Thank you for your interest in these blog posts! Here is a listing by topic for posts since October 2019. (Some topics overlap.) Social and Racial Justice, Diversity Giving Thanks for Our Native American Neighbors – Nov. 22, 2019 The House Financial Services Committee: A Report Card for 2019 – Dec. 27, 2019 Trump and […]
religious literacy
Trump and Project Blitz: Beware False Attempts to Promote Religious Literacy
In previous posts (Religious Literacy Guidelines for College Students and HarvardX: Online Course on Religious Literacy), we have discussed the necessity among Americans (including journalists) to become more literate about religion, including the Bible (upon which, like it or not, Western civilization is largely dependent). President Donald Trump has announced that his “Department of Education […]
Religious Literacy Guidelines for College Students – and the Rest of Us
Religion is frequently in the news, whether we are hearing about shootings at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Mother Emmanuel Church in Charleston, SC, or Sutherland Springs, Texas; differences between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the Middle East; objections to abortion by leaders in the Roman Catholic Church and conservative politicians, including Vice […]
The Hijacking of a Domain Name
The domain name “.BIBLE” has essentially been hijacked by the American Bible Society (ABS). This problem is not just a technical issue of interest only to people who care about the Bible; it touches on how the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) assigns domain names, how the designated organizations manage the signing […]
Westar Wins Wilbur Award: Recognizing Religious Literacy Resources in the US
As we have noted elsewhere (HarvardX course, the SBL Annual Meeting and Scripture translation), religious literacy among Americans is sorely lacking. This is significant for several reasons. Misunderstandings caused by this absence often lead to conflict between people of different faiths and, at times, violence, injury and death. The gaps of knowledge in media stories […]
HarvardX: Online Course on Religious Literacy
Do you want to learn how to interpret the roles religions play in contemporary and historic contexts? Would you like to explore the internal diversity of various religions? Are you curious about how religions evolve and change and how religions are embedded in all human cultures? If so, you might want to check out “Religious […]
The SBL and its Annual Meeting: Why They Matter to the General Public
The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) is one of the premier professional organizations for scholars and students of religion around the world. While “religion” is often equated in the public’s mind with church-going or participation in other religions such as Judaism and Islam, it is also a discipline bounded by scholarly and ethical standards, evidence, […]
The Trials and Tribulations of Translating Scripture 3: The Work of the Jesus Seminar
Voting about the words and deeds of Jesus – ee gads! This is how many people respond when they hear about the Jesus Seminar. In this post, we will pick up on our two previous posts about translating and interpreting Biblical texts with a look at Westar Institute, home of the Jesus Seminar. (In the […]