November 11th, 2009 by JEL
Too often war is viewed, usually by those far away from the front, as a glorious and heroic adventure. To those in the trenches, in the Humvees, and in the mountains of Afghanistan, it is anything but.
This past Sunday in church there was a special lay-service put together for Veterans Day. It featured World War I poetry written by those who fought and saw (and in some cases, experienced) the tragic waste of life first hand. The poems of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon were particularly powerful.
At the end of the service, they played a version of Tom Waits’s “Day After Tomorrow.” You can read the lyrics here.
On this Veterans Day I am feeling the same way I have always felt: extremely grateful for our soldiers’ service and sacrifice. And unbelievably sorry.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
Tags: Jesus, peace, veterans day, WWI poetry
Posted in In The News, Words of Christ | 1 Comment »
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 »
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 »
November 6th, 2009 by JEL
In these days of Blackberries, iPhones, text messages, IM, and Tweets, the English language has taken a beating. The thumbs are in charge and they don’t give a hoot about proper punctuation, capitalization, or grammar. Which makes this quote so refreshing:
“Cheer Up! It is I! Don’t be afraid.” — Matthew 14:27
Jesus knew that the verb to be always takes the nominative case.
Tags: Four Gospels, grammar, Jesus
Posted in Irreverant | No Comments »
November 5th, 2009 by JEL
I have a feeling Jesus might have a few things to say about the compensation of top executives today. Like maybe:
“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.” — Matthew 19:24
Barclays CEO John Varley has a slightly different take on the matter:
“The injunction of Jesus to love others as ourselves is an endorsement of self-interest. We have to tolerate the inequality as a way to achieving greater prosperity and opportunity for all.”
You can read some more of Varley’s thoughts here.
Tags: executive pay, Four Gospels, Jesus, wealth
Posted in In The News | No Comments »
November 3rd, 2009 by JEL
I saw an interesting story today about leaders from nine major world faiths (Baha’ism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shintoism, Sikhism and Taoism) getting together in at Windsor Castle to talk about mobilizing their followers to combat climate change. I especially like Bill McKibben’s quotes at the bottom of the story:
“If Earth is in some way a museum of divine intent, it’s pretty horrible to be defacing all that creation.”
“And if, in Christianity and other faiths, we are called upon above all else to love God and love our neighbours, drowning your neighbour in Bangladesh is a pretty bad way to go about it.”
Tags: climate change, faith, religious movement
Posted in In The News | No Comments »
November 2nd, 2009 by JEL
Since the mid-90s when it first opened its virtual doors for business, I have done the vast majority of my shopping (personal and for others) at Amazon.com. The prices are great, the shipping is fast, and the customer service has been extremely solid.
Which makes seeing What He Said now available at Amazon so incredibly cool! And, if you throw in that CD you’ve been meaning to pick up, you can get free shipping to boot. You can purchase our book by clicking here.
Once you get your copy and have spent some time getting acquainted, we’d be grateful if you left a user review. Many thanks!
Tags: Amazon, Four Gospels, What He Said, Words of Christ
Posted in What He Said - The Book | No Comments »
October 30th, 2009 by JEL
To get the word out, we plan to send a bunch of review copies of the book to prominent, relevant figures. I ordered the books and then realized I needed boxes to send them in. I found some perfect book mailers online and they just arrived today.
Kind of a weird coincidence that the package is in the shape of a cross, no?
Tags: book reviews, christian book, promotion, What He Said
Posted in What He Said - The Book | No Comments »
October 29th, 2009 by JEL
You ask four people to write an account of the same incident, you’re bound to get differences in the final narrative. The Judas betrayal is just one example:
- Matthew – Judas goes to the priests and asks what they’ll give him in return for turning over Jesus. He gets paid 30 pieces of silver on the spot. The betrayal, itself, is done with the kiss.
- Mark – Again, Judas proactively goes to the priests, but is only “promised” money. The kiss is repeated.
- Luke – In this account, Satan enters into Judas and gets him to go to the priests who, this time, “agree to” give him money. This is the only gospel with Jesus’ quote, “Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” (22:48)
- John – Satan enters Judas’s heart during the Last Supper. There’s no mention of going to the priests beforehand; Judas just appears with a detachment of soldiers and officers. There’s no mention of a kiss or of any money changing hands.
Tags: Bible, Four Gospels, Judas, What He Said
Posted in Four Gospels | 2 Comments »
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 »
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