Author Archives: Tyler F. Williams

Documentary Filmed during Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ

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This was news to me: There was an Italian documentary filmed during the production of Mel Gibson’s controversial The Passion of the Christ. The film, directed by Francesco Cabras and Alberto Molinari, is called The Big Question. According to the official website, the documentary

is based on an idea which is both very simple, but at the same time quite complex: it poses extremely direct questions to a large and diverse group of people regarding their own intimate relationships with God, spirituality, and faith.
…
The fact that this group of people all worked on a set of a film about the passion of Jesus Christ provided for a far more attentive and profound answers.

Reports are that Mel Gibson, while appreciating the aesthetic look of the documentary, was uncomfortable with its theology and didn’t want it screened. Sounds interesting to say the least (see the IMDb information on the film here). It has been screened at a couple film festivals in 2004 (Toronto and AFI), with more screenings planned (for instance, it is being screened in Israel this week). I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled to see if it comes to Edmonton…

Web Surfers Beware: “www” in Hebrew is 666 or Mark of the Beast

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I could not resist noting this story:

Domain Registrars Beware: ‘www.’ in Hebrew is 666 or Mark of the Beast

July 26, 2005 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – In apocalyptic end-of-the-world domain registrar security news, the newly founded e-Knights of the Cross have revealed in a press release that “www” is ancient Hebrew for 666 or the sign of the devil. According to the e-Knights the world wide web (although not the Internet) is a tool of the devil projecting the “Mark of the Beast” onto unwitting web surfers’ foreheads from their monitors. ….

Wow… they’re right! At least in that “www” represented in Hebrew is ווו (waw-waw-waw or vav-vav-vav in modern transliteration) and vav is numeric equivalent of 6 in traditional Hebrew usage. I sure am glad I don’t have “www” as part of my URL! Of course, this all breaks down when one realizes that the number six-hundred-and-sixty-six would be represented as תרסו or מסו , not ווו. (This is 400 + 200 + 60 + 6 or 600 + 60 + 6). Bummer! For more information on the e-Knights of the Cross see www.istheBeast.com and www.E-KnightsoftheCross.org.

The Transporter is Unattended… Scotty Has Beamed Up

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James Doohan, the Canadian actor better known affectionately as “Scotty” from the original Star Trek series, passed away today at the age of 85. While this doesn’t really relate to biblical studies, many may not know that Doohan was also a linguist. He devised the rather Semitic sounding Vulcan and Klingon language dialogue heard in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

The real reason I am blogging on this is the sad fact that I am a Trekkie. As a kid I had my Mom make me a red engineering Star Trek uniform just like Scotty’s. I had all the models, including a USS Enterprise with working lights. Even now in my office I have a small Enterprise model and if you look in my drawer you will find Vulcan ears and a working ST:TNG communicator pin.

Here are some pictures, including one from last year’s ceremony when Doohan received his “Walk of Fame” Star.

   

Who is going to keep the Enterprise together now? “Beam me up, Scotty…”

Noteworthy Commentary on the Psalms Published

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There are a number of excellent commentaries on the book of Psalms. Most of the commentaries published recently, however, have either been limited in scope (almost all being one volume) and/or have targeted a more popular audience. This makes the publication of Hossfeld and Zenger’s commentary on the book of Psalms in the Hermeneia series all the more noteworthy.

Frank-Lothar Hossfeld and Erich Zenger. Psalms 2.
Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible. Fortress, 2005.
Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com

Hossfeld and Zenger are two of the top scholars working on the psalms in Germany today. Their research is well-known both on the continent and internationally and is characterized by attention to detail and a comprehensive grasp of both primary and secondary literature. Their approach is multifaceted, though they have been leaders in the new emphasis on the redaction and editing of the book of Psalms.

This first volume (covering Psalms 51-100) is a translation of their volume in the Herders theologischer Kommentar zum Alten Testament series (Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com), which is a first-rate critical commentary on the Psalms. As such, it is volume 2 of a three-volume work: volume 3 (Psalms 101-150) will be published next, followed by volume 1 (Psalms 1-50), which will include the comprehensive introduction. Their more popular commentaries in Die Neue Echter Bibel series are also worthy of consideration for those who can read German:

Frank-Lothar Hossfeld and Erich Zenger. Die Psalmen I. Psalm 1-50.
Die Neue Echter Bibel. Echter, 1993.
Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com

Frank-Lothar Hossfeld and Erich Zenger. Die Psalmen II. Psalm 51 – 100.
Die Neue Echter Bibel. Echter, 2002.
Buy from Amazon.ca – Buy from Amazon.com

Frank-Lothar Hossfeld is Professor of Old Testament at the University of Bonn, Germany. He is the author of Der Dekalog (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1982) and Untersuchungen zu Komposition und Theologie des Ezechielbuches (Echter, 1977). Erich Zenger is Professor of Old Testament at the University of Muenster, Germany. He is the author of numerous works, including To Begin with, God Created (Michael Glazier, 2000), and A God of Vengeance (WJK, 1996).

This commentary is a must-have for all scholars interested in the book of Psalms. Look for my full review in the Journal of Hebrew Scriptures. For a fairly comprehensive survey of commentaries on the book of Psalms, see my Old Testament Commentary Survey: Psalms.

U2, Africa, and Live 8 Update

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Since my U2 and Africa blog entry, Live 8 has come and gone. A Billboard .com daily music news article (noted by culture blogger Jeffrey Overstreet) reports that its organizer, Bob Geldof, and its main celebrity supporter, U2 lead singer Bono, considered it a success:

[Bono] and Geldof praised the world leaders attending the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, for pledging to double aid to Africa to $50 billion, saying the move will save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people who would have died of poverty, malaria or AIDS. “The world spoke and the politicians listened,” Bono said.

Not everyone is quite so sure of whether or not Live 8 made much of a difference, though I don’t see how it could have hurt! Any event that raises the profile of issues such as world poverty should be lauded.

If you weren’t able to attend the Live 8 concert in your country (as I wasn’t), QuickTime videos of all the main performances are available for free download here (Thanks again to Jeffrey Overstreet for the link).

Posted in U2

Bible Golf Balls Promise a Holy Hole in One

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Here is an excerpt from story from the scotsman.com called “Bible text balls promise a holy hole in one“:

GOLFERS feeling below par and in need of divine inspiration could do worse than attend a church exhibition in the Capital. The Scottish Christian Resources Exhibition (CRE), at Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre, will feature a set of three Glory Golf Balls, each inscribed with Bible text. One reads: “. . . but each shall go out straight ahead”, Ezekiel 46: 9; while another says: “Lift up your eyes on high and see . . . not one is missing”, Isaiah 40:26. The third reads: “I have finished the course. I have kept the faith”, 2 Timothy 4:7.

I could have used some of these balls — especially a bunch with the Ezekiel quote — for my round of golf on the weekend!

Update: After publishing my blog entry I noticed that Jim West over at Biblical Theology blog also noted this article, though he didn’t see the humour in it! (Of course, perhaps the sad thing is that many sincere people (including the manufacturers?) don’t see the humour in stuff like this either! This sort of “Jesus Junk” reminds me of an excellent book by Colleen McDannell called Material Christianity: Religion and Popular Culture in America (Yale University Press, 1995; Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com), in which she examines the role these sort of material artifacts have played in Christianity and Mormonism.)

Kidman and DiCaprio: Twins Separated at Birth?

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It’s Saturday night, I’m tired (I helped a friend move all day today), so I thought I would post a light-hearted blog about my visit to the local Rogers Video. As I was looking through the new releases (and being rather uninspired) I couldn’t help by notice the similar DVD covers of a couple movies on adjacent shelves. The movies were The Aviator (2004) staring Leonardo DiCaprio and Birth (2004) starring Nicole Kidman (I wonder how her Old Testament studies are progressing?). I haven’t seen either movie, though I automatically wondered if DiCaprio and Kidman were twins who were separated at birth. I showed one of the workers (are they called associates?) and he too was intrigued. Take a look for yourself — note especially the furled eyebrows:


As it turns out, they are (probably) not twins since Kidman was born in 1967 in Honolulu, while DiCaprio was born in Hollywood in 1974… unless of course there is a conspiracy and the Internet Movie Database is in on it! (As an aside, I think that Kidman should be cast for the next Star Trek movie! She would look rather good as a Vulcan: she has the eyebrows and the ears wouldn’t take much work!)

U2 and Africa

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I am a huge fan of the Irish rock band U2. I realize this confession may make me a pop-culture Philistine in some biblio-blogger’s eyes — at least compared to the regular postings on Mozart, Bach, etc. by Jim West, Joe Cathay, and Michael Pahl (among other blogging luminaries). Be that as it may, I can say without qualification that U2 is my favourite band (there are many in second place). From their very first album Boy (1980) to their latest release How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (2004), I like all of their music. I have even appreciated their transformations throughout the years, including their Achtung Baby/Pop/Zooropa phase (which, BTW, I thought was a brilliant exposé of the superficiality of popular culture). I regularly use music, lyrics, and videos from U2 songs in my lectures as well as my sermons. Songs such as “Wake Up Dead Man” (Pop 1997) and “Yahweh” (Atomic Bomb 2004) are great examples of modern laments, while “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” and “Walk On” (both from All that You Can’t Leave Behind 2000) are great expressions of (Christian) hope.

Perhaps more than anything else, however, I have appreciated U2’s prophetic voice and their ability to raise people’s social consciousness through their music. Songs such as “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” (War 1983; my favourite version is in the 1988 Rattle and Hum film), “Bullet the Blue Sky” (The Joshua Tree 1987), and “Love And Peace Or Else” (Atomic Bomb 2004) all convey a message that the world needs to hear. More than that, however, is the fact that the band also consistently backs up their words with actions. What compelled me to blog on U2 was the news story that U2 is going to be donating over six million euros to help fight poverty in Africa. Well done, boys! (Hopefully their generosity will be a model for all of us, including our over-paid “celebrities”)

UPDATE: In mentioning the musical tastes of other biblio-bloggers, I failed to note Ed Cook’s posts on Bob Dylan. (I also like Bob Dylan, though here I am showing my age since I know him more from his Travelling Willbury’s days!