I’m tired of the ice and snow picts. So the new header shot is non-seasonal and somewhat artszy. I took this with my Canon 5D using what’s called “camera-toss” technique. I didn’t actually “toss” the camera. My technique was to loop a handstrap on me and then let it fling! It was fun and safe.
February 5, 2010
Five Favorite Online Study Links
There are some wonderful online tools to help us in our daily study of the Christian Science Bible Lesson. All of these tools are free and easy to access. Here are some of my favorites:
- Wordnik
Wordnik is an amazing site! The perfect place to go to look up the meaning of a word. Wordnik isn’t tied to selling any dictionary products so everything is laid out clean and neatly and devoid of any marketing buzz. Somehow I like that in a Web site. Like Google, you enter a word into a search box and Workdnik returns definitions from four major dictionaries. One of the dictionaries is the 1913 Webster’s dictionary which would have the definitions collected and in use around Mary Baker Eddy’s time. It provides examples Keep reading →
February 3, 2010
“The fruit of the Spirit”
Many years ago, as I underwent a cover-to-cover study of the entire Bible, I took the opportunity to do an in-depth study of “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22-23). It was a real joy to do especially learning the original Greek words.
Here is a one of my write-ups from that time. Enjoy!
FAITH
Modern meaning of the word:
- to trust; firm belief in something for which there is no proof
- complete confidence; without doubt or question; substance
Faith retains much of its original meaning today. It is used mainly in a religious context where Christians are called to profess their “faith.” Also, “faith-healing” is a common practice today.
For the materialist, faith is a weakness and a delusion. Believing only what the five senses can see, they cast doubt on those who believe in what the eye cannot see, the power of Spirit!
February 2, 2010
Some new books for your study
Here are three books that I recently enjoyed reading and would recommend to those who regularly study the Bible Lesson.
The Book of Psalms with Commentary by Robert Alter. Since nearly every Bible Lesson uses Psalms for either a few or a multitude of citations, a book like this will be very handy and it is! Alter is a literature expert (philologist?) and his work brings each Psalm back to its original meaning. He uses today’s research into Hebrew and Chaldeic literature in order to understand the subtleties of the Psalms. Considering how ofter we read from Psalms in the Lesson, this book has become a worthwhile study aid.
The Restored New Testament by Willis Barnstone. This book is similar to Alter’s because it attempts to bring out the expressions of the original language. At first glance, it’s much more than a translation, it’s almost a correction. Barnstone restored the original names of the books and the individuals. For example, the Book of Luke is Loukas, and Jesus is Yeshua. These were, according to Barnstone, the original translation of the names before they were “Romanized.”
The translation is a solid aid for study. As Christian Scientists, we are always looking for the spiritual sense of things in the Bible and the RNT does a fine job of it. It has the same high-sounding tone as the KJV and ESV so it is not an attempt to sound contemporary.
Barnstone also included three Gnostic Gospels, the well-known Gospel of Thomas, the popularized Gospel of Mary of Magdala, and the recently translated Gospel of Judas.
The Woman Who Named God is by Charlotte Gordon and is a fascinating account of the life of Abraham and his relationship with his two wives, Sarai and Hagar. Each wife bore a son by Abraham. And each son, as a fulfillment of God’s promise, fathered great nations. The Jews claim Isaac, born of Sarai, as the child of promise, while the Muslims claim Ishmael, the first born, as God’s chosen patriarch. Gordon does a marvelous job interpreting and presenting the meaning behind the many events in the life of Abraham and his family.
Enjoy!
Copyright © 2010 James D. Fisher
All rights reserved.
