Bitemybible

Herod's Playboy Mansion

Recent digging at King Herod's ancient pleasure palace, Herodium, has revealed yet more evidence of the biblical monarch's lavish lifestyle. According to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, excavations have revealed a family tomb, a theatre, a VIP room and even the remains of a sauna. For some reason, Associated Press saw fit when reporting the story to take an unsubstantiated pop at the Bible's description of Herod. Reuters, on the other hand, was far more level-headed. The story coincides with a new National Geographic documentary called Herod's Lost Tomb, scheduled for transmission a week today in the UK. Photo: Alvaro Herraiz

Sammy-lovers

I'm a big fan of Mitchell and Webb, so when I came across their comedy sketch about the parable of the Good Samaritan, I was intrigued. It's several years old now but still as funny as ever. The fact that they understood some of the nuances in the original story was, I thought, quite revealing. That said, unlike the open-minded characters in the sketch, many Jewish people of the time did have prejudiced views about Samaritans.

Looking past some of the expletives, however, I think it's a good example of how the Bible is a rich seam of comedy material just waiting to be mined. I also think that Robert Webb makes a very convincing Jesus. See what you think.

Dark Sarcasm in the Classroom

 
A new survey released today by Teachers TV claimed that a third of teachers agree that creationism should be taught within schools. Or so the story goes. James Randerson at The Guardian has done a good job of scratching below the surface on the figures and questioning some of the assumptions. The standout finding of the poll, however, was that nine out of 10 teachers believe that they should be able to field questions about creationism within science lessons, if students take the initiative to bring them up.

Predictably, this poll has caused much wailing from the usual suspects, but most people seem happy with the position of Professor Michael Reiss, that closing down discussion on the subject is merely counterproductive. But what's with all the dogmatism on the issue? Photo: Brent Danley