Weekly Highlights (3.15.2013)

Here are a few blogs/news stories that caught my attention this week:

• In addition to the excellent videos of lectures on Revelation by David deSilva a couple weeks ago, Matthew Montonini has posted a series of clips featuring Raymond Brown.

• Todd Bolen at bibleplaces.com seems skeptical about Dan Bahat's recent claim that he knows exactly where Jesus stood when teaching in the Temple as a child. Personally, I think it unlikely that this event in the Gospel of Luke actually happened, but that's another story. 

• David D. Flowers offers a reflection on the life and death of Joshua Casteel, a veteran whose conviction in the nonviolent Way of Jesus led to his filing for conscientious objector status and an honorable discharge from the military. Casteel ultimately developed cancer from his long-term exposure to toxic fumes at Abu Ghraib.

• Peter Rollins thinks that Dawkins, Dennett, and Hitchens might very well be the new wave in theism (with a little help from Paul Tillich).

• Over at Baker Academic's blog, Don Hagner (recent author of The New Testament: A Historical and Theological Introduction) offers ten guidelines for evangelical scholarship.

• Michael J. Gorman gives us a status update on N.T. Wright's forthcoming "Big Book" on Paul.

• The Cosmic Cathedral's Richard Liantonio reflects on the Prodigal Son and the resurrection of the dead in biblical Greek.

• Joel Watts presents: WORST. BIBLE. EVER.

• Richard Oster's new book, Seven Congregations in a Roman Crucible: A Commentary on Revelation 1–3, is now available on Amazon.

• Brian LePort posted this video of Luke Timothy Johnson lecturing at Candler School of Theology on Jesus's Beatitudes among ancient conversations about happiness. Then, head over to YouTube and watch this brief and semi-related clip featuring Slavoj Žižek, in which the Slovene philosopher claims that what humans really want is not happiness. Plus, he has a funny accent.

• Lerone A. Martin (Eden Theological Seminary, St. Louis) discusses the intersection of social media and prayer over at Union Theological Seminary's New Media Project blog. Are we going too far and making too many concessions when it comes to the use of technology as an aid for worship?

Weekly Highlights (3.8.2013)

Here are a few blogs/news stories that caught my attention this week:

• First—before you do anything else—do yourself a favor and listen to Jon Felton and His Soulmobile performing a live set on Aux Send. Jon is a friend of mine, and his band's unique anarcho-Christian folk vibe is unparalleled. Listen to it, and maybe support the band by purchasing one of their awesome albums.

• Drewe over at Delving Into The Scriptures hosted the Biblical Studies Carnival for the month of February. If you've got some time on your hands, check out all the neat posts he has collected. 

• Check out ASOR's Weekly Archaeology Roundup for this week. Some interesting stories for the history buff.

• Lawrence Schiffmann briefly explains some elements of Qumran Sabbath law. 

• Ethics Daily has had a few good articles this week. Jenny Flannagan offers Four Ways to Eat More Ethically Now, and Brock Ratcliff questions the agenda behind the new History Channel miniseries, The Bible. 

• K.C. Hanson offers a list of 10 books in New Testament studies that influenced him personally. 

• Micah Murray cautions against "thinking biblically."

• Kendall Beachey reflected on the Cosmic Cathedral blog this week about the ethics of WWJD and reading John Howard Yoder's The Politics of Jesus. 

• Anthony Le Donne over at the Jesus Blog questions the sources behind Orson Pratt's justification of Mormon polygamy in 1853 by claiming that Jesus was a polygamist (that is, Pratt claimed Jesus was a polygamist, not Le Donne). See also Le Donne's follow-up post, "Jesus the Polygamist: Part II." 

• Finally, for the philosophers out there, check out Paul Horwich's opinion piece for the New York Times, "Was Wittgenstein Right?" Horwich wonders whether Ludwig Wittgenstein's assessment of the discipline of philosophy as useless and self-contradictory was in fact correct.

Weekly Highlights (3.1.2013)

Here are a few blogs/news stories that caught my attention this week:

• Joel Watts answers the question, "Who killed Jesus?" Hint: it wasn't the butler.

• Matthew Montonini has posted a collection of lecture videos featuring David deSilva speaking on the Apocalypse of John. 

• Rod Decker has compiled this really nifty bibliography for beginning Greek students, taking into consideration first-year newbies through seasoned third-year learners.

• Larry Hurtado asks how the Gospel of Mark survived, rather than being swallowed up in newer traditions.

• You've heard of the Markan Sandwhich? John Byron reports on the presence of intercalating life/death stories in the book of Genesis, also known as—you guessed it—the Genesis Death Sandwhich.

• Deane Galbraith gives a tip of the hat to a recent master's student thesis observing the presence of David and Goliath narrative elements in U.S. reports of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

• Clearly not satisfied with just one big question, Joel Watts returns to ask, "Should you read the Bible from cover to cover?" He's a heathen United Methodist, so I'll bet the answer is "No."

• In honor of Black History Month, John Byron highlights Lemuel Haynes, the first African American bible scholar.

• Zach Hoag analyzes the similarities and differences between the Neo-reformists and the Neo-anabaptists in "Nuancing the Neos."

• Jim Rice offers up a good post about social media, prayer and the Anabaptist tradition as part of Union Theological Seminary's recent "New Media Project." Their website is definitely worth checking out.

Weekly Highlights (2.21.13)

Here are a few blogs/news stories that caught my attention this week:

• Bill O'Reilly will be releasing a book this September on the execution of Jesus. A good time will be had by all, I'm sure (HT The Jesus Blog).

• Over at Near Emmaus, Brian LePort considers the pros and cons of BWS (Blogging While Student...ing). 

• Apparently, Pope Benedict said something really interesting almost 45 years ago (HT Unsettled Christianity).

• In a couple posts that are sure to ruffle more than a few armchair theologians' feathers, Thomas Rauchenstein questions whether a divine Jesus could have false beliefs. (See also his follow-up to the original post).

• Phillip J. Long wonders why Herod Agrippa had James killed. While you're at it, do yourself a favor and check out Long's recent post on the "conversion" of Peter and the receiving of the Holy Spirit by Gentiles.

• Rod Decker points out the peculiarity of the phrase, "first of all," in the Greek text of Mark, and then discusses the problem of selective hermeneutical scripture-twisting.

• On his blog Experimental Theology, Richard Beck has posted an intriguing read on "Kingdom A/Theism," as a followup to his post on "Christian A/Theism" a couple weeks ago.

• J. Michael Strachan, a fellow new contributor to Near Emmaus, reflects on the three necessary components of New Testament interpretation.

• Finally, on a lighter note, Charlie Brown's sister Sally wonders aloud whether life has any meaning.