For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. – John 3:16 King James Version (KJV) Importance of Context Richer understanding of these beautiful, encouraging, and famous words from the Gospel of St. John results from consideration of context, an essential […]
Category: Bible
Pushy Atheists and Weak Christians
“Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.” – G. K. Chesterton What made me think of that Chesterton quote was an article, Atheists Debate How Pushy to Be, in the October 16 New York Times. The article reported on an early October Los Angeles Council for […]
Bible Milestones
Septuagint Poetry
Daniel 3:57-87 is a beautiful and inspirational worship canticle (Biblical song or poem), part of the prayer of Abednego as he and his two friends strolled about in the flames of Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace, and a staple of Morning Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. But, it’s not in all Bibles. Here it is from […]
Massacre of the Innocents
Saturday December 28 on the Catholic Liturgical Calendar is a Feast day in memory of The Holy Innocents, those slain by King Herod in fear of a new King having recently been born, eventually to replace him as King. If only Herod had known that he had less than a year to live! Much academic […]
THE Bible Story
Most of us raised in a Christian church know lots of Bible stories. We know about the sins of Adam and Eve, Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac, the leadership of Moses and Joshua, Samuel’s anointing of Saul and David, David’s killing of Goliath, the wisdom of King Solomon, the birth and ministry of Jesus, the […]
Gospel According to St. John: Unique
I’m not very skilled at digging deeply into Sacred Scripture, finding new meaning and writing paragraphs about a verse or two. But I love looking at the Bible from a 50,000 foot view, so to speak, and detecting patterns, themes, characteristics, and differences. So, here are thoughts and observations about the Gospel According to St. […]
Reading the Bible, Cover to Cover
In a recent morning prayer group discussion, the difficulty of cover-to-cover reading of the Bible was mentioned. The problem is that after the stimulating stories of Genesis and Exodus, it is easy to get bogged down in the legal details of Leviticus and lose interest. Even if an ambitious reader survives Leviticus, Deuteronomy looms ahead. […]
Gospel Distinctives
There are lots of interesting differences among the four Gospels. Here is an interesting one to contemplate.
My New Favorite Bible Verse
Just as anybody running for political office needs to have a ready answer to the question, “What are you reading?” anybody spending time in Christian circles needs to be able to reveal, just in case, his or her favorite Bible verse. Being the energetic, works oriented, dirty hands kind of guy I am, I have […]