A couple of weeks ago, we started a series called “Is That Really What It Says?” at Bedford Road. The series is basically a romp through the Old Testament (and possibly the new) dealing with some of biblical narratives that have been popularized through retelling over the years. These pop versions of the stories generally… Read More »
Reading the Exodus and Wanderings
While our congregation is reading through Exous, Leviticus and Numbers, I thought I would add some daily notes of things that caught my imagination. Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me,… Read More »
Life of Pi
Last weekend, our family watched the film version of Life of Pi. I was intrigued by the story, and I knew there had to be far more to it, so I requested the book through our library’s e-book system. What a fascinating book. It is not that I agree with the philosophy of the book or that… Read More »
The Life of Thomas Linacre
The full title of this book is The Life of Thomas Linacre, Doctor in Medicine, Physician to King Henry VIII, the Tutor and Friend of Sir Thomas More, and the Founder of the College of Physicians in London with Memoirs of His Contemporaries, and of the Rise and Progress of Learning, More Particularly from the Ninth… Read More »
Social Media in the Ancient World
I am currently reading an advanced copy of Tom Standage’s Writing on the Wall. It is an interesting look into the way human beings have communicated in groups over the years. We often think of social media as an innovation of recent years, but when you look at human history, it becomes obvious that we have used… Read More »
A Fascinating Look into Medieval England
I love medieval history. I know that makes me weird. It’s ok. Once, my father brought one of his friends up to New Hampshire to visit me. While sitting in a diner, my dad says, “Joe, ask him what he does with his free time.” His friend looked at me. I told him, “I study… Read More »
Washington Irving and the American Consciousness
It is a wonder to me that most Americans have no clue who Washington Irving was. Along with a very small group of writers – among them Edgar Allen Poe and James Fenimore Cooper – he was one of the first American writers to receive international acclaim. Sir Walter Scott and Lord Byron were fans.… Read More »
Book Giveaway!
That’s right, folks. I am going through my library and parting with some volumes. This doesn’t happen very often. If you want one of the books, just leave a comment and I will contact you to get your mailing address. (I don’t recommend leaving your mailing address in the comments because the spambots love unprotected… Read More »
My Two Favorite Books on Ancient Israel
If you’re wondering where I get a lot of the information that I share about the Late Bronze Age and Israel, it is from William Dever. Dr. Dever was the professor of Near East Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Arizona, and is currently Distinguished Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology at Lycoming College in… Read More »
Know the Agendas
I am re-reading Steven Sample’s book, Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership which my friend Rob gave to me several years ago. Sample is the current president of USC and a former president of SUNY-Buffalo, and a very successful leader in business. One of the points that Sample makes is that he surrounds himself with a small… Read More »
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