{"id":1905,"date":"2009-11-27T15:53:00","date_gmt":"2009-11-27T15:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course\/"},"modified":"2009-11-27T15:53:00","modified_gmt":"2009-11-27T15:53:00","slug":"the-omega-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.html","title":{"rendered":"The Omega Course"},"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><div><a href=\"https:\/\/bham.academia.edu\/media\/Helen.Ingram_Bham.17131.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/bham.academia.edu\/media\/Helen.Ingram_Bham.17131.jpg\"><\/a> \n<div>I\u2019d like to update my readers on <a href=\"http:\/\/theomegacourse.blogspot.com\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Omega Course<\/a>, a <em>fictional <\/em>blog narrative which takes the form of a first-person \u201cdiary\u201d blog. It is testimony to the realism of the story told by its author, <a href=\"http:\/\/bham.academia.edu\/HelenIngram\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">Helen Ingram<\/a>, that I found myself <a href=\"http:\/\/exploringourmatrix.blogspot.com\/2009\/11\/urgent-suicide-note.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">extremely worried<\/a> after the <a href=\"http:\/\/theomegacourse.blogspot.com\/2009\/11\/lama-sabachthani.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">final entry<\/a>, in which the main character expressed her plan to follow a (potentially) suicidal course of action. <\/div>\n<div> <\/div>\n<div>For those who may not have encountered this blog before, Helen is an academic, whose research is on Jesus as \u201cmagician,\u201d and this theme is one that her blog explores in a variety interesting ways, and with a realism that made at least one reader worry that the main character\u2019s proposed actions might in some way be indicative of something beyond the fictional narrative!<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div>I apologize for any panic I may have caused (although I hope I\u2019d panic again if I found myself in a similar situation in which it was unclear whether a fictional blog reflected a real-life cry for help). I hope that the positive effects of all this will be twofold \u2013 first, that the expressions of concern will provide indication that bloggers care about one another\u2019s real-life well being; and second, that readers of this blog will have had their interest sparked and will read <em><a href=\"http:\/\/theomegacourse.blogspot.com\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Omega Course<\/a><\/em>!<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_BtqUSG7RCA0\/SxA4V5sKupI\/AAAAAAAAAhk\/iRm6K-KMhNg\/s400\/omegacourse.jpg\"><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"blogger-post-footer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/7622297540113836091-1842580238357503645?l=exploringourmatrix.blogspot.com\" alt=\"\"><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019d like to update my readers on The Omega Course, a fictional blog narrative which takes the form of a first-person \u201cdiary\u201d blog. It is testimony to the realism of the story told by its author, Helen Ingram, that I found myself extremely worried after the final entry, in which the main character expressed her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Omega Course<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I&#039;d like to update my readers on The Omega Course, a fictional blog narrative which takes the form of a first-person &quot;diary&quot; blog. It is testimony to the\" \/>\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\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Omega Course\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I&#039;d like to update my readers on The Omega Course, a fictional blog narrative which takes the form of a first-person &quot;diary&quot; blog. It is testimony to the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.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=\"2009-11-27T15:53:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/bham.academia.edu\/media\/Helen.Ingram_Bham.17131.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\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.html\",\"name\":\"The Omega Course\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-11-27T15:53:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-11-27T15:53:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\"},\"description\":\"I'd like to update my readers on The Omega Course, a fictional blog narrative which takes the form of a first-person \\\"diary\\\" blog. It is testimony to the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Omega Course\"}]},{\"@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":"The Omega Course","description":"I'd like to update my readers on The Omega Course, a fictional blog narrative which takes the form of a first-person \"diary\" blog. It is testimony to the","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\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Omega Course","og_description":"I'd like to update my readers on The Omega Course, a fictional blog narrative which takes the form of a first-person \"diary\" blog. It is testimony to the","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.html","og_site_name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","article_published_time":"2009-11-27T15:53:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/bham.academia.edu\/media\/Helen.Ingram_Bham.17131.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\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.html","name":"The Omega Course","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-11-27T15:53:00+00:00","dateModified":"2009-11-27T15:53:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf"},"description":"I'd like to update my readers on The Omega Course, a fictional blog narrative which takes the form of a first-person \"diary\" blog. It is testimony to the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/11\/the-omega-course.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Omega Course"}]},{"@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\/1905","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=1905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1905\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}