Most Christians Have a Worldly Perception of Themselves Instead of a Spiritual One We live in a physical world. As such, we are readily aware that we have a body. If we stop to contemplate it, we may admit to the possibility of having a soul, too—whatever that means. But what about a spirit? In […]
Nehemiah was in exile. Though some of his people had been repatriated, he remained in Babylon. Those who returned, had rebuilt the temple, but the city walls (their protection from attack) were still in ruins. Nehemiah sought the king’s permission and blessing to return and rebuild the wall. So Nehemiah goes home, surveys the situation, […]
In addition to enjoying a dalliance with God, Margery Kempe’s intimate prayer time with the almighty God sometimes resulted in imagining herself participating in Biblical events. I do not know if this was a Holy Spirit inspired meditation or more akin to a vision. As one blessed with a vivid imagination, I can certainly understand […]
While some may have been distracted—or irritated—by my series of posts about adding to or taking away from the Bible, I feel it is an important question to consider. Here is a list of the relevant posts on this subject—in the order presented—in case you want to reread them or catch one that you might […]
Another character in Chris Armstrong’s Patron Saints for Postmoderns is Margery Kempe. What intrigues me most about Margery is her deep connection with God. In describing her intimate prayer time, she often used the word “dalliance.” Now dalliance does not seem like a very Godly or holy word; it means “frivolous spending of time, dawdling, […]
In this series of posts on what should rightly be included in the Bible, several examples were given of items that, while not in all Bibles are in some. Given that there has been historical and/or significant acceptance for these texts, I feel there’s reasonable justification for their inclusion in the Bible; I think that […]
I sat in a coffee shop with a new friend who had just begun to follow Jesus. As we talked about what that meant and how it intersected with life, he suddenly digressed, blurting out, “I don’t really get this whole deal about Jesus dying for my sins.” I knew the answer, but could I […]
The discussion of the text that is not found in all Bibles concludes by addressing the books of Daniel and Esther. In some versions of the Bible, the book of Daniel contains 12 chapters, while in others there are 14. These two chapters are both interesting and insightful. Daniel 13 is the story of upright […]
Check out these books of the Bible, which are not found in all versions, but are in others, such as The Jerusalem Bible: Tobit Tobit is a story of Tobiah who journeys with Raphael to retrieve some money for his father (Tobit). Along the way he is attacked by a fish and gets married; when […]
While the New Testament of the Bible has small phrases or scattered verses that are not found in all of the ancient manuscripts, the Old Testament has a slightly different issue of inclusion or exclusion, which mostly relates to entire books. Here’s the short version of what happened. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew. […]