Is Google+ Useful?

Last updated on: July 22, 2011 at 11:57 pm By James F. McGrath

I’ve seen notices on several blogs that people have been signing up for Google Plus. If you are among those who have done so, I would be interested in hearing your impressions thus far. Is Google+ useful? Does it look promising compared to Facebook? Is it like an Android tablet when you already have an iPad? What do you like or dislike about it? Read more

The Great Pharyngulation Experiment

Last updated on: July 22, 2011 at 7:34 pm By James F. McGrath

The Urban Dictionary defines the verb “Pharyngulate” as To crash an online poll by publishing its link so that large numbers of blog readers will make their opinions known there, often shifting the results dramatically. The term comes from the name of P. Z. Myers’ popular blog Pharyngula. As someone interested both professionally and personally in the relationship between religion and rationality in general, and the state of popular opinion on matters related to subjects such as religion and science... Read more

Scot McKnight on the Problem with Biblicism

Last updated on: July 22, 2011 at 5:11 pm By James F. McGrath

Scot McKnight shares his thoughts on what is wrong with Biblicism. In essence, his main point is that the plurality of interpretations among Biblicists disproves the Biblicists’ own claims that the Bible is clear, sufficient, and guards those who follow it from error. Read more

Overarching Theme in Romans?

Last updated on: July 22, 2011 at 4:29 pm By James F. McGrath

A former student of mine asked on his blog what readers think the overarching theme of Romans is (with the aim of preparing a series of sermons from Romans on that theme). I suggested God’s inclusiveness and impartiality. What would others suggest? Read more

Call for Submissions for Science Fiction Film and Television: The Battlestar Galactica Phenomenon

Last updated on: July 22, 2011 at 9:32 am By James F. McGrath

Via TheoFantastique (and since also shared at Political Jesus): Science Fiction Film and Television is seeking submissions for a special issue on the Battlestar Galactica phenomenon. Although the rebooted series has received much critical attention, significantly less has been written on other BSG texts. This issue seeks to redress that imbalance. We are interested in articles that consider topics such as * The original Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979) and Galactica 1980 (1980) series in their historical context; * The role of the new series?... Read more

Postdoctoral Fellow in New Testament Exegesis

Last updated on: July 21, 2011 at 11:39 am By James F. McGrath

Via Evangelical Textual Criticism, I learned of this opportunity for recent PhDs in New Testament: Postdoctoral Fellow in New Testament Exegesis at the Department of Theology for a period of two years, beginning per agreement. The Faculty of Theology is the oldest of ten faculties at Uppsala University and encompasses all areas of religious studies at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels (M.A. and PhD): History of Religions, Biblical Studies, Church and Mission Studies, Systematic Theology, Ethics, Psychology of Religion,... Read more

SBL Aramaic Studies Sessions for San Francisco

Last updated on: July 21, 2011 at 11:32 am By James F. McGrath

Chris Brady posted on the finalization of the Aramaic Studies sessions for the Society of Biblical Literature conference in San Francisco in November. I am privileged to be reading what I assume will be the first instance of a paper related to the Mandaic dialect of Aramaic in that section. The title will be “The Satirical Use of Christian Material in the Mandaean Book of John.” Read more

A Challenge to Mythicists

Last updated on: July 21, 2011 at 10:20 am By James F. McGrath

Having recently witnessed a proponent of mythicism repeat the same old untruth about “Biblical historians” using different methods than the rest of the guild of historians, I thought it might be time to invite mythicists to do a little experiment. Pick a figure from ancient history – not Alexander the Great or someone similarly poised to leave tangible evidence behind of his existence from Europe to India, but rather someone that is in important respects more like Jesus in terms... Read more

Mythicism, Miraculous Conceptions and Ancient Historians

Last updated on: July 20, 2011 at 3:41 pm By James F. McGrath

Over in a discussion at Debunking Christianity about mythicism and a recent post of mine, a proponent of mythicism claimed that ancient biographers and historians, unlike the authors of the Gospels, were not prone to include legends about such matters as miraculous conceptions. Although at that point we were talking about Socrates, in fact we have a miraculous conception attributed to Plato within a short period after his death, if not indeed earlier. The story is attributed to Speusippus, Plato’s... Read more

Changing Literacy and Reading Habits around the Blogosphere

Last updated on: July 20, 2011 at 1:26 pm By James F. McGrath

Several posts around the blogosphere relate to changes in literacy and reading from ancient times until today and from today moving into the future. Steve Wiggins has a cleverly-titled post, “A World Without Borders,” which reflects on how we went from being a world with few bookstores to a world with many to a world where many are closing down. Suzanne McCarthy went to hear Larry Hurtado speak about early Christian literacy. I’m including a post at Diglotting about the... Read more