I was just thinking: wouldn’t it be fun to have a spot to feature artifacts, documents, persons, architecture, anything concrete related to my historical fiction set in ancient Babylon and Persia? Perhaps provide a wee bit of commentary, maybe how the things fit into the story,…? In the absence of any nay-sayers (admittedly none nearby …
There is a long-standing tradition that no person, no mere mortal, should presume to possess the name of God. The Name, as the reasoning goes, is a holy thing, a handle on the divine not to be trifled with. We hear concern about its misuse in the ancient biblical commandment, “Thou shalt not take the …
Some things one might expect to find in the Bible aren’t there at all; while sometimes what we do find is downright surprising. Take Hanukkah, for instance — not there! Ironically, not in the Jewish bible, but it is in the Orthodox Christian bible (in part — 1 Maccabees, if you’re looking). Meanwhile, the Christian …
The new Jewish Annotated New Testament is a welcome addition to the variety (cacophany?) of voices weighing in on Christian scripture these days. It is fresh, intelligent, and informed, actually a lot better informed than most of what’s out there. Published by Oxford University Press, it includes comments and insights from Jewish scholars, some of …
Despite a common assumption that the Bible is all sweetness and light, filled with upstanding moral models for individuals today, it doesn’t always translate so neatly. After Adam, the next father is one who murdered his brother. There’s Noah’s drunken nakedness whose story involving his sons ended up endorsing the slavery of Africans, Abraham’s near sacrifice of …
Alternatively: “On Not Reading the Bible”; but then I must hastily add that I’m not against reading the Bible… not exactly. But when it comes to the Bible, reading and knowing about it can be quite different things. Some time ago (if you read here regularly, you may remember), I was a bit put off …
CNN published an essay I wrote but with edits that got it wrong. Unintentionally, I’m sure, but it says exactly what I’ve been arguing against. I disagree with both the title and the final sentence, arguably the most powerful parts. Neither of them are mine. Nevertheless, the essay concludes with the mandatory disclaimer that “The …
“It’s one thing to read the Bible, quite another to appreciate the historical context in which its various books were written, the different translations and versions that have emerged over the centuries and the indelible impact the book continues to have on our culture. With her new book ‘Bible Babel: Making Sense of the Most …
“Did you know,” a bright-eyed young woman breathlessly exclaimed to me, “that when King James wrote the Bible, he didn’t actually put everything in?!” I was riding the DC Metro a few weeks ago when she sat down beside me with this information. Since people don’t normally talk on the train (unless it’s a first …
Had a great time at Chop Suey Tuey bookstore in Richmond’s Carytown yesterday for Bible Babel‘s paperback debut. In the midst of the excitement of VCU’s big basketball game (on to the Final Four! wow) and the ever-amazing French Film Festival at the historic Byrd Theater, just across the street from Chop Suey Tuey, we filled the …
