What's on my mind?
9.30.2009
Pizza toward a superior dating nomenclature
Doug makes a great point about Cargill's proposal for utilizing BCE and CE in place of BC and AD:
Furthermore, it ignores the reality that other dating systems are also currently in use. Pretending the dating system with historical (and theological) Christian origins is religiously and culturally neutral in fact devalues, say, the Jewish or Islamic systems as inferior or unimportant. They’re religious and particular systems. The Christian one has become general, common and universal. How, exactly, is that a neutral position to take?It's as if Doug, Bob, and I go out for some pizza. I want pepperoni, Doug wants sausage, and Bob wants vegetarian. Being the generous bloke I am, I suggest we get the pepperoni, but rename it "universal" pizza, so that everyone's happy.
I want to be a polymath
This article about both the lack of and the systemic pressures working against polymaths brought to mind Michael Bird's case for the 'generalist' biblical scholar.
9.29.2009
Weird Narcissistic Observation
For the entirety of 2009 leading up to September, I had posted 145 times. Basically, a couple posts every three days. Not a bad pace. Not a Jim pace either. In September, though, I've posted 130 times (including this post). Weird.
I bet that would seem a bit odd...
"One of the [G20] leaders, I won't mention who it was, he comes up to me and ... he says, 'Barack, explain to me this health care debate.' He says, 'We don't understand it. You're trying to make sure everyone has health care and they're putting a Hitler moustache on you. That doesn't make sense to me, explain that to me,'" Obama said. "He didn't understand."
9.28.2009
I'm a sucker for clever Venn diagrams
Honestly, they don't even have to be all that clever. Baseball team names:
9.27.2009
Wikipedia's Gender Gap
Thought this was interesting in light of the recent biblioblogosphere conversation:
What stunted Wikipedia's growth? And what does the slump tell us about the long-term viability of such strange and invaluable online experiments? Perhaps that the Web has limits after all, particularly when it comes to the phenomenon known as crowdsourcing. Wikipedians — the volunteers who run the site, especially the approximately 1,000 editors who wield the most power over what you see — have been in a self-reflective mood. Not only is Wikipedia slowing, but also new stats suggest that hard-core participants are a pretty homogeneous set — the opposite of the ecumenical wiki ideal. Women, for instance, make up only 13% of contributors. The project's annual conference in Buenos Aires this summer bustled with discussions about the numbers and how the movement can attract a wider class of participants.Emphasis mine. Wikipedia shares a similar percentage of women to the biblioblogosphere (at least as reflected in the various blogger lists floating around out there), and an apparently similar core:
But as for the larger issue of trying to attract a more diverse constituency, it has no specific plan — only a goal. "The average Wikipedian is a young man in a wealthy country who's probably a grad student — somebody who's smart, literate, engaged in the world of ideas, thinking, learning, writing all the time," Gardner says. Those people are invaluable, she notes, but the encyclopedia is missing the voices of people in developing countries, women and experts in various specialties that have traditionally been divorced from tech.[Via Feministing]
9.25.2009
Another 'Worst of' List
It's probably more a testament to how seldomly I get out to the movies anymore than my good taste, but I've only seen three and a half of these stinkers.*
* Yes, it hurts to use a variation of my least favorite word. But that's how bad these movies are. The half is for one I fell asleep during most of.
Dirty Dozens
Igor Volsky reports today that Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) has been pushing an amendment to "prohibit the government from defining which benefits should be included in a standard benefit package." Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) noted that basic maternity care ought to be required.
"I don't need maternity care," Kyl replied. "So requiring that on my insurance policy is something that I don't need and will make the policy more expensive."
Interrupting him, Stabenow added, "I think your mom probably did."
Fortunate
I'm glad I've only had to sit through one of these atrocities, thanks in part to my refusal to go to torture porn movies. (Freddy Got Fingered, for the curious.)
[Via Claude Mariottini]
That is some really old tennis
It's funny how it can both look so similar to today's game, and so different. Also, is it just me or does the court look smaller?
The Ultimate Productivity Blog
Finally, a system that's really gonna help me out. Try it yourself!
[Via DF]
We're doing it wrong.
Where once I had judgment, I now have compassion. Where once I was creating distance from other people, I now create connection. Where once "being good" meant following rules for personal reward, now it means something very different: I value life, and the humans living it, much more strongly because I view it as finite. I've only got this life to get it right.She's not writing about going into the church. She's writing about leaving it.
9.23.2009
that's just dumb
i love macs, but not including a button for updating apps in the app management of itunes 9 is just stupid.
9.22.2009
Asked and answered
James McGrath and Mark Goodacre edition.
If Mark's taking requests, I'd love a comment or an NT Pod, particularly in light of the two most recent NT Pods, on his interpretation of various Pauline passages regarding women and ministry (1 Tim 2.12-14 comes to mind because of other comments today, but there are a number of directions one could go).
I'm going to start another new blog.
Right after this one, I'm starting 'The Autophagic Evangelical." Subhead: "I'm going to eat you for breakfast...literally."
I'm starting a new blog
I'm going to call it "Bad Arguments for Inerrancy." I don't think I'll be left wanting for source material.
Today's Translation Exercise
2 Tim 3.16
Text:
πᾶσα γραφὴ θεόπνευστος
Translation:
all Scripture is inspiredWait a second... (reading)
Something seems wrong here... (red pen)
Ah, here we go:
vvvvvvvvvvvvverballyThat's better.
"all Scripture is ^ inspired"
Mark Driscoll is a misogynist
There's no other way I can see to read this quote. This is not course language. This is not blunt truth. This is disgusting misogyny. He paints a fallacious picture of women in order to slander them out of ministry. The only generosity I can muster up is, being that this post is two years old, perhaps he has since publicly apologized for and repented from such a retrograde, vile smear:
Without blushing, Paul is simply stating that when it comes to leading in the church, women are unfit because they are more gullible and easier to deceive than men. While many irate women have disagreed with his assessment through the years, it does appear from this that such women who fail to trust his instruction and follow his teaching are much like their mother Eve and are well-intended but ill-informed. . . Before you get all emotional like a woman in hearing this, please consider the content of the women’s magazines at your local grocery store that encourages liberated women in our day to watch porno with their boyfriends, master oral sex for men who have no intention of marrying them, pay for their own dates in the name of equality, spend an average of three-fourths of their childbearing years having sex but trying not to get pregnant, and abort 1/3 of all babies – and ask yourself if it doesn’t look like the Serpent is still trolling the garden and that the daughters of Eve aren’t gullible in pronouncing progress, liberation, and equality.
Yesterday's Comment Thread That Made Me Sad
Some great comments this morning leave me slightly less sad. Also, I couldn't resist one of my own (though, perhaps I ought to have been more careful with the M-word).
9.21.2009
Autophagic Evangelicals
Following up earlier, as I've continued reading the comments, I've only grown more discouraged. A number of them vary on the theme: "He's probably believed this/taught this in his seminary classes for years. He's only finally got the courage to say it out loud." There are at least two levels on which this is depressing. First of all, whence evangelical self-awareness? For what would anyone need courage to state a belief except for the apparently well-founded fear that their conservative brethren would eat them alive. Second of all, yeah, he's probably developed this belief over years of, what's that, STUDYING the text in a way most people commenting disapprovingly never ever will.
I shouldn't blog late at night.
Today's Comment Thread That Makes Me Sad
Tremper Longman makes a benign remark about the ANE context for Genesis 1-2. The villagers go insane.
[Via]
9.19.2009
9.18.2009
Hmm...
Happy Blogiversary
Imagine my shock when I just realized that I, along with everyone, was completely unaware that I very recently had my two-year blogiversary. Sept 14, 2007, a day that blah blah blah. September appears to be a very good month for me, blogging-wise.
Theology or History
What's a biblical scholar to do? April DeConick has posted a couple thoughts over the last few days on proper historical scholarship, and what that looks like in opposition to "confessional" scholarship:
There is a big difference between confessional scholarship and its working assumptions and historical-critical scholarship and its working assumptions, and we must never confuse the two. Confessional scholarship is willing to compromise and apologize in order to keep 'history' aligned with the faith tradition. It is willing to understand theology as history and write about knowledge in these terms. Historical-critical scholarship is built on the presuppositions of the scientific search for knowledge. It is unwilling to allow theology to be history.DeConick followed up today with some more exploration of the label "confessional."
There's something about this that rubs me the wrong way. On one level, I understand the objection. It does seem a bit odd (or perhaps unfair) on an intellectual level to have a huge gaping exception for Jesus particularly, and the Bible in general, when it comes to supernatural events. The fact is, I would most likely dismiss any other claims to supernaturalism in history (though I suspect I would still consider them longer than these unbiased historians DeConick speaks of). On another level, however, as a Christian, it seems irresponsible not to argue that miracles are possible, and that they themselves and the evidence of their occurences are important factors in reconstructing biblical history. On yet another level entirely, I don't know if the only worthwhile scholarly pursuit is the reconstruction of history, nor do I see why a biblical scholar ought to be motivated by what classicists, archaeologists, or ancient historians think.I'm not sure how much I really stand by those thoughts now. And not just because I'm applying to PhD programs and would like to be taken seriously. But it still rankles me that "biblical scholar" or even "scholarship" more generally ought to default to "historian."
Doug and Mark have both posted their own qualifications or objections. Mike takes his thoughts in a different direction to speak of the double-edged sword of fundamentalism. Its an argument I've similarly made before, and I suspect we've both made it due to our proximity to Dan Wallace. However, I'm not really so sure anymore we need to be fanatical about having presuppositions declared up front, and labels being properly applied, and all that. If a theologian wants also to be a historian, they ought to do good history. If on the other hand, they just want to do theology, what's wrong with that? The continued viability of theology as a discipline stems from the fact that there remain questions science and history can't answer, that their methods are insufficient for. Either way, it's their work and scholarship itself that ought to be weighed, not whether or what difference their presuppositions made.
Actually, that's not an improvement
As we've discussed before, "their" is a perfectly fine gender neutral singular pronoun.
Apple made dozens of tiny wordings and grammatical fixes in Snow Leopard, including this one from engaging screen sharing via iChat. In Leopard, the message read “their”; now, “his or her.”
Online Texts Resource
I was really excited that there might be a Unicode Thomas text on this site, but alas, still just random gobbledygook when you cut and paste. Still a cool site with lots of resources, though.
[Via Dunelm Road, Roger Pearse, and ETC]
9.17.2009
Things Matt Damon and I Have in Common
We both think we look fantastic:
"I have the opposite of anorexia. I look in the mirror and I think I look great ... I was like, 'What's going on?' I took another suit out and it didn't fit either. Honestly, what I thought was that somehow [George] Clooney had gotten in and paid somebody to slightly hem [the suits]. My wife said to me, 'Could it be that maybe you've put on some weight?' I'm like, 'That's absurd! I look fantastic!' "Yesterday, I got home, and my wife saw what I had chosen to wear for the day. It turns out the shoes didn't match the pants, both of which failed to match my shirt. I thought I looked great!
Our President
What I want to know is: did someone have a plastic light saber lying around, or did the President just pull out his spare?
Gotta change those Alexa rankings
I am definitely available at any price. I'm rooting for you, Joel.
9.16.2009
In Other Matt Yglesias News
He's totally wrong about this:
I have to say I’m not really very sympathetic to this sentiment, or with the current Southwest Airlines ad campaign slamming bag fees. If you figure an airline is going to believe it can acquire a given amount of revenue per passenger from a given route, the bag fee doesn’t actually alter this level, it simply redistributes it from those traveling with no checked bags to those traveling with multiple bags.Imagine competing gas stations across the street from each other. One gas station decides to lower its pump price to attract more customers, but institutes a $3 fee simply for pulling up to the pump.
This is essentially what the airlines that charge baggage fees have done. They didn't want to have to increase ticket prices, thereby losing the bargain-hunting shoppers of HotWire, Priceline, etc., so instead they just add a charge for something nearly everyone uses. I'm glad Southwest doesn't charge fees, and I absolutely think it's fair game for them to advertise as such.
Obama is the Antichrist
I know all the various objections, but listen: 1 in 3 conservative New Jerseyians don't lie. My favorite part of the poll is the 18% who are certain that Obama's the antichrist. Here's how I imagine that conversation going:
Pollster: Now, our next question is regarding Obama and the antichrist.Almost-1-in-5-conservative-New-Jerseyian: Yep, I was waiting for this one.Pollster: Really?A1i5cNJ: Oh yeah. He's the antichrist, mark me down.Pollster: So...that's a yes.A1i5cNJ: Definitely, no doubt about it. Clear. as. a. bell.
stirring it up
At the risk of tearing the band-aid off too soon, I thought this Matt Yglesias post complemented well the recent biblioblogosphere exploration of women and gender:
[T]he hypersensitive (sic) to fictional allegations of racism highlights once again the basic outlook of the contemporary conservative movement on race. Actual racism against racial minorities is, according to conservatives, a trivial or non-existence problem. By contrast, anti-racism gone too far (often known as “political correctness”) is seen as a huge social problem against which one must always be on guard.Part of the conversation had this interesting dynamic whereby the possibility that there might be some sexism at play in the biblioblogosphere was laughable. But any charges of sexism were met with a huge outcry of unfairness. It should be the other way around, right?
Keeping up with the conversation
Despite the massive and unexplained phenomenon of people not reading my blog, I continue to track this important conversation: More book titles, if they were written today. Some of my favorites:
Then: Declaration of Independence
Now: The Pursuit of Happiness: How to get control of your continent and have fun doing it!
Then: The Oxford English Dictionary
Now: Word Up! 300,000 proven ways to express yourself in speech and writing
Then: To Kill A Mockingbird
Now: To Kill A Mockingbird (A Novel)
9.15.2009
Crowd-sourcing
My blog is good
- I have a voice. I hear it in the shower every morning, so it must be awesome.
- Judging by my tag cloud, I have a number of obsessions. Random thoughts. Textual criticism. Obama. Jim West. You know, just the biggies.
- I love via links. I'll even do one right now. I saw this [Via Jim West [double stack, who saw it via Chris Brady] and Pat McCullough].
- I love paragraphs.
- I use YouTube like a second language.
- I can definitely annoy people.
- I can't count the number of blogs I've inspired. (Note: if you're thinking about retorting "that's 'cause there are none," take three steps back.)
- I try very hard. I also play hard. Not unlike Rasheed Wallace.
- And I break ALL the rules. Not unlike Patrick Swayze.
New Web-based TC Chart Timesaver
As has been announced elsewhere, there is a new Textual Criticism Chart Timesaver. It is now a web-based subscription service. If you're doing a lot of work in the apparatus, this is an invaluable program. It is currently only comprehensive with respect to �� , but that's probably the main reason you'd use it anyway. On to the announcement!
TC Chart Timesaver (TCCT): a new web-based application
Daniel B. Wallace
If you don’t know Greek, this blog post is not for you. Stop reading now.
If you do know Greek and are studying the New Testament, then this may be a lifesaver. OK, not a lifesaver, but at least a great timesaver. In fact, that’s part of the name, so it must be true!
TC Chart Timesaver (TCCT) converts text-data in the Nestle-Aland apparatus into a usable text-critical chart. It is available at www.nttextualcriticism.com. This current release (version 1.2), a web-based application for increased compatibility, works exclusively with “gothic M” manuscripts. (Later releases will expand on the manuscripts to be charted.) Deciphering and categorizing gothic M manuscripts has always been a time-consuming task for anyone working with the Nestle apparatus. To do it properly, one has to look at the front of the Nestle text and note which manuscripts belong to gothic M for the particular genre being studied (gospels, Paul, Acts, catholic letters, Revelation). These witnesses will only be cited explicitly when they disagree with gothic M. (Many don't realize that not all the manuscripts under the gothic M umbrella are Byzantine manuscripts. Placing all these manuscripts under gothic M is simply a convenient way to list the manuscripts without swelling the apparatus. Clarity and cost are sacrificed to concision; it’s a good trade-off, but has created some time-consuming activities for those working with the text of the NT.)
The individual then has to look at the particular textual problem in question and observe which of the gothic M manuscripts are reading against gothic M--that is, with another variant. One might think that it would be safe to assume that the manuscripts that don't disagree with gothic M must agree with it in this place, but that is not the case. For example, although 1506 is listed as a member of gothic M for Paul's letters, one would be mistaken to assume that it reads in Eph 2.21. Just because it doesn't disagree with gothic M there does not mean that it agrees with it. A glance at the back of Nestle-Aland27 reveals that 1506 doesn't read in Ephesians at all, even though it does read in other Pauline letters! All too frequently, lack of attention to the details or lack of understanding of how the Nestle apparatus operates has led to blunders when recording manuscript data. And that has often resulted in skewed interpretation that affects one's views of the whole textual problem. This program is designed to eliminate the guesswork and correct the inaccuracies, enabling you to have a chart of accurate data from which you can begin to make your text-critical decisions.
Please visit the www.nttextualcriticism.com site to see how this works. Matthew chapter 1 is the demo version. An instruction manual will be available soon, although most of the tasks should be intuitive.
But to whet your appetite, below is a chart that took all of about 45 seconds to produce using this program.
Romans 8.1
txt
| | Primary ALEXANDRIAN | Secondary ALEXANDRIAN | WESTERN | BYZANTINE | CAESAREAN | OTHER |
| Papyri | | | | | | |
| Majuscules | | | | | | |
| Minuscules | | 1506 (1320) | | | | |
| Lectionaries | | | | | | |
| Versions | | | | | | |
| Fathers | | | | | | |
| Non-Literary | | | | | | |
μη κατα σαρκα περιπατουσιν
| | Primary ALEXANDRIAN | Secondary ALEXANDRIAN | WESTERN | BYZANTINE | CAESAREAN | OTHER |
| Papyri | | | | | | |
| Majuscules | | | | | | |
| Minuscules | | 81 (1044) | | | | 365 (XII) |
| Lectionaries | | | | | | |
| Versions | | | | | | |
| Fathers | | | | | | |
| Non-Literary | | | | | | |
+ αλλα κατα πνευμα
| | Primary ALEXANDRIAN | Secondary ALEXANDRIAN | WESTERN | BYZANTINE | CAESAREAN | OTHER |
| Papyri | | | | | | |
| Majuscules | | | | 018 {K} (IX) 020 {L} (IX) | | 025 {P} (IX) |
| Minuscules | | 104 (1087) 1175 (X) 1241 (XII) 2464 (IX) | | Byz (IX-XVI) | | 1505 (XII) 630 (XII/XIII) |
| Lectionaries | | | | | | |
| Versions | | | | | | |
| Fathers | | | | | | |
| Non-Literary | | | | | | |
Remember that only gothic M has been parsed; the rest of the data will need to be put in manually (for now). In later versions of this program, more MSS will be in the list. But even the above chart is an incredible timesaver.
Here’s hoping for greater accuracy and less wasted time in analyzing the NT MS data!
Can't Believe It
He had won 40 consecutive matches at Flushing Meadows. He had won 33 of his previous 34 Grand Slam matches. And he has made the final at 17 of the past 18 Grand Slam tournaments, 21 overall.Pretty amazing to think that, if not for Nadal, Federer would likely have 20 slams right now.
Del Potro? This was the 20-year-old's first Grand Slam final, and he was 0-6 against Federer until now. But after handing Rafael Nadal the most lopsided loss of his Grand Slam career in the semifinals Sunday, del Potro came back the next day and rattled Federer.
Until Monday, Federer was 2-5 in Grand Slam finals against his nemesis, Nadal, and 13-0 against everyone else. Somehow, del Potro never seemed intimidated by the setting or the man many consider the greatest tennis player in history.
9.14.2009
i don't think so
it was a cool shot, but best point ever? it's not like no one ever hit a tennis ball between their legs before. this old guy can do it. this random pro can even do it cross-court, just like federer. for my money, this mary pierce shot is way cooler.
On the Necessity of Emoti-cons
I hate them, but they do appear to be the most efficient way to signify intent on the internets.
old books, new titles
show-off
i am desperately sad that nadal chose to lose yesterday. here comes #16.
[via kottke, among others]
i guess they really wanted me back
it was only a few short months ago that i ditched quicken after many long years for mint.com. well, they missed me so terribly that they decided to blow $170 million to get me back. well-played, intuit. well-played.
9.13.2009
9.12.2009
SBL and Biblioblogging
Following Jim's announcement, there was a variety of reactions around the biblioblogs: some in favor, some not so much, and some somewhere in the middle (there was also an origin myth thrown in for good measure). Chris Heard's comments were probably the most pointed and most elaborate, and I thought I would share a few of my own thoughts on what he brought up.
The Academic Respectability of Biblioblogging
Chris's third objection was this (quoted in full):
A few enthusiasts have opined that the SBL badge raises the “academic respectability” of blogging, but I must question this opinion. Does anyone truly believe that adding the “Biblioblog/SBL Affiliate” badge to your blog will lead your school’s Rank, Tenure, and Promotion Committee (or whatever it’s called at your place) to esteem your blog posts more highly? Application of the badge carries no actual implication of or requirement for quality control; the only requirement is that you identify yourself as a “biblioblogger” and pay membership dues to the SBL. Anybody can do that with a little outlay of cash. Unless, of course, you wish to submit arbitration of who’s a biblioblogger and who’s not to an organization board—with regard to which, see items 1 and 2 above. Barring such a board, there’s no reason why any old crackpot couldn’t pay SBL dues and paste the badge up on their own blog. Do you really think that a “status” equally available to Fred Phelps and Steven Anderson as to you increases academic respectability? (Has the SBL even thought through this point, I wonder?)I would have to ask, does SBL membership itself raise academic respectability? As I'm looking into PhD programs, and looking at the CVs of various professors I'd like to study, I see over and over again "Professional Organizations: Society of Biblical Literature." I would assume, therefore, that membership is something many scholars are proud of, or at least feel good enough about to include on a CV. But the fact is, membership in SBL is just as open to Steven Anderson or Fred Phelps as is starting a biblioblog. As far as I can tell, you fill out this form, you pay $65, and you're in.
What I think is more important than membership itself or simply starting a blog is whether one makes a genuine contribution. For SBL, this contribution tends to take the form of a paper read at one of the regional conferences, in the least, and more often the annual conference. While Steven Anderson could become a member of SBL, he could not just show up and read a paper. And this is where I see true advantage in the SBL/Biblioblogger partnership.
What Would an SBL Session Devoted to Biblioblogging Look Like?
As most readers of this blog know, there was recently a very large discussion on the role that current bibliobloggers (mostly men) play in encouraging more diversity in their ranks. This is a discussion I participated in, followed closely, and wrote a number of posts about. When Chris asks "Seriously, what sorts of papers will “Bibliobloggers” present to one another?" I can answer quite easily: Women and Biblioblogging. Personally, I would love to be able to sit down and really delve into the kind of research that James Crossley suggested was lacking. Or I'd love to see a categorization of the various responses to April DeConick's initial response. And, not to be snobby or anything, but I really can't put that much energy into something that's not going onto my résumé. I'm trying to get a PhD, people!
If, on the other hand, I could present such a paper at a conference, that would be a very strong motivating factor in taking the time out of my schedule to work on that. And as far as doing it anyway and attempting to present it at SBL now, such a paper simply wouldn't have a place in the Computer Assisted Research Section. Furthermore, while the blog is a fantastic medium for quick and dirty posts, it's really not conducive to longer, well-researched posts. Even this post is about 3 days behind the actual discussion and I feel like I should just scrap it. Imagine if I wanted to some actual research!
To my mind, there's no end to the types of papers I'd like to see at a biblioblogging unit. How about how incestuous the biblioblogosphere is? A nice, long study on how often we link to each other, and how often we link outside the tribe? How about bibliobloggers and social identity? How about a little social memory work? There are ideas out there that really can't be done justice in the context of a blog, but that could benefit this community we call "biblioblogs."
Finally, while I have a number of ideas of the utility of this affiliation, I also take Mark Goodacre's attitude. Let's see what happens!
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