A couple of weeks late, but better late than never, eh?
As is normal, and as with the monthly roundup on my main blog, these were the most read in the first three months of this year, without necessarily being written then. "Evergreen" items from the past will be so noted.
10th? My 2022 post on the great ahistoricity of Acts — and radical thoughts on Paul's demise — is trending in part because I posted it as a comment at Paul Davidson's "Is That in the Bible" site, and also because it's linked in No. 7 below.
In 9th? A recent post about putting Hindu-Buddhist theological carts before consciousness horses.
At 8 is an oldie from 2021 about the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod shutting down its Concordia University in Portland because it was too doctrinally loose on some issues, and the shitload of fallout that caused — fallout that, AFAIK, has not been totally resolved. Teh Google shows no recent news, but does show LCMS insidiousness at work earlier this year on its university in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
At No. 7, from earlier this year, is my "semi-disappointing foul ball" critique of "God's Ghostwriters" by Candida Moss.
At No. 6, from just a month ago? A hard-hitting callout of LCMS president Matthew Harrison for godawful theology in sucking up to Trumpistan. Some of it is bad theology by Lutheran vs Reformed Protestantism lights, others is just bad theology period. I suspect it's only going to get worse over the next three years and nine months.
No. 5? From a year ago, my critique of new and weird claims about Morton Smith and Secret Mark. It may be trending because I posted it on Skeptophilia blogger Gordon Bonnet's page when he wrote a post about a month ago talking about "Mysterious Mark" or something and I thought fragments of a previously unknown gospel had been found until I started reading.
No. 4? From last month, the latest installation of the gift that keeps on giving, the latest wrongness at the r/AcademicBiblical subreddit.
No. 3? A claim that a so-called (and yes, that part is needed) Plague of Cyprian nearly collapsed the Roman Empire, the subject of an entire recent book, "The Fate of Rome," is pretty much wrong in many ways, and may be close to the old physics Not.Even.Wrong. world.
No. 2? My second takedown of "Matty" Harrison, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod president, came after the Portland issue, in 2023. This was over his handling of the "Lutefash" issue within his denomination, including pastors, including, in an update, one involved with the "Steal the Vote" effort in Georgia 2020. As with No. 6, I expect this will only get worse over the next three years and nine months because Matthew Harrison is a big "trimmer" as well as a big politician. (If you think organized religion — and not just tribes within Christianity on that — isn't politicized, you need to think again.)
No. 1? I love not only kicking touters of Buddhism, like Robert Wright and his ilk that claims it's not a religion, but kicking ideas in Buddhism behind that. "More proof that the Buddha was no Buddha" goes back to 2007.
And, with 2, 6, and 8, I decided Harrison needed his own tag.