On the Early Jewish Monotheism blog today, the program for the sessions on monotheism in Biblical studies for the International SBL meeting in London this summer were announced. Looking at the line-up of presenters and paper topics, I’m tempted to ask for an extension on an article on monotheism that I am scheduled to have finished early in the summer, since the session in London is certain to provide so much food for thought and so many interesting and divergent perspectives. Monotheism... Read more

Roland Boer posted mention today of a conference to be held in Baia Mare, Romania. The theme is “From Francis Bacon to William Golding: Utopias and Dystopias of Today and of Yore” and the conference will be held October 20-23, 2011. Read more

Inspired by ProfHacker, I tried using Google Docs for collective note-taking in a recent class. It quickly became clear that this was not simply a means to work together in recording important points, but a means to interact with one another in the risk-free manner that this generation has grown accustomed to: anonymously. As the classroom became quiet as they interacted with their iPad screens rather than verbally with one another, I had a sense of impending doom. But some students seem... Read more

In a previous post I mentioned that Butler University has a new unified messaging system that sends voice mail via e-mail, as well as allowing you to check your e-mail by phone. In that post I mentioned it telling someone “You have an e-mail from Jesus.” In a voice mail message I left for someone today, I later learned that it turned part of it into the text below (in which, ironically, I said that I wondered what the unified... Read more

I just watched the movie 2081, based much more faithfully on Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron” than the movie actually named Harrison Bergeron. I still like the earlier movie better. It may be partly because I saw it first. But I think my preference is also because the movie developed further the technological details, the political and social aspects of the story, and the issues it raises, in a full-length feature film. We’ll be discussing the original story as well as... Read more

The National Center for Science Education and the Texas Freedom Network have highlighted new legislation proposed by Bill Zedler to protect those who advocate and discuss Intelligent Design in science classrooms in Texas from “discrimination.” I think the proposed legislation doesn’t go nearly far enough. All pseudoscience should get similar protection under law, and this makes writing the legislation that much simpler. I propose the following: No “scientist” shall be subjected to persecution or mockery (including, but not limited to, the... Read more

I’m not sure how many readers I have who are likely to be interested in this sort of thing. But I learned from Eric Whitacre’s blog that Abbey Road Studio is having an anthem composition competition. The deadline is July 15th. The prize is having your anthem recorded! Read more

Academic journals may be slow in moving to open access, but at least they seem to be moving in the direction of embracing and utilizing current technology. New Testament Studies, for instance, has a widget that you can add to your blog, Facebook, and other sites. if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget(‘617c5ab3-85ad-4832-a731-77495dab8f45’);Get the Cambridge Journals Online widget NTS widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info) It’s a start…but I’ll still have to stop by a... Read more

Joseph Hoffmann posted on his blog today about the relationship between historical investigation and religious belief. Taking its starting point as Van Harvey’s classic book, the post offers an interesting discussion of a number of points, including the role of presuppositions and the use that religious apologists sometimes make of that point. Read more

Via The Sacred Page, here’s a video about the way people speak today. IO9 has a music video about a man who dumps his girlfriend because she doesn’t like Firefly. Arni Zachariassen wants the VelociPastor movie to evolve from spoof to reality. And finally, a more serious video via Doug Chaplin, about the way technology is changing our lives. Or as one title of the series puts it, “Shift Happens.” Read more