December 18th, 2009 by JEL
Back in high school, one of my best friends did a history report on the Shroud of Turin. He was a smart guy and a good presenter and I remember a very lively debate among my classmates. This was before the radiocarbon dating done in 1988 that showed the linen fibers were from 1260-1390, so there was a lot less science and a great deal more mystery involved.
Archaeologists have recently discovered another shroud in Jerusalem that was from Jesus’ time and compared its weave with that of the Turin shroud. Turns out they are very different. The Turin shroud is woven in a complex twill pattern (not seen in that region until medieval times) while the “new” shroud is made from a simple weave.
The National Geographic covers the story of the new shroud and the leper it covered. Fascinating discovery.
Tags: Jerusalem, Jesus, leprosy, shroud of Turin
Posted in In The News | No Comments »
December 17th, 2009 by JEL
As consumers across the land are making their list and checking it twice (or is Santa the only one who does that?), I wonder how many Christian presents make the final cut. Christian products are sold to a tune of $4.6 billion each year, and it only stands to reason that a large percentage of that figure is derived during the Christmas season.
In reading this article, there is a fine line between respectable wares tied to a Christian theme and “Jesus Junk” that strains to find some connection to the latest fads and trends. I feel pretty comfortable that What He Said does not cross that line.
Tags: Christian products, Jesus, What He Said
Posted in Christmas, In The News | No Comments »
December 15th, 2009 by JEL
With holiday shopping in full swing, I’m sure a lot of us have been staring at bumpers lately. Stuck in traffic, looking for a parking space at the mall, the red lights that never seem to go green. I saw some mildly amusing ones over the weekend which got me to thinking about my all-time favorite:
“Jesus Saves, Espo Scores on the Rebound”
Those of you not around or hockey-conscious during the Bruins’ heydays of the early 70s can catch up here.
Tags: Jesus, Phil Esposito
Posted in Irreverant | No Comments »
December 14th, 2009 by JEL
There’s your home (that’s #1). Then there’s work (#2). What’s your #3? For some people, it’s their gym or the local Starbucks. It’s where they go to go to temporarily escape the stresses of #s 1 and 2 and simply unwind, refresh, and recharge.
Increasingly, churches are striving to become the new “third place.” And they’re finding new ways to roll out the hospitality carpet to new visitors and long-time members alike. Video games, coffee bars, cafés, and free WI-FI are attracting people outside the normal weekly services and fostering more connections within their communities. Learn more here.
Tags: Christian hospitality, Christianity, Third Place
Posted in In The News | No Comments »
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 »
December 9th, 2009 by JEL
As December 25 quickly approaches, I, like many of you, am up to my eyeballs in shopping lists, tree tinsel, and back-order stress. Yes, Christmas is coming. I think many people forget, while deep in Xbox vs. Wii debates, that Christmas = Jesus’ birthday.
Should we really break out the candles on the 25th?
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John never mention the 25th as the birth date of Christ in their Gospels. So where did it come from? This article provides an answer.
Tags: Christmas, December 25, Four Gospels, Jesus
Posted in Christmas, Four Gospels | No Comments »
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 »
December 8th, 2009 by JEL
As part of our marketing efforts, we are listing our What He Said blog with some directories. Technorati is one of the biggest, so we’re starting there. Hopefully, doing so will expand our reach and let users access updates in their feed readers of choice.
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Tags: blog, blog directories, Technorati, What He Said
Posted in What He Said - The Book | No Comments »
December 7th, 2009 by JEL
No, we’re not building an ark, but we are waiting for the phone to ring. In an attempt to get spread the word about What He Said, last week we worked with a book publicity firm to send out a press release to almost 3,000 relevant media people. We envisioned our voicemail system filling up and overflowing email inboxes. So far, that has not been the case.
Now the publicity firm tells us that the best response will come from our following up with all these contacts. Truly, the world will not beat a path to your door.
Tags: book publicity, marketing, press release, What He Said
Posted in What He Said - The Book | No Comments »
December 4th, 2009 by JEL
The title of this post is taken from the title of Hanna Rosin’s fascinating article in this month’s issue of The Atlantic. It covers the ever-growing “prosperity gospel”: the belief that God will provide material wealth for those of great faith. Rosin describes the movement and documents cases of believers (like many non-believers) buying houses they could never afford in the first place because they felt God would provide for them.
The prosperity gospel is much larger than you might think:
- 50 of the largest 260 churches in the US preach the prosperity gospel.
- A Pew Research study found that 66% of Pentecostals and 43% of “other Christians” (half of the total respondents) believe that “wealth will be granted to the faithful.”
- The same survey shows that 73% of religious Latinos agreed with the statement, “God will grant financial success to all believers who have enough faith.”
It’s weird. When I read what Jesus said (made much easier by What He Said), all I see are commands to give until it hurts. And then give some more.
Tags: Christianity, financial crisis, Jesus, prosperity gospel
Posted in In The News, Words of Christ | No Comments »
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