Deuteronomy 22:28-29, Be careful who you rape!
If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.
//In a patriarchal society, where most women (married or not) are the property of men, what happens to you if you defile another man’s property?
Answer: It depends.
[1] Today’s verse explains that if she isn’t yet married, then you pay a fee to the father (fifty shekels of silver) and marry her.
[2] If the woman turns out to be already married, you and she must both die.
[3] If she is unmarried but betrothed to another, it gets a little more complicated. If you rape her in the country, you die and she lives. If you rape her in the city, and she goes along with it quietly, you both die. But if she screams, she lives and you die.
[4] Finally, if you’re not a Jew, it doesn’t much matter whether the girl cooperates; the laws of Israel don’t apply. You’ll probably be lynched.
So, do your homework first.
1 Samuel 18:9-10, Saul brings about his own death
So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.” But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”
//In a bizarre series of events, Saul, the first king of Israel, finds himself in a close battle with the Philistines. Terrified, Saul “inquires of the Lord” to find out what to do, but none of the prophets step forward to answer for God. Samuel, Israel’s primary prophet, had died.
So Saul goes in search of a witch to bring Samuel up from the dead, hoping to ask Samuel for advice. But Saul himself had outlawed necromancy just a few verses before this, under penalty of death. So, he finds himself breaking his own law, punishable by death, in hopes of saving his life.
Samuel “comes up” at the witch’s bidding, but he isn’t amused. He says to Saul, “tomorrow you and your sons will be with me.” Meaning, they’ll be dead, residing in Sheol, the underworld.
Oops! Should have obeyed your own law, Saul.
2 Chronicles 26:33, The Ending of the Hebrew Bible
“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you–may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.'”
//It’s fascinating to note the difference between the Jewish ordering of the Old Testament and the Christian ordering. The Hebrew Bible ends with the book of Chronicles. King Cyrus of Persia, you may note, was considered by one of the authors of the book of Isaiah to be the Messiah, the Jewish savior: This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor. “Messiah” means “anointed.” Thus, the final verse of the Bible is a wrap-up; the Messiah has arrived, and the Jews are called to return to their nation and rebuild it as God intends.
Of course, this won’t do for Christians. In the Christian reordering of the Bible, the final book is Malachi, and the final verses read like this:
“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
This, of course, leads smoothly into the New Testament, when John the Baptist (Elijah redivivus) introduces the true Messiah, and the day of the Lord.
Exodus 3:14, the Divine Name of God
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
//Moses, worried that Israel won’t accept his authority if he returns to Egypt to try and rescue the children of Israel, asks God for God’s name. God identifies himself as I AM, in what became recognized as a Divine Formula. For example, John’s Gospel seven times presents Jesus as the I AM in a claim of divinity. In John, the Jews recognize this claim, and wish to stone him for impersonating God.
But what does the phrase really mean? Other suggested translations include “I will be who I will be,” or “I cause to be what I cause to be.” In each case, the answer isn’t an answer at all for poor Moses. Karen Armstrong believes it was a Hebrew idiomatic expression to denote deliberate vagueness. God will be whatever or whomever he wishes!
This vagueness may have contributed to the understanding that God’s name was to be revered, not dissected. The two most common names for God in the original Hebrew are Elohim and YHWH, and the latter became so sacred that it was never spoken aloud. Readers of the scriptures would substitute the name Adonai, meaning “my Lord.” YHWH is usually written and pronounced Yahweh by today’s scholars (some references read Jehovah), but in truth, the pronunciation of God’s holy name has been forever forgotten through lack of use. We no longer even know the name of God.
2 Peter 1:20 No private interpretation
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
//This verse is often brought up as a sort of shoulder-shrug dismissal of new insights in scripture; a way of saying the only correct interpretation must be the one that has survived for 2,000 years. As if any one interpretation has survived! Theologians have wrestled with the Bible for as long as its words have been considered scripture.
Admittedly, there is something to this line of thinking. One should humbly admit that other interpretations are just as carefully thought-out. But the verse should never be used to categorically silence alternate opinions, as it once was!
For example, we had a terrible time getting our scriptures translated from the Latin Vulgate into a modern language. Making the scriptures readable to the masses would severely undermine the Church’s authority. Consequently, when John Wycliffe (1328-1384) translated the Bible into English, this verse came into play. Wycliffe’s work was considered a form of heterodoxy and quickly outlawed. Anyone found with an English Bible was subject to execution. Wycliffe died as a heretic and traitor, and 44 years after his death, under papal decree, his body was exhumed and burned. But for many, reading the Word of God was worth the risk, and black market Bibles were common, until the time of King Henry VIII in the 16th century.
So, how many of you can read Latin? Thank God for our right to private interpretation today, or most of us wouldn’t have any interpretation at all.
Acts 8:5, Was the Gospel Given to the Samaritans?
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
//One confusing aspect of the Gospel story is the relationship between the Jesus movement and the Samaritans. We all know the story of the Good Samaritan, and many have heard about Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well. You can probably quote other verses that hint that Jesus respected and cared about them, including today’s verse, where Philip preaches directly to them.
Yet it must not have been easy. The Samaritans were in general despised and distrusted, even feared, and looked down upon because of their intermarriage with gentiles. Samaritans had their own version of the scriptures, and their own holy places, which most definitely did not include Jerusalem!
In Luke 9, Jesus has a bad experience with Samaritans, who will not welcome him. In Matthew 10, when Jesus sends his disciples out to preach, he directs them to stay away from Samaria. But John’s Gospel is quite sympathetic to the Samaritans, telling of a time when they did welcome Jesus, and when Jesus did preach to them (see John, chapter 4). Jesus is so sympathetic, in fact, that in John, the Jews accuse Jesus of being a Samaritan!
While the evidence is a bit hazy, it does appear that one of the more controversial aspects of Jesus’ ministry is his acceptance of Samaritans.
Matthew 5:17-18, Fulfillment of the Law
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
//That was Jesus speaking, in the book of Matthew. These two verses are often quoted with some bewilderment, or as evidence of contradiction in the Bible, because other passages seem to say just the opposite.
Luke 16:17 says, “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached.” In the very next verse, Jesus softens the blow, admitting that it’s very difficult for the Jews to give up their law as required, because “It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.” Doesn’t that contradict Matthew?
Paul certainly expected the Law to go away. Romans 7:6 explains, “We have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” Galatians 3:13 tells how we have been redeemed by Christ from the “curse of the law,” and Galatians 5:8 promises that if we follow the Spirit, we don’t need the law.
So what was Matthew saying? Many scholars, noting Matthew’s Jewish bent, see his writing as explicitly combating the attempt by other Christians to supersede the Law. But I read it differently.
To me, Matthew, writing some fifteen years or so after the Great War devastated Jerusalem and the Temple, sees in that destruction a fulfillment of the covenantal promises. When Matthew says “not the least stroke of a pen will disappear” from the Law, he means God will not lessen the suffering of his people one iota from what he threatened. Matthew knows this to be true; he watched it happen.
Matthew 5:16, Should your good works be seen of men?
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
//One of the basic instructions we understand as Christians is to “let our light shine.” As 1 Peter 2:12 puts it, keep your “conduct honorable among the Gentiles,” that “they may by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
But can there be too much of a good thing? The Bible seems to contradict itself on this topic. Matthew says of the scribes and Pharisees, “all their works they do to be seen by men.” Check out the sermon on the mount, in Matthew 6, which gives it to us straight:
Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
So, what do we do? Humbly hide our good works, or proudly let them shine? I’m sure I’m fooling nobody; humility, balance, and moderation should be our guide.
Revelation 21:22, What is Eschatology?
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
//I write so often about “eschatology” that I often forget it’s a big, confusing word that most people write off to the world of Bible scholarship. In my upcoming book about John’s Gospel, I define eschatology straightforwardly:
The doctrine of the last or final things, as death, judgment, and the events therewith connected.
But I actually prefer this practical definition by scholar N. T. Wright:
If there is one god, and you are his one people, but you are currently suffering oppression, you must believe that the present state of affairs is temporary. Monotheism and election thus give birth to (what I call) eschatology: the belief that history is going somewhere, that something will happen through which everything will be put right.*
Our Bible abounds in eschatological thinking. Simply turn to any passage that deals with the suffering of the Jewish nation, Old Testament or New, and you find there a promise of better things to come. Wright’s observation is brilliant: eschatological thinking is the belief that history is going somewhere.
Prophets, apologists, and followers have expressed views for 3,000 years about just where history is going, but nearly all agree that something will happen to set things right. Maybe a New Jerusalem will float down from heaven and replace the old (today’s verse in Revelation). Maybe the good guys will float up to heaven and find a new city waiting there. Or, maybe we’ll figure out that our future is in our own hands, and go to work with what we have, to make it better.
Whatever our beliefs about what is to come, there is a question that we must ask ourselves. Are Christians called to participate in the inauguration of the new age, what Jesus called the Kingdom of Heaven? Is Christianity an active or a passive belief system?
Your choice.
*The Meaning of Jesus, c. 1999, p. 32
Acts 1:11, Gazing Into Heaven
Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
//No, I’m not going to embark on another lecture about Christians who waste precious time scanning the skies for their Lord to return. I just thought I’d point out something funny.
Remember Galileo, the astronomer who insisted that the earth rotated around the sun, rather than the sun around the earth? That didn’t go over too well with the Church, who preferred to believe that the earth is the center of the universe. Galileo and his misinformed followers, the Church insisted, spent altogether too much time themselves staring up into heaven.
So, today’s verse was quoted by a Dominican friar to discourage the use of Galileo’s telescope. Note the clever play on Galilee and Galileo.
Hebrews 11:37, Sawed in two
They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—
//Today’s verse talks about the treatment of the Old Testament faithful. One person, it says, was sawed in two! Any idea who this talks about?
Most scholars believe this refers to an apocryphal book titled The Martyrdom of Isaiah. The Bible says nothing about how Isaiah died, but in this account, Isaiah prophesies his own death being sawed in two, and it comes to pass.
As the story goes, a man named Belchlra accuses Isaiah of false prophecy before King Manasseh, saying:
‘Isaiah and those who are with him prophesy against Jerusalem and against the cities of Judah that they shall be laid waste and (against the children of Judah and) Benjamin also that they shall go into captivity, and also against thee, O lord the king, that thou shalt go (bound) with hooks and iron chains.’
Of course, Isaiah’s prophecy wasn’t false; it turned out to be the truth. Belchlra also said about Isaiah:
And Isaiah himself hath said: ‘I see more than Moses the prophet.’ But Moses said: ‘No man can see God and live': and Isaiah hath said: ‘I have seen God and behold I live.’ Know, therefore, O king, that he is lying.
The words of Belchilra convinced Manasseh, and …
he sent and seized Isaiah. And he sawed him asunder with a wood-saw. And when Isaiah was being sawn in sunder Balchlra stood up, accusing him, and all the false prophets stood up, laughing and rejoicing because of Isaiah.
Job 1:18-19, Job Repulses His Children
While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
//You know the story, how Satan, with the permission of God, persecuted Job. In this verse, a messenger brings word of the death of Job’s children.
But then, much later, Job’s children are discovered alive. Or at least this verse hints they still live:
Job 19:17, My breath is offensive to my wife, And I am repulsive to the children of my own body (NKJV).
So, did his children miraculously survive? Not all translations agree. Some say Job repulsed not his own children, but the children of his mother…that is, his brothers. The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) also discovered the incongruence of this story and tried to fix it, naming the children sons of Job’s concubines.
I guess we’ll never know who felt repulsed.
John 20:14-15, Easter and the Garden Tomb
And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
//This is it, guys and gals. The empty tomb is the reason there are over 2 billion Christians in the world. Something very special happened on this day.
John’s Gospel alone indicates that the tomb was in a garden. This is an important theological note: John begins and ends his Gospel with the Genesis story. Mary spies Jesus (whom we now understand, after twenty chapters, is God) and thinks him to be the gardener. Here stands God, once again tending his garden, like in the days of Eden. God has come back, and the world begins anew, in the same manner it started, with a new Eden.
The human Christ is often portrayed as the second Adam, the first of the new beginning. Perhaps Paul was the first to note this connection: For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.—1 Corinthians 15:22. Augustine compared the opening of the Lord’s side on the cross to the opening of Adam’s side to create his “bride,” the body of his believers. It’s impossible to overstate the impact of the empty tomb, but perhaps Paul says it best:
Behold, all things are become new. –2 Corinthians 5:17
Isaiah 40:1, Second Isaiah
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
//The book of Isaiah is made up of two parts: Chapters 1-39 prophesy doom upon Judah and upon any nation which opposes God. Then, chapter 40 begins a new theme, opening with today’s verse. The second half of Isaiah promises a renewed nation of Israel where God will again dwell with his people, a beautiful and glorious dream of a new kingdom.
Scholars are nearly unanimous in asserting that “Second Isaiah” was written by another author a couple hundred years later. Perhaps there were two additional authors; evidence seems to point to a “third Isaiah” as well. These later writings were then combined with the “authentic” Isaiah.
Why would anyone do this? Were these later authors trying to be deceptive, passing their additions off as original?
Probably not. It simply has to do with the size of the scrolls the stories were recorded on. A papyrus scroll, made from an Egyptian plant, could be about 35 feet long, rolled up for ease of transport.
A quick glance at the writings of the prophets will indicate that they fall neatly into four sections, all about the size of a single scroll:
[1] Jeremiah
[2] Ezekiel
[3] The twelve minor prophets
[4] The books of Isaiah
No deception involved; just convenience. The writings were combined where they would fit on a single scroll. In time, the books of Isaiah came to be considered a single document.
Matthew 17:1-3, the Transfiguration
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
//Here on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus meets with two Jewish figures from the Old Testament: Moses and Elijah. Many believed that both Moses and Elijah would return to help usher in the new age, the age of the Messiah, and today’s passage is surely meant by Matthew to provide evidence that Jesus is God’s anointed Messiah. Here stands Jesus, apparently planning the new age with the two great figures of Israel’s past.
But what’s so special about these two men, Moses and Elijah? Answer: They are representatives of Judaism. Moses represented the Law, the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, and was even said to have been their author. Elijah represented the Prophets. Moses and Elijah were, in fact, synonymous with the writings they represented. When a Jewish writer says “Moses and Elijah” he means “the Law and the Prophets.” Jesus, himself, used this language when referencing the law, talking about what “Moses said.” Moses and Elijah were like the twin towers, the foundation of Judaism. In Jewish tradition, neither of these men died (forget what the Bible says about a grave for Moses) and were both to return at a later date, as fulfillment of scripture.
And here it is in Matthew, in black and white.
Matthew 25:31, the Son of Man enthroned
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
//One of the most fascinating and mysterious characters in Jewish lore is the Son of Man. That is, the anticipated Messiah, seen primarily (in this messianic role) in the book of Daniel and non-canonical books like 1 Enoch. Although Isaiah 42:8 expressly denies that God will ever share his throne, the book of Daniel, chapter 7, describes a “Son of Man” sharing God’s ruling authority. Daniel saw this in a dream:
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Daniel, the Bible says, was very disturbed about this dream. And rightly so: it’s blasphemous to imagine worshipping anyone but God! This image, however, of a “son of man” riding the clouds up from the earth to heaven, and being granted authority to rule by God himself, carries over into the New Testament. See today’s verse in Matthew, and especially the 4th and 5th chapters of Revelation.
What are we to make of this? The Bible states clearly that God alone is sovereign, but then it says God turns over his authority to the Son of Man. The Christian movement pieced the puzzle together this way: The Son of Man becomes the Son of God … indeed, he becomes God himself, God incarnate. Our monotheism survives intact, and our heavenly ruler remains the one we trust.
Matthew 22:44, Turning enemies into a footstool
The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
//If you read the Bible, you’ve probably run across this saying multiple times. The phrase appears six times in the New Testament alone. Your enemies will be turned into your footstool.
Do you picture sitting in your easy chair, legs stretched out and resting on the back of a kneeling enemy? That’s not what it refers to. It’s an allusion to an ancient custom of placing one’s foot on the neck of a defeated enemy.
Joshua 10:24-25, And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.
More haughty victors would even use their defeated enemies as stools to mount their horses.
Luke 1:36, Was Jesus really a cousin to John the Baptist?
Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren
//Were Jesus and John, son of Elizabeth, really related? Most scholars doubt it, assuming this relationship to be a literary creation of Luke. Or, equally likely, a story Luke had collected. More evidence points to the idea that Jesus was originally a follower of John the Baptist. I’ve discussed this topic before, so I won’t repeat myself.
But if it isn’t true, why does Luke report them as cousins? It seems to be Luke’s personal conclusion, based on a typology of Old Testament relations. Here’s how it works.
Jesus’ mother’s name is Mary. John’s mother’s name, according to Luke (only), is Elizabeth. The only other Elizabeth (written in Hebrew as Elisheba) in the Bible is the wife of Aaron, the brother of Moses. Moses’ sister’s name was Miriam, a form of Mary. So, in the story of Moses, Mary and Elizabeth are sisters-in-law, and their offspring would be first cousins.
Thus, concludes Luke, Jesus and John were also cousins.
Deuteronomy 23:2, No Bastards Allowed
A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
//Maybe the most famous bastard of all time is the offspring of Tamar and Judah. Judah, hoping to find a little action, is one day deceived by his daughter-in-law Tamar, who pretends to be a temple prostitute. They do the deed. Then, in Genesis 38:24, About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”
They have a child named Perez. We turn now to the book of Matthew, and the genealogy listed there:
Thus, after only nine generations of begatting (from Perez forward), we come to King David. Didn’t today’s verse promise ten generations of excommunication? Apparently, God relented.
1 Kings 22:43, Did Jehoshaphat remove the high places?
In everything he walked in the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. The high places, however, were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
//There are many contradictions in the Bible—I can quote several—and here’s another apparent one. Doesn’t the parallel verse in Chronicles say just the opposite?
2 Chronicles 17:6, His heart was devoted to the ways of the LORD; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.
I’ve seen this topic quoted multiple times as a biblical contradiction. But, in fact, it is not. Anyone who quotes these verses to discredit the Bible is doing some sloppy homework. Three chapters later in Chronicles comes the true parallel passage, including this verse:
2 Chronicles 20:33 The high places, however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their fathers.
It appears Jehoshaphat started out on the straight and narrow, but the idolatry of the people crept back over the course of his 25-year reign.
Fantasy Football, Anyone?
Put on the whole uniform of the Team, that ye may be able to stand against the blitz of oncoming linebackers. Don the hip pads of truth, the shoulder pads of righteousness, the cleats of preparation. Don’t forget the facemask of faith and the helmet of salvation. Then clutch the pigskin with much Spirit, for that is what the Play Book of your Coach in Heaven demands.The River of Life
Twice before Lee Harmon has written about Christian topics, once on the gospel of John and once on the book of Revelation. But the question people keep asking him is this: As a liberal Christian, why do you care so much about the Bible? Others wonder whether he is truly a Christian at all.
The Way It Happened
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| Revelation: A love story gone awry. | The Gospel: A love story set aright. |
What really happened 2,000 years ago? How did a persecuted minority of end-time believers known as Christians, with their dreams of Armageddon and a conquering Messiah named Jesus, evolve into the largest religion in the world? Author Lee Harmon explores the period in which the New Testament was written in his books about John's Gospel and Revelation.
(Bloggers: you may be eligible for a free review copy! Just contact us.)
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The God Show
Lee Harmon interviewed on The God Show about the History Channel's miniseries The Bible and Lee's latest book, John's Gospel: The Way It Happened.
About Lee
Hello! I'm an author, historical Jesus scholar, book reviewer, and liberal Christian, which means I appreciate and attempt to exercise the humanitarian teachings of Jesus without getting hung up on any particular supernatural or religious beliefs.
The Bible is a magnificent book that has inspired and spiritually fed generations for thousands of years, and each new century seems to bring a deeper understanding of life’s purpose. This is true of not only Christianity; through the years, our age-old religions are slowly transforming from superstitious rituals into humanitarian philosophies. In short, we are growing up, and I am thrilled to be riding the wave.
I avidly read all thought-provoking religion titles. New authors: I'd love to read and review your book!
Contact me here.
About Leslie
Hi! While Lee writes the articles and reviews the books, I edit, organize, and maintain the blog. The views expressed here are Lee's but I'm his biggest supporter! :-)
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