Start the Year with the Word

Last updated on: December 25, 2023 at 1:54 pm By Ben Witherington

Here’s some helpful reflections by my old friend Tom Wright from his Scripture and the Authority of God, pp. 128, 90-91. “We must committed to a totally contextual reading of scripture. Each word must be understood within its own verse, each verse within its own chapter, each chapter within its own book, and each book within its own historical, cultural, [and I would add rhetorical] and indeed canonical setting. All scripture is ‘culturally conditioned’. it is naive to pretend that some... Read more

The UMC becomes the Untied Methodist Church

Last updated on: December 18, 2023 at 4:39 pm By Ben Witherington

This NY. Times article sums up the current state of affairs…. the UMC is adrift. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/us/the-united-methodist-church-schism.html?unlocked_article_code=1.G00.J17k.kmP_OEZLGNTF&smid=url-share Read more

Me and the Magi

Last updated on: December 21, 2023 at 8:09 pm By Ben Witherington

https://seminarynow.com/programs/chosen-by-god-the-magi Read more

Of Podcasts, and Ted Talks, and Weblogs, and Texting

Last updated on: December 22, 2023 at 1:10 pm By Ben Witherington

I’ve been doing these forms of communication for more than twenty years now. One thing I’ve noticed repeatedly. Those who rely on the free information they can get from these sources, without doing any real research themselves, are subject to all sorts of misinformation and disinformation. Yes, there are some free sites on the web which usually provide reliable information, for instance Wikipedia is usually reliable, but it is also subject to constant revision and correction by experts, unlike many... Read more

Maysways

Last updated on: December 21, 2023 at 1:42 pm By Ben Witherington

RIP to my favorite jazz fusion pianist, Lyle Mays. Here are two of my favorite tributes after he passed. Read more

Recent Remarkable Roman Archaeological Finds in Italy

Last updated on: December 21, 2023 at 1:41 pm By Ben Witherington

https://www.cnn.com/style/domus-tiberiana-rome-reopens https://www.cnn.com/style/rome-palatine-hill-archaeology-discovery/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/08/travel/pompeii-archaeologists-uncover-bakery-prison-intl-scli Read more

Boxing Day

Last updated on: December 20, 2023 at 8:55 am By Ben Witherington

BOXING DAY [Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to poor people, today Boxing Day forms part of Christmas celebrations, with many people choosing to take advantage of Boxing Day sales. It originated in Great Britain…in parts of Europe, such as several regions of Spain, the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, and most of Ireland (excluding most of Ulster), 26... Read more

The Turn of the Tide

Last updated on: December 18, 2023 at 8:00 am By Ben Witherington

The Turn of the Tide Breathless was the air over Bethlehem; black and bare The fields; hard as granite were the clods; Hedges stiff with ice; the sedge, in the vice Of the ponds, like little iron rods. The deathly stillness spread from Bethlehem; it was shed Wider each moment on the land; Through rampart and wall into camp and into hall Stole the hush. All tongues were at a stand. Travellers at their beer in taverns turned to hear... Read more

Owl Be Home for Christmas

Last updated on: December 16, 2023 at 10:12 am By Ben Witherington

Seen as Dogwood Trace Park in the dead Sycamore tree. Read more

Feeling Bullish on Toro

Last updated on: December 15, 2023 at 8:35 pm By Ben Witherington

There are many many good restaurants in Lexington where I live, in fact there are more restaurants per capita than in any other large city in America, but no Spanish ones worth talking about. Now when I say Spanish I do not mean Mexican or Tex-Mex. I mean actual Spanish food. And fortunately there is an excellent one in San Antonio that we decided to sample—- simply called Toro Kitchen and Bar. So what does a genuine Spanish restaurant (with... Read more