A Free Book and A Book I've Been Waiting For

Yesterday and today were good days when it comes to books. Yesterday I received my very own copy of


Une bibliothèque au sud de la ville
Ras Shamra Ougarit VII

This will keep me from having to go to UCLA a couple of extra times over the next year. It pays for itself in gas.

And today my free book from Eisenbrauns arrived. Thank you, Eisenbrauns! You may remember that they had a special deal for those who subscribe to their RSS feed. Well, the book is,


Secular and Christian Leadership in Corinth
A Socio-Historical and Exegetical Study of 1 Corinthians 1-5

Its not something I would have bought. After all, I don't study Hellenistic Jewish sects on a regular basis. But I will likely give it a read. The title sounds interesting. While the book may not be about this at all, the title reminds me that religions develop and flourish in a complex cultural context, a significant part of which we call "secular."

This also reminds me of the upcoming blog against theocracy weekend that starts tomorrow.

Quick Server Update:

Tonight will be the second night in a row that I will go to bed with fewer computer problems than I woke up with. I'm still a long way from getting my old blog back working at full speed but I think things are moving in the right direction.