Category Archives: Reviews

On Freedom Day – July 4, 2026

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This painting, which dates from 1859, reimagines the toppling of the equestrian statue of George III in New York City. — **King George** *falls in July 1776, after the “recently-penned Declaration of Independence .”*

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July 4, 2026 – Last year at this time I set out a hopeful mantra for the upcoming year; for this year, 2026: “I believe in Jesus Christ, the rule of law, and the Constitution.” (To be said in a rhythm something like that Kiefer Sutherland quote in A Few Good Men.)

I also had this thought: That the upcoming year “would be ever so much more enjoyable if the political party that thinks it’s more Christian would do their duty and make the first moves to becoming ministers of reconciliation.” (2d Corinthians 5:18: “all things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”)

That didn’t happen, but today we’re talking about 2026 and America’s 250th Fourth of July Celebration. That brings up the painting at the top of the page, which included the thought that American history is no stranger to monument take-downs. “In early July 1776, American patriots gathered in New York City to hear for the first time a reading of the recently-penned Declaration of Independence.” And how did they respond? In New York City they marched over to a 4,000-pound statue of George III – the man who wanted to be King of America – and tore it down.

(Not that there’s any connection to current events or anything.)

And what was George’s sin, in the eyes of Americans who wanted life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Just that he expected top-down rule. He wanted to make all the rules and thought that his subjects – his abject servants – should meekly follow those orders. But after 150 years of carving their homes out of the wilderness and running their own show, Americans in 1776 wanted none of that. They had Improvised, Adapted and Overcome on their own. (“Thanks for nothing, George.”) They had survived and prospered – on their own – through years and years of often deadly competition with the perils of this strange but unforgiving New World.

Which is one reason the spirit of competition is such a crucial part of the American Way of Life.

And nothing represents healthy competition – the spirit of America – than baseball. “From the Civil War to Civil Rights and all points in between and beyond, the game of baseball reflects American life, from culture to economics and technological advances.” But now it’s much more. It’s become a way to break down barriers – a ministry of reconciliation – as shown by the World Baseball Classic. First held in 2006, tournaments come every three years, and the 2026 version featured 20 teams from around the world. That included teams from Great Britain, Israel, the Netherlands and Italy, which had a secret weapon. (An espresso machine in their dugout.)

And in those games, sometimes-mortal enemies – past and present in the outside world – compete together on a ball-field in a quintessentially American game. It’s become a worldwide phenomenon in which former arch-enemies from all over the world now play each other according to rules developed in mid-1800s America. And one critical aspect of baseball is sportsmanship, “fair and generous behavior or treatment of others,” not to mention “proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with competitors.”

(Compare: A “‘sore loser’ is one who takes defeat poorly. He hates competing on a level playing field.) And nothing represents a healthy respect for real competition in baseball than an exchange between Tommy Lasorda and Fulgencio Batista, the Cuban dictator. (Up to 1959.)

To set the stage, in the 1970s sportswriters began calling Tommy Baseball’s Goodwill Ambassador. “I was always preaching the gospel of baseball.” But he suspected part of the reason was also because “I’ve spent much of my baseball career outside the country.” He’d played, coached, managed or done exhibition games in Panama, Cuba, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Japan and Italy.

Then one bright January morning in 1952 he was lying on a beach in Cuba, enjoying the sun when four burly men in dark suits walked up. “Get your clothes on. Come with us.” This came days after an in-game spat with Lorenzo Cabrera; after two of Lasorda’s pitches barely missed him, the third hit Cabrera squarely in the ribs. “Cabrera started toward Lasorda, bat in hand, and the two soon were swinging at each other.” Cabrera got ejected while Tommy was allowed to stay in the game. That outraged many Cubans, complete with death threats.

So Tommy was nervous sitting in the back seat of that black stretch limo for what seemed like hours. Eventually the car went through a large iron gate guarded by soldiers with machine guns. With the burly men in black escorting him, Tommy walked gingerly up the steps of a veranda; “perhaps forty men were there, sipping drinks.” And got introduced to Batista, “the first dictator I had ever met.” Who promptly apologized. “I’m very disappointed with Cabrera for coming after you… That’s not right. If he wanted to fight you, that’s part of baseball, but no, not with a bat.”

Even a dictator like Batista respected that in baseball at least, you respect the rules.

The fundamental reason for the popularity of the game is the fact that it is a national safety valve. [A] young, ambitious and growing nation needs to ‘let off steam.’ Baseball furnishes the opportunity… That is what baseball does for humanity. It serves the same purpose as a revolution in Central America or a thunderstorm on a hot day [: A] tonic, an exercise, a safety-valve, baseball is second only to Death as a leveler. So long as it remains our national game, America will abide no monarchy…

(Get that? “Abide no monarchy? Meaning who knows, maybe the spirit of baseball is the one thing left that can save this crazy, mixed-up country of ours through what has become our own version of The Troubles. Which brings up one Collect for this Independence Day:

“Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace…”

(And while You’re at it, maybe send us another Goodwill Ambassador like Tommy Lasorda? We could use someone with his spirit of fair play, sportsmanship and respect for the rules …)

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The upper image is courtesy of Ten Memorable Monument Takedowns in History. Some notes: The statue of King George was commissioned in 1766 to commemorate the repeal of the Stamp Act. But ten years later and in “defiance of the Crown, the mob tore down the statue and stripped it of its lead gild. The Continental Army later melted down George’s patina into 42,000 musket balls in a Connecticut foundry.” The full caption:

This painting, which dates from 1859, reimagines the toppling of the equestrian statue of George III in New York City. Erected in 1770, the statue featured the regent garbed in Roman military regalia on horseback, in the fashion of Marcus Aurelius.” The caption added that “It is doubtful that Native Americans, women and children were in attendance at this episode of iconoclasm by the Sons of Liberty.”

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days … the Church’s Calendar. See also Wikipedia’s Calendar of saints. “The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word ‘feast’ in this context does not mean ‘a large meal, typically a celebratory one,’ but instead ‘an annual religious celebration, a day dedicated to a particular saint.’”

For this post I reviewed On the Bible readings for July 4, 2014, and For Sunday of the July 4th weekend, also from 2014; along with On Independence Day, 2016, On Independence Day, 2018, July 4, 2024 – and a “What would have happened,” and – in large part – Independence Day 2025 – and a Call to Competition. (Also – for some reason – On my first full day in Jerusalem, from June 2019.)

Wikipedia says a mantra is “a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers.”

Re: On baseball’s importance to the American Way of Life, see Baseball History, American History and You | Baseball Hall of Fame. Also, American Way of Life: Meaning & History – Virtual Workers of America: Factors include Strong individualism, Love of freedom, Optimism & activity, the Pursuit of prosperity & wealth, and a sense of Justice & the right to equal opportunities.

See also Remembering Tommy Lasorda – NY Sports Day, “baseball’s goodwill ambassador, a man full of passion for his team, stories for his visitors and an appreciation for the game.” The story of him and Batista is in “The Artful Dodger” (Lasorda and Dave Fisher), Avon paperback, 1985.

Allen Sangree (c. 1878-1924) wrote the “abide no monarchy” quote.

The lower image is courtesy of Remembering Tommy Lasorda.

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On Palm Sunday – 2025

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*“The same voices that welcome [Jesus] today will demand His crucifixion by Friday…”*

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April 12, 2025 – The past 10 days have been an up-down, roller-coaster ride. Including the unexpected sudden death of “another person way younger than me,” together with the need to help cobble together a memorial service, followed by a quick road trip up to Louisville – plagued by endless rain and flooding – for a joyful Celebration-of-25-years-of-Marriage ceremony.

All of which I suppose is a good metaphor for the Lenten journey itself, or for any Christian on his pilgrim-path throughout life. (Keeping in mind that “Happy are the people whose strength is in You! Whose hearts are set on the pilgrim’s way.” Psalm 84:5.) But now it’s time to focus on the upcoming Palm Sunday, which begins another week of roller-coaster riding.

It’s called Holy Week, what has been called “the most sacred period in the liturgical calendar.” It begins with Palm Sunday, a day featuring moments of victory and expectation for Jesus, “yet a tragic irony looms. The same voices that welcome Him today will demand His crucifixion by Friday.” A week for reflecting and renewing, ending in a celebration of Christ’s resurrection. And to review: Holy Week marks the end of Lent and itself ends with Easter Sunday. It begins with Palm Sunday and includes Holy Wednesday (also called “Spy Wednesday,” a reference to the betrayal of Judas), followed by Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.

Palm Sunday in turn remembers “Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.” The symbolism of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey comes from Zechariah 9:9. In turn, the welcoming crowds chanted from Psalm 118:26, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.” Further:

The symbolism of the donkey may refer to the Eastern tradition that it is an animal of peace, versus the horse, which is the animal of war. A king would have come riding upon a horse when he was bent on war and riding upon a donkey when he wanted to point out he was coming in peace. Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem would have thus symbolized his entry as the Prince of Peace, not as a war-waging king.

(Emphasis added.) But then came the part where Jesus got “numbered among the transgressors,” which in any reasonable interpretation means “the rest of us poor struggling slobs, even down to the present day.” To explain, one Gospel reading for Palm Sunday is Luke 23:1-49. It includes Luke 22:37, where Jesus said, “I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’” In turn, Biblehub.com has other translations for transgressors. Words like lawless, rebels, evil doers, outlaws, or even “criminals.” And the notes thereto point to Isaiah 53, “a manifest prophecy of the Messiah;” specifically, Isaiah 53:12:

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Bible Hub also noted Jesus was “crucified between two thieves; and more than this.” The “more than this” involved what we’d call a legal fiction, ”a fact assumed or created by courts which is then used in order to apply a legal rule.” The Old Testament rule – Leviticus 17:11 – demanded a blood sacrifice to cover the sins of “the people.” (All people down to the present day, including us.) To solve that problem for all time, Jesus substituted His own blood for ours:

[In]stead of his people, and having their sins laid upon him, and imputed to him, he was made and accounted, by imputation, not only a sinner, but sin itself…

(Emphasis added.) Which is something to think about in this final week of Lent, 2025.

Something else to think about: Psalm 22, and especially the first verse. We know it well because Jesus quoted it on the cross. See Matthew 27:46: “About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?’” (See also Mark 15:34, or in the Latin, “Deus, Deus meus.”) What many don’t realize is that Psalm 22:1 goes on to add: “Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?” And that’s a thought many can relate to these days.

Then comes Psalm 22:18. In the NIV: “They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” That from Psalm 22 was mirrored in Matthew 27:35: “When they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments by casting lots.” (Talk about “preordained before the beginning of time.”) But that’s enough on Palm Sunday. (Except for those who may explore the links in the Notes.) Which brings up another note: Holy Week doesn’t “end” with Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday just begins another liturgical season, 50 days long, called Eastertide:

[In Western Christianity] Easter time is the period of 50 days, spanning from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. It is celebrated as a single joyful feast, called the “great Lord’s Day,” Each Sunday of the season is treated as a Sunday of Easter. In some traditions, Easter Sunday is the first Sunday of Eastertide and the following Sunday (Low Sunday) is the second Sunday of Eastertide and so on…

Then comes Pentecost season, or “the Season after Pentecost,” which this year runs from Sunday, June 8, through the rest of the year to the season of Advent, at the end of next November. Meaning the up-and-down roller-coaster ride will continue, but all that and more will be the subjects of later postings. In the meantime, “Have a Happy Holy Week!”

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*“Ordinary Time” – Pentecost **Season** – can take up half the Church year…*

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The upper image is courtesy of Palm Sunday – Image Results. The painting was accompanied by a Page, Days of Holy Week: What they teach us about faith, redemption. (Which I borrowed from.)

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Re: “His pilgrim-path.” Not “his or her,” or the ubiquitous “their.” Sorry, I’m old school in some ways, at least for this post.

Re: Psalm Psalm 84:5. I used the version in the Book of Common Prayer, where it’s listed as Psalm 84:4 (which happens sometimes). I capitalized the “You,” for God, and the following word in the BCP, “whose hearts are set.” Also, the Biblehub translations include “on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem” (which I’ve done), “all who deeply desire to visit your temple,” and of those whose “hearts are on the road [that leads to you].” (Brackets in the “Hub” website.) The last one ties in with John 6:37, where Jesus promised that “whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.” (And yes, I capitalized the “Me” too.)

Re: “A reference to Judas.” See Why Is Wednesday of Holy Week Called Spy Wednesday?

For this post I borrowed from On Holy Week – 2016, Psalm 22 and the “Passion of Jesus,” from April 2017, and from March 2018, Palm Sunday: To “not sin,” or to accomplish something?

The lower image is courtesy of Liturgical year – Wikipedia. See also Ordinary Time – Wikipedia.

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On “Dissin’ the Prez” – 2024

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*Would King Solomon update Exodus 22:28, given changes to the Divine right of kings?*

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July 16, 2024 – This year’s presidential election is less than four months away, meaning it’s time to re-examine Exodus 22:28. One translation reads, “Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.” In 2014 I took that to mean “don’t diss Obama,” who served as president at the time. But that situation changed after the 2016 election. It raised the question, “Does that apply if ‘the other side’ has disrespected ‘your’ Leader?”

I examined those issues in two previous posts, May 2014’s “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!,” and on November 13, 2016, An update on “dissin’ the Prez.” The 2014 post addressed those who disrespected Barack Obama. The 2016 post wondered if his supporters then had to respect Donald Trump, given Trump and his supporters showing little respect for Obama. And come next January 20, 2025 we may face the same issue yet again.

The 2014 post noted the Apostle Paul standing trial in Jerusalem before the Sanhedrin – the Hebrew “Supreme Court” – for preaching about Jesus. When he said he was just doing God’s work the high priest – Ananais – told a guard to “strike him on the mouth.” That’s when Paul made his rash comment, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit here to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck.”

Those standing nearby said, ‘Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?’ And Paul said, ‘I did not realize, brothers, that he was high priest; for it is written, “You shall not speak evil of a leader of your people.”’

Which to me brought up the irony of Conservative Christians who say the Bible must be interpreted literally, yet from 2008 to 2016 felt free to “speak evil” of Barack Obama.

In 2016 the tables got turned, or at least raised an interesting question: “Since conservatives spent the last eight years ‘cursing and reviling’ [Obama], are liberals – not to mention the majority who voted for Hillary Clinton – now free to do the same with Donald Trump?” All of which raises more questions. “Do we interpret 22:28 strictly or liberally?” Put another way, have there been changes since Moses wrote 22:28, changes that may affect how we interpret it? Put a third way, is there “something new under the sun” that could affect the interpretation?

That “something new under the sun” is a twist on Ecclesiastes 1:9, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” And if that’s true we need to interpret the statute literally, to say it’s wrong to disrespect any president.

But is it true that there’s “nothing new under the sun?” Let’s dig deeper.

We could check Ecclesiastes – Wikipedia, which talks about a man known by various names: Koheleth, Qoheleth or Qohelet, the “unnamed author [who] introduces ‘The words of Kohelet, son of David, king in Jerusalem.’” One thing seems certain, that many people disagree about the book’s message, whether it’s “positive and life-affirming, or deeply pessimistic; whether it is coherent or incoherent, insightful or confused, orthodox or heterodox.”

That doesn’t help much, but another article said the phrase (1:9) is “used as a world-weary complaint against life’s monotony. When Solomon wrote the statement, he was emphasizing the cyclic nature of human life on earth and the emptiness of living only for the ‘rat race.’” (Which seems true enough.) But see What does it mean that there is nothing new under the sun?

To say there is nothing new under the sun does not ignore inventions or advances in technology; rather, these innovations do not amount to any basic change in the world. In Solomon’s time, many advances took place in society, but, from the larger perspective of life, human nature has remained and always will remain the same.

Which seems to indicate some wiggle room here, which I suppose could come from a more “liberal translation?” (Since there have undeniably been been both new inventions and advances in technology.) And with that in mind, can we say that the President of the United States is a “leader of the country” as that term was interpreted when Moses wrote?

In plain words there have been big changes to this idea of “leader” since Moses wrote Exodus 22:28. See e.g. Divine right of kings, the idea that a king is not accountable to any earthly authority (such as a parliament) “because their right to rule is derived from divine authority. Thus, the monarch is not subject to the will of the people.” (Wikipedia.) But for one thing, “Catholic jurisprudence holds that the monarch is always subject to natural and divine law, which are regarded as superior to the monarch.” For another, starting in the 1500’s “both Catholic and Protestant political thinkers alike challenged the idea of a monarch’s ‘divine right.'”

Then there were things like the Magna Carta and Declaration of Independence, which held that governments get their power “from the consent of the governed.” And that when any government “becomes destructive of these ends” – the right to life, liberty and pursuing happiness – “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.” And finally the Preamble to the United States Constitution, starts with “We the People of the United States … do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

See also Constitution 101: “the federal government was never meant to serve as anything more than an agent, exercising the specific powers delegated by the true sovereign – the people.”

Under the intended constitutional system, “we the people” hold the top position of authority… When an 18^th century British king issued a grant, his name always appeared at the top in the same fashion. The framers merely replaced the king’s name with “We the People…” So, the ultimate and final authority always remains in the people.

So here indeed is “something new under the sun,” Qoheleth notwithstanding.

Back in Bible times there was no such thing as voting and no such thing as an election, where ordinary people chose who would hold temporary power to serve their interests. Back in Bible times a leader held ultimate power, including the power of life and death over any and all of his subjects. Such a leader was a king or other dictator who served for life – or until a stronger king bumped him off. But in America the president is more like a plumber. He’s a hired hand who can serve the Sovereign People for no more than eight years.

Which means what? Does Exodus 22:28 still apply, and if so “to whom?” One thing we do know, the Sovereign American People have the power to criticize and maybe even “diss” any president or other politician they have voted into temporary power. But what happens once they’ve made that choice, through a free and fair election? Once “the Sovereign has spoken?”

I’d say those January 6 rioters may well get pardoned by some earthly power in the coming days, but I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes when they meet their Maker…

(“Let the reader understand.”)

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The upper image is courtesy of Ecclesiastes – Wikipedia: “‘King Solomon‘ in Old Age by Gustave Doré (1866), a depiction of the purported author of Ecclesiastes, according to rabbinic tradition.”

As to the headline see What Does Diss Mean? – Meaning, Uses and More – FluentSlang. One example: ““I don’t like him because he always disses me for expressing my opinion.” Also:

The term diss is slang that is used to insult, disrespect, or disregard someone. It can also be used as a noun to refer to receiving a “diss.” The word originated as a shortened version of “disrespect” and is commonly used in casual conversations and online interactions.

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

“Feast days” are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

Re: Paul’s “whitewashed wall” comment and how he got out of it. In verses 6 and 7, he turned the tables: “Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, ‘My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.’ When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.”

The lower image is courtesy of Judgment Day … Image Results.

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Other notes on the topic include two new gems from Commentaries on Exodus 22:28. One reads, “The gods of the heathen were uniformly, and with the utmost scorn. ‘reviled.'” Another Comment said the rule applies “even to all dignified persons, who ought not to be spoken ill of, and to be abused in the execution of their office, and especially when they perform well.“

And as to a president serving no more than two terms, one earlier post had this: “Possibly less, if he ends up impeached and convicted. See AU Professor Predicts Trump’s Impeachment.”

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On Bra-burners and the True Test of Faith…

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*“Jonah and the Whale”* *– an attention getter that became a negative and trite association…*

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Friday, May 17, 2024 – Before this weekend ends I’ll do a post on Pentecost Sunday – 2024. But first I wanted to review two past posts I just revamped: Jonah and the bra-burners, and The True Test of Faith. The Jonah post talked of how the whale in the account became a distracting attention-getter, like feminists “burning bras” at the Miss America pageant on September 7, 1968. That story – tweaked by a creative reporter – did get attention. But in the end it became a “negative and trite association” with a net effect of trivializing serious feminists working at equal rights for women. (In 1968 women couldn’t get a credit card, serve on a jury, or get birth control, and faced discrimination in the workplace, like being fired for getting pregnant.)

By the way, the real message in the Book of Jonah is that God’s love is universal.

In Jonah’s case, that love of God extended even to the people of Nineveh, Israel’s arch-enemy and arch-tormentor. (An idea of God’s love that Jonah hated.) For more details see the post itself, but now it’s time to move on to The True Test of Faith. It talks about two Christians who die and find out there is no God, no “life after life,” no reward for good behavior or punishment for bad behavior. And how one gets irate because of all the fun he could have had, while the other says, “You know, I wouldn’t change a thing.” And how that’s the kind of faith I’m working on.

And how there is “probably no sin more tolerated or more widespread in the Christian world than legalism.” And how the answer to being saved is found in John 6:37 and Romans 10:9.

One final thought: In the notes below I say that too-literal Christians are like soldiers who enlist in the Army but never go beyond boot camp. (They never do more than “learn the basics, the fundamentals.”) But a more telling image would be of students who never go beyond elementary school. I’ll keep working on that idea, as well as the idea that “the Bible is designed to expand your mind.” (To the tune, If It Doesn’t Fit, You Must Acquit.”)

But now it’s time to move on to Pentecost Sunday!

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*The descent of the Holy Spirit“* – *the very first “Pentecost Sunday…”*

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The upper image is courtesy of “elijah taken up in a chariot of fire – images.” This image came with a page on “Pieter Symonsz. Potter.” See also Wikipedia, on the prophet Elijah, and on “Pieter Symonsz Potter” (1597-1652), a Dutch Golden Age painter.

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Re: Women’s status in 1968-1970. See 5 things women couldn’t do in the 1960s | CNN, and 40 Basic Rights Women Did Not Have Until The 1970s.

The lower image was originally courtesy of Pentecost Sunday Images – Image Results. But see also El Greco – Pentecost, 1610 at Prado Museum Madrid Spain, which I went on to “glean.” The caption is from the Wikipedia article, gleaned from the following: “The Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost is celebrated on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) from Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1–31).”

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Between Halloween and Thanksgiving – 2023!

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*If these Men had compared notes – not argued – they’d have a better understanding…*

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November 11, 2023 – I’ve been lax. Today is Veterans Day, and I just checked the Search box at the upper right to see what I’ve posted about that holiday. Nothing. Nothing at all, which means it’s time to correct that omission. And talk about how a strong military can keep all of us free to practice our religion as we see fit. And at the same time to welcome the competition that comes from our ongoing dialectic, a process that tends to strengthen everyone’s Faith.

Like the Blind men and the elephant – pictured above – if they had excluded “subjective elements such as emotional appeal and rhetoric” – and not argued so much – they might have come up with a far better understanding of just what an “elephant” is. But back to Veteran’s Day and how a strong military can keep all of us free to begin that process of “comparing notes.”

Some of which ties into last year’s post about this time, Between Halloween and Thanksgiving – [November 15,] 2022. That post said the one major the Feast Day “between” Halloween and Thanksgiving is Christ the King Sunday. Which was true last year, when we celebrated that day on November 20. But this year it comes on November 26, three days after Thanksgiving.

That 2022 post harked back to the 2015 post, Hitler and Mussolini help create Christ the King Sunday. It came in 1925, a year that started – on January 3 – with Benito Mussolini promising “to take charge of restoring order to Italy within forty-eight hours.” In Russia things were moving toward the creation of the NKVD, which later became the KGB. (Of Vladimir Putin fame.) In July 1925 Adolf Hitler published Volume 1 of his manifesto, Mein Kampf. Also, in the United States, July 1925 featured a show of strength by the Ku Klux Klan. Thus the Pope’s reaction:

Pope Pius XI instituted The Feast of Christ the King in 1925 [after] the rise of non-Christian dictatorships in Europe… These dictators often attempted to assert authority over the Church [and] the Feast of Christ the King was instituted during a time when respect for Christ and the Church was waning… (Emphasis added.)

Which brings up the need for Veterans – past, present and future – and the need to honor them. (And not just on November 11.) Defined as “a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service,” a Veteran has put the interest of our country above “their” own self-interest, and often put their lives on the line as well. And as such they are the surest guarantee against all foreign would-be dictators like Hitler and Mussolini. (While keeping in mind Lincoln’s warning that “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we lose our freedoms it will be because we have destroyed ourselves from within.”)

Which brings up Christian nationalism. As noted in Between, from 2022, such “nationalists” tend to become “authoritarian and oppressive.” Which makes that term an oxymoron, a self-contradiction. “Christianity is grounded in Christian scriptures where Jesus teaches love, peace, unity and truth. Christian nationalism preaches hatred, violence, separation, and disinformation.”

See the Between post from 2022 for more detail, but it also pointed out another problem. Today’s Christian Nationalists get political power from the fact that their political opponents don’t know that much about the Bible. They can’t tell when the Bible is being misquoted, misused or abused. “But that ‘problem’ is also the Achilles’ heel of Christian nationalism. Mostly because Jesus opposed all such ‘Nationalism.’” See for example, Romans 5:6, “Christ died for the ungodly.” So if you think a political opponent is “ungodly,” that’s exactly who Jesus died for.

So we need a strong military – our Veterans, past, present and future – to protect us against foreign powers. But we also need more people more familiar with what the Bible and Jesus really say, to protect us against “nationalists” who would distort the Bible to advance their own political agenda. In sum, have a Happy Veteran’s Day and a happy Christ the King Sunday, even though this year it doesn’t come between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

And work toward getting more people to understand the real message of Jesus. Especially among those “ungodly” Jesus expressly died for. (“The harvest is plentiful…”)

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The upper image is courtesy of Blind Men And The Elephant – Image Results. See also Blind men and an elephant – Wikipedia, for more on the parable. For another “between” post see Psalm 137, “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem” – 2021, from November 12, two years ago.

The Book of Common Prayer reference. The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

The full link to this year’s Christ the King Sunday is When is Christ the King 2023? – CalendarZ. As such it is “considered one of the latest incorporations to the Western Liturgical calendar,” as noted above.

Note: A Veteran is fully defined as one who has been discharged “other than dishonorably.”

Re: The Lincoln quote. See Fact check: Abraham Lincoln quote is fabricated – USA TODAY. It said there was “no record of Lincoln actually uttering that statement,” but that he did “speak to the spirit of the quote well before he ran for president in 1860, and well before he served his one term in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1847-49.” See the link for more details.

Luke 10:2: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

The lower image is courtesy of the Wikipedia article on Veterans Day.

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On Good Friday – 2022

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*“Antonio Ciseri‘s depiction of Ecce Homo with Jesus and Pontius Pilate, 19th century*…”

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April 15, 2022 – It’s Holy Week, which means Easter is coming. But Holy Week includes Good Friday, today, which “commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus and his subsequent death.” And which can include”self-guided time of reflection.” Which led to some reflection on Thomas Merton. You can type “Merton” in the search engine above right, but today I’d like to focus on two past posts, 2014’s On Thomas Merton, and 2021’s “Zen in the Art of College Football.”

Merton was a Roman Catholic monk. But in later life he found similarities between his orthodox Catholicism and the exotic Eastern religions that were all the rage back in the 1970s. One biographer said Merton was helped in his spiritual quest by both Christian mysticism and his “wide knowledge of Oriental religions.” Merton became fascinated with Zen Buddhism and writer D. T. Suzuki. He studied Taoism, “regular” Buddhism and Hinduism.

But dallying in these exotic Eastern disciplines didn’t weaken his Catholicism, his Christian faith. If anything, they strengthened that faith. As the biographer wrote:

[B]y approaching the spiritual quest at unexpected angles, they opened up new ways of thought and new ways of experiencing that invigorated and released him. . .

Which led to my theory, that studying the Bible was meant to liberate the human spirit, not shackle it. Which goes along with the idea expressed in Luke 24:45, where Jesus opened His disciples’ minds so they could understand the Scriptures. Which brings up “a moment of zen.”

As one Zen Master said, “You are like this cup; you are full of ideas. You come and ask for teaching, but your cup is full; I can’t put anything in. Before I can teach you, you’ll have to empty your cup.” And if you think that sounds non-Biblical, see Philippians 2:7, where Paul said Jesus “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

But why? What example was Jesus trying to set? What point was He trying to make?

This is harder than you might realize. By the time we reach adulthood we are so full of information that we don’t even notice it’s there. We might consider ourselves to be open-minded, but in fact, everything we learn is filtered through many assumptions and then classified to fit into the knowledge we already possess.

That’s all from Empty Your Cup, an Old Zen Saying. Then there’s another old Zen saying, that a child looks at a mountain and sees a mountain, an adult looks at a mountain and sees many things, but that a Zen master looks at a mountain and sees – a mountain. Which seems to mirror what Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

So maybe becoming like a child again means – among other things – looking at a mountain and seeing … a mountain. And that in turn seems to involve dropping layers of life-long preconceptions, loosening up spiritual “hardened arteries,” and opening up to the majesty of God’s creation and His gift of Jesus. In other words, be open minded, open up to God’s majesty.

Not to mention the majesty of God coming to earth in the form of Jesus, and His living among us for 33 years – just to help us out – then making the ultimate “ultimate sacrifice.”

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Getting back to Good Friday, in 2016 I posted An Annunciation-Good Friday anomaly. The “anomaly” was that in 2016 the Annunciation fell on the same day as Good Friday, “in which the liturgical color is black.” The wearing of black liturgical color begins at the end of the Maundy Thursday evening service. (In Western churches.) That’s when the altar is stripped and “clergy no longer wear the purple or red that is customary throughout Great Lent.” Instead they don black vestments until Easter Sunday, when – as we know – there is a happy ending.

I may not be able to post anything on Easter Sunday until well into next week. In the meantime you could check other past posts, like Happy Easter – April 2020! I posted that a month after the current COVID pandemic started, and that continues “even to this day.” That post noted that I got two books from the local library, including The Plague, by Albert Camus. (The other was What Jesus Meant, by Garry Wills.) Anyway, for a more cheerful note on the reason for the season, see See On Easter Season – AND BEYOND, and Frohliche Ostern – “Happy Easter!”

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*“An Easter postcard depicting the Easter Bunny…”*

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The upper image is courtesy of Pontius Pilate – Wikipedia.

Re: Book of Common Prayer. See page 339, under Holy Eucharist: Rite One:

Almighty and everliving God, we most heartily thank thee for that thou dost feed us, in these holy mysteries, with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ; and dost assure us thereby of thy favor and goodness towards us; and that we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son, the blessed company of all faithful people…

Or see The Online Book of Common Prayer.

Re: Prior posts on Thomas Merton. Some of them are missing the images that I put in, which means in the upcoming week after Easter that I’ll have to go back and update them.

Re “Dropping layers of life-long preconceptions.” Another metaphor: Cleaning your “assumption filters” on a regular basis. (See Dirty Air Filter – Image Results.)

The lower image is courtesy of Easter – Wikipedia.

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An update on “Bible inerrancy…”

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*If you take* *Bible literalism* **too** literally, *you may end up with a nickname like “Stumpy…”*

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We are now in the Fifth week in Lent, with some 18 days before Easter. But aside from last March 25’s celebration of The Annunciation, there aren’t any Feast Days left until HOLY WEEK – April 10-16, 2022. Which makes this a good time to go back and revisit “Biblical inerrancy.”

But first a note about the lead picture above. The caption – from Wikipedia – reads, “Snake handling at Pentecostal Church of God, Lejunior, Harlan County, Kentucky September 15, 1946.”

I’ve argued before that such snake handlers interpret Mark 16:17-18 way too literally. (The passage talks about the signs that will accompany those who believe, including “they will pick up snakes with their hands,” and drink deadly poison without effect.) Which means that such a too-literal Christian could end up dead, or at least with a nickname like “Stumpy.”

And speaking of Biblical inerrancy, back in September 2020, I posted On an old friend – and his “Bible literalism.” Since then I’ve learned even more about the topic, but also realized I didn’t “define my terms, Chump!” (Borrowing a phrase variously attributed to Socrates, Aristotle or Voltaire. “If you wish to debate with me, define your terms.”) So taking a look at Biblical inerrancy – Wikipedia, we can see first the distinction between “inerrancy” and “infallibility.” Thus some such believers “equate inerrancy with biblical infallibility; others do not.”

To me the issue is whether literalist Christians are saying there are no clerical or scrivener’s errors, whatsoever, in any copy, version or translation of the Bible. Or whether – for example – the “Biblical” computation of time is completely accurate. (The earth is six thousand years old, as opposed to the estimate of over four billion years old.) Then there’s this, from Wikipedia:

Some literalist or conservative Christians teach that the Bible lacks error in every way in all matters: chronology, history, biology, sociology, psychology … and so on. Other Christians believe that the scriptures are always right (do not err) only in fulfilling their primary purpose: revealing God, God’s vision, God’s purposes, and God’s good news to humanity.

To cut to the chase, I’d say the Bible is inerrant “in all that it affirms.” Which is pretty much what Billy Graham said some time ago, as will be seen. But first some background…

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The post Old friend … “Bible literalism started off noting we don’t have any original manuscripts of the 27 books of the New Testament. “What we do have are “copies of copies of copies.” (According to Great Courses Plus; Professor Bart Ehrman‘s lectures on The New Testament.) I also noted that to me, the Bible “proves itself” to you as a person, with what you do with it as an individual believer, how you interact with and experience God in your own life.*

I also noted some problems reading the Bible, like that Old Testament Hebrew had no vowels or punctuation. Words and sentences were simply strung together. Then there was Jesus’ way of teaching, parables. Which were both hard to interpret literally, and which could mean different things to different people. (That “clunk” was a Southern Baptist having apoplexy.)

Which brings up a website, Why is it important to believe in biblical inerrancy. Which leads to another question, “What do you mean by ‘inerrant?'” Which brings up Billy Graham helping shape the Lausanne Covenant. (The “July 1974 religious manifesto promoting active worldwide Christian evangelism.”) See Billy Graham, Evangelism,.. and Inerrancy:

We affirm the divine inspiration, truthfulness and authority of both Old and New Testament Scriptures in their entirety as the only written word of God,* without error in all that it affirms, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice. (Emphasis added.)

Which brings up another problem, that a claim of “absolute inerrancy” makes it easy for a would-be convert to avoid converting. All “they” need do – to avoid coming to God, through Jesus – is find one minor error or contradiction. By making such a claim, Literalists create one of those “stumbling blocks to the weak” that Paul noted in 1st Corinthians 8:9.

On the other hand, I’d say that if some Bibles contain some minor errors, it’s only because of the human element in its transmission. As in the phrase, “garbled in transmission.” And to all of which I can say to such Literalists, “I respect your right to have that opinion, but I disagree.”

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But wait, there’s more! Which is being interpreted: Since 2020 I’ve run across even more interesting data. Like a series of lectures on the Dead Sea Scrolls, by Professor Gary A. Rendsberg. And especially his Lecture 11, on the “Biblical Manuscripts at Qumran.”

For one thing, Rendsberg mentioned some differences between the original Hebrew Old Testament and a later Hebrew-to-Greek early translation, the Septuagint. (The “earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible.”) For example, the original Hebrew of Exodus 1:5 reads that 70 Israelites (Jacob and his family) went down to Egypt during a time of famine. The Septuagint said there were 75. So which is it?

I’d say it doesn’t really matter. The point is not something the Bible really “affirms.” Which brings up the the better view set out by John R. W. Stott. ((1921-2011.) I’ve mentioned Stott before, in numerous posts,* but he was the Anglican cleric who Time magazine ranked among the 100 most influential people in the world. He wrote Understanding the Bible, and on pages 140-143, he made three key points.

Again, there’s more boring detail in those prior posts, but Stott’s key point is that the words of the Bible are true “only in context.” (Using the Book of Job as an example of some passages that can be taken out of context, like Mark 16:17-18. And that in turn, Scripture is without error “in all that it affirms.” (A factor not always apparent “in the so-called ‘inerrancy debate.”) And keeping in mind that the Bible often describes God in human terms, not to be taken as literally true.

For more on the “inerrancy debate,” see Fundamentalism – Wikipedia. That article noted the “Five Fundamentals” set out at the Niagara Bible Conference 1910, including the doctrine that the Bible “is without error or fault in all its teaching.” Which sounds similar to the idea that the Bible is without error “in all that it affirms.”

And finally, I’d say this business of “requiring every word of the Bible to be inerrant” – without any error of any kind – brings to mind what Jesus said in Matthew 23:4. He chastised the Scribes and Pharisees, saying in pertinent part that such they “make strict rules that are hard for people to obey. They try to force others to obey all their rules. But they themselves will not try to follow any of those rules.” (In the “Easy-to-Read” translation.)

To me, requiring every copy and every version of the Bible to be correct in every “jot and tittle” – to say that no Bible has even the most minor clerical or scrivener’s error – is one of those “stumbling blocks” that keep potential converts away from Christianity.

More than that, it makes some people who call themselves Christian miss the whole point of Jesus’ teaching. They focus more on the letter of the law than its spirit, and as Paul noted in 2d Corinthians 3:6, “the letter kills but the spirit gives life.” So if you are such a Literalist, feel free to believe what you believe. “But as for me and my house,” I’ll follow John 4:24, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

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The upper image is courtesy of Snake handling – Wikipedia. The caption reads, “Snake handling at Pentecostal Church of God, Lejunior, Harlan County, Kentucky September 15, 1946 (National Archives and Records Administration). Photo by Russell Lee.” I used the image in On snake-handling, Fundamentalism and suicide – Part I, with this caption: “A snake-handler – who may answer to the name ‘Stumpy’ – ostensibly following Mark 16.” As to the validity of such practices as snake handling as a method of proving faith, see Does MARK 16:17-18 mean that Christians should handle deadly …:

This passage can be understood two ways. One way is to assume that Jesus followers are expected to handle deadly snakes… Another way to understand this passage is to be reassured that when Christians accidentally come in contact with poisonous snakes, God will miraculously protect them… Such an experience happened to the apostle Paul. After being shipwrecked and escaping to the island of Malta, Paul was bitten by a deadly snake. [Acts:28:1-6]. Additionally, the Bible tells us that we should not tempt God by deliberately placing ourselves in potential danger [Matthew 4:5-7]. (E.A.)

Further information on the “Quiverfull Movement” can be found at sites including Quiverfull – Wikipedia; What Is Quiverfull? – Patheos, part of “No longer quivering,” an ostensible “gathering place for women escaping and healing from spiritual abuse;” 5 Insane Lessons from My Christian Fundamentalist Childhood …; and/or QuiverFull .com :: Psalm 127:3-5.

Re: Fifth week in Lent. Starting with the fifth Sunday in Lent, April 3, 2022.

Re: “Lent 2022.” See Lent 2022 – Calendar Date, which said this Lenten period starts on Wednesday, March 2nd and ends on Thursday, April 14 with evening mass on Holy Thursday. (Most people think it ends with Easter Sunday.) Other notes: It is “44 days from Ash Wednesday to Maundy Thursday and another two days with Good Friday and Holy Saturday added to give a total of 46 days for Lent. But Sundays are excluded from fasting during Lent and with 6 Sundays removed from the count we get lent being a 40 day liturgical period.”

Re: “Define your terms.” As attributed to Aristotle, see Define Your Terms | Kippy. To Voltaire, see Define Your Terms – Simple Liberty. And from Socrates, see Quote by Socrates: “The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms.”

Re: Age of the earth. For the “young earth, 6,000 years old” theory see How Old Is The Earth According To The Bible? | The Institute for Creation Research. For a more expansive – between four and five billion years old – see Age of Earth – Wikipedia, with citations. (Personally, I wasn’t there.)

Re: The Bible as “without error and therefore completely true.” See Biblical inerrancy – Wikipedia. and – for that view different than mine – Why is it important to believe in biblical inerrancy.)

Also, vis-a-vis missing NT manuscripts: The night before posting I learned – through another Great Courses Bible lecture – that many “puns” in original OT Hebrew were lost in translation. See for example Bible Secrets Revealed, Episode 1: “Lost in Translation,” and Five Mistakes in Your Bible Translation | HuffPost. From the former, “different copies of the same Biblical books from the Dead Sea Scrolls don’t often match, [so] at the time of Jesus, the Hebrew Biblical texts existed in different versions and traditions that were still being sorted out. What this means is that it is very difficult to argue that the Bible is the verbatim ‘Word of God,’ especially when all of the ancient manuscripts contain different words.” From the latter, “In the original Hebrew, the 10th Commandment prohibits taking, not coveting. The biblical Jubilee year is named for an animal’s horn and has nothing to do with jubilation. The pregnant woman in Isaiah 7:14 is never called a virgin.” Also, “Metaphors are particularly difficult to translate, because words have different metaphoric meanings in different cultures. Shepherds in the Bible were symbols of might, ferocity and royalty, whereas now they generally represent peaceful guidance and oversight.” I may use these points in a future post.

Re: More on Deuteronomy 32:8. In the original Hebrew, Deuteronomy 32:8 said God set the boundaries “of the peoples” – the boundaries of the world – “according to the number of the children of Israel.” The same passage in the Septuagint reads, “according to the number of angels of God.” In turn, most translations in the “Bible Hub” website had 70 Israelites going down Egypt, including the King James Version that “all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls.” But “Hub” also cited Genesis 46:26, which put the number at 66, and Acts 7:14, which said “Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.”

Re: “My old friend Fred.” It wasn’t just me he “flabbergasted.” A mutual friend said he also cut off all communications with his family, and other old friends, who didn’t share his “conservative” views.

Re: “How you interact with and experience God in your own life.” That “simplistic” statement could be misinterpreted, but keep in mind that I have to “dumb things down,” just like Moses, Paul and Jesus all had to do. Also re: Interacting with God in my own life. See for example On my “mission from God,” and “As a spiritual exercise…”

Re: “Only written word of God.” But see John 10:16, “I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.” It seems to me that God – being God – is perfectly able to reach out to other people, using other languages in other countries and cultural settings. “He” – anthropomorphism – could have other servants writing in other languages, keeping in mind that “all roads lead to Jesus.” If nothing else, this claim seems to limit God’s power…

More re: Deuteronomy 32:8. Just for some deep background: Chapter 32 comes near the end of the book, just before Chapter 33, “Moses blesses the tribes of Israel,” and also Chapter 34 on the death of Moses. “The Lord’s Last Instructions to Moses begin at 31:14, and the “Song of Moses” begins at 31. Anyway, back to Deuteronomy 32:8. Many Bible Hub translations of Deuteronomy 32:8 read that God “assigned land to the nations” or “gave the nations their inheritance.” But some translations of the passage at issue vary, from “according to the number of the sons of Israel,” to the sons of God, to “the number in his heavenly court,” and – in the Brenton Septuagint Translation – according to “the number of the angels of God.”

Re: “Stott … in numerous posts.” Type “John Stott” in the search engine in the blog’s upper right.

Also, the post On an old friend – and his “Bible literalism,” includes references to a book, “Christian Testament.” The full reference is Education for Ministry Year Two (Hebrew Scriptures, Christian Testament) 2nd Edition by William Griffin, Charles Winters, Christopher Bryan and Ross MacKenzie (1991). Page 321 of my copy has some notes on Nimshalim, as methods of interpreting parables. See also Mashal + Nimshal = Meaning/Teaching | Discipleship Curriculum: “The teaching method was simply brilliant. A fictional story (the mashal) was created by the Rabbi. This was almost always in response to something going on in their immediate world or an important principle they wanted to teach. The story would be crafted in such a way as to disguise it’s intent but also in such a way as to intrigue.” See also Mashal (allegory) – Wikipedia, about a “short parable with a moral lesson or religious allegory, called a nimshal.” (Nimshalim is the plural.)

Re: “Jot and tittle.” The link is to “Gotquestions.org,” which noted that a jot – related to our word “iota” – is the “tenth letter in the Hebrew alphabet and the smallest.” A tittle “is even smaller than a jot … a letter extension, a pen stroke that can differentiate one Hebrew letter from another.”

Re: “Me and my house.” The reference is to Joshua 24:15. In the ESV, “choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

The lower image is courtesy of Letter Of The Law Vs Spirit Of The Law – Image Results. (From an old Calvin and Hobbes cartoon. (See Wikipedia.)

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Happy “Sunday of Many Names!”

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*The Apostle Thomas, in his later years – in India? – after he finally “overcome his doubts…”*

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I last posted on Palm Sunday, March 28. In that post I looked ahead to Easter Sunday, April 4. (See On “Zen in the Art of College Football,” featuring the thought at left.) This post will revisit the Sunday after Easter, to wit: The “Sunday of Many Names.”

You can see one original at On “Doubting Thomas Sunday” – 2017, which notes that today is known as: 1) The Second Sunday of Easter, 2) Low Sunday, 3) Doubting Thomas Sunday, 4) the “Octave of Easter,” and finally 5) “Quasimodo Sunday.” That last is from the Latin translation of First Peter 2:2, “Quasi modo geniti infantes,” as explained below.

For starters, today is officially the Second Sunday of Easter. Note the “of,” rather than “after.” That’s because Easter is “not just one day, but an entire season.” It’s a full season of 50 days – called Eastertide, “spanning from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday.”

But today is also known – and in many churches is better known – as Low Sunday. That’s mostly because church attendance falls off so drastically that first Sunday “after.” (Compared with the high attendance of Easter Day itself…)

But you can also – as noted – call this day the “Sunday of Many Names.” For example, it’s known as “Doubting Thomas Sunday” … because the Gospel lesson always tells the story of the disciple Thomas. (See e.g. John 20:19-31, “which recounts the story of Christ appearing to the Apostle Thomas in order to dispel the latter’s doubt about the Resurrection.” Which made him in essence the original – the prototype – “Doubting Thomas.”)

And today is known as the Octave of Easter. (In this case the Octave in question is the eight-day period “in Eastertide that starts on Easter Sunday and runs until the Sunday following Easter.”) And finally, it’s known as “Quasimodo Sunday.” But that’s not because of Quasimodo, the guy – shown at right – who is better known as the “Hunchback of Notre Dame:”

That name comes from the Latin translation of the beginning of First Peter 2:2. (A traditional “introit” used in churches this day.) First Peter 2:2 begins – in English and depending on the translation – “As newborn babes, desire the rational milk without guile…” (Or translated as, “pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”) But in Latin the verse reads: “Quasi modo geniti infantes…” Literally, “quasi modo means ‘as if in [this] manner.’”

So, since “geniti” translates as “newborn” and the translation of “infantes” seems self-evident, the “quasi modo” in question roughly translates, “As if in the manner” (of newborn babes)…

The Coffman Commentaries on the Bible provides some background on this verse. in the King James version the verse reads, “as newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto salvation:”

Paul used this same figure in 1 Corinthians 3:2; but Peter here, using the same figure, stresses, not the contrasting diet of infants and adults, but the appetite which all Christians should have in order to grow. All Christians should have a constant and intense longing for the word of God.

Which is pretty much the main theme of this blog: That all true Christians should have a strong “appetite in order to grow.” And a point which Paul seemed to be making in 1st Corinthians 3:2, “I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.”

But some people, it seems, are content to remain “babes in Christ.” Or boot-camp Christians, like those “Biblical literalists who never go ‘beyond the fundamentals.’” But how else – you may ask – are we to do “greater miracles than Jesus,” as mandated by John 14:12?

Like that Apostle, “Doubting Thomas,” who ended up making his own “passage to India.” See for example, Doubting Thomas’ “passage to India.” That April 2015 post noted the tradition that Thomas sailed to India in 52 AD, to spread the Christian faith, with details of his martyrdom:

According to tradition, St. Thomas was killed in 72 AD [near] Mylapore near Chennai in India… This is the earliest known record of his martyrdom. Some Patristic literature state[s] that St. Thomas died a martyr, in east of Persia or in North India by the wounds of the four spears pierced into his body by the local soldiers.

One result? India, and especially the Malabar coast, still boasts a large native population calling themselves ‘Christians of St. Thomas,’” as memorialized by the stamp below. (Not bad for a “newborn in Christ” who had to overcome his substantial doubts…)

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Attributions for the upper and lower images – as well as those in the main text – can be found in the “Doubting Thomas Sunday” – 2017 post, and the Wikipedia articles included therein. For example, the lower image is from Wikipedia on the Apostle Thomas.

Romans 11 – and “What happened to FSU football?”

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*Could this be spiritual* ***vindication****, or maybe some “Lord, I have found favor in Your sight?”*

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Right now you’re probably asking yourself, “What the heck does Romans Chapter 11 have to do with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning Super Bowl LV?” (As shown above.) Or for that matter, what does Romans 11 have to do with “Whatever happened to FSU football?” We’ll get back to that in a minute, but first…

Put it this way. For 30 years now I’ve been doing “novel” research. Research for a series of novels; three published already and one in the oven. The hero of the newest novel – call him “Nick*” – is a crazy-ass football fan. (Redundant?) This fan honestly thinks he can “help” his favorite sport teams win championships. And if this wacko’s theories are correct, he just helped his NFL-fave Tampa Bay Buccaneers win this past year’s Super Bowl LV. (BTW: “Nick” has been a Buc-fan ever since the early days, of “Buccaneer Bruce” and flaming orange team colors, shown above right.)

And just as an aside, Nick tries to “help” his teams by combining Daily Bible Reading with hard ritual-exercise “sacrifice,” described in the notes. (Not to mention living the good Christian Life.) And just in case you think that’s weird, you could say that all this started back with Moses at the Battle of Refidim. (See Was Moses the first to say “it’s only weird if it doesn’t work*”)

To cut to the chase, Nick started out trying to help FSU football win championships. (Because he started law school there back in 1981.) And there were some, but lately things have gone downhill. And what seems to have happened is that FSU football’s recent string of extremely bad news has turned out to be Good News for Nick’s other favorite teams. And now for some explanation…

This post continues a theme set out in two recent posts. The first was “As a spiritual exercise,” from May 20, 2020. Then on October 4, 2020, I continued the theme in An unintended consequence – and ‘Victory O Lord!’ (All part of researching my novels.)

The first post describe the method – the hard “spiritual exercise” – that Nick used to help his favorite teams win championships. (Initially just FSU football, but later his list of favorite teams expanded.) And that first post described how – along the way – he learned lots of valuable spiritual lessons. (Since 1989 or so, as have I, in doing the research.) And like I said, the “Nick” novels* are about a “crazy-ass football fan” who keeps plugging away alone, trying to help his favorite teams:

As a Spiritual Exercise, in 1989 [Nick] started looking for new ways to “help” [his] favorite college team – Florida State University – win its first football national championship… At first it was a matter of finding the right ritual sacrifice, in the form of exercise, and especially aerobics…

But in time it also came to involve that Daily Bible Reading noted above. (Which he started in 1992. And FSU won its first national championship in 1993. You do the math.) And so – to make a long story short – you could say that my research for the novels also led to me creating this blog.

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As it turned out, Nick’s hard-exercise “ritual sacrifice” was a big part of his spiritual awakening. (And mine.) But daily Bible reading also became a big part of it. Along with “Living a Good Christian Life.” (Well, mostly… “He’s Still Working on Me.”) In the process, it led him – and me – to lots of spiritual insights. For example, insights into “how the original Children of Israel must have felt when they did all the right things – and yet ended up conquered and sent into exile.”

As noted, Nick started his Mystic Quest trying to help FSU football win National Championships. And there were a number of good years that followed, including three national championships and the FSU football dynasty. (14 consecutive finishes in the Top 4.*) But over the last several years, FSU football has hit rock bottom. The team has fallen on extremely hard times. Which you might say is the functional equivalent of ancient Israel’s being conquered and sent into Babylonian exile. (Illustrated below left; “By the Waters of Babylon We Wept.”)

In FSU’s case, their “football dynasty” ended in 2001. (They went 8-and-4 and ended up ranked #15.) There followed a roller-coaster-ride series of seasons, with a third national title in 2013. Then things really fell apart…

After consecutive 10-and-3 seasons in 2015 and 2016, FSU went 7-and-6, 5-and-7, 6-and-7, and – in 2020 – a miserable 3-and-6. (List of FSU football seasons – Wikipedia, and also ‘They’re in a deep, deep hole’ – Inside the 6-year unraveling of Florida State football.) All of which is a very sad story, and an extremely humiliating fall from grace.

But what was bad news for FSU football became very good news for the rest of Nick’s favorite teams. At least lately; over the last six months or so…

What may have happened is like what the Apostle Paul explained in Romans 11. We’ll get back to that in a minute as well, but again, what seems to have happened is that FSU’s “blessings” got transferred. Transferred away from them and on to some of his other favorite teams. (See a fuller list of of those expanded other-team blessings in the June 2018 post, “Unintended consequences” – and the search for Truth.)

And those blessings have come in a rush over the past six months or so. (That is, with Nick’s “favorite” Tampa Bay Lightning, L.A. Dodgers and Bucs all winning their respective championships, described below.)

Which could be another way of saying the suffering (or sacrifice) of some can lead to manifest blessings for others. (As one prime example, Google “Jesus suffering servant.”) Or it could be another way of saying that being “God’s Favorite Team” may not be all it’s cut out to be…

* * * *

In other words, the original Children of Israel found out – the hard way – that being “God’s Favorite” wasn’t all they thought it would be. One thing they learned was that it was “to vigor, not comfort” that they were called.* Which is another way of saying that being God’s Favorite involves a lot of hard discipline. Or as Luke put it (in 12:48), if you get a lot of blessings from God, He will expect a lot from you in return. (Paraphrased.) Then too, as it says in Hebrews 12:6, God disciplines those He loves. Which is fine when you can keep on the straight and narrow, but what happens when you mess up? That could be one big lesson from “Whatever happened to FSU football?”

Briefly, if you – or your favorite team – mess up, you may have to go through a period of chastening. For another, if you mess up spiritually, some of your blessings may get transferred to others; other people or other teams. Which leads to the thought, “More recently, there has been a slew of good news for Nick’s ‘other favorite teams.'”

One example – noted in unintended consequences – on September 28, 2020, Nick’s favorite NHL team – Tampa Bay Lightning – won its second Stanley Cup. Then on October 7, 2020, “his” Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2020 World Series. And third, on February 7, 2021, his favorite NFL team – the Buccaneers – won Super Bowl LV.

So what’s going on here? Or as Buffalo Springfield phrased it in their song, “There’s something happening here… what it is ain’t exactly clear.”

As to “what the heck happened to FSU football,” Nick has a theory. And it comes from Isaiah 66:4, “I will choose their punishments and bring on them what they dread. Because I called, but no one answered; I spoke, but they did not listen.” (In the NIV.)

Which is being interpreted: “Nick” first told his story* in 1994, right after FSU football won its first national championship. He described how the team was God’s Favorite, and that the 1993 national championship had been “preordained.” He put out ads in the Tallahassee papers and magazines covering FSU sports. He went on book tours , and in one such tour personally handed a copy of “Zen Football*” to Bobby Bowden.

The result? Nothing. Little or no response.

There was even one time when Nick’s wife put out a bunch of fliers on windshields at Governor’s Square Mall in Tallahassee. (At least until a not-unfriendly cop stopped her.) And pretty much the same thing happened when Nick published his second and third books, again claiming that FSU football was “God’s Favorite Team.” It was all of a lot of “I called, but no one answered.” (Like in Isaiah 66:4, noted above.)

But in all this there is some good news. (And not just for Nick’s other favorite sport teams.) For one thing, if Nick’s original theory is correct, FSU football hasn’t fallen completely from God’s grace. That’s where Romans 11 comes in. And specifically, Romans 11:11-12 (NIV):

Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!

Which could be another way of saying that eventually – in the fullness of time – FSU football will again rise to prominence; back to championship level. In the meantime, there could be other positive benefits for FSU football fans during the “time of their exile.” For one thing, it was only during that Babylonian exile that the Old Testament as we know it came to be. (As I explained – VIS-À-VIS the how and why of that “collateral benefit” – in my April 2019 post, “If I Forget Thee, Oh Jerusalem.*”)

In other words, if it hadn’t been for the Babylonian Exile, there might have been no “finalized” Old Testament.* And without that Old Testament as we know it, it would have been difficult for Jesus to spread His message of salvation.

Which could be where my “Nick” novels come in. (Especially the newest “in the oven.”) It always seemed to Nick that when it comes to prospective converts to The Faith, college football fans were and are ripe for the picking. (And other sport fans as well.) In other words, when it comes to sport-fans, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” In further words, there are few people evangelizing specifically to sport fans.

Hmmm. I wonder if should write another “Nick” novel, this one proclaiming that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are “one of the newest ‘God’s Favorite Teams?'”

* * * *

* * * *

The upper image is courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl – Image Results. With an article, “Super Bowl: Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrate victory as Tom Brady wins seventh title.” The reference in the caption is to Exodus 33:13, variously translated but in the English Standard Version, “Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. “

The “Bruce” image is courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers Buccaneer Bruce – Image Results. And a word of explanation. Nick was a Tampa Bay fan first, but later went to law school at Florida State, in the early 1980s. (That was when the Bucs were really bad.) So his starting the ritual sacrifice to help FSU was just a matter of timing. FSU football seemed to offer a better chance of success.

Re: “Nick.” The novel-hero’s name is an homage to the fictional character created by Ernest Hemingway. That Nick was the “protagonist of two dozen short stories and vignettes written in the 1920s and 1930s.” See Nick Adams (character) – Wikipedia.

Re: The “Nick” novels. Only the newest “in the oven” novel will feature Nick, as described featuring a Third Person Narrative. The earlier novels used the First-person narrative, but I figured this “crazy-ass football fan’s” story could benefit from the style that offers “the most objective view of a story because neither the narrator nor the reader are participants.” (And actually that newest novel will use a combination of the two styles.)

Re: Nick’s hard ritual-exercise “sacrifice.” His routine has evolved over the years. When “he” lived in Florida in the 1990s the routine included (in the main) a series of three long jog-walks per week, usually afternoons after work. That meant juggling between waiting for the heat index to drop below 100 degrees, and trying to avoid the “clockwork regular” thunderstorms that came in summer afternoons. And those jog-walks sometimes included sprint sets, or using five-pound ankle weights. As Nick’s routine stands at the time of publication, it involves five hours per week of medium-intensity aerobics, two hours a week of high intensity aerobics, 49 minutes of yoga, and ten strength exercises. The “medium aerobics” can include kayaking, jog-walking or plain old walking, or timed calisthenics. The high-intensity aerobics include 30-minute sessions of stair-stepping, wearing a 30-pound weight vest and ten pounds of ankle weights. (And if you think that’s crazy, consider the Lightning, Dodgers and Buccaneers all winning their championships over the past six months or so.)

Re: “14 consecutive finishes in the Top 4.” In 1994 and 1995, FSU ended up ranked Number 5 in the Coaches Poll, but still ranked Number 4 in the Associated Press Poll. See Florida State football – Wikipedia. Note that starting in 2014 college football moved to the College Football Playoff rankings system. Unlike other polls, it’s “the only one that really matters,” since it determines the current four-team playoff.

Re: Was Moses the first to say “it’s only weird if it doesn’t work?” That’s from my companion blog. The Battle of Rephidim – or Refidim – was also noted in this blog’s On “God’s Favorite Team” – Part III, from October, 2014.

Re: “To vigor, not comfort.” An allusion to a quote from About the Blog:

Hearing now and again the mysterious piping of the Shepherd, you realize your own perpetual forward movement. . . Do not suppose from this that your new career [as a Christian] is to be perpetually supported by agreeable spiritual contacts, or occupy itself in the mild contemplation of the great world through which you move. True, it is said of the Shepherd that he carries the lambs in his bosom; but the sheep are expected to walk, and to put up with the bunts and blunders of the flock. It is to vigour rather than comfort that you are called.

Evelyn Underhill, Practical Mysticism, Ariel Press, 1914, at page 177.)

The full link is Buffalo Springfield – For What It’s Worth Lyrics – Genius. For an audio version see For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield – YouTube.

Re: Book tours. One “virtual” site I discovered was TLC Book Tours, which it may behoove me to start using sometime soon.

Re: “Which is being interpreted.” The phrase is used elsewhere in the Bible, including Mark 5:41, Mark 15:34, and John 1:41.

Re: Nick’s first telling his story. In 1994 “he” published a book which he titled “Zen in the Art of College Football,” about the events leading up to FSU football’s 1993 national championship. He felt that at the time the method of choosing which two teams would play for a national championship “sounded a lot like Zen. A lot of double talk that really doesn’t make a lot of rational sense.” (Or words to that effect.)

Re: Romans 11. There’s a good analysis of this metaphor in Grafted in: An example from nature : The Simple Pastor. (Which by the way, features a great painting by Vincent van Gogh.) See also Acts of the Apostles – Wikipedia: “Luke–Acts is an attempt to answer a theological problem, namely how the Messiah of the Jews came to have an overwhelmingly non-Jewish church; the answer it provides is that the message of Christ was sent to the Gentiles because the Jews rejected it.” The “Jews rejected it” link has further information about Nick’s theory of “what happened to FSU football.” However, fitting “Acts of the Apostles” into the title of this post would have been exceedingly difficult.

Re: How and why the Babylonian exile shaped the Old Testament, from If I Forget Thee: “Professor Cynthia R. Chapman began by focusing on Psalm 137 as the story of how the final version of the Old Testament got made up by that Hebrew Remnant – those people in exile. In other words, something very good – the final version of the Old Testament – was the result of something very bad happening to ‘God’s Chosen People.’”

I.e., the Old Testament as we know it didn’t exist before 586 B.C., when the Exile started. Starting with executions during a post-siege “mop up” followed by a “death march” of 800 miles to Babylon. After those horrors – and the shame of this national disgrace – the Remnant of Israel compiled, edited and shaped their collected national stories into a “virtual library.” A library that connected them to their homeland.

Re: “Harvest is plentiful.” See Luke 10:2, and Matthew 9:35-38. And the lower image is courtesy of Harvest Plenty But Laborers Are Few – Image Results.

From two years ago – “Will I live to 141?”

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* * * *

February 2021 – I recently got the idea I might live to the ripe old age of 141. First from watching a Ric Burns documentary, the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony, and from there some research on my ancestor William Bradford. He came over on the Mayflower, and served as governor of Plymouth Colony. And he – my ancestor – ended up living “twice as long…”

Two years ago – January 20, 2019 – I posted A Review of Ric Burns’ “Pilgrims” DVD. (See also American Experience: The Pilgrims | Film Review.) Burns’ 2015 two-hour documentary wove its way “between two warped views of the Pilgrims,” one as some of the first mythologized American Founding Fathers, and an alternate, more “cynical view of them as creepy religious extremists:”

The spine of the story is the use of excerpts from the 30-year historical account of the early colony written by William Bradford, governor of the Plymouth Plantation; his presence is effectively evoked by the late actor Roger Rees.

On that note: According to family legend, William Bradford is my long-ago “great–great-great-times-many” grandfather. (Then too, Bradford is my middle name.) The good news – for me – is that if I inherited “Grandaddy-Plus” Bill Bradford’s genes, I could end up living to 141.

* * * *

There’s more on that later, and on why I reviewed and re-titled my 2019 post. (Reviewing Burns’ documentary.) But there was one big benefit: It started off with lots of information on “what’s coming up in the Church Calendar.” On that note I must confess – I “do not deny, but confess” – that I’ve been a slacker when it comes to the main purpose of this blog. Instead of “spreading the Goood News,” I’ve been paying too much attention to politics.

So, to catch up with that calendar: We’re now near the end of the Season of Epiphany, which started back on January 6. (See Happy Epiphany – 2018.) Then too the Feast Days coming up include the Confession of St Peter, Apostle, on January 18 and the Conversion of St Paul, Apostle, on January 25. (Not to mention the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, way back on February 2.) All of which leads to the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, next Sunday, February 14.

That’s also Valentine’s Day 2021. (The link is to Nine great ideas for virtual dates; which is pretty appropriate for this 48th full week of the COVID. That’s roughly 12 full months.*) It’s also the anniversary of the marriage to my first wife, who died in 2006. But we digress…

That “Last Sunday after the Epiphany” takes us to the beginning of Lent. And Lent – a season of “penance, mortifying the flesh, repentance of sins, almsgiving, and self-denial” – begins with Ash Wednesday, symbolized at right. This year Ash Wednesday falls on February 17.

Meaning Easter Sunday will come on April 4, 2021.

To see any past meditations on Feast Days or topics noted above, type in a title in the “search” box, above right. ( E.g.: Type “Ash Wednesday.” That will take you to last year’s post, On Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent – 2020. Which came a month before the COVID hit.)

But now it’s time to get back to why I may live to 141 years old…

* * * *

It just hit me – in the last few weeks or so – that I’ll be turning 70 next July, 2021. When I turned 69 last July, it didn’t seem like a big deal. But this new situation seems way different. Compared to turning 69, this summer’s “turning the Big Seven-Oh” is a whole new ball game.

Which brings up why I went back to review this particular long-ago post:

Mainly I remembered something in that 2019 post about that “other Bradford” living twice as long as most people back then. So I went back, reviewed, and found the information I was looking for. That led me to re-title the 2019 post. It’s now, “Am I going to live to be 141?” Which explains the title for this new post, “From two years ago – ‘Will I live to 141?*’”

All of which led me to re-think this idea of turning 70.

Instead of being bad news – necessarily – there’s a lot of good news as well. (In the idea of turning 70.) That is, once I got used to the idea – in the last week or so, and after re-reading that 2019 post – I found the new situation quite liberating. So to repeat, the really good news is that – if I inherited my long-ago “great-times-many” grandfather – I could very well “Live long and prosper.*”

To explain further: In Governor Bradford’s time the average life expectancy was 36, but he lived to be 67. (Based on life expectancy a century after Bradford. He died in 1657.*)

From there I did some interpolation. Dividing Bradford’s then-ripe-old-age of 67 by the “average life” 36 years, I came up with a “1.86 factor.” And if that 1.86 factor applies to me today – with a male U.S. life expectancy of 76 years – I should live to be 141. (76 years times 1.86.) Which would give me another 71 years of life. (Which is kind of nice, but also a bit scary.)

But don’t take my word for it. I did some more research and found More People Expected To Live Beyond 100 – Redorbit. It said the number of people aged 100 years or older “is expected to increase to record levels by 2050.” Two reasons: better diet and more aggressive medical procedures. Which means the “centenarian population in the US is projected to rise from 75,000 to over 600,000 by 2050.” (I found varying estimates, but this is about average.)

Another site, Number of centenarians in the U.S. 2060 | Statista, said in 2016 there were 82,000 centenarians in the United States, a figure expected to increase to 589,000 in the year 2060.

I read another study that said the number would be over 840,000, but whatever the figure, it represents a significant increase. Even using the lower 589,000 figure, that would be a seven-fold increase. (Seven times the number of Americans over 100 by 2050.)

That’s a far cry from the “Biblical three score and ten.” (BIBLE VERSES ABOUT THREE SCORE AND TEN.) The usual cite is Psalm 90:10, “Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty.” But see Deuteronomy 34:7, “Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” That last of which is pretty much what I’m hoping for.

* * * *

If I play my cards right, I could live to the age of Moses. Or maybe only to the 105 years gleaned by Googling “woman 105 covid.” And there’s quite a few “over 100’s.” So if I lived only to that ripe old 105 years of age, I’d still have 35 years (hopefully) of good living. And my life now would only be two-thirds over. I may be a “closer to the end than the beginning,” but that end won’t be quite as close. And who knows, I might end my years with an old-age benefit like King David:

King David was old and advanced in years; and although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm. So his servants said to him, ‘Let a young virgin be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait on the king, and be his attendant; let her lie in your bosom, so that my lord the king may be warm.’ So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The girl was very beautiful. She became the king’s attendant and served him, but the king did not know her…

(I.e., In the biblical sense.) On the other hand, King David didn’t have the “better living through chemistry” we have today. And those advantages will no doubt increase by, say, 2050?

Something to look forward to…

* * * *

*Do I have something like this to look forward to, when I’m “old and advanced in years?”*

* * * *

The original post had an upper image courtesy of Skydiving People Over 100 – Image Results, with the caption: “‘He jumped from 14,000 feet to celebrate turning 100.’ For me, “Been there, done that.'”See also He jumped from 14,000 feet to celebrate turning 100 years old, from the Everett and Snohomish County news from The Herald | HeraldNet.com:

SNOHOMISH — Robert “Stu” Williamson isn’t much for publicity and the limelight… When he jumped from 14,000 feet up in an airplane Sunday to celebrate turning 100 years old, the limelight found him anyway. Everywhere he went at Skydive Snohomish, there followed a dozen or so family, friends and staff with cameras… The Seattle centenarian made his second skydiving jump to mark his 100th birthday in airy fashion… “I recommend it to everybody who’s 99 years old,” Williamson said after landing… “And if you’re younger, get in practice.”

As far as the “Been there, done that.” I did my second tandem jump back on October 1, 2020. The first tandem jump – at Skydive Spaceland Atlanta – happened the previous summer, in July 2019. But those were actually the sixth and seventh times I’ve jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. My first jump happened on May 30, 1971, at Zephyrhills (FL) municipal airport. The fifth jump happened on April 29, 1990, at Keystone Heights Airport, nine miles south of Starke, Florida. (My wife at the time – who died in 2006 – watched the jump, then said “You’re never doing that again!” Which led to a 19-year hiatus.) Anyway, with that second tandem jump I’m now qualified to jump “solo” at Skydive Spaceland. But I’m not sure that’ll happen any time soon. After all, I am turning 70 in a few months…

Re: 12 months of COVID. See On St. Philip and St. James – May, 2020, where I explained that, to me, “the pandemic hit full swing – the ‘stuff really hit the fan’ – back on Thursday, March 12,” when the ACC basketball tournament got cancelled, along with other major sports. “So my definition of the ‘First Full Week of the Covid-19 Pandemic’” started Sunday, March 15 and ended Saturday the 21st.” Also note a discrepancy: 48 weeks makes “roughly 12 full months,” but a calendar year has 52 weeks.

Re: Giving the old 2019 post a new title. It was a long post, with a lot of information about how many Pilgrims died in the first year after landing at Plymouth Rock. The information on Bradford’s longevity came at the end, and was pretty brief. So I chose to focus on that last-part “Good News.”

Re: “Live long and prosper.” According to the link, ‘Live long and prosper’ – meaning and origin, the term is an “abbreviated version of a traditional Jewish religious blessing:”

It came to a wider public in the Star Trek TV series, where it was used there by the character Mr. Spock (actor Leonard Nimoy, himself Jewish) as the greeting of the Vulcan people.

The site added, “The phrase echoes the Hebrew ‘Shalom aleichem’ and the Arabic ‘Salaam alaykum,’ which roughly translate as ‘peace be upon you.'”

Re: Life expectancy in Bradford’s time. The closest I could get was Life expectancy in America in the years 1750-1800.

Re: Psalm 90:10. The full reading: “Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away.” Which leads to a question. Should “Fundamentalists” do away with themselves once they reach 70, or at most 80 years of age? I’d prefer the answer that some things are just way different now than in Bible times. And that we should accept that potential seven-fold increase in life span as a Gift from God.

The “old Moses” image is courtesy of Moses Looking Promised Land – Image Results. See also Moses viewing the Promised Land from Mount Nebo by Robert Dowling (1879).

Re: Googling “woman 105 covid.” Some sample articles: 105-year-old Vermont woman who survived influenza pandemic receives COVID 19 vaccine, 105-year-old Minnesota woman gets her COVID-19 vaccination, and 105-year-old Bay Area woman gets COVID-19 vaccine. For an alternate see 103-Year-Old Man Becomes 500th COVID-19 Patient To Be Discharged from Northwest Hospital.

Re: That last full paragraph in the main text. The link leads in part to: “Idioms: know (someone) in the biblical sense[.] To have sexual relations with (someone).”

The lower image is courtesy of King David Abishag – Image Results. The painting may actually show Bathsheba, see Moritz Stifter Bathsheba – Image Results, and/or Bathsheba Painting – Image Results. The “Abishag” connection was gleaned from “Interesting Green: Reflection – King David and Abishag,” from veryfatoldmanblogspot.com. But see also Is Veryfatoldman.blogspot legit and safe? (Review).

DOR Scribe

Expand your horizons – Read the Bible with an open mind

Category Archives: Reviews

On Freedom Day – July 4, 2026

On Palm Sunday – 2025

On “Dissin’ the Prez” – 2024

(“Let the reader understand.”)

On Bra-burners and the True Test of Faith…

Between Halloween and Thanksgiving – 2023!

On Good Friday – 2022

An update on “Bible inerrancy…”

Happy “Sunday of Many Names!”

Romans 11 – and “What happened to FSU football?”

From two years ago – “Will I live to 141?”

Something to look forward to…