Tim Bulkeley is looking for humor everywhere in the Bible, and is stuck the same place that I got stuck the first time I tried to read the Bible from start to finish as a teenager: Chronicles. Is there humor in Chronicles? The best I could come up with is the rendering of 2 Chronicles 7:22 in The Message: “And Israel will be nothing but a bad joke among the peoples of the world.” So is there humor in Chronicles?... Read more
At BioLogos, the next installment in a series on Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography in the Bible. Troy Britain illustrates that young-earth creationists like Henry Morris don’t only have unpersuasive and dishonest arguments – they aren’t even bothering to update them significantly, so they are the same old unpersuasive and dishonest arguments as well! Click through and see some specific instances of creationist dishonesty, such as using a photo of an organism that is off by some 400 million years so as... Read more
Another great, challenging, provocative cartoon from Naked Pastor: The politically correct term is “altitudinally challenged”… Read more
Two mentions of things to do with the Mandaeans in the blogosphere recently – one exciting, one disappointing. First, today Jim Davila mentioned the Aramaic DNA project, which is seeking to collect DNA data from Aramaic speakers. I had heard about the project from Paul Givargidze, and was and remain excited about the fact that Mandaeans can and are encouraged to participate. (See my article on the Miriai story and Mandaean origins, forthcoming in ARAM Periodical and already available online,... Read more
Those who teach religion and those who study it at university are inevitably familiar with the question, “What can you do with a degree in religion?” I learned last week, at a celebration for Butler University’s departing president Bobby Fong, one answer to that question. Our incoming university president, James M. Danko, majored in religious studies as an undergraduate. He went on to found a company, work in university administration at a variety of levels including currently as the Helen and... Read more
Whatever one’s gut reaction or more thoughtful reflection on the picture below, whatever one’s attraction or repulsion, or how well or poorly one feels that it makes its point or accurately represents the teaching of Jesus, I suspect that there is one thing everyone will agree on: it is a provocative image. HT Matthew Paul Turner Read more
A friend asked me if I knew of a good DVD or computer program providing an overview of the geography of Israel/Palestine. I don’t off hand, but I know who to ask. Any suggestions? Read more
Since someone recently suggested to me that Liberal Protestantism doesn’t really have a message that it can proclaim that will attract converts, I had to share this bit of news: a scientific study suggests that the brains of mainline Protestants rot slower than those of people of other faiths. Unfortunately, I am guessing from the chart that my life-changing religious experience counterbalances the effects of my connection with mainline Protestantism. Read more
A commenter a while back asked if I knew why Karl Giberson was leaving BioLogos. A new post at BioLogos answers the question: he’s leaving to have more time to write. Read more
At the blog Near Emmaus, Simon Gathercole’s interpretation of Synoptic Christology, and in particular his argument regarding the “I have come” + purpose sayings, are getting discussed. (See too the earlier discussion of Synoptic Christology at Near Emmaus, and the subsequent posts by Michael Bird and Allan Bevere). My own view, akin to that expressed by Andrew Perriman in a recent post on this subject, is that the Synoptic Gospels depict Jesus as a human being vested with divinely-given authority. They lack any explicit... Read more
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