Lee Harmon's Blog, page 64
March 29, 2013
John 19:30, Good Friday: Jesus Gives Up the Ghost
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
//This quaint phrase is the King James Version’s way of saying Jesus died. But there is much more behind this verse than one might first think.
A literal reading seems to say merely that Jesus relinquished his spirit. The original Greek, however, doesn’t quite say this. It says Jesus “handed over a spirit.”
Why is this slight difference significant? Because while “giving up the s...
March 28, 2013
Book review: The Almond Tree
by Michelle Cohen Corasanti
★★★★★
Arab-Israeli wars seem a never-ending reality, and Christian end-times interest in Palestine only escalates the conflict. Corasanti’s new novel provides insight into the grassroots tension in Palestine, without favoring one side over the other.
I’m reviewing this from the perspective of a religious blog, and from that viewpoint, Corasanti’s first book is definitely a five-star effort! I asked for a copy because my cozy little world is a long way from Jerusalem....
March 27, 2013
John 19:28-29, The Hyssop Reed
After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
//John’s Gospel, the one Gospel claiming an eyewitness account, provides this curious detail. When the soldiers at the cross lifted a drink to the lips of Jesus, they did so on a hyssop reed.
What makes the claim even more curious is that virtuall...
March 26, 2013
Isaiah 6:2, The Seraphim’s Wings and Feet
Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
//Ever wonder what a seraph looks like? Isaiah 14:29 gives this description:
[F]rom the root of that snake will spring up a viper, its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.
So it appears serpentine and fiery, matching this description of the seraph in Numbers 21:6:
And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and m...
March 25, 2013
Book review: Exploring Faith and Reason
by Bruce Glass
★★★★★
Very good book, though it wasn’t quite what I expected. Its subtitle of The Reconciliation of Christianity and Biological Evolution led me to think that Glass intended to work his way through Genesis’s creation story and explain how each verse relates to what we understand about our evolutionary history. Not so at all; nearly the entire book is an explanation of what we know about evolution and how we know it to be true. You might say its intent is to give us permission as...
March 24, 2013
Exodus 15:19-21, Miriam’s Song
For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
//How...
March 23, 2013
Matthew 27:5, Judas and Ahithophel
And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
//That was Judas. Ever notice how much the story of Jesus’ betrayal matches that of King David? Jesus appears to be the second David, and Judas the second Ahithophel (the enemy of David). Here is how the parallel lays out in the Gospel of Mark:
Jesus knows his betrayer, Judas, just as David knew his: Ahithophel had defected.
Jesus leads his disciples through the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives, p...
March 22, 2013
Book review: On God’s Side
by Jim Wallis
★★★★
Has Christianity been derailed from serving the common good to mandating bipartisan stances? If Christian principles mean standing up for God, then in the myriad of complex political issues—from same-sex marriage to immigration reform—how do we know which side to take? Which side is God’s side?
Wallis asserts we can find God on the side of compassion. The common good. Throw out your gospels of self-help, personal enhancement, prosperity, and parochial nationalism, and instead...
March 21, 2013
Matthew 5:22, Angry Without Cause
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.
//So says this verse in the King James Version of the Bible. If your anger is without cause, you’re treading in dangerous water.
But this may not be what Jesus said. “Without a cause” is an add-on to the scripture, probably by some copyist trying to tone down Jesus’ teachings, at least according to some scholars.
The truth is, some early manuscripts say “without a cause” and some don’...
March 20, 2013
John 6:21, Did Jesus Walk On Water?
Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
//Did Jesus really walk on water? One of the four gospels, the one claiming eye-witness testimony, is ambiguous on the topic. Today’s verse can be read one of two ways: Either they took him into the boat, and immediately found themselves at land, or as they began to receive Jesus into the boat, they hit land.
Context helps, so let’s back up two verses to this one:
When they had r...
