2011-10-19T09:13:07-04:00

Last updated on: October 19, 2011 at 9:13 am   By

Like many prophets, science fiction authors have been both spectacularly wrong and spectacularly right at times. SF Signal shared this video trailer for a new series on science fiction authors as prophets of future science which explores those visionaries who got things right (perhaps, like some of ancient Israel’s prophets, because they actually inspired people to head in the direction they “predicted”?) There are plenty of examples of science fiction becoming science fact around, but let me just share one... Read more

2011-10-19T08:58:13-04:00

Last updated on: October 19, 2011 at 8:58 am   By

A cartoon from XKCD (HT P. Z. Myers) illustrates a different approach to conspiracy theories: combating like with like. How might that be applied to some of the conspiracy theories that regularly get discussed here? I wonder what would happen if someone played mythicists’ conspiracy theories off against others: Might one, for example, be able to convince some mythicists that Paul depicted a purely celestial Jesus, but did so to try to cover up the truth that there was indeed... Read more

2011-10-18T14:56:51-04:00

Last updated on: October 18, 2011 at 2:56 pm   By

Today in my freshman class “Faith, Doubt and Reason” the text for discussion was Rene Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy. One point I sought to highlight early on is Descartes’ understanding of doubt as a sacred duty: Descartes’ skeptical approach to knowledge and reasoning was an expression of his religious faith, with the aim both of avoiding being deceived himself and persuading others to believe in God. Today many view doubt as an expression of irreligion. But since all religions... Read more

2011-10-18T12:22:52-04:00

Last updated on: October 18, 2011 at 12:22 pm   By

This has been around for a while, but since Bob Cargill shared it and said that it would tick me off four times over, I figured I had best mention it… In other somewhat related news, Chris Brady and Bob Cargill are working on a project called Sacred Techs. Mason uses Doctor Who to reflect on limited atonement. Nikki Stafford blogs about the recent LOST conference and about Person of Interest. Also, if you have a science fiction story that... Read more

2011-10-18T08:07:46-04:00

Last updated on: October 18, 2011 at 8:07 am   By

Mythicists regularly claim (as one commenter on this blog recently did) regarding Paul that “Our earliest Christian source claimed to have learned nothing from the Christians who came before him.  He claimed to know what he knew by divine revelation.” Since the subject has come up once again, in the same form in which it always seems to, let me devote a blog post solely to this topic, in the hope that any mythicists who desire not to be like... Read more

2011-10-17T23:16:14-04:00

Last updated on: October 17, 2011 at 11:16 pm   By

The short (two part) story “The Edge Of Destruction” (the second part to which bears the title “The Brink of Despair”) was the first story to be told solely within the TARDIS and involving the Doctor and his regular companions. This was at least partly motivated by budgetary concerns, but in fact the story works nicely in a number of ways: it robs the characters (and thus the viewers) of the safe haven of the TARDIS, by introducing the possibility... Read more

2011-10-17T15:01:00-04:00

Last updated on: October 17, 2011 at 3:01 pm   By

I came across a Venn diagram recently that made me laugh out loud (OK, not really), which looked like this: Since I couldn’t remember where I saw it, I looked for a way to create a Venn diagram myself online, and discovered Creately. Read more

2011-10-17T12:50:27-04:00

Last updated on: October 17, 2011 at 12:50 pm   By

HT The Sacred Page. See 1 Samuel 18:27 if you don’t get it. Read more

2011-10-17T12:08:35-04:00

Last updated on: October 17, 2011 at 12:08 pm   By

I have three things I’d like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don’t give a shit. What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night. — Tony Campolo, quoted in The Progressive (HT) Read more

2011-10-17T09:20:19-04:00

Last updated on: October 17, 2011 at 9:20 am   By

Mark Goodacre has two posts up that are relevant to oral tradition and the historical study of Jesus. One is about a quotation attributed to the Dalai Lama on the internet but which is spurious. Here’s the image that sums the matter up: A while back I had wanted to share this quote, which is widely attributed to Stephen Hawking, but ultimately decided not to because I was unable to trace it to an actual source: The greatest enemy of... Read more

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