Shortly after arriving at Penn State I heard about Professor Laurence Lattman’s Introduction to Geology course. It was supposedly a piece of cake, an easy “A”. Lattman, so the story went, was a great lecturer, practically a stand-up comedian, he made Geology fun. Not only that, but the highpoint of every class was his lecture … Continue reading Lattman
Bible
The Singing Herod II
According to the Gospel of Luke 23:1-12: 23 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.” 3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king … Continue reading The Singing Herod II
The Singing Herod I
According the Matthew 14:1-12: 14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put … Continue reading The Singing Herod I
Herod the Great
Herod the Great (c. 73 – c. 4 BCE) was installed as king of Judea by the Romans around 37 BCE. He is known for his great building projects and for his tyrannical rule. His tyranny extended even unto his own family as he had three of his sons executed as well as his wife Mariamne I. … Continue reading Herod the Great
Genealogy
I haven’t written about religion for awhile, have I? That’s supposed to be the raison d’être of this blog, or one of the main ones anyway. Perhaps it’s time to rectify that. ’Tis the season, so let’s look at the nativity stories. There are two distinct and largely incompatible nativity stories, one in Matthew and … Continue reading Genealogy
Naaman
In 2 Kings 5 we find the story of Naaman (NAY-uh-muhn), a Syrian general who was suffering from leprosy. In the Hebrew Bible leprosy is used for various diseases affecting the skin, so there’s no way to know for sure just what his ailment was. He heard from an Israelite maidservant that there was a … Continue reading Naaman
Craig Mazin and the Bears
In the latest Scriptnotes podcast, It’s Brutal Out Here, bald screenwriter Craig Mazin talks about his new favorite Bible verse. Hint: it’s one that I mentioned a couple weeks ago. He has a lot of fun with it.
Psalm 137
This wouldn’t be too bad except for the final verse, but it’s in the Bible so it must be good. Right? Psalm 137 1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us … Continue reading Psalm 137
Elisha and the Two Bears
According to 2 Kings, Elisha was the prophet who succeeded Elijah. His name is generally pronounce e-LEYE-shuh. 23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald … Continue reading Elisha and the Two Bears
Elijah Redux
Reasonable people might have questions about the Elijah story that I related last week. For example, does it make sense that Elijah could round up 850 worshippers of other gods and get them to dance around a sacrificial bull all morning long in order to get their god to set it on fire? I don’t … Continue reading Elijah Redux