I was excited to see this science fiction writing contest. The closest I have to a story that would fit is already too long and so I don’t anticipate entering, even though the story addresses the very question of who land – or a planet – belongs to, and how if at all it relates to a group having been there first or been in closer proximity to the territory for longer. I’m tempted to try to write something new... Read more
The CUNY Games Network (City University of New York) invites all involved in higher education pedagogy — faculty, administrators, graduate students, undergraduates, and game designers — to submit a talk or posters on the theory and practice of play and games, including interactive classroom learning activities. We also welcome game demos and playtesting that focus on higher education. See the bottom of this page to submit your proposal. In your submission, you will be asked to choose from the following... Read more
One question in particular has grabbed my attention in this story: how did Jesus know that the woman had given all she had? Was he simply guessing, or was he using someone as an illustration whose story he knew? As with so many other stories in the Gospels that I explore in this book, this one raises a question for the reader that we who read too often fail to ask. Did Jesus not teach these things before? Was this... Read more
I debated what to call this post. “No silver bullet when it comes to gun control” was one of the ideas. Either way, I had the thought occur to me that there might be an alternative to the current focus on gun control. My first thought was that the Constitution says nothing about a right to bullets, much less bullets of a particular type. And so it might be constitutional to allow relatively free access to guns but have strict... Read more
Here’s what I wrote in a comment responding to some of the further discussion that has been taking place on the website of The Bible and Interpretation, which published an article by Raphael Lataster, my response to him, and his further response to me. I think my biggest problem with the discussion from mythicist perspectives, here and elsewhere, is the inability or unwillingness to discuss at the level of very minute details and specifics. If one paints with a broad brush,... Read more
I’m wondering whether it will be helpful or counterproductive to have students in my course on China this semester think about what Confucius advocated – accuracy of description, ritual and decorum, reciprocity, and so on – and relate that to the internet age. Some discussion forums insist on ritual and impose linguistic restrictions. We’ve had the odd experience here at Patheos of having Disqus impose restrictions on keywords like Islam (this is a religion site for crying out loud) and... Read more
As I have been gearing up to teach Global and Historical Studies courses again (China and the Islamic Middle East this semester and South Asian Civilizations the next), I’ve been reminded of the alleged Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” It was mentioned in an audiobook I was listening to about Confucius. It turns out that the saying is yet another apocryphal one that cannot be traced back to its supposed original source or context. But it is... Read more
I wasn’t sure what to call this post. A number of jokes come to mind. It isn’t every day, even for a religion professor, when a colleague comes up to you saying that they need help finding a demon! Now, to be clear, this individual is interested in finding out about a name for and ancient ideas about a demon, rather than conjuring the demon up. At least, that is what they have said to me. What one does with... Read more
One of my favorite things that I learned from teaching a Global and Historical Studies course about China is from the Daoist sage Chuang Tzu. He highlights how a person can be incredibly skilled, and yet if they enter a competition and there is a prize at stake, suddenly their competency is diminished. When we focus on a prize, it divides our attention. Here is what he wrote in his own words: When an archer is shooting for nothing, he... Read more
I know, I know. The title of the piece was “Using Star Trek to Teach Rabbinics.” How could it have taken me so many weeks to get around to blogging about it? In my defense, I was traveling when the piece appeared and I knew I should mention it here on my blog rather than merely circulating it on social media. Rebecca Kamholz writes: What I finally realized was that there is a genre familiar to us in modern life... Read more
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