![Hundie Jo [Dot] Com](http://www.hundiejo.com/wp-content/plugins/ttftitles/cache2/7d6a910bbe08845c0836a517a70936d5.png){kind=small}
Archive for April, 2007
Quote of the Day
Henry Imler April 30th, 2007
“In order for Satan to establish his ‘New World
Order’ and destroy the freedom of all people as predicted in the
Scriptures, he must first destroy the U.S….The mostly quiet and
unspectacular invasion of illegal immigrants does not focus the
attention of the nations the way open warfare does, but is all the more
insidious for its stealth and innocuousness.”
Not only does Satan need to get behind me, he needs to stop ordering illegal immigration!
Gotta love unintentional humor.
A Requestion*
Henry Imler April 30th, 2007
Anyone know if Steve Chapman is correct with his criticism of a AAUW report?
Buried in the report is a startling admission: “After
accounting for all factors known to affect wages, about one-quarter of
the gap remains unexplained and may be attributed to discrimination”
(my emphasis). Another way to put it is that three-quarters of the gap
clearly has innocent causes — and that we actually don’t know whether
discrimination accounts for the rest…The divergent career paths of men and women may reflect a basic
unfairness in what’s expected of them. It could be that a lot of
mothers, if they had their way, would rather pursue careers but have to
stay home with the kids because their husbands insist. Or it may be
that for one reason or another, many mothers prefer to take on the
lion’s share of child-rearing. In any case, the pay disparity caused by
these choices can’t be blamed on piggish employers.
Read the article for the specific issues. I just don’t know enough about the study to know if his criticisms are correct.
* Yea, it’s a made up word.
Question of the Day
Henry Imler April 30th, 2007
Anyone think that Carbon CreditsTM
are a rotten idea that doesn’t have a positive impact on the climate or
the environment? Anyone think that they are simply a money making
scheme by people who have a small “carbon footprint” and are a way for
companies to look better on paper than they really are? I realize that
one can hypothetically say that the company spewing pollution into the
air is essentially paying another one to plant trees that might
counteract the pollution. Shouldn’t the polluting company try to reduce
their emissions?
It’s like a porn company buying “morality credits” and having a Church pass out anti-porn fliers.
Links of the Day
Henry Imler April 30th, 2007
- Give a man* a gun… - A unique case, but interesting, never-the-less.
- Observable Evolution…
- Evangelist Challenges Atheists to Bible-Less Debate (mirror) submitted to Digg - Digg comments explode with pop philosophy
on both sides. I like the idea of the debate, but given the people that
are going to be involved and the claims they are making before the
debate even starts, I don’t have high hopes for this debate. - The old, but interesting diagram of how naturalistic people view science and religion.
Notice that there is no, “Does it match what the funders want?” box,
nor a “Possible revelation from outside observable universe” box
either. Not only that, but we all know that religion is completely
static. there have never been any modifications to religious belief of
all people throughout all time. That would not be a hasty
generalization.
———————————————————–
* And encourage the women to have them too.
Heat swept
Henry Imler April 29th, 2007
Last year was too good to be true last. The Heat were swept today by the up and coming Bulls. I am now 1 and 1 for my predictions.
List of Heat Retirees:
- Gary Payton I am faster than him now.
- Alonzo Mourning Could still pull a ‘tumbo for the next few years, but now that his kidney has a ring - hang it up.
- Shaquille O’Neal Old Jabbar w/o the hook
- Antoine Walker I think I can shoot better than
him, jump higher than him [7 vs 6 inches], and look less like Donatello
than him. I will accept 1/2 of his yearly salary to take his place -
its a win-win situation. - Eddie Jones Thanks for all the great playoff memories…
Members of the Heat to fake retire:
- Pat Riley He’ll retire citing health reasons
until he can build another team around Wade and Haslem… then he’ll
undercut the current coach and take the glory.
Plan for the Future:
You know what might be best? Trade all of the guys who should retire to
Minnesota for Kevin Garnet. Throw in some old ‘86 Celtic tapes and
McHale might just throw in his next draft picks - the 2034 and 2035
first rounders he has been saving up.
No matter what - I’ll still be rooting for the Heat in the years to come.
2007 NBA Playoff Predictions: Round One
Henry Imler April 19th, 2007
Now that the 2006-2007 NBA season is over, the playoff seedings are set. What follows is my annual NBA playoff predictions. I did not do too bad last year, going 7-1, missing my spreads by 8 games out of 8 rounds - not too shabby. Enough jibber-jabber
- on to the predictions! I don’t have much time this week to get into
the depths of each series, so short blurbs will have to do.
Eastern Conference
1) Pistons vs. 8) Magic
Pistons in 6.
I hate the Pistons. I hate the Pistons. They make me root for the Knicks.
2) Cavs vs. 7) Wizards
Bulls in 5
No Gilbert, no chance. Would have made for a rematch of the best first round from last year.
3) Raptors vs. 6) Nets
Nets in 7
Does anyone have playoff experience for the Raptors?
4) Heat vs. 5) Bulls
Heat in 6
Funny that the Bulls were this close to getting the 2 seed and they are
bumped all the way down to 5. They will make life very hard for the
Heat but and old Ben Wallace is worse than an old Shaq.
Western Conference
1) Mavs vs. 8) Warriors
Mavs in 5
Sixty-seven wins wins this one.
2) Suns vs. 7) Lakers
Suns in 6
Kobe will score all but 5 points for the Lakers during this series, but the Suns have their center this year…
3) Spurs vs. 6) Nuggets
Nuggets in 7
Yea, the Spurs will get every single call this post season, but AI,
Camby, and ‘Mello should sneak/squeak by… or get crushed by the
basketball machine that is the Spurs… or Manu is balding and aging…
4) Jazz vs. 5) Rockets
Rockets in 5
Sorry Utah fans, the Rockets are healthy for the first time in 27 years
and loaded with two superstars and a whole bunch of good role players.
What happened last time the Rockets had those pieces (one of the best
centers and two guards in the NBA)? David Robinson went commando and
Shaq got embarrassed he issued a 1 on 1 Pay-per-view Challenge to try
and reclaim his honor. I guess a handful rings will have to do. Should
have drawn the Warriors or Nuggets or the Eastern Conference.
Chekov - Raise Shields…
Henry Imler April 18th, 2007
… buy using a plasma cloud trapped by a magnetic field.
It has been known for a while that there are serious dangers posed
by intra-solar radiation for any kind of human traveling outside the
earth’s magnetosphere. They even did a cover article on the topic at Discover magazine.
There might be a way around the problem (update - 2nd team).
Slough says the problem could be solved with just a few
grams of hydrogen in the form of a plasma surrounding the spacecraft.
NASA’s Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) recently awarded Slough’s
team $75,000 to explore the feasibility of the idea.The details still need to be worked out, but the basic approach is
clear. A high voltage device on the spacecraft would tear the hydrogen
into its constituent protons and electrons. This plasma would then be
spewed out into space, creating a cloud around the spacecraft.There would need to be a wire mesh outside the spacecraft and
enclosing the plasma cloud. Electricity supplied to the mesh would keep
an electrical current running in the plasma cloud and help confined it
near the spacecraft.The plasma’s magnetic field would be a powerful deflector of cosmic
rays, equivalent to aluminium shielding several inches thick, Slough
says.
Victory for the Value of Life
Henry Imler April 18th, 2007
Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Abortion Procedure
The majority upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act,
whose very name can set off heated debate. The procedure addressed is
known medically as “intact dilation and evacuation” and “D and X,” for
dilation and extraction. It involves partly removing an intact fetus,
then destroying the skull to complete the abortion. Doctors and other
abortion-rights advocates who challenged the law maintained that the
procedure is often the safest because it minimizes the chances of
injury to the uterus.
Now if they would abolish the death penalty, overturn Row v Wade, and legalize euthanasia. Then we would be on our way to being actually pro-life. Oh yeah, and something about that whole warring business, I am not sure about that….
Quote of the Day
Henry Imler April 17th, 2007
Once again comes from Bill Simons, the only thing I read on ESPN.insider, as he ranks the players in the NBA:
287. Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy (tie)
The lesson, as always: Anytime you’re considering a six-player NBA
trade in which you end up with both overpaid white guys in the deal …
you might want to rethink that baby.
Good Biblical Studies Blogs
Henry Imler April 16th, 2007
Unspun has a list of the best Biblical Studies Blogs according to user voting. There are some gems in there, check it out.
Finally - Thesis Topic Picked
Henry Imler April 15th, 2007
I finally picked a thesis topic. It is harder than one might think. You have to think of a relevant topic where you think you can say something new. In the field of New Testament / Early Christianities, that is pretty difficult to find.
After much hand-wringing, I have decided to do a socio-historical analysis of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. Most of the studies of the document have been thematic, or narrative criticism, trying to get at the theological points the author wanted to convey. I’ll try to take this a step further and look at the social and historical location of both the author and the community he wrote to in the Gospel of Thomas. Specifically, I’ll look at connections and departures from a the Lucan community and the connection to the second Zeno school.
Anyway, I fell a million times better having a concrete direction to go in.
Contested Meanings in the Gospel of Judas
Henry Imler April 15th, 2007
Last week I posted about going to a talk on the Gospel of Judas by Elaine Pagels. It was a fascinating talk on something that I have never read. I have recently started reading The Forbidden Gospels Blog by Dr. April DeConick of Rice University. She has a book that is coming out very soon that contests the meaning of the Gospel of Judas. It makes me want to read the book by Pagels/King and the book by DeConick.
The Forbidden Gospels Blog: The Thirteenth Apostle: What the Gospel of Judas Really Says
“I didn’t find the sublime Judas, at least not in Coptic. What I found were a series of English translation choices made by the National Geographic team, choices that permitted a different Judas to emerge in the English translation than in the Coptic original. Judas was not only not sublime, he was far more demonic than any Judas I know in any other piece of early Christian literature, Gnostic or otherwise.”
DeConick contends that the Gospel of Judas is not about a “good” Judas, or even a “poor old” Judas. It is a gospel parody about a “demon” Judas written by a particular group of Gnostic Christians known as the Sethians who lived in the second century CE. The purpose of the text was to criticize “mainstream” or apostolic Christianity from the point of view of these Gnostic Christians, especially their doctrine of atonement, their Eucharistic practices, and their creedal faith which they claimed to have inherited from the twelve disciples.
Pullin’ a me
Henry Imler April 14th, 2007
They say to be transformed into a term is the sincerest form of
flattery. Well, I don’t know anyone that says this, but someone should
start. Anyway, my sister-in-law has coined a new term: “Pulling a Henry.” Those of you that know me might already know what the term means.
Oh, and as tribute to how awesome my sister-in-law is, check out the cake she made her husband for his birthday:
Wii Browser = Lazyness X 36
Henry Imler April 14th, 2007
I am posting this from my couch… on our Wii.
The final Wii browser from Opera is pretty sweet. There is a nice
secondary zoom function (2) that allows for the webpage you are viewing
to be read in one column that is perfect for reading. OK My thumb hurts
and I am sure the “A” button is worn out…
Finally - Thesis Topic Picked
Henry Imler April 11th, 2007
I finally picked a thesis topic. It is harder than one might
think. You have to think of a relevant topic where you think you can
say something new. In the field of New Testament / Early
Christianities, that is pretty difficult to find.
After much hand-wringing, I have decided to do a socio-historical analysis of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.
Most of the studies of the document have been thematic, or narrative
criticism, trying to get at the theological points the author wanted to
convey. I’ll try to take this a step further and look at the social and
historical location of both the author and the community he wrote to in
the Gospel of Thomas. Specifically, I’ll look at connections and
departures from a the Lucan community and the connection to the second
Zeno school.
Anyway, I fell a million times better having a concrete direction to go in.
Observations from the Pagels Lecture.
Henry Imler April 10th, 2007
Audio from the Lecture (mp3 - 46mb)
I was lucky enough to attend Dr. Pagel’s lecture on the Gospel of Judas. It was a fascinating and informative talk. Here are some of my observations from the lecture. Pagels has just published a new book on this Gospel with Karen King, entitled Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity. I have not read the book, nor the Gospel of Judas.
While I have read some of Pagel’s work, most specifically, Beyond Belief, I have never heard her in person. She is a very effective speaker, humor and wit with are intermixed with history and background to illuminate her points, she approaches the audience on the popular level and does not talk above their heads. While some of her popular works are criticized for being sensational at times, she is very disarming in her approach - she does not start out shocking the audience with grandiose claims. Instead, Pagels introduced the text and presented 4 problems that she found contained within it and then lead the audience to the answers she came to during her research.
The talk centered around the Gospel of Judas, a repressed gospel dating to the early days of Christianity. Dating is always and estimate. The manuscript that we have was found in upper Egypt and written in Coptic. Most likely the manuscript was from a monastery in the region and dates to somewhere in the fourth century(300-400 CE). It seems to be a translation of a much earlier text, somewhere in the second century (100-200 CE). She did a good job introducing to the audience the issues surrounding the Gnostics, how the term “Gnosticism” is not a good category, but a convenient one that really does not do them justice. There are groups of Christians that deviate from what would become Orthodox views, but to categorize this very messy group as Gnostics is misleading and inaccurate.
To Pagels, the text seems to center around a dispute between Judas and the other Apostles and the topic of martyrdom. While I don’t have the texts that she was working with (see below for the NG translation), I’ll do my best to reproduce what she was talking about. The gospel opens with Jesus ridiculing the Twelve for how they were worshiping. The twelve get angry at Jesus and in response, he challenges them to stand before him. Only Judas is able to stand before Jesus and Jesus rewards him with teachings. The Twelve have dreams about people sacrificing children on an altar. Jesus explains that the people doing the sacrificing are the Twelve. Judas has had another dream, this one shows how he is different from the others. I don’t remember much else about it - see the audio for more.
Pagels looks at this text not as a window into the lives of Jesus and the Twelve, but as a window into the controversies in the early church, most specifically, the one about Martyrdom. She thinks it reflects, in part, a voice standing against “eager martyrdom.” A conception had spread that one should seek out being killed for Christ rather than fleeing to another city, like the Gospel of Luke would suggest. Instead, the best death a Christian could have is to be killed for the cause. The people behind the Gospel of Judas were concerned about this, thinking that this is not the way Jesus wanted us to live because God values life, not death, so we should not actively seek death.
That was the main gist of her presentation. It was more a look into the history of the Early Church than anything else, and for that, I throughly enjoyed the talk. Please see the MP3 for the audio of the lecture.
I’ll have the audio up later. See below for the audio
Resources:
- National Geographic Translation of the Gospel of Judas (PDF)
- Audio from the Lecture (mp3 - 46mb)
Geraldo and Bill form a Singularity
Henry Imler April 6th, 2007
Wow - check out this link to a heated (extremely) conversation
between Geraldo and Bill O’Reilly. They both lose it - but O’Reilly
seriously looks crazy at time.
Bill O’Reilly’s head practically explodes as he screams at Geraldo…
Quote of the Day.
Henry Imler April 6th, 2007
Sorry all you Wizard fans out there. It looks like Gilbert Arenas is
out for the season following surgery on his knee yesterday. I know if
we (the Heat) play you all (the Wizards) we will dice you like we have
the last 14 out of 15 games we have gone head to head. But I just hate
that your star is out for the playoffs. This is on the heels of Butler
breaking his hand.
What does this have to do with the quote of the day? Here is Arenas on his leg:
t’s not one of them career-ending injuries. Mostly it
was just a cleanup. I didn’t tear anything, it’s mostly stretched so
that was good news.I told them to cut the leg off a couple times. You know, cut it off
and then bring it back to me when it was all healed. Because, you know,
Heather Mills on Dancing with the Stars, she had that leg. I was saying
I could borrow one of those and finish out the season. But they wasn’t
going for that.
That was hilarious.
