Category Archives: Bible

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Daily Broadside | How Much Do You Know About the Bible?

I will be traveling over the long weekend, so there will be no posts Monday or Tuesday next week.

How about ending this week on a lighter note? Even though this blog is meant to examine the intersection of faith, culture and politics, I tend to get bogged down in the circus that is our current political state of affairs—amirite?

Some time ago I mentioned that I was developing a “bible basics” class for people who are either new to the Christian faith or who want to fill in the gaps of what they know about the Bible. I’m now planning to turn that material into a book and have been doing some further research to supplement what I originally did for the class.

When I talk about “bible basics” I make no assumptions about what people do or don’t know about the Bible. For instance, if I asked you why we call the Bible, “the Bible,” would you know? Do you know where that word came from?

No?

Well, it’s your lucky day, because I’m going to tell you.

Papyrus

The story starts around 3000 BC, when the Egyptians developed the use of papyrus as a primative form of paper (the word “paper” comes from the word papyrus), which offered advantages over materials like clay tablets and animal skins. The earliest archaeological evidence of papyrus use dates back to mid-2500 BC.

For those of you keeping track, that’s some 4,500-5,000 years ago.

As the Egyptians perfected the manufacture of papyrus, their product became well known and demand for “Egyptian papyrus” was high. They kept the method of production secret, guaranteeing a monopoly on the papyrus market.

One of the most important cities to the papyrus trade was Gebal, a port city on the coast of ancient Phoenicia, located about twenty miles north of the city of Beruit in modern-day Lebanon. Gebal, which played a unique role as an intermediary between Egypt and the rest of the ancient world, imported the famed Egyptian papyrus and then exported it to the Aegean region (the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey and south to the island of Crete).

And there is where we begin to pick up hints of the ancient roots of the word “Bible.”

Byblos

Papyrus was adopted by and used extensively by the Greeks. They got their papyrus from the Phoenician traders and called the city of Gebal, “Byblos” (βίβλος)—pronounced BIB-loss, their word for papyrus. More specifically, “biblos” referred to the inner fibers of the stalk of the papyrus reed, from which the rolls (or sheets) of papyrus were made.

Byblion

Once a scroll had been made from papyrus, the Greeks called it a “biblion” (βιβλίον), a diminutive of Byblos meaning “little scroll” (similar to how we say “booklet,” the diminutive of “book”). Eventually it came to refer to any written work (almost always scrolls at that time) and meant “scroll.”

Biblia

“Biblia” (βιβλία) was the plural of biblion, meaning “scrolls.” Greek speaking (Hellenistic) Jews called their scriptures ta biblia (τὰ βιβλία), “the scrolls.” Ta biblia gradually came to mean “the books” as the codex, precursor to the modern book, began to replace scrolls as the favored form of written works.

The earliest Christian use of ta biblia (the books) is said to be 2 Clement 2:14 (c. 150 AD): “The books and the apostles declare that the church . . . has existed from the beginning.” The earliest known use of “ta biblia” to refer to both the Old and New Testaments together was by John Chrysostom in the late fourth century AD.

Note that the word “biblia” is plural, so when it is used by Clement to refer to “the books” he is talking about multiple books, e.g. the individual books that were considered scripture (the canon of scripture that we know today was not fully formed). The sense of a singular “book” when referring to the scriptures had not yet developed, until …

… the Greek phrase was adopted into Latin, where it gradually lost its plural sense became biblia sacra (“holy book”). The word “biblia” was then loaned as a singular into the languages of Western Europe, including Old French.*

Bible

In Old French, the word “biblia” became bible (pronounced BEEB-leh), and was eventually adopted by Old English, replacing biblioðece as the ordinary word for “the Scriptures” in the early 14th century.

The sense of a “book” once associated with the etymology of the word Bible has become obsolete, and instead is now understood to mean any authoritative work (e.g. The Hunter’s Bible; The Football Fitness Bible), but specifically about the Christian scriptures.

And that’s why the Bible is called “the Bible.” The English word comes to us via the Old French “bible” from the Medieval Latin biblia, from the Greek βιβλία (biblia), the plural of βιβλίον (biblíon), originally a diminutive of βίβλος (bíblos), meaning “papyrus” because the Greeks got their rolls of papyrus from the Phoenician city of Gebal (Byblos).

Now you know something basic about the Bible that you didn’t know before. Impress your friends at church this weekend!

See you next week.

* The image is of a German Bible published in 1894 that I own. It has the word “Biblia” on the spine.

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Driving on the Wrong Side of the Road

How Bizarre is That?

Imagine someone driving on the wrong side of the road and justifying it by saying they have the right to be happy.

How bizarre is that?

Now envision that same situation, only now that person is being pulled from the wreckage that was their automobile after colliding with another car because they were in the wrong lane. But instead of admitting that it was their fault, they insist that it’s all due to an oppressive system that obligates them to conform in ways that make them feel uncomfortable.

The person who wants to see themselves as their own absolute is having to constantly reconfigure the human experience in order to validate their mindset as being beyond reproach. They’re like the middle schooler who turns in their multiple choice exam believing that because they had the freedom to choose how they wanted to answer each question, they’re automatically deserving of a perfect score.

This is the world of the individual who has declared himself as his own bottom line. There are no failing test scores, there are no standards, and anything that could be accurately processed as a consequence of their actions is dismissed by labeling it as a hateful convention coming from either a corrupt institution that needs to be destroyed or an ignorant individual that needs to be silenced.

They shoot themselves in the foot and then blame all the pain they’re in on the one who told them not to pull the trigger to begin with.

When you attempt to reason with this kind of person, you are not being heard as someone who’s questioning their logic as much as you are challenging their authority. It’s not about what’s true, it’s about what works as far as those statistics and testimonies that can be used to make a self serving agenda appear compassionate and preferrable while simultaneously validating themselves as the only one that they’re accountable to.

And yet…

Practical Gravity and Simple Math

The validity of one’s perspective is ultimately proven by what happens when that perspective is put into practice. However convoluted and volatile the debate may be, feelings and beliefs can be readily identified as being either clarifying or distracting simply by observing those things that result from the application of any one methodology.

Should one approach translate to a world of pain and problems, that perspective can then be logically subordinated to a viewpoint that yields better results. At that point, you’re not looking at anything other than pure utility and however passionate you may be about your particular brand of morality, you are no longer able to assert your preferences as principles when all that exists in the aftermath is a mess you expect someone else to clean up.

There has always been an element that wants to push back against those things that remind them that there is such a thing as “practical gravity.” You cannot hope to do certain things and not have to contend with the natural consequences of your actions. If you decide to jump out of an airplane as it’s flying through the sky, you can’t deny the effects of gravity simply because you want to believe that you have the right to be happy or because you believe that gravity is a byproduct of an oppressive hierarchy.

In a similar way, you can’t drive on the wrong side of the road and not risk a head on collision, nor can you embrace what amounts to a perverse or irresponsible lifestyle and not be confronted with the medical and practical realities that characterize the choice that you have made.

There is a natural order in place that transcends whatever it is that drives your resolve and you can’t circumvent that infrastructure simply because it doesn’t coincide with your opinion on the matter.

It’s math, really.

The way you think + the way you act = the price you pay

Wise decisions tend to be very beneficial and cost very little.

On the other hand, foolish choices can be lethal and in that way are very expensive.

And here’s the thing: When that bill arrives, it’s your responsibility. However you want to insist that it’s someone else’s fault or another person’s obligation, you’re the one that has to come up with the functional finances necessary to pay the amount owed which will inevitably include a lack of fulfillment, a substantial amount of wasted time and a collection of physical and emotional scars.

Antiquated Traditions

Some want to try and avoid the “practical gravity” of their situation by insisting that the angst they experience as a result of the way they choose to process themselves and the world around them is due to the unjust and antiquated traditions of the society they live in.

Perhaps.

But then again, if your perspective is revealed as being problematic in terms of what happens when your perspective is put into practice, it’s not the society you live in that’s causing the tension, it’s the organic outcome of your flawed approach.

It’s not the Supreme Court, it’s not a political party, it’s not a cultural trend or a societal norm.

You’re driving on the wrong side of the road and there are consequences to not staying in your lane that are based more so on the laws of Physics and Chemistry then they are the Department of Motor Vehicles.

This is the problem you inevitably encounter when you establish any kind of human agency as your philosophical foundation.

Die, Quit or Change

You have chosen to build your existence on a platform that is destined to either die, quit or change. It is as fluid as it is inconsistent and whatever rights or truisms you want to maintain as givens will resonate as such only when you’ve surrounded yourself with like-minded individuals. Reason being is that you can’t logically condemn another person’s viewpoint if everyone is entitled to their opinion and the universe is nothing more than a lucky mistake.

This is what happens when you remove God from the equation. Bear in mind that there are only two religions in the world: Either God is God or you are. Every religion on the planet empowers the individual with the ability to facilitate their own salvation. Only Christianity maintains that you are not your own deity and the only thing that you contribute to your salvation is the sin that makes it necessary.

When you embrace God as your philosophical starting point and the Substance of the empty tomb as what defines your identity, you’re no longer tasked with having to manufacture a reason for your existence or an enduring Source of fulfillment.

Bear in mind we’re talking about the Person of Jesus Christ – the Son of God and not a corrupted clergyman or a hypocritical layperson. Neither one of those two individuals died for your sins or put the planets in their place.

The Image of God, the Son of God and the Spirit of God

You are made in the Image of God, you have been redeemed by the Son of God and you have access to a Perfect Source of Purpose, Peace and Power because of the Spirit of God who lives in and through you.

Like our Founding Fathers, you can effectively dispute injustice because you’re not limited to a human premise, and unlike those who borrow from God without believing in Him, you can accurately claim an entitlement as a legitimate right because you know that they’re gifts from God He gives to guard your way and not weapons you use in an attempt to get your way.

Moreover, you don’t see His Instructions as “rules” as much as you see them as “tools” that you use to realize a life where you are making a difference and not just an appearance.

Scale That Wall and Dismantle That Strategy

There will always be people who drive on the wrong side of the road. They will justify themselves with compelling sounding arguments framed by a strategy designed to avoid that direct line of questioning that has the capacity to reveal their platform as toxic and self-serving.

But you can scale that wall and dismantle that strategy by focusing on the empirical results of their perspective and allow the logic of how a flawed methodology needs to be subordinated to an approach that yields a better outcome.

When you hear someone say, “That’s your opinion!” or “You can’t force your beliefs on me!” they’re neither proving their point nor are they proving you to be wrong. Rather, they’re attempting to secure the kind of pity that’s awarded to the person who’s been hurt in order to distract from the wreckage caused by their own decision making.

You can’t always change a person’s mind without changing their heart and only God can do that.

But God can use you to make an impact and you want to be ready to do more than argue…

You want to champion the Truth by asking the right questions and letting their responses not only make your point, but more importantly make Him known.

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Grasp the One, Do Not Let the Other Slip From Your Hand

Patrick Henry was speaking to the House of Burgesses and had tasked himself with convincing those who were hesitant to openly oppose King George and commit themselves to America’s quest for liberty.

He began by acknowledging the reality of differing opinions and emphasizing the importance of giving all viewpoints an equal hearing, especially given the magnitude of the subject being discussed.

At one point, he said…

It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country.”1

A common flaw in the way Truth is pursued by some is the way in which a person’s bias inclines them to dismiss any information that has the capacity to undermine the perspective they are most comfortable with. Instead of a conviction characterized by a comprehensive and balanced overview of the issue in question, preferences are substituted for principles and an emotionally charged opinion is submitted as an objective bottom line.

Ecclesiastes 7:16-18 says:

16 Don’t be excessively righteous, and don’t be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time? 18 It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them. (Ecc 7:16-18)

Regardless of the topic being discussed, it’s imperative to be balanced in the way you consider the criteria you allow to influence your thinking. It’s more than just a healthy way to ensure a good decision, it’s part of the daily debt you owe to God out of respect for Who He is and what He expects (Ps 32:8-10; Prov 12:22-23; 29:1; Jas 1:5-8).

 

 

1. “Patrick Henry – Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death”, “Yale Law School – Lillian Goldman Law Library”, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/patrick.asp, accessed May 21, 2023

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Daily Broadside | Another Letter to the Corinthians

One of the things I mentioned yesterday is that I have spent a lot of time, especially in the last couple of weeks, preparing for a class that I’m teaching at my church. The class is Bible Basics.

For some people the Bible can be an intimidating book. It’s big, it’s old, and it claims to be God’s Holy Word. That leads some to think they have to have an advanced degree to understand it. But the Bible was written in the common language of the times it records, so that the average person could read and understand it.

The idea is to give participants an overview of what the Bible is, how it was put together, the types of literature it contains, and how to read, understand and navigate it for themselves.

During my research I learned something that I don’t think was ever covered in my MDiv. classes. What is particularly amazing is that in this digital age, you don’t necessarily need to depend on an assigned book or a seminary class — it’s easy to discover resources about almost anything you want to know with the click of a mouse.

I was researching how the biblical canon came to be and learned that in about AD 95, Clement, the bishop of Rome, wrote what we know as the Letter to the Corinthians, or the First Epistle of Clement, to the church at Corinth. Although his name does not appear in the letter, long-standing tradition attributes the work to him, and the letter is one of the earliest extant writings we have of the attitude and structure of the very early church.

Clement was a disciple of the apostle Peter and most likely knew Paul, as both apostles are credited with establishing the church at Rome. He was the first “Apostolic Father” of the church—a title given to Christian leaders who personally knew the apostles.

In his letter, Clement is addressing an event in which younger members of the congregation had deposed certain elders from the ministry. Clement references at least 150 scriptural passages, both from the Old Testament and from the New Testament, and early on focuses on Peter’s and Paul’s martyrdoms as apostles.

But not to dwell upon ancient examples, let us come to the most recent spiritual heroes. Let us take the noble examples furnished in our own generation. Through envy and jealousy the greatest and most righteous pillars [of the church] have been persecuted and put to death. Let us set before our eyes the illustrious apostles. Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labours; and when he had at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him. Owing to envy, Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity, compelled to flee, and stoned. After preaching both in the east and west, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the extreme limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects. Thus was he removed from the world, and went into the holy place, having proved himself a striking example of patience.

He also makes a pointed reference to Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth.

Take up the epistle of the blessed Apostle Paul. What did he write to you at the time when the gospel first began to be preached? Truly, under the inspiration of the Spirit, he wrote to you concerning himself, and Cephas, and Apollos, because even then parties had been formed among you. But that inclination for one above another entailed less guilt upon you, inasmuch as your partialities were then shown towards apostles, already of high reputation, and towards a man whom they had approved. But now reflect who those are that have perverted you, and lessened the renown of your far-famed brotherly love. It is disgraceful, beloved, yea, highly disgraceful, and unworthy of your Christian profession, that such a thing should be heard of as that the most steadfast and ancient church of the Corinthians should, on account of one or two persons, engage in sedition against its presbyters. And this rumour has reached not only us, but those also who are unconnected with us; so that, through your infatuation, the name of the Lord is blasphemed, while danger is also brought upon yourselves.

The reason I referenced Clement in my class is that even before the end of the first century, many of the letters that make up our New Testament were already recognized as authoritative and scriptural. Many of the books we read in our Bibles today were already being read regularly in the churches around the Mediterranean region.

Even more intriguing is that Paul mentions a Clement in his letter to the Philippians.

I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. (Philippians 4:2-3)

There is no way to know conclusively if the Clement mentioned by Paul is the same Clement who eventually became the overseer of the church at Rome. But it’s intriguing to think that we might actually have extant writings of a figure mentioned in scripture, who otherwise would simply be a name on a page. It would be like finding the work of Apollos or Nicodemus.

I really wish sometimes that I could spend my days studying and learning things that I never got to in my formal education.

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Daily Broadside | New Discovery Boosts Christian Confidence in the Bible

As a believer it is helpful to my faith when archeological discoveries reinforce or directly prove the historicity of the Bible. In three scriptures, we read of the Pool of Siloam.

2 Kings 20:20 —

As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?

Nehemiah 3:15 —

He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Siloam, by the King’s Garden, as far as the steps going down from the City of David.

John 9:7 —

“Go,” [Jesus] told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

And now, if you want to go see the pool, you can.

The Israel Antiquities Authority, the Israel National Parks Authority and the City of David Foundation announced days before the new year that the Pool of Siloam, a biblical site cherished by Christians and Jews, will be open to the public for the first time in 2,000 years in the near future.

“The Pool of Siloam’s excavation is highly significant to Christians around the world,” American Pastor John Hagee, the founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel, told Fox News Digital. “It was at this site that Jesus healed the blind man (John:9), and it is at this site that, 2,000 years ago, Jewish pilgrims cleansed themselves prior to entering the Second Temple. 

“The Pool of Siloam and the Pilgrimage Road, both located within the City of David, are among the most inspiring archeological affirmations of the Bible…

…

The pool was first built roughly 2,700 years ago as part of Jerusalem’s water system in the eighth century B.C. The construction unfolded during the reign of King Hezekia as cited in the Bible in the Book of Kings II, 20:20, according to the two Israeli agencies and the City of David Foundation. 

According to estimates, the Pool of Siloam passed through many stages of construction and reached the size of 1¼ acres.

Atheists, secular humanists and mainline scoffers often characterize the Bible as being mythological or fictional. Yet there has never been an archeological find that has disproved any biblical record; in fact, any archeological discovery relating to a biblical text has only validated the Bible’s historicity.

For instance (and appropriately, as we exit the Christmas season), it was long thought that the Bible was in error when Luke wrote (2:1) that, “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)” Critics charged that Quirinius was governor at a later date than what the Bible claims, but Sir William Ramsey (1851-1939), historian and archaeologist, demonstrated that Quirinius was twice governor of Syria, the first being at the time of Jesus’ birth.

So, when another bit of archeology verifies the scripture’s record, it serves as a reminder that my faith is based, at least in part, on solid evidence of its historical accuracy. The reinforcement comes in handy when facing a culture that is not just increasingly hostile, but increasingly militant and violent towards Christians in ways that would have been unthinkable just 30 years ago.

The Pool of Siloam is one of those significant historical discoveries that can encourage us.

Ze’ev Orenstein, director of international affairs for the City of David Foundation in Jerusalem, told Fox News Digital, “One of most significant sites affirming Jerusalem’s biblical heritage — not simply as a matter of faith, but as a matter of fact — with significance to billions around the world, will be made fully accessible for the first time in 2,000 years.”

The Pool of Siloam doesn’t prove that Jesus was who he said he was but taken with hundreds of other pieces of archeological evidence, we can trust that the biblical authors were accurate in what they wrote about the times and places in which they lived. And if they were accurate in those details, then a person could reasonably conclude that they were accurate in other details — like Jesus being the Son of God.

I thought Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, nicely summarized what the discovery of the Pool of Siloam means for us.

“In the Pool of Siloam, we find evidence of history preserved for us, revealed at just the right time. This is a truly historic event. Theologically, it affirms Scripture, geographically it affirms history and politically it affirms Israel’s unquestionable and unrivaled link to Jerusalem. Some discoveries are theoretical. This one is an undeniable. It is proof of the story of the Bible and of its people, Israel.”

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Daily Broadside | What Bible Do You Read?

Daily Verse | Nehemiah 9:17
“But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.”

Wednesday’s Reading: Nehemiah 11-13

Wednesday and a bit of rabbit trail this morning. Usually, I’m posting my latest take on Brandon and the nutters in Washington who are driving this country off a cliff while listening to Beyonce’s Formation. Not today.

I believe that politics is downstream from culture, and culture is downstream from faith. Our faith individually and collectively reflects our spiritual life, and our spiritual life reflects, to some degree or another, our interaction with scripture.

One of my kids is on a focused search for her ‘forever’ Bible, one that she can get now and use for a lifetime. We’ve talked a lot about what translation to use, what kind of features she’d like, and what ‘trim level’, (i.e. quality) she’d like to have.

As we’ve been researching Bibles, it amazes me what’s available. According to this 2006 story in The New Yorker magazine,

[T]here are distinctions within each category. There are study Bibles that focus on theology, on historical context, or on practical applications of Biblical teachings. There are devotional Bibles for new believers, couples, brides, and cowboys. On an airplane recently, I saw a woman reading a surfers’ Bible very similar to the proposed skaters’ one. The variety is seemingly limitless. Nelson Bible Group’s 2006 catalogue lists more than a hundred titles.

They also write, “The familiar observation that the Bible is the best-selling book of all time obscures a more startling fact: the Bible is the best-selling book of the year, every year.” Estimates of Bibles currently in print worldwide are between 5 and 6 billion.

We’ve initially settled on a leather-bound New International Version (NIV), wide margins, Jesus’ words in red text, cross-references, and a concordance. It’s similar to my everyday bible, which is a Zondervan NIV Wide Margin Bible, published in 2001 with the 1984 text. I had it rebound after the cover and spine began to fall apart. I write, underline and highlight in my bible, so it was important to me to keep it and extend its life.

Coincidentally, I’m putting together a ‘Bible Basics for Beginners’ course for my church this fall and one of the topics we’ll cover is “How to Choose a Bible.” There are so many variations and features to choose from that I’m thinking of creating a matrix that would help someone figure out what’s important to them and what Bibles meet their criteria.

All of this leads me to wonder what kind of Bible you read and why. If you’re so inclined, I’d love to hear from you in the comments. What version do you use and why? What format do you use? What features are important to you? Why did you choose the Bible you use?