Sci Phi Journal Issue #1


Book Description

Sci Phi is an online science fiction and philosophy magazine. In each issue you will find stories that explore questions of life, the universe and everything and articles that delve into the deep philosophical waters of science fiction universes. This month we have, An original Novellete from author John C. Wright, The Ideal Machine, a tale of aliens from a distant star come to visit an old country church and offer our world a chance for the future. Original Science Fiction stories fromJoshua M. Young - Domo - A story of a Robot who wonders if he has a soulDavid Hallquist - Falling To Eternity - Can a Blackhole help you get away with murder?Frederick Best - Cosmic Foam - What is beyond the visible worldJane Lebak - Abandoned River, Dry Water - What do you do when life throws you a curve ball?Original Essays byDavid Kyle Johnson - In Defense of the Matrix Saga: Appreciating the Sequel through PhilosophyJames Druley - Star Trek's Prime Directive : Moral Guidelines, Exceptions and AbsolutesStephen S. Hanson - Personhood in H.Beam Piper's Little FuzzyDaniel Vecchio - "I am Groot": An Aristotelian Reflection on Space Aliens and SubstanceRuth Tallman - Endangered Species: Exploring Transhumanism, Genetic Engineering and Personhood Through the World of Sweet ToothAnd a book review by Peter Sean Bradley, Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia.




Socio-Historical Examination of Religion and Ministry, Volume 1, Issue 2


Book Description

Socio-Historical Examination of Religion and Ministry (SHERM journal) is a biannual, not-for-profit, free peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes the latest social-scientific, historiographic, and ecclesiastic research on religious institutions and their ministerial practices. SHERM is dedicated to the critical and scholarly inquiry of historical and contemporary religious phenomena, both from within particular religious traditions and across cultural boundaries, so as to inform the broader socio-historical analysis of religion and its related fields of study. The purpose of SHERM is to provide a scholarly medium for the social-scientific study of religion where specialists can publish advanced studies on religious trends, theologies, rituals, philosophies, socio-political influences, or experimental and applied ministry research in the hopes of generating enthusiasm for the vocational and academic study of religion while fostering collegiality among religious specialists. Its mission is to provide academics, professionals, and nonspecialists with critical reflections and evidence-based insights into the socio-historical study of religion and, where appropriate, its implications for ministry and expressions of religiosity.




The Black Cat's Journal Volume 1


Book Description

After the Netherwards got Isekai’d (transported) to another world, they decided to stay and make a living as adventurers then pioneered as frontiersmen to the Centralian’s Great Southern Waste, building their own country and ushering the industrial and electronic age in a medieval fantasy world full of Dwarves, Elves, Faefolks, Beastmen, Orcs and Demons.




MerahKuningMinis’ Minipainting Journal Volume 1


Book Description

🎨 Merahkuningminis’ Minipainting Journal Volume 1: Painting Miniature Figures During the Pandemic "Then it came, the decision that perhaps a lot of minipainting hobbyists dread – to turn my hobby into a job." 🎨 Synopsis: Miniature painting is a geek subculture where people build, assemble, and paint miniatures– small toy figures usually depicting characters from a fantasy, sci-fi, or historical setting. As someone who has picked up the hobby of miniature painting as a de-stress activity and an art activity in my leisure time, the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has forced me to turn my hobby into a freelance job, being affected career-wise. With the job description of working with clients who wanted to pay someone to paint their miniatures, my new career path had the expected effect of forcing myself to push my miniature painting skills further and to improve faster. This first volume is part of a series of short journal entries of process recollections, lessons learned, and the acquired skills from several projects that I have worked on that lead to the commencement of my career as a freelance artist and a professional miniature painter. 🎨 Contained 4 chapters and selected photographs by Tengku Iskhandar.




Imaginatio et Ratio: A Journal of Theology and the Arts, Volume 2, Issue 1 2013


Book Description

Imaginatio et Ratio (www.imaginatioetratio.org) is a peer reviewed journal primarily focusing on the intersection between the arts and theology, hoping to allow imagination and reason to be seen as intimately intertwined-as different expressions of the same divine truth. Imaginatio et Ratio was started in the hopes that it could serve a growing community of artists and thinkers and strives to present accessible but high quality art, literary fiction, creative non-fiction, and theology/philosophy-as well as interviews and book, film, art and music reviews. The journal is published twice a year and is available in print and digital formats.




Socio-Historical Examination of Religion and Ministry, Volume 2, Issue 1


Book Description

Socio-Historical Examination of Religion and Ministry (SHERM journal) is a biannual, not-for-profit, free peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes the latest social-scientific, historiographic, and ecclesiastic research on religious institutions and their ministerial practices. SHERM is dedicated to the critical and scholarly inquiry of historical and contemporary religious phenomena, both from within particular religious traditions and across cultural boundaries, so as to inform the broader socio-historical analysis of religion and its related fields of study. The purpose of SHERM is to provide a scholarly medium for the social-scientific study of religion where specialists can publish advanced studies on religious trends, theologies, rituals, philosophies, socio-political influences, or experimental and applied ministry research in the hopes of generating enthusiasm for the vocational and academic study of religion while fostering collegiality among religious specialists. Its mission is to provide academics, professionals, and nonspecialists with critical reflections and evidence-based insights into the socio-historical study of religion and, where appropriate, its implications for ministry and expressions of religiosity.







Incurable: Stories from the World of Cure


Book Description

In Bloodlines by Jerry Purdon, a sheriff becomes distraught, taking drastic action after learning of a betrayal beyond anything he had imagined.In THE BULLET by Trevor Abbud, in the aftermath of a world ravaged by the mysterious virus known as “ The Bullet,” Luke Hart grapples with the challenges of survival, navigating the feral transformation of his son Jacob and the haunting complexities of his wife' s infectation.In Coyote by Benjamin B. White, born into a mixed breed with a culture of opposing ideologies - which wolves you run with are up to you or are they?In Grey Wolf by Patrick Scott, when the world opens up, you often find there are things you never expected to find in the dark corners or the much wider world. Including those that are truly incurable.In His Time of the Month by Keith Raymond, a werewolf is warned by her second husband, a wizard, that his kind is being hunted down by Templar Knights in Europe. They travel to Poland to take out the hunters.In Kooshti Lollipop Sherbet Cunt by Katie Ness, Stef, a sardonic woman living in London, hates her life. She encounters a strange woman who offers her candied apples and upon taking a bite sets in motion a colourful and brutal metamorphosis.In Skin in the Game by Deborah Sullivan Brennan, nineteen-year old Eve is a typical college student, and also a selkie, or seal shapeshifter, whose family history curses her to misfortune in love. After a bad date leaves Eve' s very survival in the hands of a lycanthrope tyrant, she faces a battle to save her skin.In Stalk by Christopher Pender, a young man travels by train through the night. His destination? A new life. As he travels alone in his carriage through the eerily quiet European countryside he slowly begins to realize that he is not alone. In The Summer of Slight Acquaintances by Neepa Sarkar, Akashi, a doctoral candidate at Harvard, boards a bus in India to reach her twin brother' s destination wedding. However, the bus meets with an unusual accident that makes her fall off the bus and be carried away by Jihan or Mrgam as he is called by his gang. Does Akashi manage to escape or is it all a dream?In The Way of the Kaftar by Scott Chaddon, have you ever wondered what might happen when an American werewolf encounters a pack of native Iraqi shape-shifters? Are they brethren under the fur, or will they be mortal enemies on sight? In Wildcat by Cris Morris, lost at night in a foreign city, Peter will come face to face with the monster inside him.




Leisure


Book Description

In a fast-paced society that prizes utilitarian productivity, leisure and play can be difficult to enjoy without guilt. Rather than resist this cultural tide, the church often inadvertently baptizes such workaholism, spiritualizes the idolatry of productivity, and participates in the functional desecration of the physical creation that God declared "good." But leisure is not only fun; it is essential for our spiritual health. This issue of An Unexpected Journal explores the theological and philosophical foundations for the sacredness of play, along with lighter reflections on how various sports, hobbies, and leisure activities reveal the goodness and character of God. Contributors “The Curse of Gnosticism and the Cure of Play: Why Leisure is Essential for Spiritual Health” - Jasmin Biggs on the Imago Dei & Its Implications for Play “Leisurely Rambles: Hiking & Birding as Sacred Play” - Annie Nardone on Hiking and Birding “Vortex” (Short Story) - Molly Hopkins on Workaholism “Taylor Swift, T.S. Eliot, and C.S. Lewis: Eras for the Ages” - Seth Myers on Taylor Swift’s Timeless Themes “The Arrow That is Not Aimed: Flow in the Art of Archery and Writing” - Megan Joy Rials on Archery and Writing “Leisure the Basis of Education: Applying the Sabbath Principle to the Classroom” -Alex Markos on Sabbath and Education “Fly Fishing and the Fall” - Jim Swayze on Fly Fishing “Obeying the Rules of the Game” - Zak Schmoll on Power Soccer “Sea Reflections” - Tiffany Kavedzic on God’s Character “Pursuing the Tempest: Why We Chase” - Zachary Biggs on Storm Chasing and Landscape Photography “How My Horse Taught Me to Be a Parent” - Annie Crawford on Horsemanship and Parenting “In The Image of a Playful God: Flourishing Through Playfulness And Connection” - Anna Beresford on Play & Connection “Bones Will Sing: Dance in Spiritual Formation” - Rachel Bruce Johnson on Incarnational Embodiment “Craft and Glory” - Molly Hopkins on Hobbies and Craftsmanship “Forgiveness in the Foam” (poem) - Dwayne Sheridan on Cosplay and Redemption “Take Me Out To The Ballgame: How Baseball Can Restore Our Senses And Our Souls” - Sandra G. Hicks on Baseball “Counterpunching Trials With Joy: Boxing As A Unique Parallel To Christian Sanctification” - Matthew Hill on Boxing “Kings Over Bishops: The Play of Chess in Late Medieval and Early Modern England as a Representation of the Relationship Between the Sacred and the Secular” - James L. Underwood on Chess and History “Bombs, Board Games, and Bede the Venerable: But Mostly Chess” - Seth Myers on Board Games and Chess Fall 2023; Volume 6, Issue 3. 310 pages Illustrator: Virginia de la Lastra




An Unexpected Journal: Science Fiction


Book Description

Venturing to Worlds Unknown Science fiction writers are our modern seers of sorts. Creating worlds that are not our own, they inspire us to look beyond and imagine “what if?” The summer edition of An Unexpected Journal explores the impact these world builders have had on our culture. From the classic science fiction book The First Men in the Moon to modern sci-fi favorites from Brandon Sanderson, explore the what these stories say about us as a society and individually. Contents "The Spiritual Borders of Sci-Fi: C.S. Lewis and A Voyage to Arcturus" by Jason Monroe. "Ghost" a science fiction short story by Alicia Pollard "Illustrating Faith" by Josiah Peterson on Christian faith in The Ransom Trilogy by C.S. Lewis “Gender, Not Sex: Presentation of Gender Roles in Lewis’s The Ransom Trilogy” by Annie Nardone on the harmonious relationship of masculinity and femininity. “Spacemen without Chests? Virtue and Technology in Star Trek and Dune” by Seth Myers on the relevance of C.S. Lewis in popular science fiction. “Gremlins and the Second Way” by C.M. Alvarez on creation and causation. "To Infinity and Beyond" by Douglas LeBlanc on how science fiction can improve our understanding of God. "Time Travelers." a science fiction poem by Laurie Grube "The Autumn People" an essay by Megan Joy Rials on the way science fiction illustrates goodness, sacrifice, and community illustrated in Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. “Materialism and Midichlorians: Pantheism, Naturalism, and Hope in Star Wars” by Zak Schmoll on the apologetic value of a galaxy far, far away. "Imagining Morality" by Sean Hadley on moral development in speculative fiction. "Excerpt from Note to Self" by Donald W. Catchings, Jr. An exclusive preview of a chapter of his upcoming time travel science fiction novel. "Starsight Review" by Christy Luis on the need for philosophical depth found in the work of science fiction writer Brandon Peterson. “Ethics of The Matrix” by C.M. Alvarez the dangers of relativism illustrated in The Matrix. "What Makes Us Human?" A reflection and poem by Annie Nardone. "Personhood in Altered Carbon" by Cherish Nelson on the dangers of diminishing bodies." "To Save a Life" by Zak Schmoll on finding resolution in Ender's Game. Summer 2020 Volume 3, Issue 2 230 pages About An Unexpected Journal An Unexpected Journal is the endeavor of a merry band of Houston Baptist University Master of Arts in Apologetics students and alumni. The Journal seeks to demonstrate the truth of Christianity through both reason and the imagination to engage the culture from a Christian worldview.