John 21:11, 153 Fish

Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.

//Jesus, newly-resurrected, appears to his disciples as they are fishing in Galilee. He tells them to draw in the nets and cast them over the other side of the boat (it is not enough to skootch the boat over a little, or just turn it around) and when they do, they net 153 fish.

153? Who sat there and counted them all? What does this number signify? This is a question that has intrigued commentators since the early centuries of the church.

Add up all the integers from 1 to 17, and you get 153. Does that shed any light on the puzzle? Hmmm, probably not.

St. Augustine proposed that the number allegorically provides a symbol for the Trinity. But I can’t follow his logic.

St. Jerome explains that there are 153 kinds of fish (such was the belief of Greek zoologists) so as “fishers of men” the apostles are learning to catch every kind of man.

If you’ve been following my posts about gematria and the number 666, you may wonder if similar numerical wordplay might describe the number 153. Yes, there have been several suggestions; the most likely being the Hebrew phrase “children of God,” which sums to 153.

In the end, we’re likely to never uncover John’s hidden meaning. One more long-lost mystery of scripture.

Book review: The Gospel and Epistles of John

by Raymond E. Brown

★★★

This book is now 23 years old, but it is one that every Bible scholar must read. Raymond Brown is considered by many to be the premier Johannine scholar of the 20^th century, and is widely acknowledged by both the Church and by academia. Brown began writing about John and the Johannine community in 1960, culminating a quarter-century later in an exhaustive, 800-page tome on the epistles in 1982. This book brings it all together in one concise commentary. If you fancy yourself a Bible scholar but you don’t have time to study all of Brown’s works, you must at least read this short book.

You’ll find in this book no comprehensive discussion of the Johannine community, of the development and authorship of the Gospel, or even of Johannine theology in general. You’ll find very little about Brown’s contributions to understanding Johannine eschatology or to the identification of the “beloved disciple.” What you will get is a concise verse-by-verse commentary of the Gospel and epistles, which in itself provides a taste of Brown’s thinking.

Scripture from the Revised New Testament is printed on the top of each page, with Brown’s commentary on the bottom half. Because it’s a summary only, providing nothing new or provocative, I have a hard time granting it more than three stars, yet it is a must-read.

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John 19:30, Jesus Hands Over a Spirit

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

//I’ve quoted the NIV translation of this verse, but a more accurate translation is Jesus “handed over” his spirit. This is a very different picture than the other Gospels, and this is a key verse to understanding Johannine theology. What or who is the spirit, and who is it handed over to?

Is it the soul of Jesus, going back to God? Not likely; the Jews understood that the  soul would hang around the body for three days, before death is recognized as certain. John follows this understanding; Mary appears to witness the soul ascending to heaven (as did the souls of all martyrs) after the third day.

Is it the Holy Spirit? Most interpreters assume the Holy Spirit is the Johannine equivalent of the Paraclete, or the comforter. But the comforter will not make his appearance until the evening of the resurrection, where it appears magically behind locked doors in the presence of the disciples.

Earlier in John, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, a “spirit” settled upon Jesus like a descending dove. Perhaps this was a gift of the eternal light/love/life; that which was “before Abraham,” that which was “with God in the beginning.” Is it now ascending back like a dove to where it came from, bookending the earthly life of Jesus with its arrival and departure? But it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere; it is “handed over,” possibly to the “beloved disciple,” whom Jesus commissions to take care of his mother.

Today, we naturally interpret the writings of John in the light of our own theology, which is a composite of all the Gospel stories. But what did John mean, 2,000 years ago? Why must John write so mysteriously? I’ll be probing these questions and more in my upcoming book about John’s Gospel.

Book review: I Sold My Soul on eBay

by Hemant Mehta

★★★★★

Mehta is “the eBay atheist,” the nonbeliever who auctioned off the opportunity for the winning bidder to send him to church. Since then, Mehta has visited a variety of churches, from the cozy to the mega churches, and written about his experiences.

If you’re looking for comedy, this is not. The subtitle is “Viewing faith through an atheist’s eyes,” and Mehta, who stopped believing as a teenager, never crosses back over the line.

He begins his book by explaining what it is the nonreligious believe. He touches on prayer, suffering, child raising, and points out that atheism is not merely the denial of a supernatural being; it is a lifestyle. Then he narrates his journey from church to church, describing the events, the rituals, the music and more from an outsider’s viewpoint. At the conclusion of the book, Mehta offers suggestions for making the church experience more attractive and how to reach out to unbelievers.

What would it take for Mehta to become a believer? A miracle. A real miracle, not some “God helped me find a roommate” type of miracle. And I suspect Hemant speaks for a great number of atheists.

In a recent forum, someone made the statement that the believer will never understand the atheist’s mind, and the atheist will never understand the believer’s mind. I’m not sure I entirely agree, because many people grow from believers into atheists and vice versa. But the typical Christian suggestion that atheists work to suppress an inherent belief in God is no more true than the atheist idea that Christians are easily deluded. I have met many incredibly intelligent people on both sides of the line. Mehta’s book bridges the gap and breaks down the stereotypes.

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Revelation 13:18, The Number of the Beast, Part II

This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is a man's number. His number is 616.

//No, this isn't a repeat. No, this isn't a typo.

Two days ago, I introduced the beastly number 666, and why first-century Christians immediately recognized it as referring to Nero Caesar. But if you look in the margin of your Bible, you may find something interesting: many early manuscripts of Revelation record the number of the beast as 616, not 666! Why?

Yes, John's puzzle was easily cracked, and Nero's role in Revelation was well-known in the first and second century (and actually, well into the fifth century). But as more and more Latin speaking Christians entered the fold, the puzzle no longer made sense. Neron Caesar, written in Hebrew, is spelled NRWN QSR. But the Latin pronunciation is Nero Caesar, NRW QSR. A 50-point letter is dropped, and the sum becomes 616. So what did the copyists do? They began changing scripture from 666 to 616!

Luckily, it didn't take, and we're back to the original 666. I'm glad; 666 just looks and sounds so much more ... appropriately evil.

Book review: Celebrating Jesus in the Biblical Feasts

by Dr. Richard Booker

★★★★

It’s impossible to recognize all the nuances of the New Testament writings without understanding the Jewish feasts. Consider especially the Gospel of John: It goes from one Biblical feast to the next with barely a let-up. This is one of John’s primary literary devices, where the festival celebrations provide a meaningful backdrop for Jesus’ lessons. Let me give you an example from Booker’s book, in his coverage of the Feast of Tabernacles:

As part of the ritual proceeding, a certain priest would draw water from the Pool of Siloam with a golden pitcher. He would then come to the altar at the temple where the High Priest would take the pitcher and pour the water into a basin at the foot of the altar. … About the time the water was being poured … [all the people] sought the Lord from Isaiah 44:3, which reads, “For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring.”

Now we come to the words of Jesus in John 7:37. Picture him there in the temple as the ceremony concludes. On the last day of the feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

I have at least a half-dozen books about the feasts of Israel; it’s a basic necessity for anyone studying to publish a book about the Gospel of John. With perhaps the exception of an over-sized picture book (come on, who can resist that?) this one is my favorite. Booker will guide you through the entire year of festivals, from Passover to Hanukkah, adroitly explaining the significance of each traditional and ritual and how the events relate to the story of Jesus.

(Dr. Richard Booker is considered a pioneer and spiritual father in teaching on Israel, Jewish-Christian relations, and the biblical Hebraic roots of Christianity.)

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Revelation 13:18, The Number of the Beast

This calls for wisdom.  If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number.  His number is 666.

//Most learned scholars of Revelation today recognize that, at least on some level, John names first-century Roman Emperor Nero Caesar as the Beast of Revelation. This verse provides one clue of many.

Here we find our infamous reference to the number 666 and John’s command that the churches of Asia figure it out.  Everyone knows this number identifies the Antichrist (as the Beast has since come to be known—Revelation never uses the term Antichrist).  Clearly, John knows the Beast’s identity and expects the seven churches to understand.  A first-century spelling of Nero Caesar’s name, written in Hebrew characters, sums to that exact value.  Though perhaps hidden from Greek and Latin readers, this could not have gone unnoticed by Jewish Christians.

For anyone not familiar with this type of cryptogram, the basic idea builds upon the way Hebrew letters function as phonetic symbols for building words but also serve as numerals.  All alphabetic symbols represent both a letter and a number.  Roman numerals present perhaps our most familiar example of this, but in the Greek and Hebrew alphabets, all letters also stood for numbers, making this numerical wordplay quite popular.  The letters of the Beast, N-R-W-N Q-S-R, written in Hebrew, become 50+200+6+50+100+60+200=666.  This type of numerology, particularly among Rabbinic writings, proved irresistible for scriptural interpretations.

Book review: Thinking Is Authorized!

by Nash Khatri

★★★★

With a mysterious Bang! 13.7 billion years ago, an incredible universe of time and space tumbled forth. Science and religion both are fascinated by this existence, as we humans peer ever deeper into the mysteries of the universe. But Nash’s book is different: it wonders what else is out there. It invites us to contemplate what lies outside our prison of time and space. This concept is so key to the book that Nash has given it a label: Lack of Time and Space, or LTS.

The greatest mystery of LTS may be life itself. Life, Nash contends, is special; we’ll never instill life in a robot, which will never be more than a construction in time and space. But where did life come from? How did emotion, thought, wonder, break into our world of time and space? Where does this life-matter go when we die? Is life truly eternal, existing in LTS? What does eternal mean where there is no time?

Nash Khatri meanders through these questions and more as he probes the mysteries of LTS. Nash obviously has a religious background, though he doesn’t discuss it in the book. He at time appears apologetic (though he needn’t be) for contradicting the beliefs of various religions. He points out the silliness of some of our age-old assumptions with both humor and respect.

At times, I would find myself asking: “Is this idea theologically sound?” And then, on the next page, “Is this idea scientifically sound?” You know, it really is hard to think beyond religion and science! In the end, I am unqualified to answer either question about the book, but thank you, Mr. Khatri, for encouraging me to think.

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II Samuel 21:17, Who Killed Goliath?

And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew [the brother of] Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

//Thus was the brother of Goliath slain. Or was he?

In the original Hebrew, it is Goliath himself who is slain by Elhanan! The words “the brother of” were added to the English translation of this verse to match I Chronicles 20:5, where it is Goliath’s brother, and not Goliath himself, who was slain. These words do not exist in the original version in Samuel. Here is the NIV version of the same verse:

In another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver's rod.

So, who killed Goliath? Was it David, or was it Elhanan, one of David’s elite men of war? Given that the writing of II Samuel precedes Chronicles by several centuries, the earliest tradition says Elhanan. Yet, somehow, the myth of David’s great victory grew, and today has become a beloved story of courage for underdogs everywhere.

There are actually several clues in the Bible that hint the oldest tradition (Elhanan) is the true slayer of Goliath, but I won’t go into them all here. Suffice it to say it’s a fascinating study.

Book review: The Existential Jesus

by John Carroll

★★★★★

Ex-is-ten-tial –adjective: of or relating to existence, especially human existence.

This is Jesus, the way you’ve never read about him before. John Carroll draws primarily on the Gospel of Mark, a Gospel which rather quickly fell into disuse among early Christians as they favored the more majestic stories told by Matthew and the others. 

Mark’s Jesus is far more human. He sometimes questions, sometimes fails. He is ridiculed by his family. Carroll portrays Jesus as a lonely, mysterious stranger with an obscure mission. By the end of his journey, he has lost all of his followers. “His life reaches its consummation in tragedy—a godless and profane one—and a great death scream from the cross, questioning the sense of it all.”

Mark’s story then closes with a mystery. An empty tomb, and three women fleeing in terror, told to tell no one of what they saw—or didn’t see. (Carroll is correct; the ending we have now in the book of Mark, describing the resurrection of Jesus, did not exist in the earliest manuscripts.)

Mark’s Gospel is, of course, one of four. Over time, the Jesus story grew in splendor, and by the time the fourth Gospel was written, Jesus had become God Himself. When I complete my book about John’s Gospel (yet a couple years away from publication), I am going to wander through every local bookstore and move my book next to Carroll’s, where the two extremes can sit side-by-side.

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Jude 1:9, The Body of Moses

But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

//What on earth is this verse all about? Michael and Satan squabbling over the body of Moses?

According to Origin, an early 3rd-century church father, this verse in Jude references an apocryphal text known as the Assumption of Moses or the Ascension of Moses. We've never uncovered the ending to the Assumption of Moses; it's believed that about a third of the manuscript is missing, and many scholars therefore assume the story of Michael and Satan is in the lost ending.

An alternative explanation is that Jude compounds ideas from multiple sources, playing on the general Jewish tradition of Michael as a gravedigger for the just. Michael "rebukes" Azazel in the book of Enoch, and an angel of the Lord "rebukes" Satan in Zechariah 3, so if we mix all the stories together, we get something akin to Jude's verse.

Today's theologians often point out that Satan is the prince of this earth and, though the spirit of Moses ascended untouched to God, Satan stakes his claim to the bodies of believers. If so, why do you suppose Michael cared about this particular body? Is it because the location of Moses' burial is supposed to remain a mystery? In Deuteronomy 34, God buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.

Is Satan among those still looking for the lost body of Moses? Why would God take a special hand in Moses' burial? Something out of the ordinary was going on, and maybe we'll never know what this little tiff was about, but if you have opinions, I'd be curious to hear them.

Book review: David and Solomon

by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman

★★★★

A Finkelstein book will be controversial; let’s establish that up front. And because there exists very little archaeological evidence outside the Bible story of Judah’s first kings, speculation will be a natural result of any such study. We know absolutely nothing from history about Saul and precious little about David and Solomon; in fact, the evidence is so sparse that a few scholars still doubt the existence of all three.

Finkelstein and Silberman don’t doubt, but neither are they able to provide 342 pages of historical analysis. Instead, they trace the legends of these early kings through a thousand years of Hebrew writings, both in and out of the Bible. The earliest folklore and Bible verses about David show him as a bandit leader of a small gang of traveling raiders. Later authors portrayed David as a poet and a founder of a great dynasty, as well as a sinner. Solomon’s reputation, as well, grew over time into a shrewd trader and wise sage.

How many of these writings are based on fact, and how many on legend? The authors’ scholarly research and field experience will make you reconsider.

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Genesis 2:18, Man's Helper

The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

//So God made Eve, right?

Nope, read your Bible. God made animals. Lots of them, and paraded them before Adam, so Adam could choose one for a “helper.” Picture it: Along comes the giraffe. “Uh-uh.” The hippo. “Forget it.” The snake. “Ewww.”

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

And Adam said, “Yowza!” Well, ok, he really just mutters something about bones and flesh, but he seems happy. Adam spurns the giraffe, the hippo, the snake, and chooses the woman. What do you suppose happens next?

The ol’ snake comes back, in an apparent jealous rage. He targets Eve, feeds her an evil apple, and Eve feeds Adam. Their eyes are opened to know good and evil. Now Adam says “Yowza!” Lo: Along came children, and the earth is populated.

I absolutely love this story! Religion was so much more fun back in those days, while God still wandered in His garden calling for His humans. Before God grew omni-everything and the snake grew satanic. Gimme that old-time religion!

Book review: Pagan Christianity?

by Frank Viola and George Barna

★★★★

No, this isn't a "bash the Christians" book. It's a "bash the church" book (lowercase “c”). The authors' goal is to redirect Christians back to the original teachings of the New Testament, where the “Church” was never a building.

"Pagan," as used by the authors, pretty much just means "different from what the New Testament teaches." Their goal is to encourage Christians to embrace the original New Testament church.

Church buildings are wrong. Sacraments are wrong. Collection plates are wrong. Pulpits are wrong. You’ll get a earful, and if “wrong” means “not the way it was first done,” then the authors have a well-researched point. But an important distinction needs to be made: The New Testament church, in this book, should not be confused with the “first century church.” No extraneous Christian teachings are acceptable to Viola and Barna, who either ignore or condemn them. Even if some of these teachings are contemporary with New Testament writings. For example, church fathers Ignatius, Clement of Rome and Tertullian are criticized for introducing a clergy, and the Didache’s instructions are never mentioned by the authors, who insist that early Christian worship sessions had no structure. Perhaps the authors subscribe to the view that all of the New Testament Gospels and epistles were written in Paul’s time.

Part of the intrigue of this book, for me, is that I grew up in a nondenominational church similar to what the authors approve of as "organic," and that ignores all Christian instruction outside the Bible. This church has a bit more structure to their worship than what Viola and Barna recommend, but it does meet in homes and all members participate equally in the service. It's a "back to Jesus" movement patterned after the New Testament.

So, my church background may qualify me more than many reviewers to address both the pros and cons of the book's arguments. And as such, I do have one criticism, which drops it from a 5-star to a 4-star rating: The passion of the authors overflows, which should be a good thing, but here it's overwhelming. While they convincingly show that many Christian church customs differ from the first Christians, their underlying assumption that this is somehow bad gets pushed a little too hard for my taste, simply because in my experience, different church atmospheres and practices are appropriate for different people. We're all unique, and different things bring us closer to God.

But enough nit-picking. The book has a serious message for all who wish to pattern their manner of worship after the Bible.

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Acts 10:38, A Good Man

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, for God was with him.

//Today’s verse is a call for Christians to unite. Whether you see Jesus as a wandering first-century sage or a cosmic Christ, there is one attribute of his that all of us can agree on: compassion. Jesus cared. Jesus “went around doing good.”

Whether “God” refers to a synonym for love or a white-bearded “Ancient of Days” looking down from the sky doesn’t change the verse. Whether the “Holy Spirit” is a living, personal third of the Holy Trinity or a mysterious, warm presence bubbling up from within your being whenever your thoughts turn to compassion, may not be important. If you think of “casting out devils” as more of a figure of speech than a warfare against supernatural villains, you might be surprised that even some first-century Christians agree. There are no exorcisms or devils running amok in John’s Gospel.

What we can all agree on is what Jesus taught: Kindness, compassion, love, respect. That’s what it means to be a Christian.

Book review: Paul

by Walter Wangerin Jr.

★★★★★

You may know Wangerin from The Book of the Dun Cow. I love Wangerin’s writing and I loved Paul. From the insatiable and inexplicable drive of the book’s hero, Paul of Tarsus, to the endearing antics of his biggest fan Titus, this is a captivating story in a fascinating era.

Wangerin knows his Bible; that much is clear, yet he makes the Bible fun. When you grow up in a church atmosphere, Bible characters become legend, untouchable, bigger than life. This book brings them back to earth and gives them breath. Paul, especially, becomes human again. Love him or hate him, you will admire him and shake your head in wonder at his passion.

Readers of my reviews know fiction is not my favorite. It has to be historical and well-researched, it has to be thought-provoking, and it has to be moving, for fiction to make the top shelf. This one has it all.

Jude 1:14-15, The Book of Enoch

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him."

//These verses in Jude are a direct quote from the ancient book of Enoch, chapter one, verse nine. Enoch was quite popular among first-century Christians: Jude, 2 Peter, and Revelation all freely quote from Enoch. One can hardly make sense of parts of Revelation without first reading the tenth chapter of Enoch, but in the fourth century, the church suppressed this book as heretical due to its references to the physicality of fallen angels (called “Watchers”), accused of having sexual relations with the “daughters of men.”  Yet, Genesis 6 confirms this story, where we learn about the offspring of the Watchers, called “Nephilim”: In those days, and even afterward, giants lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with human women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes mentioned in legends of old (NLT).

The blacklisted book of 1 Enoch remained underground for 1400 years until rediscovered in 1773, though more recently it surfaced several times among the Dead Sea scrolls, which pushes its date back to at least 100-200 BCE, and presumably earlier.

So what do you think? Is Enoch inspired scripture or not?

Book review: the Final Days of Jesus

by Shimon Gibson

★★★★★

If you’re interested in the historical Jesus, you’ll be fascinated by this book. Shimon is a thorough researcher and archaeologist. He is up-to-date on current scholarship, while at the same time providing new insights and theories, with a writing style that keeps you reading. Shimon excels in vividly portraying the everyday life of Jesus and his times. You’ll learn the geography, the rituals, and the lifestyle  of first-century Jews as you walk in the shoes of Christ through the final days of his life.

Shimon cautions that “some of my conclusions regarding Jesus and Jerusalem may be controversial,” but throughout the book I found all of his arguments to be logical and carefully documented.

I’m one of those fanatics that marks his books up with highlights and margin notes, and this is one of those books where I’ve got bright paragraphs and blue ink on every other page. I sometimes look over my notes as I prepare to write my reviews, but I simply don’t have the time to reread everything this book taught me. I’ll just leave it at this: If a book’s value can be measured by how much you learn from it, then this one deserves the praise I give it.

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Genesis 6:19-20, Two of Every Kind

You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.

// Many people recognize that there are two creation stories in the Bible. Chapter 1, plus three verses of chapter 2, is written by a different author than the story which begins in verse 2:4. The first story, which details the seven days of creation, was penned by an author Bible scholars call the “Priestly source.” The second story, which emphasizes the Garden of Eden, was penned by the “Yahwist.” The writing styles are different, the words used for God used are different. (Yes, the Yahwist is most easily identified by his use of God’s holy name: YHWH).

But did you know there are also two versions of the flood story? This is more difficult to determine, because the two stories are masterfully spliced together. But, once separated, it’s as plain as the nose on your face.

Two of every species went into the ark? Yeah, the above verse is the Priestly source’s version. He clearly says two of every kind of bird, but the Yahwist, who needs spare animals for Noah to sacrifice, says that there will be seven of each type of bird. In the Priestly source, Noah sends out a raven. For the Yahwist, it’s a dove. The flood lasts a year for the Priestly source. Only 40 days for the Yahwist.

Fascinating stuff! We’ll talk more about Noah in a later post.

Book review: Love is Letting go of Fear

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by Gerald G. Jampolsky, MD

★★★★★

This book is not the usual type of selection for a religion blog, is it? I’m not sure God is even mentioned in the book. But Love is, and God is Love, right? For all you Bible scholars out there, we shouldn’t get so wrapped up in our fascinating scholarly pursuits that we forget the reason for our religion in the first place.

At the risk of over-analyzing a simple book with a simple message, I confess it struck a chord with me partly because of my recent studies in the Gospel of John. Here’s why: like many scriptures, this book pits good against evil as clearly as God versus Satan, only this time it’s love versus fear. If, at the moment, one of the two (love or fear) is guiding your actions and thoughts, the other is not. Why? Well, according to Jerry, it’s because love lives in the present, and fear lives in a reflection of the past into the future. This is a lesson taught over and over. Let go of the past and future, and live in the present.

As Jerry says in the book, “Wouldn’t our lives be more meaningful if we looked to what has no beginning and no ending as our reality? Only Love fits this definition of the eternal. Everything else is transitory and therefore meaningless.”

Now, doesn’t that sound an awful lot like John, the Gospel of Love? Eternal life is ours for the grasping, by living in the eternal now. I’m reminded of another book review I just completed: My Stroke of Insight.

This is a short little book with cute illustrations that you can read in a couple hours. It’s a 25^th anniversary reprint of a book that made a big splash in 1974, and it’s worth the two-hour investment.

Revelation 22:18-19, Do Not Add to the Scriptures

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

Someone recently pointed these verses out to me, and asked if they provided any deterrence to the idea of my writing a book about Revelation. It hadn’t crossed my mind, so I had to answer “no,” but let’s look at what they mean. In particular, does John warn us about adding or subtracting from the book of Revelation, or from the Bible as a whole?

Well, that part is easy: There was no New Testament when John wrote these words, nor was there any current intention of building one, so far as we know. It took centuries for Christians to finally settle on which books would make up what we now call the Bible.

And if you consider John words to be inspired, then this is all the more reason to deduce that John meant only Revelation. Many more books were written after Revelation that found their way into the Bible. Scholars don’t all agree on the dating of N.T. books, but the most obvious are I and II Timothy and Titus, which describe events and concerns that simply did not exist at the time Revelation was written. Jude and II Peter are also most likely 2^nd-century writings.

But what did John mean? There are two points we need to consider in determining John’s meaning:

1.    John was absolutely certain of Christ’s immediate return. He promises this over and over in Revelation.

2.    John sees himself a prophet, presumably the world’s final prophet. Verse 22:9 leads us to this assumption.

We conclude, then, that John believed nothing more needed be written as Christian inspiration; his book was the final fulfillment, the explanation of it all, the eschatological wrap-up. 2,000 years later, we know it didn’t work out that way, so … yeah, we’re probably safe in writing expository books about Revelation!

Book review:A New Christianity for a New World

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by John Shelby Spong

★★★★★
More than anyone else, Bishop John Shelby Spong has helped shape a new Christianity for a new world. He is a leader in liberal Christianity, and many of us have been following along, reading his books for years. If there’s any cause for frustration with Spong as an author, it’s that he never quite seemed to dig deep enough, to answer the big questions, about where this new, practical, thinking man’s version of Christianity would carry us.

If you’ve been yearning to finally get down to the nitty gritty of all the wonderful talk, the time has come. The big questions are answered. How does Christianity survive in a post-theistic world? How does eternity fit into this dream? What about prayer?

I think the best way to present this book is just to pass on some of my favorite quotes from the first half of the book. If you find yourself nodding your head, this is the book for you, and the second half will open your eyes.

“In the face of religious hostility on one side and incredulous disdain for my unwillingness to reject my faith-tradition on the other, I continue to insist that I am a Christian.”

“The audience I seek to address is … people who feel spiritually thirsty but know that they can no longer drink from the traditional wells of the past.”

“They will rejoice that they at last have found a way to put their heads and their hearts together.”

“People no longer believe in God in a real and operative sense, even if they do continue to believe in believing in God.”

“The God who is love is slowly transformed into the love that is God.”

“I am free of the God who was deemed to be incomplete unless constantly receiving our endless praises; the God who required that we acknowledge ourselves as born in sin and therefore as helpless; the God who seemed to delight in punishing sinners; the God who, we were told, gloried in our childlike, groveling dependency. Worshiping that theistic God did not allow us to grow into the new humanity that we now claim.”

Mark 16:8, The Original Ending to Mark

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

So ends the Gospel of Mark. Well, that is, that's how the original Gospel ends. In today's version, we have another 12 verses, in which the resurrected Jesus appears to various people. These 12 verses actually combine several endings that have been discovered in early manuscripts, but most scholars agree that Mark, the first Gospel written, contained no Jesus sightings. Three women go to the tomb on Sunday, find it empty, talk to a "young man" sitting beside the tomb, and run away afraid, telling no one. The end.

The first written Gospel ends with a wonderful mystery. It's only in later Gospels, after resurrection stories began to surface, that the risen Jesus is seen walking about.

Book review: My Stroke of Insight

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by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D.

★★★★★

Why is a book about a brain scientist's experience of having a stroke gracing the pages of my religion blog?

Because it was a religious experience. Jill's massive stroke caused the left half of her brain to shut down. The side responsible for linear, logical thinking. So what remains?

It’s not so much that the two hemispheres process different information; a person can survive with only half a brain. The difference is in the way the two sides think. To the right side, no time exists but the present moment, and each moment is vitally alive, the moment of now being timeless and abundant. Our right mind is the big-picture side, spontaneous and carefree, imaginative and artistic, uninhibited and empathic. We walk in the shoes of another and feel their feelings from the right side of our brain.

By contrast, the left side of our brain is detail-oriented. It is organized and deductive, logical and analytical, able to divide past from present from future. Our left brain conquers the world we live in. Our left brain is also the part of us most responsible for identifying the I. It carefully draws the boundaries between us and the rest of the world, protects us from hurt, preserves our precious identity. It revels in our individuality and strives for our independence.

So, what happens when you find all sense of I gone, and you're left swimming in a universal and eternal sea of brotherhood, suddenly at one with the universe? And, more important: Can we tap the right side of our brains?

Drive fast to your bookstore and pick up this book. Go now.

John 6:19-21, Jesus Walks On Water

When they had rowed about three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, "It is I; don't be afraid." Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

Here is one of the verses in John that continues to set scholars at odds. Did Jesus walk on the water to the boat, or did the disciples intend to take him into the boat, but run ashore before they could? Given how John seems to contradict the other Gospels at every opportunity, we can't assume he doesn't mean to do the same, here. Indeed, the Greek word for the phrase on the water in verse 19 is precisely the word used in verse 21:1, where it is correctly interpreted by the sea. Jesus appears in that verse on the seashore, not walking on water. Translators of this verse understandably chose to reinforce the oral legend described in other gospels, but this is not necessarily what John wrote.

Ultimately, we must decide whether or not John presents the story as a miracle. John always calls his miracles signs, and like Revelation's seven seals, trumpets, and bowls of wrath, John uses the same literary device in his Gospel with seven I AM's and seven signs. So, what are the signs? They appear to be:

[1] The wedding feast (2:1-12)
[2] The restoration of the nobleman’s son (4:46-54)
[3] The Sabbath healing of the lame man (5:1-16)
[4] Feeding the multitude (6:1-71)
[5] The Sabbath healing of the blind man (9:1-41)
[6] Restoring Lazarus to life (11:1-44)
[7] The resurrection (chapter 20)

Note the careful organization: 1 relates to 7, 2 relates to 6, 3 relates to 5, with 4 the central miracle of the Gospel. But where does that leave walking on water?

Maybe Jesus didn't.

Book review: Revelation: The Way it Happened

by Lee Harmon

Sorry, I've no book review to post today. Will you let me get away with promoting my own book? This review is by Vicki Landes, author of "Europe for the Senses - A Photographic Journal"

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Author Lee Harmon tackles the most elusive and mysterious book of the Bible in his new release, "Revelation: The Way It Happened". Within its pages, Harmon explores what he believes to be a more probable interpretation of Revelation's meaning. Fascinating, intelligent, and definitely plausible, "Revelation: The Way It Happened" is a powerful read.

"Revelation: The Way It Happened" is the study of the book of Revelation and told from a first century Jewish-Christian perspective and takes into account the current events, traditions, practices, and language of that day. By utilizing this viewpoint, it becomes clearer as to what Revelation's author John might have been writing about; instead of the traditional futuristic and puzzling apocalyptic scenario, Harmon presents the scriptures as the historical facts of the war for Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and the tyrannical reign of Nero.

"Revelation: The Way It Happened" is an enlightening and enjoyable read! Harmon's fictional story breathes life into his analysis of the scriptures and makes the study entertaining and easy to follow from the characters' frame of reference. In order to distinguish between inspired scripture, the author interpretations and explanations, and the fictional story, Harmon uses different fonts and spacing for each. This allowed for great ease in reading and thought transition. Further, Harmon ensured that he didn't just provide random ideas; his translation of this biblical tome is grounded in not only scripture but published literature and the historical writings of the day. I found his analysis to be intellectual, thought-provoking, and intriguing. In addition, the book was extremely well-organized and edited; I found no discernible spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors.

If you've ever poured over Revelation with frustration and left with even more unanswered questions, "Revelation: The Way It Happened" will be a breath of fresh air. Author Lee Harmon doesn't profess to be a prophet or have some sort of mystic connection with God; he's just a `regular' Christian with a drive to find applicable explanations. By paralleling world history with the writings contained in the book of Revelation, he presents a profound and possible scenario. A must-have for any serious bible student!

2 Thessalonians 2:3, The Son of Perdition

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

Who do you suppose is the son of perdition?

Whether you believe this book was written by Paul, or by a later writer under the name of Paul, the point is clear: the son of perdition hadn't come yet at the time of its writing.

Let's back up to the book of Daniel, where we first meet this nasty fellow. Daniel calls him the "great beast," and promises his destruction in a blazing fire. This is probably a reference to Antiochus IV, the man who attacked and defiled the Temple in the era of Daniel's biographer (165 BCE) by sacrificing a pig on the altar and erecting a statue of Zeus. This "beast" next appears in a very similar role in Revelation 17, where again he "goeth to perdition," this time unquestionably a reference to Nero Caesar (I think every learned scholar of Revelation recognizes that in some way or on some level, Revelation is referring to Nero Caesar). 2 Thessalonians, unless you assume it was written early in the century by Paul, probably refers back to Revelation when it cautions people not to believe that this beastly fellow has arrived yet.

But now comes a surprising verse: John 17:12 indicates that the son of perdition has already come and identifies him as Judas! The fearsome beast of perdition is revealed as having already made his appearance and suffered his defeat, way back in the time of Jesus.

John, knowing full-well the complementary role Judas played in the unfolding events of the crucifixion, casts Judas in the most horrible role imaginable. Why does he do this? Probably because he must. A major premise of the book of John is that the end times have begun; scholars call John's perspective realized eschatology: the end of the age has arrived. The beast, the son of perdition, must therefore be accounted for if the time has come, and Judas is the most logical candidate.

Book review: Einstein's God

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by Krista Tippett

★★★★

The battle between science and religion comes to a head in these interviews of cutting-edge scientists and researchers, and the winner is ... oh. The two sides are getting along a little better nowadays, it appears.

Words you'll read often in the book include "spirit" and "soul," as such concepts are explored by our deepest thinkers. Tippett interviews a theoretical physicist, a cosmologist, a clinical professor, an expert on the life of Darwin, a professor of astrophysics, and many more, as she poses the big questions about science and the human spirit. Most interesting of the interviews, in my opinion, was the first, with Freeman Dyson, where the conversation often turns to Einstein and his views about God. Hey, I'm an Einstein groupie.

Tippett packs her most interesting interviews at the front of the book; after a few dozen pages, I could hardly wait to finish the book so I could write a glowing review! But--and this may merely be personal preference--the interviews grow less interesting as the book goes on, and the topics turn from the merger of science and religion to revenge and forgiveness, stress, and depression. Yet, regardless of the slow denouement, this is a book worth reading.

Colossians 2:2, The Mystery of God

That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God.

Theology is an endlessly fascinating topic for me. I can converse for hours about this belief and that belief, about how these beliefs evolved through the pages of the Bible, about the complexities of the Trinity, about what Jesus, the man, was really like. But if you want to talk about God, I hardly know how to begin.

Because, ultimately, if we are honest with ourselves, we realize we really know nothing. Nothing at all. We have stories that have been told us since we were children. We have age-old guesses about God and what he wants, Bible verses that struggle to describe him. But we’ve never seen him, and we’ve never uncovered an ounce of evidence to help describe him. If we are completely honest with ourselves, we cannot say with any certainty whether the religious beliefs we have been taught are true or false.

In the end, our head can prove nothing about God. Our only interface with the divine seems to be through the heart. The human race may run its course and pass from the earth before we understand God, or even understand the questions we should be asking.

Does this make “God” less real?

Picture yourself a new father. You sit in your hospital chair, cradling your baby daughter, and a wave of emotion washes over you. A feeling for which no words exist in the English language; somewhere in there hides love, peace, fear, responsibility, rightness. In a moment, life makes sense. In another moment, a bewildering array of questions flood your brain.

As heart and head war together, a tear slides down your cheek, and you wonder where it came from. It reaches your smile, and you wonder why you are smiling.

God? Have I found you?