By David Armstrong There are certain ideas that, once you have them, it is excessively difficult to un-have them. Here are two. The first is that religions–treated as self-sufficient, insulated systems of belief, behavior, and belonging that are discrete from other such systems and that can be identified through zoning in on some sort of…
Tag: religion
Religion and Ethnicity in Antiquity, The Mandalorian, and Today
By David Armstrong The emerging consensus in studies of the historical Jesus, Paul, his letters, the Gospel, and the New Testament more generally is that these figures and texts belong squarely within first-century Judaism, and that our notion of “Judaism” in antiquity cannot be reduced to the modern concept of “religion.” For all ancient peoples,…
Analyzing Religion in Jonathan Hickman’s HOUSE OF X #1
Recently, I received an email from one David Canham, informing me that he was beginning to write an ongoing series for the website Sequart analyzing religious themes in Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men run. As a fan of Hickman’s work, and as someone who is writing his own ongoing series for Sequart about Hickman’s Avengers run, I was…
The Good Place & Human Intervention
By Dr. Meredith J.C. Warren Unsurprisingly, I have *thoughts* about Netflix’s The Good Place, human intervention in divine modes of judgement and a little old text called The Testament of Abraham (Some spoilers for season 4). GIF: Judge Gen from The Good Place giving two thumbs-down gestures. If you’re not familiar with The Testament of…
“I want to tell you a different story”: Hope Parallels in The Walking Dead and The Resurrection
By Justin Martin *Warning: minor spoilers for Seasons 2, 4, 5, and 9. “Why is he up there addressing the people like that?” This was one of my first thoughts when I saw Siddiq on stage addressing the people of the kingdom (Season 9, Episode 15), arguably the most devastating loss among The Walking Dead…
“The Silent Interviews” and “False Emphasis In The Eradication Of”
Hello everyone! Recently, I (Matt) received an email from a poet named Colin James. He asked if I would be interested in posting a few of his poems on the site, since they have elements of both religion and pop culture in them. I said yes, although I did ask him to provide some commentary…
Matthew Brake on Sectarian Review Podcast Discussing Religion and Comics
Hey everyone! Recent I (Matt) had the opportunity to go on the Sectarian Review podcast, hosted by Danny Anderson. The Sectarian Review has become one of my go to podcasts. Danny let me come on and plug a new book series I’m co-editing with A. David Lewis for Claremont Press on Religion and Comics (there’s…
Matthew Brake on the ReligionProf Podcast
About a month ago, I (Matt) had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. James McGrath to discuss the Theology and Pop Culture series. I’ve really enjoyed connecting with James this past year, and I’m excited about some of the volumes he himself is cooking up for the series! Take a listen here!
Islamic Arts and “Arabian Nights Mode”
By Fatima Hye As a Muslim in America, I always felt that there was a rift in our community. Either you were a practicing Muslim, and therefore had zero interest in the arts, or you engaged in the arts, but weren’t very practicing. In my view, this issue (that other faith-based communities sometimes face as well:…
Pop Culture and Theology 