It started with an innocent blog entry on my messy desk. That spawned a series of bloggers showing their messy desks (except Jim West — his desk is very, very, clean). Then Michael Bird brought it all to a head with a picture of his interim office (or should I say, “brought it all to the head”). Now Edmund Fearon has connected all of the dots with his post on whether or not it is appropriate to read in the bathroom (“where books should not go…”). He thinks not: “taking a book into the bathroom to read as you do your business is simply wrong!”

I must beg to differ. I confess. I read in the bathroom. It’s not as if I take a volume of Barth’s Church Dogmatics in there to peruse. But I do take books that I am skimming for various reasons. I refer to these books affectionately as my “bathroom books.” Currently, in the upstairs ensuite I am looking at Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture by Vincent J. Miller, while on the main floor I have a collection of English essays and various journals and newspapers.

I don’t know why I do it… well, actually I do know why. I hate to waste time. The same thing that motivates me to do some light reading in the potty also compels me to read while walking home from work (so far I have not walked into any posts!).

So there you have it. Does anyone want to borrow a book?

I was at the local 7/11 (thank heaven) earlier today refilling one of those DoubleGulp cups that litter my office and was amazed to find out from the cover of this week’s World Weekly News that the Garden of Eden has been Found! They claim that the garden is at the bottom of the Persian Gulf, which is ridiculous since we know from reading the Bible that Eden would be a mountaintop garden since four rivers found their source within it! Duh!

What I find really confusing is that while the story is on the cover of this week’s issue, the online version says it was published 02/12/2001?! Was it just found or was it four years ago? Talk about shoddy reporting! Can’t trust nobody! (And unfortunately there is no ‘Atiqot or IAA report on this exciting discovery!)

The Jewish Exponent has just published an Op-Ed piece by Jonathan S. Tobin that politicizes the recent discovery in the City of David excavations. Here is an excerpt that takes academics to task:

“Now, the Stones Will Speak”
Discovery offers glimpse of both ancient Israel and the travails of the modern state.
…
But though few in this country outside of academia have noticed, the notion of Israel being the historical homeland of the Jewish people has been under attack from far more reputable sources. In recent decades, a new front in the war on Israel was opened in intellectual journals and classrooms. Its goal? To trash the notion that the Bible’s accounts of the history of ancient Israel have the slightest value, and to debunk the idea that the United Kingdom of David ever existed.

For a growing number of academics and intellectuals, King David and his kingdom, which has served for 3,000 years as an integral symbol of the Jewish nation, is simply a piece of fiction.
…
But last week, the debunkers of Jewish history got some bad news. And all it took was for a dedicated archaeologist to start digging.

It is never a dull day…

Just received the latest Religious Studies Review (Vol. 30, Num. 4, October 2004 — hmm… a tad behind I see!). It has a few review essays that caught my eye:

• From Theological to Cinematic Criticism: Extricating the Study of Religion & Film From Theology, by Christine Hoff Kraemer (pp. 243-250).
• Globalizing Christology: Jesus Christ in World Religious Context, by Amos Yong (pp. 259-266).
• The Origins of the Disciplines of Biblical Archaeology and Biblical Studies, and Their Early Politicization, by Rachel Hallote (pp. 277-282).

As you can discern from its title, the essay on film and religion is concerned that such studies are “still submerged in Christian confessional concerns” and therefore need “to draw more heavily on religious traditions other than Christianity and on secular film and culture techniques.” Fair enough, though in my institutional context the interaction between film and Christianity is still centre stage (In my course on Religion and Popular Culture I will be dealing with the representation of other religious traditions in film and television, using Bend it Like Beckham, The Chosen, and, of course, The Simpsons, as some examples).

The essay on Jesus explores a number of christological works that consciously interact with the world religious context, while the essay on “biblical” archaeology looks at the beginnings of such scholarship and how it relates to where the field of archaeology stands today. (Noting, of course, the irony that the very biblically-oriented faith which inspired the pioneers of archaeology is being actively excluded today).

Everyone — and I mean everyone — has been making top ten lists lately (even Mark Goodacre has commented on this trend!).

I believe this whole thing was started by Scott McKnight with this Top Ten Books: Spiritual Formation (August 3), Missional Formation, Jesus, Paul, New Testament Theology, Earliest Christianity, and Responding to Left Behind (Who does this guy think he is, David Letterman?!).

Then Loren Rossen III started the Top Ten Books of the Bible craze, followed by Jim West (no Genesis, c’mon!) and Ken Ristau (Leviticus as number 2? Huh?).

The New Testament types also had their go at it with top ten lists of Jesus books (Michael Bird, Sean du Toit) and Paul Books (Michael Bird). Stephen Carlson has posted a nice list for those beginning in Biblical Scholarship.

We’ve even had bibliobloggers reduce themselves to making theology lists in response to Ben Myers’s Top Ten Systematic Theologies (See Jim West’s response here). Joe Cathay can only come up with five books most of the time (see here, here, and here), but he managed a top ten Old Testament Theologies. Finally, Rick Brannan has even posted “Ten Books Laying Around My House That I Need to Start and/or Finish Reading“!

Well, I figure it is time to jump on the bandwagon! But I say, forget the Bible! Forget Jesus and Paul! Forget books written by stuffy academics or obtuse and out-dated theologians! (Who’s this Zwingli guy Jim West is always spouting off about?). Forget all this! Here is a top ten list of books that are absolutely necessary for your faith — no matter what your faith may be!

Warning: The following has a dripping sarcasm rating of 9/10. Please do not blame me if the following offends your sensibilities!

Here is the list you have been waiting for; in no particular order:

1. Bruce Wilkinson, The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life. (Who would have thunk that an obscure little prayer from a neglected book in the Hebrew Bible would make anyone so much money!)
2. Michael Drosnin, The Bible Code. (This Christian classic isn’t even written by a Christian!)
3. Grant R. Jeffrey, The Signature Of God. (Just think of the Bible Code on steroids with some out-of-date archaeology thrown in for good measure — what can be better?)
4. Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict. (My verdict: guilty of shoddy apologetics and not knowing what he’s writing about! It’s been updated; I wonder if the new version is any better?)
5. Frank E. Peretti, This Present Darkness. (The standard demonology textbook in most churches.)
6. Clarence Larkin, The Greatest Book on Dispensational Truth in the World. (This book is truly the king of fold-out charts!).
7. Hal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth. (I will never look at locusts or helicopters again in quite the same way. You can actually get this book together with Satan Is Alive and Well on Planet Earth. What a deal!).
8. Edgar C Whisenant, 88 Reasons Why the Rapture is in 1988: The Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hash Ana) September, 11-12-13. (Bolder than Lindsey in that he names the date. You can also check out his The Final Shout: Rapture Report 1989. Hmmm… did it happen? Did I get “left behind”? Speaking of “Left Behind”…).
9. Jerry Jenkins & Tim LaHaye, Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days. (There are a dozen books in this series now! I just can’t believe it. I gotta write me a quasi-Bible-based novel!) .
10. Hmmm… so many to choose from. Perhaps you would like to leave a comment with a suggestion?

ChristianityToday.com has an excerpt from a new book about the lead singer for the rock band U2. The book, Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas (Riverhead Books), consists of a series of honest conversations presented in Q&A format with French music journalist and friend, Michka Assayas. The book is available from Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.

There have been a number of books over the years chronicling the Irish rock band. Some of my favourites include:

• Hank Bordowitz. The U2 Reader: A Quarter Century of Commentary, Criticism, and Reviews. Hal Leonard, 2003.
  Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com

• Steve Stockman. Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2. Revelant Media, 2003.
  Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com

• Raewynne J. Whiteley, and Beth Maynard. Get up off your knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog. Cowley Publications, 2003.
  Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com

• Dianne Ebertt Beeaff. A grand madness: Ten Years on the Road with U2. Hawkmoon Publications, 2000.
  Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com

Next to Peter Popoff, I’ve always got a kick out of Ernest “be healed” Angely. Now I could have the chance to study with him! Here is the story from NewsNet5.com:

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The Rev. Ernest Angely is converting a church he built nearly 50 years ago into a bible college.

The church located on Canton Road in Springfield Township will teach foreign missionaries and ministers.

Angely is spending $2 million to renovate the old church into a 46-room bible college and to construct three dormitories.

The Grace Bible College will have the capacity to accommodate 1,135 students.

As has become my custom, here are the Hebrew Bible and related reviews from this week’s Review of Biblical Literature. Noteworthy is the review by biblioblogger Christopher Heard and fellow Albertan James Linville. The review of Kalimi’s book is also worthy of a gander.

• Walter Dietrich, ed., David und Saul im Widerstreit — Diachronie und Synchronie im Wettstreit: Beiträge zur Auslegung des ersten Samuelbuches. Reviewed by Mark Wade Hamilton
• Knute Larson and Kathy Dahlen, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Reviewed by Bob Becking
• Isaac Kalimi, The Reshaping of Ancient Israelite History in Chronicles. Reviewed by Lester Grabbe
• S.A. Nigosian, From Ancient Writings to Sacred Texts: The Old Testament and Apocrypha. Reviewed by Russell Arnold and James Linville
• Michael Widmer, Moses, God, and the Dynamics of Intercessory Prayer: A Study of Exodus 32-34 and Numbers 13-14. Reviewed by Christopher Heard
• Dale C. Allison, Testament of Abraham. Reviewed by Jaime Vázquez Allegue
• Jonathan G. Campbell, The Exegetical Texts. Reviewed by Preston Sprinkle
• Craig A. Evans, ed., Of Scribes and Sages: Volume 1: Early Jewish Interpretation and Transmission of Scripture. Reviewed by Corrado Martone
• George W. E. Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch 1: A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch, Chapters 1-36; 81-108. Reviewed by Gerbern S. Oegema

Last night my film buff friend and I watched Robert Bresson’s masterpiece, Au hasard Balthazar (1966). This film is considered by many to be one of the best movies of all time. The film follows the life of a humble donkey through a series of masters, paralleled by the life of a young woman, Marie. The cinematography and score are both magnificent. The film has a sparse and evocative feel to it. It’s the type of film that you could view repeatedly and ponder endlessly (as the critics appear to do). I’m not sure if Bresson meant it to be understood typologically or allegorically, but such a reading would certainly fit. At the very least it narrates the life of a simple beast of burden who humbly accepts the cruelty of his masters. It’s definitely worth a watch — and make sure to view the fully restored Criterion Collection edition if you can. It is available from and Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.

Note for parents of small children: If you decide to view Au hasard Balthazar don’t bother to try to explain to your kids what you are going to watch! I made the mistake of telling my kids, and they couldn’t understand why I would want to watch a film about a donkey — especially one that doesn’t talk or say rude things (cf. Shrek). Perhaps one day they will appreciate more than Disney or Dreamworks!

Every once and a while everything just goes your way! Jim Davila at PaeloJudaica is going to find his fortune from the Massekhet Kelim, while I will receive mine through the assistance of Profit Prophet Peter Popoff. Peter is such a good friend. I just got a letter from him. At first I thought it was a form letter, but then I noticed it had personalized notes in green handwriting on the letter. What a sweet guy… taking the time to write me (wow, he sure has uniform penmanship!).

It seems that Peter hasn’t been able to sleep very well lately. In his letter he notes how he was awakened and prompted to write me — what a nice guy! Well, it gets even better! All I have to do is send him some “seed” money and then God will bless me! Yippee! Where’s my chequebook… Actually it’s not quite that simple. Wow, there are a lot of instructions…

Here’s what I have to do:

• Take “Green Oil of Prosperity” (pictured above) and put a drop on three pieces of paper.
• Place the papers as follows: (1) put one under chair where you eat… gross… I can’t believe how much my four-year-old son drops on the floor when eating… anyone want some day-old cheerios?; (2) put second in front of your front door; and (3) place last at the foot of bed.
• Write my name on the special cloth (it actually is a piece of paper; see below) and write on it how much money I need right away.
• Send the three oily pieces of paper and the special cloth back to my good buddy Peter. Oh yeah… with an enclosed cheque. I guess this “seed faith gift” is necessary for God to do anything.

Now all I have to do is wait in anticipation! Now, where should I put that big-screen TV? Hmmm…

Whoops… I think I may be in trouble. I just re-read the letter; it says: “For reasons of safety, I must ask you to keep secret what I am going to share with you now.”

I better write a bigger cheque…