Esteban Isn’t Dead

Or so it seems.  Unless he set the timestamp of his latest posting pre-mortem.  I’m glad he isn’t dead but I really wish he would post more than once a month.  As it is, if he doesn’t post I remove him from the list (as pointing you good people to blogs with stale and old content is as polite as giving you rancid bread for dinner).  Stop being rancid bread, Estee.  There’s already too much mold encrusted biblioblogging.

An Observation…

John 4:23 offers the only saying in the New Testament where God is said to be looking for something, ’seeking’ something.  What is it?

ἀλλὰ ἔρχεται ὥρα καὶ νῦν ἐστιν, ὅτε οἱ ἀληθινοὶ προσκυνηταὶ προσκυνήσουσιν τῷ πατρὶ ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ· καὶ γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ τοιούτους ζητεῖ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας αὐτόν.

Worshipers.

Fight the ‘Freedom of Choice Act’

The Freedom of Choice Act seeks to

• do away with state laws on parental involvement, on partial birth abortion, and on all other protections.
• compel taxpayer funding of abortions.
• force faith-based hospitals and healthcare facilities to perform abortions.

Go now, and sign the petition opposing this pending legislation. It’s your moral obligation. The time has passed for silence.

Regional Meetings of the ‘New Baptist Covenant’

Ethics Daily reports

Announcements have been made for meetings in Birmingham, Ala., in January, Kansas City, Mo., in April, and Norman, Okla., in August. Other regional gatherings will likely be held. The planners for each event include a diverse group of leaders from several different Baptist denominations. A one-day event will be held on Jan. 31, 2009, in Birmingham at the 16th Street Baptist Church and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The 16th Street Baptist Church was the site of a 1963 bombing that killed four girls and galvanized the civil rights movement. One primary goal of the upcoming event will be to unite Baptists across racial lines.

Read the whole report to see details of all the regional gatherings.

Poor Hector, Slaughtered Again, And Other Reviews…

Be sure to read Ulrich Koertner’s dismantling of Avalos in the first listed review from this week’s RBL.

Hector Avalos- The End of Biblical Studies, Reviewed by Ulrich H. J. Körtner

Another review of interest is

Brad E. Kelle and Megan Bishop Moore- Israel’s Prophets and Israel’s Past: Essays on the Relationship of Prophetic Texts and Israelite History in Honor of John H. Hayes, Reviewed by Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

Forthcoming Volumes Reminder

John Barton and Francesca Stavrokopoulou, eds.- Religious Diversity in Ancient Israel and Judah

Maurice Casey- The Life of the Historical Jesus

Roland Boer- Political Grace: The Revolutionary Theology of John Calvin

Eric Cline- Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction

John Rogerson- In Search of Philip R. Davies

James Crossley- Jesus in an Age of Terror

James Crossley, ed. Judaism, Jewish Identities and the Gospel Tradition: Essays in Honour of Maurice Casey

Philip Davies- In Search of Ancient Judaism

John P. Meier- A Marginal Jew: Volume 4

John P. Meier- A Marginal Jew: Volume 5

Please note that Eric Cline’s volume is now pre-order-able.

What Video Games Do To You…

If you play violent video games, you become more aggressive.  That, at least, according to Reuters.  If that’s the case then

if you play soccer on video, you become a better soccer player in real life.

if you play ‘dress up Barbie‘, you become a famous fashion designer (or a poofter, if you’re a male).

World of Warcraft, you become a wizard.

Dungeons and Dragons, you become a troll.

Madden’s NFL 2008, you become a world class quarterback.

Computer Monopoly, you become the next Donald Trump.

Tomb Raider, you become Angelina Jolie (and have to be married to Brad Pitt and have 35 adopted children from the far flung corners of the world.

Alas, dear reader, abandon your video and computer games before it’s too late!

Visit Herod’s Tomb

Here.  With thanks to Antonio Lombatti for noticing it.