tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31542820.post9138902371452402701..comments2024-03-03T12:52:18.548-05:00Comments on Magpie Musing: Dust and GrailMagpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15460136246441367993noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31542820.post-18253288368676947592016-05-17T01:08:53.998-04:002016-05-17T01:08:53.998-04:00The Golden Compass isn't bad, it's cast is...The Golden Compass isn't bad, it's cast is too good and it's too well made, but something fundamental to good storytelling - heart - has been lost, leaving a final product as icy and impossible to care for as Mrs. Coulter herself.Reine Mariehttp://www.reine-marie.qc.ca/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31542820.post-43053082275630709162014-05-02T12:00:58.516-04:002014-05-02T12:00:58.516-04:00"In short, we're working on religious lit..."In short, we're working on religious literacy." I like that. I need to check out the "One World, Many Religions" book. My son has been curious about religion lately... wondering "what are we?" leannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12862076176705733998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31542820.post-39716073259932163812014-05-02T11:15:54.448-04:002014-05-02T11:15:54.448-04:00This is fantastic. I think learning to use a conco...This is fantastic. I think learning to use a concordance while reading the Bible is a great skill in general, so I would encourage the girl to have at it with both books.<br /><br />I'd also encourage her not to attempt to read the Bible from beginning to end. It's not a novel, it's a library of stories. Jump in somewhere randomly and read a story. Ask these questions: What do you notice? What is speaking to you? How might the events of the story still be taking place in our world today? What do you think the writers wanted us to know that we wouldn't have known if we hadn't read their stories?<br /><br />Also remind her that all these texts were initially written down the way wordfind puzzles look to us on those little restaurant placemats. The Hebrew of the Hebrew Bible and the Greek of the New Testament were written without spaces between the words, without upper and lower case letters, and without punctuation. The texts have been translated (and mis-translated) over thousands of years. And the translations represent scholars best guesses as to 1) what the word(s) might actually be and 2) what they might mean. Words that either don't make sense to the translators, or that don't fit with their view of what the story should be, often are left out of the English translations that we have. For example, in the Hebrew Bible, God says, "Please" all the time when God is speaking with humans. Neither Jewish nor Christian Bibles translate that into English.<br /><br />Punctuation got added to the texts hundreds (in some cases, thousands) of years after they were initially written. Turns out, punctuation can completely change the meaning of a story and the theology that is presented. Here's an example:<br /><br />From John, chapter 9: As [Jesus] walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.<br /><br />My Episcopal priest wife thinks it should be punctuated this way:<br />As [Jesus] walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind. So that God’s works might be revealed in him, we must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.<br /><br />A 10-year-old can read those two passages and see how different they are. No words are changed, added, or removed. The punctuation itself creates a completely different theological perspective.<br /><br />Now I must get off my soapbox before I have a nosebleed.Joybellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09746835683763711316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31542820.post-53121124424964919122014-05-02T08:40:48.996-04:002014-05-02T08:40:48.996-04:00To cap off our kids' experience with church as...To cap off our kids' experience with church as cultural literacy, I took them to several different protestant churches in our small town. I'm still amused at their reaction to the Baptist one: "they said everything three times!"Jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01374498643286099244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31542820.post-82271648449024106822014-04-30T23:22:14.000-04:002014-04-30T23:22:14.000-04:00I loved the Dark Materials trilogy - I tried to re...I loved the Dark Materials trilogy - I tried to read The Golden Compass aloud with Angus but we didn't get very far - I should give it to Eve. I'm happy to know that Mary Pope Osborne wrote one book that didn't suck. :) Bibliomamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11825424183978181238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31542820.post-89487206384247124282014-04-30T17:44:24.581-04:002014-04-30T17:44:24.581-04:00I always get the "oh, you're religious?&q...I always get the "oh, you're religious?" response when I leave work "early" (530) on Weds. for Quaker meeting. Funny how the age groups and social situations affect the response. No one questions the Muslims & the several Orthodox Jews since they know (at least) it isn't P.C., but admit that you're Christian & it's automatically suspect-- until you say you're Quaker, and then that's OK because Quakers are liberal, and they assume I'm not "really" religious, and I'm in it for the social justice organization. <br /><br />I think it's great that the girl knows about the different systems from a cultural/academic perspective. Even if her choice ends up being none, information is always better than assumptions. :) She Curmudgeonhttp://www.shecurmudgeon.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com