Today, Christians celebrate Palm Sunday — the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem to great “Hosanna!” acclaim. But just exactly how did he do it? The stories disagree in a puzzling way… unless you know something about the conventions of biblical Hebrew and that the New Testament writers (Matthew, especially) often looked to the Old Testament, for ways
Palm Sunday confusion? Read More »
Wonderful to see so many people at the Charlottesville Barnes and Noble last Wed eve! As moderator David Bearinger noted, Winn Collier’s Holy Curiosity and my Bible Babel are very different projects, though both concern the Bible. The Virginia Festival of the Book (a Virginia Foundation for the Humanities event) has included panels on religion and spirituality in the past but not
Talkin’ about the Bible Read More »
Atheist students at a Texas university are offering porn in exchange for Bibles arguing, “same diff.” Inflammatory, to be sure, but are they right? The Bible is indeed full of racy material, from its very first book on. Robert Crumb’s Genesis in graphic novel form warns on the cover that adult supervision is recommended. The Song of
The Bible as Porn? Read More »
The biblical book of Revelation (the last one in the Christian canon) is full of wild imagery and evocative symbolism. It lends itself well to interpretation, reinterpretation, and application in all sorts of times and places. I begin BIBLE BABEL with reference to concerns aired in Florida some months ago about inserting microchips in animals. The
Given its title, I figured that the movie would have something to do with demons — a whole, well, legion of them… in full-on “possession” mode. After all, “Legion” is the name of a biblical demoniac, according to the stories in Mark and Luke, because many demons were involved. But in the movie, Michael (our hero-angel gone
Legion — the paradox of obedience Read More »
Ready. Aim. Read some Bible. Fire. Huh? I don’t think of New Zealanders as particulary given to compunction, maybe occasionally irascible, but mostly as an easy-going, live and and let live sort of folk. I mean, when your human population is outnumbered by sheep… Yet protest they did, complaining that there was something wrong with the guns
Context is Everything? Read More »
When crises hit, many people turn to the Bible… and find many things. While some hear words of comfort, hope and promise, others hear words of condemnation, judgment and blame. The biblically-informed ‘>Pat Robertson blamed the Haitians for making a pact with the devil for which God is now punishing them. Some Haitians themselves see the destruction
The Bible on Haiti Read More »
Did you know that even though the weeping willow came from China, its scientific name associates it with Babylon… because of the Bible? Diana Wells explains in her new book The Life of Trees that it’s called Salix babylonica because of the biblical tradition of Jews weeping for Zion after being taken into exile by their Babylonian conquerors. Think: Psalm 137
Weeping Willows of Babylon Read More »
Nazareth or Bethlehem? Of the four gospels, only Matthew and Luke have infancy stories. They agree that angel announced Mary’s conception, and they agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. They disagree on a number of other things, though, among them: at the time of conception, Matthew situates Jesus’ family in Bethlehem.
Did you know?… Where was Jesus conceived? Read More »
Or “old texts in a new medium.” For a thoughtful blog about ancient Hebrew poetry, with links to some other great resources, too, you may be interested in checking out this one by John Hobbins (just follow the link)!
Old Wine in New Wineskins Read More »
