The head of the Italian Bishops’ Conference took turns with dozens of other members of his diocese reading the names and ages of the 16 Israeli children and the 12,211 Palestinian children who have been killed in the war…the service lasted 7 hours. religionnews.com/2025/08/18/c...

Ironically, when I was first considering ordination, my bishop asked me what I saw as the end-goal of my ministry. I somewhat glibly said “canon theologian”. She did not laugh. So, Bishop Shane, just know that we’re out here and waiting.

Another great biblical studies opening: The Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame invites applications for an open-ranked professorship in New Testament. facultypositions.nd.edu

Relevant not only for the next ABC but for many clergy from the range of Christian traditions. unherd.com/2025/07/angl...

I am delighted to announce the IRCI has 2 job openings in early Christianity (specialisation open, research-focus, early career). Closing date 15 Aug. Contact me with any questions. We hope you'll consider joining our excellent group of scholars! candidate.aurion.cloud/acu/producti...

Why do mid-century books just look the best? #Scheeben

Snarky Puppy: because the the kids' ride to school needs a soundtrack.

Paul Kingsnorth's "Against Christian Civilization" is the best piece I've found in First Things in the last five years. That is all. www.firstthings.com/article/2025...

Whatever you think of him, his thesis is with testing: that people need a faith that is difficult and strange. Solid writing from Molly Worthen. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Huh. Didn't see that one coming.

Wonder if I'll live to see the orange and pink lines cross.

A Christmas poem worthy of meditation: www.commonwealmagazine.org/poem-cardina...

How am I just now discovering Pournelle's law of bureaucracy? "The people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control and those dedicated to the goals that the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely."

The last few lines are the kicker for me: "principles become much harder to defend when their ... defenders have compromised them flagrantly. With the pardon decision ... Biden chose to prioritize his own feelings over the defense of his country."

A poem for my last day working at the writing center for the semester (by Joseph Fasano)

Next stop: AAR/SBL '24. Worth it for the fish tacos alone.

Biblical scholars: If you were teaching NT Intro for undergrads and you wanted to incorporate some meta-criticism of the discipline (esp. the pros and cons of historical criticism), what readings would you assign to complement Ehrman's textbook?

Fantastic idea. I can see the faces of students and congregants who have felt like second-class Christians because they struggled to process the text.

As the father of a child with dyslexia, this new Bible warms my heart a great deal: "This new typeface, a curly variation of a slab serif font, is called Grace—made especially for millions of Christians who struggle to read Scripture due to dyslexia." www.christianitytoday.com/2024/11/dysl...

The more education someone has, the more likely they are to report attending religious services weekly. It's been true every year it's been collected. Today about 30% of folks w/a college degree are weekly attenders. It's ~20% of folks w/a high school diploma.

If there's a better metaphor for the writing life, please let me know #AnnieDillard