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How many people like to wait? Who likes standing in line at the grocery store, being put on hold by the operator, or waiting at a red light? It is hard to wait and even harder to be patient while doing it. Perhaps the most difficult times of waiting are those that involve the pursuit of God.

Recently I was asked about some interpretive matters in Mark 9 and how the demonology of this text related to the movie the Exorcist, which I thought would make a great blog post for those interested. The question was aimed specifically at the biblicity of the sort of power play exorcisms common in films, where an exorcist has a back and forth with a demon who refuses to be exercised. So, what’s up with that and is Mark 9 a depiction of that sort of thing?

Have you heard the story about the atheist college professor who, while holding a piece of chalk, says to his class that if there is a God he will prevent the chalk from breaking when he drops it? This is a common story told by Christian preachers to prove God’s existence. The story has also been passed around on the internet for many years. In case you haven’t heard the story, let me tell it and then I want to offer some important reflection.

It never ceases to amaze me how ignorant news reporters are when it comes to religion, especially to the academic discipline of biblical studies. Just recently, I came across this article in the associated press entitled, “In Jerusalem, Scholars Trace Bible’s Evolution." The article made it sound like there was some new evidence found proving the Bible is unreliable. In case some of you have come across this article or others like it (when I googled I came across other reporters basically doing the same thing this article did), I thought it would be helpful to blog a little about it.