Stephanie Landsem's Blog, page 14

Christians and Jews: A Common Foundation in the Word of God

First, let me say that I don’t claim to be an expert on Judaism.

Still, as I’ve immersed myself in research for The Well, The Thief, and now The Tomb, I’ve come to a greater understanding of both the Jewish culture of the first century and the amazing faithfulness and devotion of the Hebrew people as they awaited the Messiah. As a result, I think all Christians should know more about the roots of their faith.

As Christians, we share a common history and foundation with the Jewish people:

There o...

Winner of the Book Giveaway of Biblical Proportions

Thanks to all of you who participated in the book giveaway of Biblical novels:
The Well by Stephanie Landsem
Sinners and the Sea by RebeccaKanner
Iscariot by Tosca Lee

Signed copies of Sinners and the Sea, The Well, and Iscariot

And the winner is:

Karla Akins!

Congratulations, Karla. Send me an email with your address and I’ll get your books in the mail.
If you didn’t win, don’t despair. I”ll be announcing my next giveaway in my newsletter very soon. If you aren’t on my blog/newsletter list, SIGN...

A Giveaway of Biblical Proportions

I love to connect with fans of Biblical fiction so this week I’m giving away a trio of awesome books just for people who like stories that bring the Bible to life. From today,October 2nd, to midnight on Tuesday, October 8th, I’ll be collecting entries to win this prize package of Howard Books Biblical fiction:

Sinners and the Sea, the Untold Story of Noah’s Wife by Rebecca Kanner

The Well, A Novel by Stephanie Landsem

Iscariot: A Novel of Judas by Tosca Lee

Did I mention that all of these book ar...

A Fall Gourmet Dinner, Biblical Style

Pita Bread, by jeffreyw, via Wikimedia Commons

When we think of Biblical food, we often think of simple fare: the bread and fish fed to the 5,000, the locusts and wild honey of John the Baptist, or the roasted lamb of the Passover meal. It’s true that the Biblical diet was, for the most part, basic, especially among the poor. But there were gourmet diners in ancient times as well. If you love to cook like I do, try making this gourmet Biblical feast for your friends or family.

Fowl was a common...

Kids, Cats, and the First Day of School

Every year, Labor Day camping log-jams right up against the first day of school, leaving me loads of laundry, piles of paperwork, and well behind on my writing schedule. Therefore, in lieu of a blog post, I give you instead a few family snapshots of the end of summer and the beginning of the school year for the Landsem family.

Last day of summer. Anne, Laura, me.

I’ve been camping with my friends Anne Greenwood Brown and Laura Sobiech every Labor Day for ten years. In the last three years, Anne...

Joy, Beauty, and Generosity in Brazil

South America: it conjures up visions of jungles, political unrest, and poverty. What was I doing bringing 24 kids to a continent I knew nothing about?

When we boarded our flight to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a few weeks ago, I didn’t know what to expect. My knowledge of South America was based on evening news reports and popular movies. Still, I set out with 6 other chaperones, 2 youth group leaders, a priest, 2 Dominican Sisters, and 24 teens for World Youth Day, a worldwide gathering of Cathol...

Why I’m heading to South America with a Backpack and Sleeping Bag

World Youth Day 2013

You won’t be hearing much from me in the next two weeks. No facebook posts, no tweets, no blog entries. I won’t be talking to book clubs about The Well, making final edits on The Thief, or even working diligently on my third novel in the Living Water Series.

Nope. I’ll be joining my 17-year-old son on a pilgrimage to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day. Here’s a little bit about what we’ll be doing and why I’m taking two weeks away from (most of) my kids, my husband, and my...

What do demons in the Bible tell us about Jesus?

Masks of the Greenhouses Garden by Auguste Rodin. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

For the past two weeks,I’ve shared some of my research into demons and demonic possession in first century Israel and the surrounding lands. I’ve asked whether demons in the Bible were real and talked about how one becomes possessed be a demon. But the real question is this:

What do demons and demonic possession in the Bible tell us about Jesus?

When Jesus expels demons, as in Matthew 12:22, some of the crowd said, “Could...

How does one become possessed by a demon?

Voodoo Doll, 4th century : photo credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen via Wikimedia Commons

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.” C.S. Lewis

In the New Testament, Jesus drove countless demons out of men and even children and g...

Demoniacs in the Bible: real or not?

What is demonic possession?

It is tempting to try to explain away what the Bible refers to as demonic possession. Some say that demonic possession in the Bible is nothing more than an undiagnosed physical or mental illness such as epilepsy or schizophrenia. Yet, in the New Testament, demonic possession is clearly differentiated from sickness or ‘lunacy’ in several specific ways:

Severe personality change. The possessed person’s own identity was replaced by that of another entity. When Jesus ask...