaccination Jesus’ historicity. They are too vested in upholding their contrarian theories; some have consulting and speaking gigs to... Read more
Yesterday I issued an appeal for scholars who are willing and able to provide a blurb about my book, written for a general audience, The Burial of Jesus: History and Faith, which will be coming out in a second edition from Patheos Press. Today, I’m asking whether there are any church professionals – pastors, youth ministers, etc. – who have read the book and can comment on it from a religious perspective. If so, then please let me know, or... Read more
The episode “Frontios” from the classic Doctor Who series is in many ways a forerunner of the episode “Utopia” in the David Tennant era. The Doctor and his companions end up in humanity’s far future. The Doctor shows concern for the policy of the time lords to not intervene – and of course, it doesn’t stop him from helping, but he does say more than once that he’d prefer that the time lords not hear about it. It also features... Read more
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