A few bloggers have mentioned my article about mythicism in The Christian Century: Otagosh: “McGrath blasts the fringe” John Byron: “Did Jesus Exist?” (I also loved his name for this blog: “Exploring Our Matrix Together”!) Paleojudaica also shared a link Read more
Via Rod of Alexandria. For more Star Wars humor, see the commercial series from the UK that was shared recently at IO9. Also of interest, see John Morehead’s contribution to a Patheos book club conversation that I also will be joining in. Read more
I’d been waiting for an update on a conference which had initially been proposed to be held this summer. Here’s the updated information from the ARAM Society web site: Mandaeism, 25-28 July 2013 (University of Stockholm – Sweden) ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies is organizing its Thirty Seventh International Conference on the theme of Mandaeism, to held at the to be held at University of Stockholm, 25-28 July 2013. The conference will start on Wednesday 25 July at 9am finishing... Read more
All Doctor Who fans are eagerly waiting for the Christmas special. And I’m eagerly looking forward to talking about Doctor Who and Christmas (among other things) at the American Academy of Religion conference in November. But there is another possible connection between Doctor Who and Christmas: as an explanation for why some people already have Christmas trees up: Read more
This episode from the third season of Doctor Who, “The Massacre of St. Bartholemew’s Eve,” focuses on events in 16th century France, when the spread of Protestantism has led to tensions between Catholics and the Protestant Huguenots. Like many but not all episodes in which the time travelers land in Earth’s past, this episode focuses mostly on the actual events unfolding. The Doctor is not even present for most of the story (in two of the four parts he does... Read more
In response to the Oklahoma earthquake (and pastor Paul Begley’s religious interpretation of it) I thought it appropriate to offer an adapted version of an image I’ve shared before: That is of course the impression of God that Pat Robertson and others like him give all the time when they offer similar comments. Rather than glorifying God, they end up identifying God with nature, so that God disappears into the closing gaps of our understanding of the natural world for... Read more
The article I mentioned in The Christian Century can now be read online. Click through to read it, then come back here and leave a comment if you’d like to discuss it or comment on it! Read more
Via Maggie Dawn I learned of this hilarious reworking of a classic song, updated to tell the story of the revival of Doctor Who by Julie Gardner and Russell T. Davies, and performed by John Barrowman, Catherine Tate, and David Tennant (perhaps better known to some as Capt. Jack Harkness, Donna Noble and the Tenth Doctor). Elsewhere around the blogosphere, Geeks of Christ has a reflection on the first episode of the revived Doctor Who series, “Rose.” Philip K. Dick and... Read more
The Torchwood episode “Sleeper” focuses on an idea that was much more popular during the Cold War: the idea that there could be sleeper agents among us who appear to be like us, even a loving spouse, but who can be switched on by a command from our enemy and immediately become a ruthless, murdering menace apparently unhindered by our own society’s concern for love, justice, or the value of human life. Thankfully, the episode doesn’t merely revive this plot... Read more
If you have access to the November 15th, 2011 issue of The Christian Century, there is an article in it by me on pp.12-13. The title is “Fringe View: The World of Jesus Mythicism.” If an electronic version becomes available on The Christian Century‘s web site, I’ll let you know! Read more
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