Silent Servants...

Silent Servants...

... of the Used, Abused, and Utterly Screwed Up.

A Secular Franciscan looks at the world...
with a more jaundiced eye than ever...
and lots of ellipses for you to fill in the missing text...
(with thanks to Thomas S. Klise for the title)



Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts

Thursday, January 02, 2014

A great image

from Dec. 31's post: the article on 'The Conservative Bible'. I wonder how many conservatives would say "Yes, right, what's wrong with the picture, then?"


It may seem far-fetched, but I've heard some pretty awful things come out of the mouths of right wing people, though most weren't running for public office. Sadly, some were...


Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Oh, the things these human beings get up to

Old news, but always relevant.


A Better Bible: Blessed Are the God-Fearing and Money-Making, and Never Mind All That Peacey Touchy Feely Commie Stuff

It's probably written in God's King James era language too, because we all know that that is how God and the saints and angels speak.


Saturday, August 31, 2013

The good book


and famous people are a valuable mix.

Einstein Signed Bible Sells For $68,500 In New York

But the link text really tells it all...


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

We really would



have missed out on a lot.

Would Paul Have Made a Good Evangelical?

The correct answer is 'no'.


Friday, December 30, 2011

Arghhhh!



All the Biblical literacy that’s fit to print

This is a very good website, one which has the position that the media doesn't really 'get religion'...


Monday, December 26, 2011

The West Indies Bible Society



is doing a very good work, I think, anyway...

Jamaica's patois Bible: The word of God in creole


"The Bible is, for the first time, being translated into Jamaican patois. It's a move welcomed by those Jamaicans want their mother tongue enshrined as the national language - but opposed by others, who think learning and speaking English should be the priority."

Friday, December 23, 2011

This sounds interesting



The fifth gospel

People always say that we may be the only church, or the only Jesus (Jesus in us), or the only bible, that people ever come in contact with. It only makes sense, then, that the lives of all of us 'only' people would be Gospel to others...


Tuesday, December 13, 2011

On the other hand


it is always good to get corresponding archaeological 'biblical' news from secular or non-evangelical news sites.

Archaeological Evidence for Sodom: Recent Findings Shed Light on Discoveries of ‘Biblical Proportions’

Questions are asked and answers given that support whatever religious persuasion is asking the questions. It's also always important to realize that, unless they find a sign that says 'Welcome to Sodom, Your Home Away From Home. Pop. 23,476' there's no way of knowing, truly, for certain that it is or isn't what they claim...


Thursday, September 29, 2011

I love to see


such intelligent and informed discussions of a translation of the Bible.

The Collins Bank Bible: A Review of The Holy Bible: New International Version

The average reader won't notice and won't care. Only those who are serious students of scripture are likely to notice.

I wish I could say that I was still (if I ever was) a serious student of scripture. I wish that I could say I was a serious student of anything! My ability to approach anything in that manner has weakened more and more with each passing year.


Monday, September 26, 2011

One large step for Bible readers?


Moon Bible goes on sale in auction

I agree that it really is just an oddity. I'd prefer a historical piece of beauty, but to each their own...



Saturday, September 17, 2011

More lunacy


Atheist group to rip Bible pages in H.B. Saturday
What they're really saying is

'We, too, can make a fuss to generate publicity for our position because we disagree with other people and the world is really run on sound bites. Oh, and we think we're important too! And we l-o-v-e Thomas Jefferson, one of our founding fathers, because he was brilliant enough to delete all that stuff from the bible. He kept slaves, but we'll gloss over that.'

Or something like that.


Thursday, September 01, 2011

Common names



Ancient Burial Box Linked to Priest Who Played Part in Christ's Crucifixion


Very common names? Perhaps, but I would find it odd if the Caiaphus mentioned in the Gospels would name his son 'Jeshua' (or what becomes in English 'Jesus') unless he did it before the trial and execution of another, more famous Yeshua. It would be even greater coincidence if this Yeshua named his daughter Miriam, or Mary. It just seems too coincidental to believe. What are the odds?


Monday, August 29, 2011

I still won't play it


'El Shaddai' on rare video-game turf: the Bible

To this point they've left the Bible alone, I think, so this is a step in a new direction. Still, no matter how well received it is I won't be playing it. Not because I would object faith-wise necessarily, it's just that I didn't grow up with video games the way today's young people have, and I really suck at the eye-hand coordination part, and they don't hold my attention for too long. Suffice to say, I'm not a gamer...



Saturday, August 06, 2011

It may be,


and all the indicators are that it is, the tomb of St. Philip.

Archaeologists Report Finding St. Philip's Tomb

But, as with everything archaeological, until they find a notarized statement from that period that says that it is what they claim (and hope) it is, there's always the very good chance that they're wrong, too...


Thursday, July 14, 2011

There's a limit


New Bible gives Jesus a 'Human' touch

The difficulty is using contemporary language while retaining the correct, original meaning of the words. That's where a lot of translations fail. They're fine (usually) for casual reading, but not too good for study...



Saturday, July 02, 2011

A saintly point


Peter and Paul

We need good scholarship, that's very true, but we also need a good understanding of the Gospel from the lives of the saints. That's where the living Gospel is.

(I love his reference to 'metaphorical phantasmagorical criticism' Heh.)


Monday, June 27, 2011

Peace and holiness

"Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." - Hebrews 12:14




Saturday, June 11, 2011

The arguments will go on and on


and on and on and on, etc., etc.

How Long Did the Gospels Take to "Spread"?

Unless they find a document containing the text and clearly specifying a date (which is very unlikely) there will always be interpretation after interpretation of the clues and evidence.

This is a pretty good article, though. Until the next one.


Saturday, June 04, 2011

There are reasons


Updated: 5 Lessons Learned from the Apocalypse Fail, Or, It’s Not the End of the World as We Know It, and I Feel So-So

There are reasons why people follow apocalyptic preachers, and it doesn't mean that they're simple or stupid or ignorant or poor...






Friday, June 03, 2011

Of course,


if we banned their holy book here there would be no end to the cries of bigotry and prejudice and lack of freedom in the West.

Radical Pakistani Clerics Call Bible ‘Blasphemous,’ May Seek to Have it Banned

If this happens it's just another thing we'll suck up...