July 31, 2008 at 9:06 pm (biblical studies)
This was in the July rendering of the SBL Forum
Discussion Lists and Bloggers
ANE-2
A successor to the Ancient Near East Discussion List originally hosted by the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.
Biblical Studies
Discussions and debate on matters of biblical interpretation.
Crosstalk-2
Discussion of the critical questions and issues surrounding the study of the Jesus of History and the rise of Christianity.
Biblical Blogs
* Biblioblogs: An Aggregate of Blogs Geared toward Biblical Studies
* Biblical Studies Carnival is a monthly collection of blogs, hosted by a different “biblioblogger” each month.
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July 31, 2008 at 8:41 pm (Uncategorized)
Mid day because I’ll be at the theater (or theatre for the millions of Brits and Aussies who read here) watching this movie. It looks grand and I’ll doubtless offer a word or two about it once I’ve seen it.
In the Far East, trouble-seeking father-and-son duo Rick and Alex
O’Connell unearth the mummy of the first Emperor of Qin — a
shape-shifting entity who was cursed by a wizard centuries ago.
Awesome! The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
5 Comments
July 31, 2008 at 8:28 pm (biblical studies, biblioblogs)
Say what you want about John Hobbins- he is now forever and unchangeably one of my favorite people in all the world. Why, you ask? Because he’s punctual! He’s posted the 32nd Biblical Studies Carnival and done a rocking job with it. Thankya John.
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July 31, 2008 at 6:22 pm (archaeology)
The Jerusalem Post reports
A seal impression belonging to a minister of the Biblical King Zedekiah which dates back 2,600 years has been uncovered completely intact during an archeological dig in Jerusalem’s ancient City of David, a prominent Israeli archeologist said on Thursday. The seal impression, or bulla, with the name Gedalyahu ben Pashur, who served as minister to King Zedekiah (597-586 BCE) according to the Book of Jeremiah, was found just meters away from a separate seal impression of another of Zedekia’s ministers, Yehukual ben Shelemyahu, which was uncovered three years ago, said Prof. Eilat Mazar who is leading the dig at the site.
As always, Mazar draws a connection where none may exist- with the Bible in one hand and any and every sherd dug from Jerusalem in the other. The Gedaliah of the seal may, or may not, be the same chap who the Bible reports served Zedekiah. And unless it says so directly, there’s no reason to suspect that the fellow mentioned in the Bible was the only chap who ever bore that name. Or, it’s equally possible, isn’t it, that the biblical account is based on historical factlets without itself being ‘historical’.
When such things are discovered, responsible (and not ideologically driven) archaeologists should simply report the facts: ‘A bulla was found with so and so name on it. Thank you.’ Anything more is saying too much. [With thanks to Joseph Lauer for the tip].
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July 31, 2008 at 11:20 am (biblical studies)
The good Bishop has fallen into the dual error of 1) thinking Augustine was right and 2) asserting a thoroughly modern notion of history and superimposing it on the biblical narrative.
The modernist separation of history from theology imposes foreign categories on the biblical text.
Is exactly wrong. 180 degrees so. The modern conjoining of the theological message of the bible with our own attitudes and approaches to history is the perfect example of the mixing of categories. The Bible couldn’t care less about history, per se, than it does. It shows no interest at all in historical questions. None. Anywhere. Not even in the empty tomb. It’s focus is thoroughly theological. If it ’sees’ something of historical interest to us, that is only because our focus is elsewhere and we aren’t seeing through its eyes.
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July 31, 2008 at 10:59 am (humor)
“Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.” - Sumerian, 1900 BCE.
“How do you entertain a bored pharaoh? You sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the Nile and urge the pharaoh to go catch a fish.” - Egyptian, 1600 BCE
“What hangs at a man’s thigh and wants to poke the hole that it’s often poked before? Answer: A key.” - British, 1000 CE.
These and others can be read here. And, ok, so they aren’t even mildly amusing. I guess ‘you had to be there’.
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July 31, 2008 at 10:54 am (current events)
Royal Dutch Shell isn’t suffering from the decline in consumption here in the States because of high prices at the pump.
Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, reported a 33 percent increase in second-quarter profit Thursday, helped by a higher oil price even as production declined. … Shell’s profit rose to $11.56 billion from $8.67 billion in the same period last year. BP reported a 28 percent increase in profit earlier this week, and Italian oil company Eni said Thursday that profit in the second quarter had risen 52 percent, citing a higher oil price. Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s biggest energy company, is due to report earnings later Thursday.
So don’t worry. Big oil will make it by in these troubled times.
UPDATE: More news on the greed front-
Exxon Mobil Corp. reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation, but the results were well short of Wall Street expectations and its shares fell.
Greed- it drives corporate America and it drives Wall Street. Selfishness, self aggrandizement, self perpetuation, and eventually self damnation; that’s what greed is all about.
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July 31, 2008 at 9:47 am (zwingli)
Helvetii non satis sunt concordes. — Huldrych Zwingli
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July 31, 2008 at 7:07 am (biblical studies)
I was invited to join a Facebook group - the NT Wright Appreciation Society. Bah. I’d sooner join the ‘We Hate Zwingli” group.
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July 30, 2008 at 5:56 pm (current events)
Not only do they think walking your cat in public a source of immorality, but they also flog those who have ‘a telephone affair’!
Reuters tells us A Saudi appeals court upheld a jail and flogging verdict against a biochemist and his female student whose research contact was ruled to be a front for a telephone affair that led her to divorce her husband. Khalid Zahrani said Wednesday that he found out this week from the court offices that three judges had approved the verdict. He was sentenced last year to eight months in prison and 600 lashes and his student to four months in prison and 350 lashes for establishing a telephone relationship that the court said led her to divorce her husband.
Oh those crazy Saudis! Small wonder that some of them find it exciting to dash themselves, and others, against a stone. They might have lots of oil over yonder, but the fumes have killed far too many of their brain cells. They are clearly suffering some serious mental illness.
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