This morning, I posted the following observation in a tweet: We will only begin to appreciate the power of the problem of evil when we take the time to consider thick and detailed stories of suffering. We will only begin to appreciate the power of theodicy when we take the time to consider think and […]
narrative
83. God’s Story: A Conversation with Mark Roncace
When I was growing up in the church, my earliest encounters with the Bible came in the terms of the Sunday school flannelgraph, a rather primitive technology in which Bible stories were acted out with pieces of fabric stuck to a felt board. At that time, the Bible seemed like a disjointed set of isolated stories, each […]
Smith, Jones, and wandering into “Wandering in the Darkness”
Yesterday I started reading Eleonore Stump’s magisterial 2010 book Wandering in the Darkness: Narrative and the Problem of Suffering (Oxford: Clarendon Press). It’s a BIG book, both in terms of pages (668 of ’em!) and size (6.8”×9.6”). But even more importantly, it’s big in vision as Stump brings her formidable intellect as one of the leading philosophers […]
12. A conversation on scripture as narrative with biblical scholar Keith Bodner
In this episode of the podcast we sit down with Dr. Keith Bodner, Professor of Religious Studies and the Stuart E. Murray Chair of Christian Studies at Crandall University in Moncton, New Brunswick. While the study of scripture since the Enlightenment has frequently been dominated by textual critical questions, Professor Bodner brings his background in English […]
What? No Bible at the Hard Rock Hotel? (Notes on Orlando Part 1)
Early this morning I returned from a few days family vacation at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. In the spirit of Alexis de Tocqueville’s famous 1835 treatise Democracy in America written following his visit to the new world, I have compiled my own modest notes on my visit to Orlando. This first installment is inspired by our stay […]
