The list of the top 50 biblioblogs for October 2011 has been posted. Exploring Our Matrix moved down a notch to #4 as Jeremy Myers’ blog Till He Comes moved into the #2 slot. And congratulations to Jesus Creed for being #1 again this month. Thank you to all readers and commenters! Read more
“Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson gained great fame not by demanding that Christians live their lives differently, but by sanctifying the lives they were already inclined to live…[T]o maintain or restore the integrity of the evangelical American church, its culturally conservative leaders and adherents would seem to need to make a choice: all of Christ’s severe commands apply today to everyone … or to no one. History suggests they will ultimately choose the latter.” — Rob Asghar, “Can Evangelicals Ever... Read more
The episode “Combat” revolves around the Torchwood team’s investigation into a mysterious group that has been capturing weevils and in some way causing or allowing other human beings to be harmed or killed by them. The episode, for most of its duration, might well have seemed to have little that is of direct interest to someone concerned with the intersection of religion and science fiction. But as Owen’s investigation brings him into contact with Mark, major religious overtones begin to... Read more
As I prepare to talk about religion and Doctor Who at AAR in a panel on religion and science fiction, it will necessitate occasional jumps away from watching the series in order from the beginning. One episode that simply cannot be omitted from a consideration of this topic is “Kinda” from the Peter Davison era. Written by Christopher Bailey, himself a Buddhist if I am not mistaken, the episode is full of imagery and terminology from Buddhism. (I will get... Read more
If you are a student, and you have not explicitly been told otherwise, please don’t put your bibliography in a separate document. There is no reason for doing this. Sometimes publishers will ask for bibliographies of books to be submitted as a separate document because it makes formatting easier for them. But for assignments and essays, there is no reason for separating the bibliography from the rest of what you wrote, other than as a deliberate attempt to waste your... Read more
The next Biblical Studies Carnival, for November 2011, will be at the Dunedin School blog. You can begin submitting posts immediately. Click through for more details! Read more
Via Phil Plait, a hilarious video from Jon Stewart on how challengers to science do what they do. Since I can’t embed it, here are links to it on Hulu and on the Daily Show web site. Can anyone really say that the real opponents of science that are parodied in the video are fundamentally different from mythicists and other denialists? Read more
I was reminded of two quick passing references on Doctor Who that had completely slipped my mind: I wonder whether somehow missed the first time I saw these episodes, or if perhaps I made a mental note of them but had forgotten by the end of watching them. From “Voyage of the Damned”: ASTRID This Christmas thing, what’s it all about? THE DOCTOR Long story. I should know, I was there. I got the last room. From “Planet of the... Read more
Google Reader has changed, and since one can no longer share items from Google Reader to a sidebar widget, that feature has been removed from this blog. I’m sorry to see it go. I will continue to share items of interest via Google+, Facebook and Twitter, so please do connect with me in one of those places, if you haven’t already. In the category of good news, there are some things to share. Until the end of the day today,... Read more
Internet Monk indicated that the roots of the anti-Halloween movement are in a deception. But why was and is the nonsensical idea that children dressed in costumes are the front line of a war with the forces of evil taken seriously? I think the reason is because American Christians want to be deceived in this way. It is a self-deception. Christians are reminded time and again by their Scriptures that they are to be at war with evil. But most... Read more
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