I am grateful to Eerdmans for having sent me a free review copy of Anthony Le Donne’s book Historical Jesus: What Can We Know and How Can We Know It? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011). The book begins with a foreword by Dale Allison, and that may create an initial expectation, which may be favorable or unfavorable. But Le Donne’s book seems to me to offer something that Allison’s own recent work, as exciting and groundbreaking as some of it has been, fails... Read more

I’m glad that Amused Muse returned to blogging to remind us that William Dembski predicted in 2006 that the demise of evolution is a decade away. Evolution theory on last legs, says seminary teacher By Dylan T. LovanASSOCIATED PRESS LOUISVILLE – To William Dembski, all the debate in this country over evolution won’t matter in a decade.By then, he says, the theory of evolution put forth by Charles Darwin 150 years ago will be dead.The mathematician turned Darwin critic says there... Read more

Good news – a wildcard panel session on religion and science fiction has been approved for this year’s AAR annual meeting. I’ll post more information once the other panelists have confirmed their participation. Read more

A post at Classics Librarian (the post was about online ancient Greek and other language resources) reminded me about the Hathi Trust site, which in turn led me to a free book on Google Books that is of interest to those interested in the history and literature of Iran, or the Mandaeans, or both. For those who may not be familiar with this title, the “Great Book” is another name for the “Great Treasure” (Ginza Rba), the principle sacred text... Read more

If you are looking to sidestep lawsuits and avoid offending others as much as possible, but still want to engage in public prayer, Jim Linville has just what you need: a generic prayer, designed to cover pretty much every possible religious viewpoint. Take a look and have a good laugh! Read more

Steve Caruso takes a close look at the script on the lead codices. Poorly copied by someone who doesn’t know the language/script in question seems to be the appropriate verdict, which is unsurprisingly much the same as the verdict on Elkington’s bronze plates. Dan McClellan offers a careful analysis of the writing on both sets of plates, as well as a round up of other posts on the subject. Paul Barford highlights the Jordanian authorities’ view of the matter. Will... Read more

Tom Verenna has a roundup of photos for comparison as well as links. Dan McClellan has some new photos and thoughts too. Joel Watts shares more information on one of the names connected with the codices, Robert Feather. Even as we struggle to get the word out, others are reporting these finds with all the sensationalism the media has offered, and more. I suspect that behind this whole thing there is someone who almost cracked the alchemist’s dream – he... Read more

Neil Godfrey has kindly posted an interview with Earl Doherty and then Doherty’s response to a question from Evan, who also frequently comments here at Exploring Our Matrix. The question relates to whether and why Doherty accepts the existence of a historical Paul, but not a historical Jesus. It is a fantastic question. If mythicism emerges out of a principled stance that literary documents alone, or in particular literary documents all from a particular religious tradition, cannot serve as historical... Read more

I think this picture, which Arni Zachariassen shared, is supposed to illustrate the difficulty of choosing between universalism and the sort of particularism that believes that anyone who is not a Christian (however that is defined) goes to hell. I wonder whether the unattractiveness of both options ought not to provide encouragement to explore other options, such as annihilationism. Surely ceasing to exist would be better than either spending eternity with Hitler, or eternity knowing that people like Gandhi are... Read more

Jim Linville will be hosting next month’s Biblical Studies Carnival, and he is already soliciting not only submissions, but votes on what the theme should be. Place your vote! Read more