There’s been a lot of talk online about how the advent of COVID-19 is an act of God specifically aimed at judging wicked people. While there’s no passage of Scripture that refers to the coronavirus (really … there isn’t), there is an interesting passage in the gospels...
culture
Saving Ancient Manuscripts from ISIS
Over on the Evangelical Textual Criticism blog, Peter Gurry directs our attention to a 60 Minutes segment on the textual tragedy that accompanies the human tragedy caused by ISIS.
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 195: Is Christmas a Pagan Holiday?
There is much discussion online at this time of year as to the presumed pagan origins of Christmas. December 25, we are told, was a date stolen from pagan worship, specifically from the festival of the “Birth of the Unconquered Sun” (Sol Invictus)? Should Christians...
Mike Heiser on Reddit “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) Session Tomorrow
I’ll be on Reddit tomorrow at 12:30pm Pacific time for an AMA – “Ask Me Anything” – session. I’ve never been on Reddit before, so I can’t tell you much. This is a first for me. I’ve been told I’ll be for 1.5-2 hrs...
Why You Don’t Learn Much Bible in Church
Just a heads up — this is another Naked Bible rant. Short answer: It’s by design. For the longer answer, keep reading. I came across a troubling, but completely predictable, article today by Mark Galli, an editor at Christianity Today, entitled...
Ancient Astronauts and Comic Books
Jason Colavito has an informative post on the “big-business-factual-data-be-damned” approach of Ancient Aliens. The early section of his post notes connections between ancient astronaut theory and pop-culture, specifically with respect to Marvel comics....
UFO Propaganda in Movies and TV Shows: Robbie Graham Interview
Jack Brewer of the excellent blog, The UFO Trail, recently interviewed Robbie Graham, who blogs at the fascinating Silver Screen Saucers. The thrust of the interview is that motion pictures and television have far greater potential to influence beliefs about UFOs and...
Something Different: Wayfarer
Something different indeed. I don’t usually blog about anything but biblical studies here, but I’m making an exception for Wayfarer , a band in Seattle about which I just learned a couple weeks ago. I was contacted by Dan Koch, the leader of the band,...
X-Box PaleoBabble: The Book of Enoch as a Video Game
Someone sent me this link today, knowing I’ve spent a good deal of time studying 1 Enoch. The book of 1 Enoch is now the basis for an impending X-Box video game (there is a sample trailer at the link – Japanese version). Check it out. What I saw looks...
Checking Your Brain in at the Church Door
This post is laced with sarcasm, but it’s (apparently) backed up by research. Brain Shuts Off in Response to Faith Healer’s Prayer .The first paragraph: WHEN we fall under the spell of a charismatic figure, areas of the brain responsible for scepticism and...
Apologetics and the Dead Sea Scrolls
I have to say I can identify with this post , though I’d skip the scatological language in his assessment. Still, it sums up the typical “interest trajectory” you’ll see with the scrolls. By the way, if you want to be exposed to the worst (most...
Another Great Moment in Pulpit PaleoBabble
Just when you think preaching can’t get any more insipid, you find yet another logic-defying sermon out there on the web. “Thanks” to the person who sent this to me. Some surface observations on the problems with this “Bible lesson”: 1....
ET Life Bigger than Jesus?
That is the gist of this blog post from Greg Bishop. Follow the link to his post, which leads to a news article about how more people in the UK say they believe in ETs / aliens and “the supernatural” than God. This isn’t news to anyone who follows...