Mark 1:22 (King James Version)
22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.
Here, Mark writes about what happens in teaching. The importance of teaching and learning are at the heart of human existence. From the tenderest beginnings of human life, we are engineered to learn. Absorbing and processing experience is an essential part of our genetic fabric. Through teaching ‘as one that had authority, and not as the scribes’, we are able to equip others with the tools to determine for themselves, and to imagine new possibilities.
Monday, 25 July 2011
Monday, 18 July 2011
18th July 2011
‘Get thee behind me, Satan’ (Luke 4.8)Jesus’ response to the devil when being tempted with all the kingdoms of the earth is a rejection of the self-centred lure of power and of worshipping that which is undeserving (i.e. all that is not God).
Having gained a life of its own, the phrase has both grown and been diminished. Today, it is a dieting slogan, the message on mugs, t-shirts, bumper stickers, even a thong (see, e.g., http://shop.cafepress.co.uk/get-thee-behind-me). Who knows what the King James’ translators, or the Jesus whom they depict, would make of this? ‘Get thee behind me,’ perhaps?
Having gained a life of its own, the phrase has both grown and been diminished. Today, it is a dieting slogan, the message on mugs, t-shirts, bumper stickers, even a thong (see, e.g., http://shop.cafepress.co.uk/get-thee-behind-me). Who knows what the King James’ translators, or the Jesus whom they depict, would make of this? ‘Get thee behind me,’ perhaps?
Monday, 4 July 2011
4th July 2011
‘I desired mercy and not sacrifice’ (Hosea 6:6, KJV).
This saying is a little odd, coming from the same Lord who prescribed a good deal of sacrifice in the covenant with Israel made through Moses at Mt Sinai (see Leviticus, passim!). But he has become impatient with the practice! ‘Sacrificing’ can become a fault: a calculation of life in terms of cost and gain; an attempt to force God and the earth to yield their bounty.
‘Mercy’ is first a quality of God that overwhelms even his requirement of human obedience. In human beings, it entails both receiving life as a gift, and a disposition to seek the good of others, beyond personal interest or due.
This saying is a little odd, coming from the same Lord who prescribed a good deal of sacrifice in the covenant with Israel made through Moses at Mt Sinai (see Leviticus, passim!). But he has become impatient with the practice! ‘Sacrificing’ can become a fault: a calculation of life in terms of cost and gain; an attempt to force God and the earth to yield their bounty.
‘Mercy’ is first a quality of God that overwhelms even his requirement of human obedience. In human beings, it entails both receiving life as a gift, and a disposition to seek the good of others, beyond personal interest or due.
Monday, 27 June 2011
27th June 2011
From Daniell, David (2003), The Bible in English: its history and influence, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press
‘By the first half of the 18th century, the Authorized Version was effectively unchallenged as the English translation used in Anglican and Protestant churches. Over the course of the 18th century, the Authorized Version supplanted the Latin Vulgate as the standard version of scripture for English speaking scholars.
Throughout most of the world, the Authorized Version has passed out of copyright and is freely reproduced.
In the United Kingdom, the British Crown restricts production of the Authorized Version per transitional exemptions from the Copyright Act 1775 (which implemented this clause) in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (Schedule 1, section 13(1)), which expire in 2039. Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, HarperCollins and the Queen's Printers have the right to produce the Authorized Version.’
In October and November, the National Theatre is providing readings of the King James Bible. Please follow the link for more information. http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/kingjames
‘By the first half of the 18th century, the Authorized Version was effectively unchallenged as the English translation used in Anglican and Protestant churches. Over the course of the 18th century, the Authorized Version supplanted the Latin Vulgate as the standard version of scripture for English speaking scholars.
Throughout most of the world, the Authorized Version has passed out of copyright and is freely reproduced.
In the United Kingdom, the British Crown restricts production of the Authorized Version per transitional exemptions from the Copyright Act 1775 (which implemented this clause) in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (Schedule 1, section 13(1)), which expire in 2039. Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, HarperCollins and the Queen's Printers have the right to produce the Authorized Version.’
In October and November, the National Theatre is providing readings of the King James Bible. Please follow the link for more information. http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/kingjames
Monday, 20 June 2011
20th June 2011
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that SUMMER is near: Mark 13:28
Monday, 6 June 2011
6th June 2011
The phrase ‘twinkling of an eye’ was used by William Tyndale to mean ‘in an instant’. It appears in 1 Corinthians 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
31st May 2011
Unicorns?
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? (Job 39.9-10)
There are unicorns in the Bible! At least there are in the King James Version. Nine times the King James mentions them, suggesting to some that they really existed – this is God’s word after all. Most, however, argue that this is a case of mistranslation and that an ox is more likely what is meant. The latter certainly makes more sense, but is the prosaic, dependable ox preferable to the fantasy of the unicorn?
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