From the category archives:

Miscellany

The best sci-fi and fantasy – really??

March 3, 2010

I’m grateful for Loren Rosson drawing my attention to this list of the 100 greatest sci-fi or fantasy novels of all time. (I obviously missed Stephen Carlson’s Facebook note.) These things are always subjective, not least because we all read different books, but by and large I would agree with Loren’s strictures: this list has [...]

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Offensive or irresponsible? Complaining about adverts.

January 25, 2010
affairs-poster#1#.jpg

David Keen and Maggi Dawn are among those blogging the story publicised by Dave Walker today.
The website maritalaffair.co.uk has started advertising on billboards around the country. The website describes itself as ‘delivering a dating arena for extra-marital affairs’ for ‘uncomplicated adult fun’. It directly promotes and faciliates people being unfaithful to their partners, and their [...]

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On setting fire to the baby Jesus (a Google Ads Oops)

December 8, 2009
Oops.jpg

I was looking for a ready typed version of the poem “The Burning Babe” for Christmas card deployment. I found it at this site. The adverts (which I’ve moved over from the far right and covered the audio clip link) focussed on that word “burning”. It is, to say the least, an unfortunate juxtaposition.
I feel [...]

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A question about hate

November 16, 2009

After some of the comments here, I have to ask:
Why is it that so many of us are always ready to explain “hate” in the Bible as hyperbole or “semitic idiom”, but when we encounter it in a blog post, assume it must be taken in its most literal, po-faced and unpleasant sense?

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Gloucestershire Uni: save biblical studies letter

November 11, 2009

Mark Goodacre has some of the main links on the planned redundancy in the Biblical Studies Department at the University of Gloucestershire. The Facebook page is here.
This does not seem to be quite the same situation as that at Sheffield, where the whole undergraduate teaching of Biblical Studies was targeted. I am, however, concerned that [...]

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The road to hell: Screwtape writes again

November 11, 2009

My dear Wormwood,
How many times, I wonder, have we been through this? You are once again anxious about your patient’s good intentions, his plans to change his life for the better. I cannot remind your often enough, dear nephew, that good intentions are wonderful things.
Why, I remember one occasion when a former patient of mine [...]

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The new Sheffield Brouhaha

November 8, 2009

It all started when Ben Witherington made some careless and unsubstantiated accusations about Sheffield Biblical Studies department in Christianity Today.

faculty were “bent on the deconstruction of the Bible, and indeed of their students’ faith,” according to Ben Witherington, a New Testament scholar at Asbury Theological Seminary.

This at least had the merit of waking James Crossley [...]

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Oh Delilah! Did Samson die a happy man?

October 27, 2009

Well, he did end up with a really big beam on his face.

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Doug’s odd-one-out quiz: why not have a go?

October 12, 2009

I had fun acting as quizmaster at a parish social last week, and thought I might share one of the visual rounds, in case any of clayboy’s readers might like a go. It does have a bit of an English flavour, but unlike the original participants you have a bit of time to think about [...]

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People you should doubt …

September 19, 2009

… include those who (especially in an interview) say: “Well, I have a very good sense of humour” or “I really think we all need to have more fun.” There’s a very good chance they will be astonishingly serious, and seriously deficient in the humour department.

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