I got to see several movies I had been wanting to during my recent flights: The Adjustment Bureau, The Green Hornet, Limitless, I Am Number Four, and The Eagle. There are plenty of things that could be said about most of these films in relation to religion. But I’ll leave it to readers to start discussion about them, if you are so inclined. I’ve included a few links to recent posts about them on other blogs. See too Rod’s recent... Read more
Eldad Keynan, who kindly spent time showing me fascinating historical sites around his native Galilee, has had a book appear. It is in modern Hebrew and available as an e-book. The title (translated) is Tombs of the Righteous. Congratulations Eldad! (I’m not sure how many readers of this blog are fluent enough in Hebrew to be able to read the book, but I wanted to share the link nevertheless. And if there are indeed lots of readers of this blog... Read more
David Hayward does it again… Read more
Several bloggers have noted the appearance of the first issue of a new online journal, Relegere: Studies in Religion and Reception. Any journal that contains an article with the title “Life of Brian or Life of Jesus? Uses of Critical Biblical Scholarship and Non-orthodox Views of Jesus in Monty Python’s Life of Brian” is definitely worth a look, isn’t it? Read more
There is no essence of Christianity. There is only Christianity as it manifests in a given time and place practiced by people who are always already themselves contextually situated. Even things that look like internal reductions — Jesus’ take on the shema, or his invocation of the Golden Rule, or James’ “true religion” of looking after widows and orphans — are set deeply within a particular sociopolitical/religious context, birthed within a particular milieu. Whatever it is that I might find interesting... Read more
Nick Norelli mentioned my name in connection with a discussion of Richard Bauckham’s use of the phrase “divine identity” in relation to early Christology. As I have said before, I do think that Bauckham’s terminology is unhelpfully vague, and until he defines it more clearly it cannot even be assessed in terms of its applicability to the New Testament sources. Is it identity of the sort a family has, including those adopted into it? Is it identity of the sort... Read more
Several bloggers have joined in the discussion about the term “biblioblog” and the question of biblioblog and biblioblogger identity. Peter Kirk chimed in, noting the irony that the top post of the day was my post about the Doctor Who Experience. Doug Chaplin doesn’t care. Chris Brady seems to, slightly. John Loftus thinks it’s all a plot to exclude him. Mark Goodacre notes that biblioblogs.com has become defunct. Tom Verenna asks whether credentials or sci-fi side interests should affect one’s... Read more
Neil Godfrey posted today about Maurice Casey’s treatment of the story of the raising of Jairus’ daughter. Casey very carefully defines what a historian (as opposed to a believer in a religious tradition) can say about an account of a “miracle,” and that the performance of a “remarkable deed” by someone believed to be endowed with special power by, or in close contact with, a deity, is something that historians need not dismiss (Maurice Casey, Jesus of Nazareth, p.239). Indeed, even... Read more
One of the non-conference-related highlights of my recent visit to London was taking my son to the Doctor Who Experience. This post will contain some spoilers which, if you are planning on going, you might want to skip. Then again, I remember thinking as I was waiting in line to go in, and the guide offered a disclaimer warning about strobe lights, artificial smoke and moving floors that, even though I am sure they are required by law to provide... Read more
There have been major struggles for dominance in the biblioblogosphere, as bloggers have sought to attain the coveted #1 rank, and debated and introduced new methods of evaluation – from Alexa rankings to voting. I would like to propose a different method. The queen and king of the biblioblogosphere should not be based on something as ephemeral or untrustworthy as statistics or popular opinion, whether during a particular month or over a longer period. I propose instead that the rank... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In