911 calls to report the Jupiter-Venus conjunction, A new bathroom scale, ‘To Leslie,’ Alex Murdaugh trial coverage, ‘The Naked Archaeologist.’
Jesus Christ
Another Week: Number 6
Shrimp Cocktail, NFL Conference Championships, Tyre Nichols killed by Memphis Police, ‘He Gets Us’: $100 million ad campaign for Jesus, Three Pines, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Live at the Fillmore – 1997, Branson
Christmas with the Pilgrims, America’s earliest Christians
Pilgrims Going to Church (1867), by George Henry Boughton The Pilgrims considered Christmas an abomination The Pilgrims — the people we celebrate each Thanksgiving, who came to America on the Mayflower, signed the Mayflower Compact and founded Plymouth Colony —...
Historical Jesus: ‘A Marginal Jew’: Volumes III & IV
As someone who's made a regular hobby of studying the Bible for about 30 years and counting, I find it hard to express how enjoyable the John P. Meier book series A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus has been to read. Chapter by chapter, Meier peels away...
Jesus of Nazareth, the ‘Marginal Jew’ behind Jesus Christ
Who was Jesus of Nazareth, according to historical evidence? An ample crop of recent books on the "historical Jesus" has offered yet more answers to this perennial puzzle. Reza Aslan's Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth sounds very intriguing. Misquoting...
Easter traditions, like the movie ‘King of Kings’ (1961)
It is funny how a few random details, repeated together over time, can solidify into a ritual which becomes essential to your psychological comfort. This is one of mine — the 1961 movie King of Kings and its main theme music, written by Miklós Rózsa. I grew up...
‘Jesus Camp’ (2006 documentary film)
Jesus Camp is an Oscar-nominated documentary about an evangelical Christian camp for kids in Devil's Lake, North Dakota, and, more broadly, about the political militancy of America's religious right. It was directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing. [includeme...
Bart D. Ehrman: ‘Misquoting Jesus: Who changed the Bible and why’
I first saw Bart D. Ehrman last March 14 when he was interviewed on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Prior to that, he guested on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. The cover of Ehrman's book proclaims it a "New York Times Bestseller." There's even another book refuting his...
‘Jesus Coming Soon’ neon sign, Lahaina, Hawaii
Lahaina, Hawaii — The Apostolic Faith Church, with its "Jesus Coming Soon" neon sign, at 1211 Front Street. This location is a branch of the mother church — the Apostolic Faith Church at 1043 Middle St. in Honolulu, on the...