Re-watching the first season of Justified last night I came across this short scene: Chief Deputy Art Mullen asks where does the Bible justify the killing of innocent people. Like most Christians, he apparently hasn’t read very much of that not very good book, or he wouldn’t ask a stupid question like that because there are … Continue reading Show Me
Bible
How Much Is a Human Worth?
Yahweh, or the god of the Old Testament, assigns some precise values to humans, though in keeping with the misogynistic biases of that god, women are valued far less than men. Here is Leviticus 27:1-8 in the New International Version (NIV) translation: The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: … Continue reading How Much Is a Human Worth?
The Story of Ehud and Eglon
Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, distributed a Bible to each committee member at the committee’s first meeting on January 31, and invited them to read through it in 2023. Good. More folks ought to see what’s in the Bible. And not just the stories that they taught … Continue reading The Story of Ehud and Eglon
In the Name of the Lord
In the Authorized Version of the Bible (popularly known as the King James Version) in Exodus 6:2-3 God introduces himself to Moses: 2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord: 3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my … Continue reading In the Name of the Lord
That Old Time Religion
I think most people who practice a religion derived from the Bible assume that the Bible describes one and only one religion. Oh, they may realize that the so-called Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible or Tanakh) is an older version of the religion, and they may even recognize it as the Jewish religion, so at … Continue reading That Old Time Religion
Herbie
John Herbert, or Herbie as most of us called him, was a white ROTC student who lived on the fifth floor of Mifflin Hall during my second year at Penn State. He was a devout Christian and became good friends with Steve Sattazahn and Allan Maurer, high school classmates of mine who were also residing … Continue reading Herbie
The Biblical Absalom
I’ve been hearing a lot of mentions of William Faulkner in recent months, and as I’ve managed to reach my maturity without reading any of his books, I’ve decided to try to rectify that. Given that even his longest novels are only a fraction of the length of Warren Pease, maybe I’ll have more success. … Continue reading The Biblical Absalom