{"id":1187,"date":"2011-08-08T20:01:27","date_gmt":"2011-08-09T04:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/exploringourmatrix\/?p=1171"},"modified":"2011-08-08T20:01:27","modified_gmt":"2011-08-09T04:01:27","slug":"reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html","title":{"rendered":"Reasons to Buy Religion and Science Fiction: &#8220;Spoilers&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><figure id=\"attachment_1172\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1172\" style=\"width: 485px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-1172\" href=\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/exploringourmatrix\/2011\/08\/09\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers\/river-song-reads-rasf\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1172   \" src=\"https:\/\/wp.patheos.com\/community\/exploringourmatrix\/files\/2011\/08\/River-Song-Reads-RASF-300x166.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"485\" height=\"270\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1172\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Let's see, where's the section with advice for a time traveler accompanied by her mother (who hasn't given birth to her yet) and her boyfriend (who doesn't know they will be romantically involved yet, or that his companion is her mother)?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>Sure, River Song\u2019s diary has \u201cspoilers\u201d about the Doctor\u2019s future. But reading <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/exploringourmatrix\/2011\/08\/02\/religion-and-science-fiction-a-special-offer-for-readers-of-exploring-our-matrix\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">Religion and Science Fiction<\/a><\/em> will clue you in to more about what\u2019s coming in your favorite science fiction show. Sci-fi, like all genres, thrives on doing creative things that explore big questions and topics that are of perennial interest. And so if you want to try to figure out what is coming on a show, when even the writers may not know yet, then there is no better approach than to read about the history of science fiction and the big questions that it has tackled in the past. They are bound to come up again.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/doctorwho\/dw\/news\/bulletin_110804_01\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Fans of Doctor Who will already know, but the show returns this month<\/a>, with <a href=\"http:\/\/io9.com\/5828583\/this-weeks-tv-jewel-staite-saves-the-world-learn-to-become-a-superhero-and-celebrate-matt-smiths-doctor\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">some specials scheduled to air on BBC America<\/a> prior to the next new episode we\u2019re all waiting for, \u201cLet\u2019s Kill Hitler.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sure, River Song\u2019s diary has \u201cspoilers\u201d about the Doctor\u2019s future. But reading Religion and Science Fiction will clue you in to more about what\u2019s coming in your favorite science fiction show. Sci-fi, like all genres, thrives on doing creative things that explore big questions and topics that are of perennial interest. And so if you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[133,80,86,1],"tags":[1055,2765,2838,6499,10169,10438,10885,10890,11731,12639],"class_list":["post-1187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-who-science-fiction","category-religion","category-science-fiction","category-uncategorized","tag-bbc","tag-doctor-who","tag-dr-who","tag-lets-kill-hitler","tag-religion","tag-river-song","tag-sci-fi","tag-science-fiction","tag-spoilers","tag-time-travel"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Reasons to Buy Religion and Science Fiction: &quot;Spoilers&quot;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sure, River Song&#039;s diary has &quot;spoilers&quot; about the Doctor&#039;s future. But reading Religion and Science Fiction will clue you in to more about what&#039;s coming\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reasons to Buy Religion and Science Fiction: &quot;Spoilers&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sure, River Song&#039;s diary has &quot;spoilers&quot; about the Doctor&#039;s future. But reading Religion and Science Fiction will clue you in to more about what&#039;s coming\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-08-09T04:01:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com\/community\/exploringourmatrix\/files\/2011\/08\/River-Song-Reads-RASF-300x166.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReligionProf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html\",\"name\":\"Reasons to Buy Religion and Science Fiction: \\\"Spoilers\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-08-09T04:01:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-08-09T04:01:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\"},\"description\":\"Sure, River Song's diary has \\\"spoilers\\\" about the Doctor's future. But reading Religion and Science Fiction will clue you in to more about what's coming\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Reasons to Buy Religion and Science Fiction: &#8220;Spoilers&#8221;\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/\",\"name\":\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\",\"description\":\"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\",\"name\":\"James F. McGrath\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James F. McGrath\"},\"description\":\"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Reasons to Buy Religion and Science Fiction: \"Spoilers\"","description":"Sure, River Song's diary has \"spoilers\" about the Doctor's future. But reading Religion and Science Fiction will clue you in to more about what's coming","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Reasons to Buy Religion and Science Fiction: \"Spoilers\"","og_description":"Sure, River Song's diary has \"spoilers\" about the Doctor's future. But reading Religion and Science Fiction will clue you in to more about what's coming","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html","og_site_name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","article_published_time":"2011-08-09T04:01:27+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com\/community\/exploringourmatrix\/files\/2011\/08\/River-Song-Reads-RASF-300x166.jpg"}],"author":"James F. McGrath","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionProf","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James F. McGrath","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html","name":"Reasons to Buy Religion and Science Fiction: \"Spoilers\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-08-09T04:01:27+00:00","dateModified":"2011-08-09T04:01:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf"},"description":"Sure, River Song's diary has \"spoilers\" about the Doctor's future. But reading Religion and Science Fiction will clue you in to more about what's coming","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2011\/08\/reasons-to-buy-religion-and-science-fiction-spoilers.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reasons to Buy Religion and Science Fiction: &#8220;Spoilers&#8221;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/","name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","description":"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf","name":"James F. McGrath","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"James F. McGrath"},"description":"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.","sameAs":["https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}