Archive for the ‘The Bible’ Category
Friday, December 11th, 2009 by PJM
My father often jokes that Jesus (and Shakespeare) only talked in clichés.
He is referring to the fact that much of the language from the Bible has been appropriated into our daily speech and cultural literary works. In fact, many readers of What He Said have marveled that certain phrases came from the Gospels and not from far more recent sources (like the speeches of Abraham Lincoln or the lyrics to a White Stripes song). In reviewing the nativity story from Luke, I was struck by the fact that Joseph and Mary offered a “pair of turtledoves” to Simeon in Jerusalem shortly after Christ’s birth.
Now I have to keep looking to figure out if three French hens show up anywhere in my reading.
Tags: Bible, Christmas, modern culture
Posted in Christmas, Four Gospels, The Bible, Words of Christ | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 by PJM
Now that we are in the Christmas season, I have been spending some time in the margins of What He Said. The Gospels of Mark and John begin when Jesus is an adult, but Matthew and Luke both give accounts of Christ’s birth. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting about some aspects of the two birth stories that interest me.
The New Testament begins with the genealogy of Jesus, as told by Matthew. Jesus is the son of Joseph who was the son of Jacob who was the son of Matthan who was the son of Eleazar… But, Luke (in Chapter 3) tells us that Jesus is the son of Joseph who was the son of Heli who was the son of Matthat who was the son of Levi… What’s going on? Was Joseph the son of Jacob or Heli?
I’ve read that Jesus’ ancestry in Matthew is through Joseph and His ancestry in Luke is actually though Mary. When Luke says that Joseph was the son of Heli, he really means “son-in-law.”
This seems to be consistent with another difference in the two accounts of Christ’s birth story. Matthew has an angel of the Lord appearing to Joseph (whose ancestors he has just listed). The angel explains to Joseph the circumstances of Mary’s motherhood and tells Joseph to name the child Jesus. But, Luke tells us that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to reveal the mystery of her being with child and tells her to name the child Jesus. So, it makes sense to me that Luke would trace the genealogy of Christ through Mary.
I would love it if a more astute Biblical scholar would step in to let us know if my thinking is off-base.
Tags: Bible, Christmas, Four Gospels, Genealogy, Jesus, Joseph, Mary
Posted in Christmas, Four Gospels, The Bible | 1 Comment »
Monday, November 30th, 2009 by JEL
You think it’s hard to read the Bible? Try writing it…by hand! Actually, not all by yourself. Find around 31,000 others and have them each write and submit a verse. Put it all together and voilà, in 9 months you’ll have a finished Bible.
Bible Across America, a special project commemorating the 30th anniversary of the New International Version, created the project and just sold one of the 2 copies on eBay for $15,000. Proceeds from the sale are going to Biblica. Read the full story here.
Tags: Bible, Bible Across America
Posted in In The News, The Bible | No Comments »
Monday, November 23rd, 2009 by JEL
The Biblical Botanical Gardens Society in Florida is in the process of creating The Oasis, a 21-acre parcel populated with plants like hibiscus, bamboo, cacti, and a Jerusalem thorn. All the plants featured are species that Jesus lived among 2,000 years ago.
Tours and events will attempt to re-create first-century life, and donkeys, sheep, and camels will be sprinkled about to add further context and color. The cherry on top? “Sandals will even be provided to enhance the experience.”
Tags: Bible, Biblical gardens, Jesus, the oasis
Posted in In The News, The Bible | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 by JEL
A book club at Kirk in the Hills church in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan is setting out to read the Bible in 90 days. The story has some good quotes from participants that touch on our motivations for creating What He Said. For instance:
“As a Christian, I thought [reading the Bible] was a good thing to do. But it’s a little intimidating to just crack it open and go cover to cover on your own.”
— Amy Maple
The founder of the Bible in 90 days program, Ted Cooper, added this:
But even though “so many people start reading the Bible, hardly anyone finishes.”
We would love to start having some Bible study groups and book clubs make What He Said their next selection.
Tags: Bible, Bible study, book club, What He Said
Posted in In The News, The Bible | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 by JEL
If you’ve watched the original Star Wars (1977) lately, you quickly notice how things can get dated when viewed through the lens of current day. In reading through the Four Gospels as many times as we did in creating What He Said, what struck me was how timeless the text seemed.
Except for the demons.
Demons are everywhere in the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Jesus casts them out of people right and left. Sometimes they are even visible as they slink away. Other times, they speak (Matthew 8:31). Every time I come upon a demon passage, I “wake from the dream” for a bit, as I ponder how odd those narratives feel in a modern context.
Tags: Bible, demons, Four Gospels, Jesus
Posted in Four Gospels, The Bible | No Comments »
Monday, November 9th, 2009 by PJM
What He Said has barely gone to press and now it looks like it is already dated. Christianity Today reports that the folks behind Conservapedia have decided to rewrite the Bible so that Jesus doesn’t seem too liberal.
Among the changes . . . Jesus no longer says “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” This was removed because it makes Jesus seem soft on sin. Also, in the Conservapedia version, Jesus has apparently changed his mind about material wealth. That will certainly help the camel slip through the needle’s eye easier.
Tags: Bible, politics, wealth, Words of Christ
Posted in In The News, The Bible, Words of Christ | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 by JEL
Pollster George Gallup Jr. had this to say about Bible usage:
“Americans revere the Bible—but, by and large, they don’t read it.”
Why? Tyndale House Publishers ran a survey and found that people in this country don’t read the Bible because: (1) they’re too busy – 64%; and (2) it’s too confusing and hard to understand – 80%.
Hopefully What He Said, in its size and page layout, will help addresses these two concerns.
Tags: Bible, Bible usage, What He Said
Posted in The Bible | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 by JEL
Recent research shows that 92% of American households own at least one Bible and that the average household owns three or four (depending on the study). Less than 20% read the Bible on a daily basis, 59% read it “occasionally,” and the rest, presumably, not at all. Only 14% are involved in some sort of Bible study.
All of these numbers are down from twenty years ago, yet the Bible continues to be the #1-selling book, year after year.
Tags: Bible, Bible sales, Bible study
Posted in The Bible | No Comments »
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