I haven’t reached Exodus yet, but Greg Thornbury has alerted me and other read-the-Bible-through-in-a-year readers that Moses and the exodus are important. In fact, without an actual historical figure such as Moses and real historical event such as the exodus narrative, the integrity of the New Testament is up for grabs: . . . if the scholars are right that is: “No Jews in Egypt means no Exodus. No Exodus means the foundation of Judaism is a myth. And for... Read more
This read-the-Bible-in-a-year resolution is a challenge (even though the daily portions — about three-and-a-half pages — are smaller than I had imagined). So in an effort to catch up and get on track I am tempted to skim. Of course, most Bible readers skim the genealogies, the long sections of law, and the prophetic passages that oscillate between post-millennial optimism and pre-millennial despair. But what about skimming the familiar parts? Most Bible believers who have been in the church for... Read more
Tim Challies thinks the Bible reading plan I am on falls into the familiarity (instead of intimacy) model: I love to grow in Bible familiarity. I appreciate the McCheyne approach of reading the Old Testament once per year and the New Testament and Psalms twice (Or even the Dr. Horner plan of ten chapters per day). This is drinking from the firehose of Scripture, and it is a beautiful thing. There are few better ways to understand the overarching story... Read more
The NFL brings out the worst of American Christians. Read more
During the court proceedings (Abington v. Schempp) in which the U.S. Supreme Court finally ruled that prayer and Bible reading in public schools were unconstitutional, Dr. Solomon Grayzel gave expert testimony about the effects readings from the New Testament on Jewish students. According to the opinion delivered by Justice Tom C. Clark, Dr. Grayzel explained that “material from the New Testament could be explained to Jewish children in such a way as to do no harm,” but that without explanation,... Read more
This may be evidence that the Bible has more stature than the National Council of Churches. When the latter relocated out of New York City, the ecumenical agency of mainline Protestantism had to settle for Cleveland. But when the American Bible Society needs a new home away from NYC, they move to Philadelphia: After almost two centuries in New York City, the nonprofit American Bible Society is moving its headquarters to Philadelphia. “New York has become so extraordinarily expensive that... Read more
So here I am reading through the scriptural pairings for January that come from Max Lucado’s Grace for the Moment Daily Bible and struggling to find the reasons that the editors or Max decided on combining these texts. For instance, one day I read from Matthew 5 Jesus’ instruction about not swearing oaths “in the name of heaven because heaven is God’s throne.” Then the next day I read about the mighty warrior Abram (an image that many Bible readers... Read more
Okay, I’m still in the early chapters of Genesis and Matthew with divinely inspired pairings from Psalms and Proverbs. So I haven’t gotten to the story of the golden calves in Exodus 32 — the one where the Israelites create idols in direct violation of the First Commandment even while Moses is receiving a copy of the Decalogue. One of the odder aspects of reading the Bible in a year, with a little from the OT, a little from the... Read more
When it comes to Bible reading plans, Bible readers have as many options as Heinz used to have ketchup. Here are the choices this Bible-reading-plan consumer faced when deciding on what might fit my needs (if God is the author of Scripture, which I believe, maybe I should worry less about my “lifestyle” and more about his will?): 71 Days in Isaiah – Carefully work your way through Isaiah in 71 days to experience the full impact of the prophet’s... Read more
My first post here calls for an introduction. So here goes (in the order that will get me the least short-term grief). I am married to a woman whom I met in Philadelphia almost forty years ago and we live with two cats, Cordelia and Kabbigail (we are those kind of people). I spend most of my time teaching history (chiefly U.S.) at a small liberal arts college (name withheld to protect me from my bosses). I have written and... Read more
Putting the Protest in Protestant
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