Dr. Nick Elder

Gravestone of Nicholas J. Fury reading “the path of the righteous man…Ezekiel 25:17”

WHY DIDNT ANY OF YOU EVER TELL ME ABOUT THIS EASTER EGG IN CAPTAIN AMERICA?!!!!??!!?

Sunrise on the reaping cover

Jc superstar album cover

Are The Hunger Games just Jesus Christ Superstar redivivus?

People are asking.

The Bible as Film slides with Bar Trivia struck through so that it reads Retreat Trivia instead. There is a popcorn bowl, an image of charlton heston as Moses, upside down Biggus Dickus from Life of Brian, a Ben Hur medallion, and a Time Magazine cover with the title "Jesus Christ Superstar Rocks Broadway" on it

Preparing to update my colleagues on this semester's scholarly activity at our annual faculty retreat:

Ramona Quimby, skipping happily

A Wabash Center blog I wrote in which Ramona Quimby’s Kindergarten teacher, Miss Binney, gives a practical lesson in giving a shit about students: bit.ly/4lPr5UH

NYT Connections with “nick” and “elder” highlighted

Banner day

“The prayer clock” with a picture of pensive, prayerful Jesus in the fact, it plays readings from the New Testament every hour on the hour as read by James earl jones

How to build rapport with your seminary colleagues:

Haha. Might swap out next week’s wonderstate subscription…

I saw a ruby bag on one of the promo shorts but didn’t know what was going on. Just assumed Justin v was a big ruby fan (as one ought)

Sable fable album cover

Happy Bon Iver day!

There is also an interim version of the position that does not require being located in Dubuque.

My institution is hiring a Director of Seminary Admissions.

We are looking for:
◾️Someone with a master's degree (preferably in a theological field)
◾️who will recruit for and promote the seminary
◾️while being based in Dubuque, IA

www.dbq.edu/aboutud/empl...

Jesus in a Superman shirt with nine clownish disciples on either side of him, Sa Vinci style

The Last Supper in Godspell (1973)

Forum posts with the titles of books for book reports, including God's Ghostwriters, Mind the Gap, The Historical Jesus: Five Views, Finding Phoebe, The Widening of God's Mercy, A Jewish Paul, and Tell Her Story.

Assessing student work is so much more fun when these are the books they are reporting on:

SBL Synoptic Gospels CFP: The Synoptic Gospels section invites proposals for two open sessions on the content or formation of any of the Synoptic Gospels. We especially welcome papers that address the relationship between two or more Gospels or that deal with themes touching on multiple Gospels. In addition, the Synoptic Gospels section invites proposals for two special sessions. In one special session that will be held jointly with the Queer Hermeneutics section, we invite papers that engage the Synoptic Gospels through explicitly queer and/or trans hermeneutics. In the other special session, we invite proposals that examine various facets of enslavement found within the gospels including analysis of enslavement as metaphor, enslaved characters, enslavers, and manumission.

The Synoptic Gospels program unit will have the following sessions at the 2025 annual meeting of the SBL. All are open for submissions:
–Two open sessions
–Synoptics and queer and/or trans hermeneutics
–Enslavement in the Synoptics

Consider submitting! CFP closes March 25.

Those two are definitely tops. I also really like Pasolini’s version of Matthew and Joaquin Phoenix’s Jesus in Mary Magdalene. If we include peplum films there are IMO more right answers: Ben Hur is still great in my book, Life of Brian, Book of Clarence, and others

A flowchart of Bible films

Need assistance figuring out what Bible film to watch? I am here to help!

If you want to desensitize your kids from gluing their eyes to any screen that happens to be on,

throw _The Greatest Story Ever Told_ on in your living room.

Mine watched about 37 seconds before peacing out.

Presbyterian Outlook banned by Instagram - The Presbyterian Outlook Presbyterian Outlook’s Instagram was suspended by Meta without explanation. Learn what happened and where to find us now

Presbyterian Outlook banned by Instagram: What happened and where to find us now

Presbyterian Outlook’s Instagram was suspended by Meta without explanation. Learn what happened and where to find us now.

@Terimott.bsky.social #Meta

*Trivia time*

Question: Which noncanonical/apocryphal gospel has Balthasar, the wiseman, witness Jesus’s crucifixion?

Lyrics to “never gonna give you up”

Tip successfully submitted screen

How will you be using the enddei.ed.gov site?

Donald Trump statue from the horrid Gaza video

“The bunny” from veggie tales

Evangelicals have seen this before.

Okay, i updated the thread bsky.app/profile/nick...

An ad for Royal Milling Company's Ben-Hur Flour.

Lew Wallace's novel _Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ_ was published in 1880 and became a merchandise blockbuster.

At the beginning of the 20th cent., one could buy Ben-Hur themed coffee, cigars, flour, bicycles, shoes, perfume, and much more.

Or ride a Ben-Hur roller coaster.

Vintage postcard of people on a beach at electric park with a roller coaster, presumably the ben-hur racer, in the background.

The third operated at Kansas City's Electric Park from 1913 until the entire park burned down in a fire in 1925. Walter Cronkite apparently witnessed the fire, writing, “One night after closing it burned in a spectacular fire. The Ferris wheel seemed to turn as the flames climbed up its sides."

Token for the ben hur races featureing an image of ben hur on chariot carried by four horses.

Another operated on the opposite American coast. "The Ben Hur Racers" operated on Coney Island from 1908–1923.

Ben Hur race depicted on a pier in Venice Beach.

The one pictured above in the first post above, "The Ben Hur Race" operated for just a year in 1914–1915 at Fraser’s Million Dollar Pier in Venice, CA before being destroyed by fire. It featured 4,200 feet of track and reached a height of 75 feet. Here's another view from a postcard.

As far as I can tell there were at least three Ben-Hur wooden roller coasters that operated in the 1910s. All of them were "doubletrack racing coasters," two tracks and with carts that operated side-by-side. This, of course, is fitting in so far as it emulates Ben-Hur's famous chariot race.

I told Greek students today that my mnemonic for ενεγκον as the third principal (2nd aorist) part of φερω

was a fellow student muttering "fucking φερω" every time it appeared not as a present.

Not missing a beat, a student said,

"That's what Moses said."

And that’s the Bible joke of the year.

“Ben hour racer” postcard from ocean park, ca feauturing a large wooden roller coaster

Today I am writing about Ben-Hur themed roller coasters in early 20th cent. American amusement parks

because Bible research has long tentacles.

Day one was great!