In this time of the proliferation of Bible versions, translations, and packaging, there’s yet another. The Word of Promise Audio Bible (Thomas Nelson) produced over near four years and based on a modern (1982) King James Version is 98 hours long and spans 79 CDs. The real selling point will likely be the stars who lent their voices to …
As I work my way through the Buffy tv series (“work” is too severe a word here — I’m having a blast), I’m struck by how bilbical themes, language, and images lend themselves to the science fiction imagination. This isn’t earth-shattering news, I know. What’s striking is how the Bible is translated into this medium. Appreciating the wild and wacky …
I am finally following Donna Freitas‘ enthusiastic recommendation to watch old episodes of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. Hey, just because it’s research doesn’t mean it has to be dull. As I investigate how the Bible portrays supernatural beings and places and how that portrayal has influenced pop ideas about evil personified, angels, the undead, heaven, …
Anyone’s who’s read through the book of Genesis, from The Beginning to its portentous end in Egypt, knows that it’s pretty darn graphic — horny gods mate with human women, men try to rape angels, there’s fratricide and the near murder of a boy by his father (commanded by God, no less), a daughter-in-law rights wrongs by seducing her errant …
I saw the movie, “The Invention of Lying” last night, not expecting to find any biblical or religious associations or messages in it. Hah. I should know better! They’re everywhere. It’s really quite a sweet story in which the main character becomes a kind of Moses, even standing before an expectant crowd with two tablets …
It’s in! Check out the cover for Bible Babel: Making Sense of the Most Talked About Book of All Time through the “Books” link on the home page. Because the book is for all kinds of readers, includes lots of popular culture references, and doesn’t present a particular religious perspective, we wanted it to look hip and …
The Coen brothers are out with a new one. Among my favorite film-makers today, the Coen brothers just released “A Serious Man,” based in part on the biblical Job. I’m eager to see how they handle the story. Do they present their Job as a saint, of storied patience, like the popular characterization of this biblical …
Check it out — a gun in your left hand, Bible in your right. This is an ad by gun maker Henry Repeating Arms. Across the image of a guy wearing a holster with a gun on the left and a Bible on the right runs a quote from the company president, Anthony Imperato, “There is nothing wrong with …
Quentin Tarantino’s new movie, Inglourious Basterds, was informed in part by taking part in a seder at Philip Roth’s house. The Passover seder is a religious practice of remembrance commanded by none other than God in the Bible to commemorate God’s liberating the Hebrew people from Egypt in order that they could be free to be servants of God. With …
On the NBC sitcom, “30 Rock,” the optimistic, smile-y, and just plain aw-so-cute character Kenneth the Page declared, “science was my most favorite subject, especially the Old Testament.” It’s a hilarious poke in fun at a serious debate raging today — Should the Bible’s narratives about creation inform ideas about the earth’s origins? Or: If a person …
