In a recent post I mentioned an upcoming paper I was presenting at a panel in Baltimore on explaining the causes of early Christianity’s origins. My concern in that paper, which I delivered a few days ago, was to draw attention to problems with attempts to account for the origins and development of any social movement — a critique that, for some in this one field, has already invalidated such things as quests for the historical Jesus. However, serious scholars yet persist in trying to account for the originary conditions of this thing we call Christianity.
The goal, of course, is to find out “what really happened,” as phrased by one person during the Q&A. Isn’t it? Continue reading “What’s Really Happening”
It’s merely unlimited, undifferentiated 
Some Thanksgiving thoughts for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Despite various corrections and critiques (e.g., 
Then we’d like to post a pic of you and your button from the Edge on Facebook.
Yes, I’m now old enough to remember things that some around me have never heard of — no, not the Hindenburg disaster but, say, lighter moments from popular culture. For example, a niece who used to keep me updated on cool music that I ought to be aware of (she was my own personal fountain of youth, in other words), once told me about The Ataris. 
If we’re defined by our other, then I’d say that this is what Culture on the Edge 
A recent story on the sounds of New York in the 1920s brings up a curious thing — whether the past is more real when listening to it (or seeing it, in old movies or photos, for example) rather than just reading about it (whether in so-called primary or secondary sources).
Have you heard the latest in the “is yoga really religious?” debates?