See What Dilettantism Hath Wrought

It’s just simply fascinating to see what so called ‘amateurs’ do to the biblical text. Even though ‘amateur’ means ‘love’ when such a person distorts, twists, manipulates, and decontextualizes the texts at hand they show themselves to be anything but ‘lovers’ of the Bible.

Yet another dilettante has recently opined that the narrative about Moses proves he was a drug user. AFP reports

High on Mount Sinai, Moses was on psychedelic drugs when he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments, an Israeli researcher claimed in a study published this week. Such mind-altering substances formed an integral part of the religious rites of Israelites in biblical times, Benny Shanon, a professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem wrote in the Time and Mind journal of philosophy. “As far Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don’t believe, or a legend, which I don’t believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics,” Shanon told Israeli public radio on Tuesday.

What an idiot. They must pass out Professorships like crack in the hood these days.

Exciting Days Ahead…

And by days I mean Friday through Sunday of this week.  Further, the excitement in mind is the Southeastern regional meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature.  It’s always a lot of fun- I always come home with some new stuff to read- and I always have a good time catching up with old friends.  I’ll be hauling along the laptop and the camera so I’ll blog as I have the chance (unless, heaven forbid- the hotel web server dies).

And speaking of the SBL- the latest Forum is up and includes, for some ghastly reason, an essay singing the praises of Wiki.  It’s madness I know, which is why I’m not providing a link.  Were I to do so the world would lose all meaning, the earth would cease spinning, and total depravity would be proven a lie.

Ferrell Jenkins: Biblioblogger Extraordinaire

Much to my dismay I didn’t become familiar with Ferrell’s work until recently.  He runs an awesome blog and a couple of awesome resources pages which are worth your checking out.  I’m adding him to the blogroll here and at biblioblogs.com.  Take a look and enjoy!  He’s got loads of cool stuff to say and see.

Work on the Temple Mount Has Been Halted

The Jerusalem Post reports

Jerusalem Police on Tuesday stopped Islamic officials from carrying out unauthorized construction work on the Temple Mount, police said.

This construction has been a bone of contention since it began. The Post report continues

Independent Israeli archeologists have long charged Islamic officials with destruction of antiquities at the bitterly-contested holy site, and blamed the Israeli Government and Israel’s state-run archeological body for turning a blind eye to the action due to the political sensitivities involved. Antiquities Authority spokeswoman Yoli Shwartz said Tuesday that the police had alerted the Antiquities Authority about the issue, and that it would be “examined” in the coming days.

Read the whole.

Faith, Politics, and A New Book by David Gushee

David Gushee has published a new book with Baylor U. Press which has made something of a splash on the American political scene. The Future of Faith in American Politics landed on my desk last week (thanks to the good folk at B.U.P.) for review. The publisher’s blurb maintains that

David Gushee argues convincingly that there is in U.S. politics an “evangelical center” of voters who do not identify with the politics and religion of either the right or the left. Although evangelical Christians are portrayed by the media as conservatives, Gushee claims that the evangelical movement includes nearly even numbers of voters on the right, in the center, and on the left of the political spectrum. He provides portraits of the major figures in each of the three camps, outlines the core convictions of the adherents, and analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of each group’s positions. He suggests that the evangelical center is poised for growth; this book could be its manifesto.

We shall see in due course. The review is here in pdf.

On Trial For Murder: The Death Penalty Looms

The murderers of Channon Christopher and Christopher Newsom will face the death penalty when their cases finally make it to trial. The case received national attention because of the brutality involved. The two college kids (who happened to be white) were on a date and endured a car jacking, kidnapping, torture, sexual abuse, murder and dismemberment by the creatures (who happened to be black) facing execution. [And by the way, you can read the details of the crime here. But be warned, it's not for the squeamish. I think you'll agree with my assessment below once you read the facts of the case for yourself.]

There’s been a lot of debate here locally as to whether or not it was a hate crime. But of course it was! Those animals who so brutalized their victims hated them- hated their skin or their affluence or their privilege or their faces or something or they wouldn’t have killed them. Had they simply wished to steal their car they could have left them on the side of the road and gone off. But, moved by hate, they did the unthinkable.

In general I’m not a fan of the death penalty. There are, though, cases where it most certainly should be made use of. First, when the victim of a heinous crime (whether it be sexual molestation or abuse or murder) is a child. Child murderers and abusers should be executed no questions asked. Second, persons who perpetrate the sort of crime which occurred against Channon and Chris should be executed. Persons who behave in that way are beyond redemption. Their lives in prison will be a walk in the park compared to what their victims and their victims families have and will always endure. They aren’t worthy of being kept up on the state dime. Society is best served by being utterly relieved of the existence of such creatures.

If, though, redemption is a possibility for them- that’s between them and God. Send them on straightaway to meet him and let him deal with them as he sees fit. Cobbins, Coleman, Davidson and Thomas deserve to die at the hands of the State. Right away.

I Agree: Richard Land Must Go

Richard Land, if you don’t know him, is the head of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. And at a meeting in January he reportedly

… referred to Democratic Senator Charles Schumer as “the schmuck from New York.”

This can’t be allowed to stand. This sort of anti-Semitic idiocy doesn’t represent Southern Baptists and Land must resign or be removed from office.

I agree with the editors of Ethics Daily. By his behavior Land has proven once and for all that he knows nothing of Ethics and has scant knowledge of the application of religious liberty. I’m going to write the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and urge them to remove Land. I hope everyone else does as well. And you can. Fill out their ‘contact‘ form and let them know what you think of what Land has said. And demand his removal.

The Historical JS Bach

Now we know what JS looked like, according to researchers who have reconstructed his appearance using the latest computer technology. That at least is what we are led to believe by this report in the Guardian.

Using medical files, a death mask and the latest technology, scientists have created the ‘true face’ of the great composer. Kate Connolly catches up with the father of fugue in Berlin.

But the Guardian doesn’t show it.  You have to go here to see it.  I don’t like it.  I like the standard old portrait better.  The new image makes him look like a serial killer or lawyer.  6 of 1, half a dozen of the other I suppose.