Monday, February 28, 2011

CNN's Puzzling Story on Crossan

Sure, John Dominic Crossan is an interesting figure. He is an engaging and very personable individual. His scholarship has been extremely provocative and influential. While I disagree with many of his conclusions, I've benefited from reading his work. But why is it that CNN has run a story on him for two days on the homepage of their website? I know that every year as Easter approaches the major news outlets like to run stories on the historical Jesus, often highlighting depictions of Jesus that undermine the church's major Christological claims. But Crossan's major work on the topic, The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant, came out in 1993. When this book came out, Bill Clinton was beginning his first term, the Dallas Cowboys were a good football team, Janet Jackson had a number one hit, and "Jurassic Park" was in theatres. A considerable amount of work on Jesus has come out since 1993. Two days on the homepage, with the caption "John Dominic Crossan's 'blasphemous' portrait of Jesus".... I won't hold my breath waiting for them to highlight a "non-blasphemous" portrait of Jesus.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Christians and Muslims in Cairo

Check out this CNN story that deals in part with Muslims protecting Christians during the protests in Cairo. This is a different angle on Christian-Muslim relations in Egypt, one that we rarely see in the U.S.