Book review: God’s Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible
by Adam Nicolson
★★★★★
Here’s an odd book. It suffers from a little deficiency, through no fault of its own: the story it has to tell (how the King James Bible came into being) is simply not very interesting. Most of the contributors to the King James Bible were obscure, and the historical setting is equally dull. It’s wrought with typical corruption of court, power squabbles, and serious disagreements over doctrine. What else is new throughout the 1500 years since the Bible’s books were written? Even telling the story against a backdrop of the plague and the genius of Shakespeare can’t rescue its setting.
How could our Bible emerge from such a world? But out of this stagnation, through the unlikely cooperation of divergent men, arose a masterpiece. A work meant to be chanted in church, with a rich cadence and a majestic language. Quaint even in its own time, the KJV is nevertheless the language of God, properly aged, in His antiquity and mystery.
Never mind its inaccuracies, and how we have since uncovered more original scriptures to translate. Never mind that the authors have added and subtracted to enhance the beauty of the prose. The ear is the governing organ; if it sounds right, it is right. The end result does indeed rival Shakespeare in its beauty, producing by far the most quotable literary creation in history.
Pity it’s necessary to slog through the first 150 pages of Nicolson’s book in order to appreciate the miracle of the King James Bible, but it is necessary, because that is the story. Each member of the team was to translate all the chapters in his allotted section, alone, without conferring with others. Only then were they to meet together, discuss the text and decide on their final submission. Somehow, inexplicably, it all came together, and the final chapters of Nicolson’s book are glorious. And Nicolson’s rating? A three-star story miraculously transformed into a five-star miracle.
2 Kings 20:13, Hezekiah’s Death-Bed Blunder
Hezekiah received the messengers and showed them all that was in his storehouses–the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine oil–his armory and everything found among his treasures.
//Once upon a time, king Hezekiah fell sick, and was told by the prophet Isaiah that he would not recover. Word of Hezekiah’s terminal illness got around, and one day the prince of Babylon sent an envoy bearing a gift to the king’s palace.
In the mean time, Hezekiah prayed to God and God said he would extend Hezekiah’s life fifteen years. So, when the prince of Babylon arrived, Hezekiah was no longer on his death bed. Spry and happily recovered, he cheerily decided to give the prince a royal tour. Hezekiah showed him all of his riches … silver, gold, spices, fine oil, and all his treasures. He even showed the prince his armory.
Then Hezekiah died, and you all know what happened next. Back came the Babylonians, this time bearing swords, not gifts. Having scoped out the enemy, they conquered Hezekiah’s kingdom and plundered all of his riches.
Question: Did God let Hezekiah live only so that he would commit a horrible tactical blunder?
Acts 17:22-23, Worshipping an Unknown God
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
//Have you ever given this verse much thought? Apparently, the Athenians sensed there was more to the divine than what they currently recognized, for they had set up an altar to worship the unknown. Content to honor a mystery, they stood in awe of something or someone indescribable.
Apparently, it is possible to worship God without knowing him. But Paul wanted the Athenians to move beyond reverence, and actually experience God. To “know” God, as the creator of heaven and earth, the source of “life and breath and everything else.”
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ –Acts 17:28
This, says Paul—blending our whole being into the mystery that is God—is how we ought to experience the divine.
Book review: Our Chosen Faith, An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism
by John A. Buehrens and F. Forrester Church
★★★★
I’ve enjoyed attending a Unitarian Universalist church about every other Sunday for a while, and thought I
should know a little more about it, so I picked up this book.
That’s a lie. I have no idea where the book came from, whether it was a gift or a request for review or a purchase I forgot I had made. It just appeared on my bookshelf, without getting logged in my review queue. I love mysteries, so I read it.
U.U. is a merger of two denominations—Universalists and Unitarians—and to be honest, I didn’t learn a lot from the book. That’s because there is no creed to learn, no rituals to perform, no insistence upon a single belief system, while at the same time it demeans none of them. It’s pluralism to the extreme. Fits me to a T, right?
U.U. is a sort of common-sense, practical religion. It feels, to me, open and honest. There is no denial of sin, death, evil, and suffering, but rather there is a humanitarian call to ease or overcome them. Those U.U.’s who have a Christian bent tend to lean toward “works” in the great faith-vs-works debate. I’ve never been good at denying scientific findings (like evolution), and have a tough time believing in any particular afterlife scenario over another, so U.U. fits me there, too. This quote I found absolutely fascinating:
Death is a fairly recent entry in the scheme of evolution. The beginnings of life on this planet were sponsored by single cell organisms, which replicated themselves by division. One generation of beings followed another, each identical to the last. We were immortal, until we became interesting.
But how do I explain the book? I thought I’d just list a few more quotes, and maybe something will resonate with you as well.
Unitarian Universalism might best be described as a life-affirming rather than death-defying faith.
“The Universalists believe that God is too good to damn them, whereas the Unitarians believe they are too good to be damned!” –Star King, p. 34
The light of God (“God” is not God’s name, but our name for that which is greater than all and yet present in each) not only shines down upon us, but also out from within us.
One Truth, many truths; one God, many faiths; one light (Unitarianism), many windows (Universalism).
Spiritual Retreats Around The World
by Virginia Cunningham
Sometimes, the trappings of modern life do not seem conducive to spiritual practice. With our many responsibilities and distractions from the divine, it can be necessary to take time out to reconnect with all that we call holy. While there are ways to find the space for contemplation and serenity in everyday life, we know we need more than that at times.
Here are some of the most accommodating places in the world to realign our higher selves:
Blessed with the backdrop of a truly inspiring Ozark mountain vista, LPH is a unique Eureka Springs getaway founded in Northwest Arkansas by a well-known Christian musician. Not surprisingly, this location offers music as a source of spiritual renewal in addition to its vibrant ministry.
One of the most legendary meditation retreats in the world, the sprawling Ananda is a worthy destination for pilgrims from any faith. Nestled over 3,000 feet above the sacred Ganges River, Ananda will make anyone feel closer to God. While the center’s foundations are Buddhist, teachers also provide lessons in yogic breathing, which can be incorporated into most faiths.
Combining a Benedictine monastery and an influential seminary school, this abbey in Conception Junction, Missouri provides personal guidance as well as a well-known oblation program. The Abbey operates under the mandates of the Benedictine order, meaning visitors should expect a strict regimen of silent communal prayer and warm fellowship.
Just off the coast of Scotland’s west side (near the Isle of Arran), Holy Isle hosts meditation retreats in an enclave called the Centre for World Peace. Though founded by Buddhists who promote the Tibetan practice of Kagyu meditation, all faiths are welcome to find themselves within the confines of this location’s grassy, wave-beaten parameters.
Permanent residents of Holy Isle live in total silence, just to give you an idea of the ethos of this truly special place.
Magic Falls of Southern France
Close to the tiny village of Montsegur, the waterfalls of Southern France attract seekers from numerous faiths, especially those seeking the feminine energy of the Virgin Mary. While Lourdes is a more obvious site for pilgrimage, the outskirts of Montsegur are much more private, yet are also reported to have strong healing tendencies.
A sister retreat of sorts with the Buddhist Shantivanam retreat of Easton, Texas, Timber Creek is a more recent retreat center that reflects the efforts of the spiritual to bridge the differences between faiths. Deep in the woods of Drexel, Missouri, Timber Creek provides spiritually-awakening trails in green pastures, a generous library of awakening books and audio selections, and the mentorship of co-founderTom Jacobs.
Big Sur
It doesn’t matter what your background is, it’s difficult not to be inspired by the truly beautiful coastline that extends around Big Sur, California. Its nature trails, waterfalls and mountains alone will make even the most hard-hearted visitors renew their connection with something greater, or even find it for the first time. Steeped in ancient Californian wisdom, Big Sur is the home of Esalen, an institute famed for its unique marriage of New Age spirituality and mystical psychology.
Again, while even the most humble corner of the cosmos may be the site of personal revelation, there are some locations that seemed especially sacred. With faith and hope, you will find some answers in the peaceful midst of one of these hallowed locations.
Virginia Cunningham is a freelance health writer in Southern California who specializes in yoga, alternative medicine, natural supplements, and skin care. She has traveled to spiritual retreats all over the world to see Geshe Gyatso speak.
Got an opinion? 0 commentsEzekiel 26:1-4, A Failed Prophecy
In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’ therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock.
//Ever read a failed prophecy in the Bible? Here’s one. The city of Tyre mocks Jerusalem, and God promises vengeance. God sicks Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, on the disrespectful city of Tyre:
For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army. He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you. — Ezekiel 26:7-8
The description of war continues further; the entire battle appears scripted ahead of time. But alas, when Nebuchadnezzer does make his move, the attack fails. In a rare admission of error, Ezekiel admits Tyre somehow survived the oracle, he must have misunderstood the message from God. Now he quotes God as saying Nebuchadnezzar will conquer Egypt instead:
In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month on the first day, the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon drove his army in a hard campaign against Tyre; every head was rubbed bare and every shoulder made raw. Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led against Tyre. Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth. He will loot and plunder the land as pay for his army.” –Ezekiel 29:17-19
I say: nyah, nyah to all you skeptics who think the prophecies in the Bible were all made after the event they describe. This one obviously wasn’t.
John 15:27, John, the Eyewitness
And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
//In today’s verse, Jesus lays out the terms for one who is a legitimate witness to Jesus’ ministry. It must be someone who has been with Jesus “from the beginning.” John’s Gospel differs from the other three in many ways, but a person could argue that the most important difference is that the author repeatedly insists that he is an eyewitness to the events he describes.
For whatever reason, this author repeatedly mentions his unique authority as an eyewitness. (I speculate in my book about John’s Gospel that he felt obligated to defend his authority, because of the many places where he disagrees with the Synoptic story.) Scholars continue to argue about who wrote this Gospel, but whoever it was, he insists no less than five times that he witnessed the events he is reporting, and tells the truth.
We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only –John 1:14
The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. –John 3:33
The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. –John 19:35
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. –John 20:30-31
This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. –John 21:24
Book review: Everything On The Line
by Bob Mitchell
★★★★★
God and Satan are enjoying a customary lunch together when they decide to settle it all. The whole shebang. Which is more powerful: good or evil? This is no mere side bet, like whether or not a fellow named Job is a good guy. Satan has had enough of being banished from heaven, and this time it’s for all the marbles.
They decide to settle the issue on the tennis court, so each backs a champion. God picks Ugo, a graceful, deaf Italian while Satan likes Jack, a relentless, win-at-all-costs American. The two champions are molded for ten years, from the tender age of thirteen until they become magnificent athletic perfection at twenty-three, when everything is finally ready for a final showdown at Wimbledon.
If you’re a tennis fan, or any kind of sports fan, or, hey, just a human being, this book is great entertainment. A feel-good book of cosmic significance, for about any age. A bit sappy and overplayed, maybe, but what’s wrong with a little light-hearted good-versus-evil? I loved it all the way through.
Mitchell’s fun writing style with its exaggerated run-on sentences contributes perfectly to the never-ending volleys of the greatest tennis match of all time.
2 Kings 16:3, the Sign of Ahaz, part II of II
[Ahaz] walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
//Yesterday, I mentioned a sign performed by Jesus in view of the Jews, at the pool of Bethesda, though no such sign was requested of him. I mentioned how Isaiah also once provided an unwanted sign to King Ahaz, who was visiting Jerusalem to inspect the pool of Bethesda. Isaiah prophesied that a young maiden nearby would have a child and name him Emmanuel. Then, I asked if you could locate an undercurrent of meaning tying these two events at the pool of Bethesda together.
As most every Bible reader knows, this prophecy of a child named Emmanuel became a sign of the birth of Jesus, hundreds of years later. But at the time, Isaiah was speaking about a maiden in his presence, one probably already pregnant, and many interpreters believe Isaiah was speaking about the queen. Ahaz’s wife. No details are provided, though, of whether she actually named her child Emmanuel. Do you suppose the prophecy came true in Ahaz’s day?
What we do know from today’s verse is this: Ahaz did have a child, and the child’s fate was to become a human sacrifice. Could Jesus, in performing an unasked-for sign at Bethesda, have been comparing the Jews to Ahaz, while casting himself in the role of Emmanuel? Jesus, the human sacrifice.
Now for the kicker: Matthew’s Gospel, as we know, draws heavily on this story of Isaiah and Ahaz and the prophecy of a child named Emmanuel. Matthew directly implies that Emmanuel is Jesus. However, it’s a bit of an odd fit; Jesus was never named Emmanuel.
Could the “sign of Ahaz”—the sacrifice of the King’s son—be the means by which Jesus became associated with the name Emmanuel, and thus the foundation which tempts Matthew to compare Isaiah’s prophecy to Jesus? If so, then Matthew’s clever theology raises my respect for him.
John 5:2, the Sign of Ahaz, part I of II
Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.
//Seldom does John include a story in his Gospel without a deep theological undercurrent. Today’s verse begins the famous story of the lame man at the pool. He lies waiting for the water to be “troubled,” indicating the presence of a healing angel, and Jesus tells him instead to just get up and carry his mat away. Miraculously healed, the man obeys.
But is there some significance to the location at the pool of Bethesda? This location has a history. Hundreds of years earlier, King Ahaz made a trip to Jerusalem to inspect this pool, to insure that an adequate water supply existed in the case of an attack by the Assyrians.
Ahaz is making plans that do not meet the approval of God, and when he arrives at Bethesda, the prophet Isaiah confronts him. Isaiah offers to provide a sign from God as evidence of God’s direction, and Ahaz refuses, presumably to avoid being presented with evidence that he was in the wrong.
Isaiah provides the sign anyway, in another very famous Biblical passage. The sign Isaiah proposes is that a young maiden will bear a child, and name him Emmanuel.
How does any of this relate to New Testament times? Besides the obvious, that is, of how this child became understood as a prophecy of the birth of Jesus? I’ll let you ponder, and continue the story tomorrow.
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
|
|
| 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.)
A Top-100 Christian Blog
Named an Exceptional Website for Christian Theologians
Our Top Book Picks
Selected by The Dubious Disciple as Best Religion Books. Don't miss these!
Subscribers:
Twitter Followers
Facebook Fans
16806 Blog Members
354 Circles
603 Goodreads Friends & Fans
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! :-)
Connect With Me!