McJesus
A piece of art in Israel has sparked outrage among the Israeli Arab Christian minority. The art work in question is entitled “McJesus” and displays a crucified Ronald McDonald. It is on exhibition in the Haifa Museum of Art.
Comedy in the Nativity: The meaning of Christmas has lost its impact
Scholarship teaches doubt. It teaches us how to raise good questions, offers us the tools to answer those questions, and trains our minds to critique and re-examine the answers in search of further good questions. With scholarship as both the core and content of Westar’s foundation, it’s hard to approach the birth of the “Christ […]
Shattering the Sabbath’s Peace
On Saturday morning the Sabbath peace (Shabbat Shalom) was shattered in the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill area of Pittsburgh. The first reports were gruesome: at least 11 people were dead, several police officers wounded. A morning celebration of a bris with 60 to 100 people was devastated by gunfire. Some hours […]
The Trouble with Faith
Faith is a problematic word, so problematic that at times I think we should abandon its use. It’s a weasel word, with so many and varied meanings that what it means often is difficult to know. Given the importance of faith in religious discourse, the varied meanings have significant implications and ramifications.
Translating Baptism
At the recent meeting of the Christianity Seminar during the annual meeting of the AAR/SBL, baptism and eucharist were taken up. In a series of blogs, I will be reporting on various aspects of those discussions that may be of interest the followers of the Westar Blog. I am not trying to summarize the papers, […]