Entries from March 2008

March 26, 2008

Clinton confirms she’s going to Messiah College

I mentioned the Compassion Forum the other day, when we knew the invitations were being considered, but Hillary Clinton has made it explicit: she’s going to participate in the forum at my alma mater (HT: Beliefnet [the article is kind of a watered down version of the press release]). I don’t think this will be [...]

March 24, 2008

Top 10 List: Scholars I Wish Had Blogs

Nick had a good idea for a list, so I’m going to offer my list of scholars (dead* & alive) that I wish had blogs:

Scott Bartchy [of course]
John Howard Yoder*
Dynamic Dual Blog: Adela Yarbro Collins & John J. Collins
Thomas Yoder Neufeld [I just had lunch with him today, so I might be biased, but I [...]

March 24, 2008

Chris Heard is stirring up trouble…

I can’t tell if it’s an exposé of Jim West or Andrew Keen, but it’s a very interesting post nonetheless.
Update (Same Day): The trouble continues. You can find Jim West’s announcement of Chris Heard’s Biblical Studies list removal here (if you’re on the list).

March 23, 2008

If you thought Rev. Wright was bad…

Signe Wilkinson / Philadelphia Daily News
HT: LA Times

March 19, 2008

Do students know too much about their profs?

That is, from online sources like blogs, RateMyProfessors.com, and Facebook? Here’s an article of interest in the NY Times: “The Professor as Open Book” by Stephanie Rosenbloom. Here’s the beginning bit:
It is not necessary for a student studying multivariable calculus, medieval literature or Roman archaeology to know that the professor behind the podium shoots pool, [...]

March 19, 2008

Black in Academe

Since Barack Obama’s refreshingly frank speech yesterday on the complexities of the black experience in America, I have seen some wonderful reflections on its implications–including NPR stories discussing black liberation theology (you know when the mainstream media is talking about James Cone, something interesting is happening) and sharing an interview with a bunch of older [...]

March 18, 2008

Two Different Ways the Bible Looks at the “End”

I have just been reading the Paul Hanson’s section in the ABD article on “Apocalypses and Apocalypticism.” I came across a distinction between two types of biblical eschatology that seems helpful. Eschatology is the study of what will happen at the end of time. The Bible sees the end of time as a dramatic [...]

March 17, 2008

Bible Talk: Wall-Pissing and Big Brother

So, a couple people already commented on this video by Pastor Steven Anderson (Faithful Word Baptist Church, Tempe, Arizona). It’s so crazy, it’s hilarious. See posts about it by Tyler Williams, Loren Rosson, Paul Martin, and others.
Here are some of my favorite lines:
And God said a man is someone who pisses against a wall. . [...]

March 17, 2008

My Anabaptist Alma Mater To Host Presidential Candidates

This is something else. Messiah College, my undergraduate alma mater located near Harrisburg, Pa., is going to be hosting the “Compassion Forum” in the evening of April 13th (nine days before the Pennsylvania primary). Invited are Obama, Clinton, and McCain for a conversation on important moral issues that bridge the partisan divide. Check out [...]

March 12, 2008

I’m goin’ to UCLA!

I am pleased to report that I have been offered admission into the Ph.D. program in UCLA’s Department of History, to work under Scott Bartchy, and I have accepted the offer! The specialty is technically called “History of Religions,” but I will mostly be concentrating on Christian origins (especially the New Testament, but also beyond). [...]