The first time I saw a red letter edition of the Bible, I was a child and thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen.  Imagine!  All the words of Jesus in red!  But as I grew older I began to see the problem with that.  Too many of my friends thought those were the only words in the Bible that counted.  If Paul or Peter or John or James said it, they didn't have to listen.  The only words that mattered were Jesus' words.  So they wouldn't listen to Acts 2:38, or 22:16.  They wouldn't look at Acts 20:7 or Col 3:16.  And forget about Ephesians 4:4-6.
Sometimes I think I have a few brethren like that, too.  While they hang on to the words of the Lord, they will regularly "argue" with the men who wrote about him.  So let me give you a verse or two to consider this morning. 

Dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written to you; in both letters, I want to develop a genuine understanding with a reminder, so that you can remember the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles (2Pet 3:1-2).  Yes, I fully admit to taking this out of context, but even so, Peter is not only talking about the words he is writing in his two letters, but those of the other apostles as well.  Not only that, he puts the words of the "holy prophets" on the same plain as the Lord's.  What he is saying is, Scripture is Scripture, folks.

We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us.  From this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception (1John 4:6).  In this one, John is not talking about just this epistle, or even all of his epistles, but all the writing of the inspired men.  If you don't listen to them, you are "not from God."  Can't be much plainer, can he?

But all this just avoids the real issue.  For many people, it doesn't matter who said it at all if they don't want to hear it.  The kind of Bible they really want is a MY letter edition, whichever parts they like and want to hear.  And what does Peter have to say about that?

"If any man speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God…" (1 Pet 4:11).  Which is to say, let him speak only the truth, understanding the incredible responsibility involved in speaking the Word of God.  Whether he likes it or not.
 
Finally then, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received from us how you must walk and please God — as you are doing — do so even more. For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus  (1Thess 4:1-2).
 
Dene Ward

It’s been over fifty years since Rudolf Flesch wrote Why Johnny Can’t Read.  Someone had finally been brave enough to say out loud, “Modern education methods are not working.”
            There was a sudden push in the universities for all teachers in every subject to be able to teach reading as well.  Even in music education, I was required to come up with methods to teach word reading while at the same time teaching music reading—a bit like trying to teach English and Math simultaneously.  I haven’t noticed that is has helped.  We have a newspaper columnist who keeps track of the English, spelling, and word choice errors in his own paper.  His list never seems to shorten. 
            The other day, I heard a sportscaster, who was speculating about a certain team’s future in the season ahead, say, “Of course, I realize we are living in the speculum here.”  As I recall, the last time I heard that word a doctor used it.  That same day another sportscaster said he was “efforting” to give us an unbiased view of things.  Then there are the want-ads:  we recently noticed a “12 gage shotgun” for sale, along with a “chester drawers.”
            So in many cases, Johnny still can’t read, but I think in the case of many Christians it is more a matter of “Johnny won’t read.” 
            In nearly every overseas mission I have heard of, the biggest need is for Bibles in that particular language.  Those people, to whom Bibles are rare and precious, crave them the most and read them the most.  Most of us have several Bibles in our homes, gathering dust, spending more time in the car seat traveling back and forth to the meetinghouse than being read.
            How do I know?  The same way I know that sportscaster made a low score on the vocabulary portion of his SAT.  When I hear that Jacob had to wait fourteen years before he could marry Rachel, that David saw Bathsheba bathing on the rooftop, and that the wise men showed up at the stable the night Jesus was born, I know someone is not reading.  When I hear people say, “Money is the root of all evil,” and “Pride goes before a fall,” thinking they are quoting scripture, I know they are not reading those scriptures they claim to live by.
            And here is an excellent point—many do know their scriptures backwards and forwards, inside and out, yet they don’t allow them to penetrate their hearts.  But how can they ever reach our hearts, if we never read them in the first place?
            I look at a cookbook four or five times a week to feed my family well.  What and how often am I reading so I can feed their souls even better?
 
And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the broad place that was before the water gate; and they spoke unto Ezra the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Jehovah had commanded to Israel…And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, (for he was above all the people); and when he opened it, all the people stood up…and they read in the book, the Law of God, distinctly, and they gave the sense so that they understood the reading. Neh 8:1,5,8.
Till I come, give heed to reading, 1 Tim 4:13.
 
Dene Ward

I discovered this book several years ago and there is probably not another I pick up so often.  Alfred Edersheim was born in Vienna in 1825 to Jewish parents.  He was well-educated in both secular subjects and the Talmudic traditions of his parents.  As a young man he was converted and became a Presbyterian minister, then a missionary to Romanian Jews, and finally a vicar for the Church of England in Loders, Dorset.   Since he was a scholar in both Jewish and Christian tradition, including all the Biblical languages and life in first century Judea, he was in a unique position to shed light on the scriptures.
 
As usual with a book written by a man, I rely on him mainly for background: history, geography, and social and religious customs.  He does have some peculiar beliefs, such as the absolute conviction that Jesus was born on December 25, but the information he gives on the Jewish lifestyle totally outweighs such problems.  Keep your eyes open and you will be fine using it.  Just being able to put these people in the context of their beliefs and customs has changed completely how I view some of the events of the gospels.  I feel like I really comprehend what was happening—the tension and even danger in the air at times. 
 
One caveat:  this book was written in the 19th century so the language can be daunting.  Sometimes you will read several long, almost tedious, paragraphs to get to a nugget of gold, but it is worth it.  In the back of the book is a scripture index.  Rather than having to wade through interminable text, simply look up the passage you are interested in and you will find the page(s) you need to read. 

This book is considered such a classic that even more than 100 years later, you will find reprints.  (Of course, this also means that some of the material is dated.  You might want to read it alongside a more recent volume, e.g., Tenney’s New Testament Times or even more recent, Ferguson's Backgrounds of Early Christianity, to make sure that later archaeological discoveries have not changed scholars’ understanding of a certain custom.)  The latest reprint, a big blue one-volume affair, unfortunately has several typos in it.  However, I have never had any problem figuring out what it was supposed to say, and occasionally, after a long period of hard study, you will find some comic relief.  Take for example, the mention of Martha in Luke 10, preparing for the visit of the “Great Rabbit.”  Someone relied a little too much on their Spell Check!

I also have three other of Edersheim’s works which I use not as often, but enough to justify their expense:  The Temple: Its Ministry and Service; Sketches of Jewish Social Life; and Old Testament History.  All of these books can be found on Amazon.com for as little as $7 each, depending upon how much you care to spend and the condition of the book.  Christian Book Distributors (if you are a member) has the four-pack for a reduced price.  It is worth the membership dues.  In fact, I pay the membership price and then order for friends, which is perfectly acceptable.

Two other Edersheim books I do not have, but have just recently heard of are Prophecy and History in Relation to the Messiah, and History of the Jewish Nation After the Destruction of the Temple Under Titus.  Since I have never used them I cannot give a recommendation, but based upon my experiences with the others, they might be worth checking out.
 
Dene Ward

The other day I was talking with a friend who loves to cook as much as I do.  We both spoke of how much more fun it is to cook for people who were not picky eaters.  When all that effort sits in the bowls and platters on the table with scarcely a dent made in them because this one prefers this and that one prefers that, it is hard not to be offended.  The very fact that I know so many more picky eaters these days than I did as a child emphasizes how wealthy this society has become.  Hungry people are not picky eaters.
            Real hunger is not a concept we understand.  We eat by the clock instead of by our stomachs, which may be the biggest reason so many of us are overweight.  If we only ate when we were truly hungry, would we eat too much on a regular basis?  A celebratory feast, which used to happen only once or twice or year, has become a weekly, if not daily, occurrence for many.
            And because we do not understand true physical hunger, we cannot understand Jesus’ blessing upon those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.  We think being willing to sit through one sermon a week makes us worthy, when that is probably the shallowest application of that beatitude.  We don’t want a spiritual feast.  We want something light, with fewer calories, requiring little effort to eat.  In fact, sometimes we want to be fed too.  Spiritual eating has become too much trouble.
            How many of us skip Bible classes?  How many daydream during the sermons, plan the afternoon ahead, even text message each other?  If more than one adult class is offered on Sunday mornings, how many choose the one that requires more study or deeper thinking?  When extra classes are offered during the week, what percentage of the church actually chooses to attend?  How many of us are actively pursuing our own studies at home, studies beyond that needed for the Sunday morning class?  If we won’t even eat the meals especially prepared for us by others, how in the world will be seek righteousness on our own and how will we ever progress past simple Bible study in satisfying our spiritual hunger?
            Picky eaters suddenly become omnivores when they really need to eat.  For some reason we think we can fast from spiritual food and still survive.  Amazing how we can deceive ourselves so easily. 
            So, what’s on your menu today, or have you even planned one?
 
Oh how love I your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers; for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, because I have kept your precepts. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might observe your word. I have not turned aside from your ordinances; for You have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste! sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Psalm 119:97-104.
 
Dene Ward

I have to admit it—I seldom look at Bible dictionaries.  They scare me a little.  I cannot read a word of Hebrew or Greek so how can I check out what these guys are saying?  At some point I just have to trust them.  That’s why I love it when the Bible itself tells us what a word means.  Sometimes you have to read carefully or you will miss it, usually because you have read past it all your life and can’t seem to stop that bad habit.  At least that’s my problem.  You have to pay attention when you read God’s Word, like every time you read it is the first time.
            And by doing just that I found a new, obvious definition.  Read Ezekiel with me.
            If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul, Ezek 3:18-21.
            Did you catch it?  God tells Ezekiel exactly what a righteous man is—someone who warns (and delivers his soul) or someone who listens to the warning and repents.  But what about the “righteous man” who commits injustice, you ask?  He has “turned from his righteousness” and “none of his righteous deeds are remembered,” which means he is no longer righteous.  The only two righteous people in that whole paragraph are the one who warns and the one who repents.
            Notice, God says nothing about the way he is warned.  If you have not read the book of Ezekiel you need to.  Ezekiel preached hard sermons.  He preached plain sermons.  Yet God still demanded that those people repent.  Getting their feelings hurt did not make them “righteous.”  Getting angry about the way they were spoken to did not make them “righteous.”  The only thing that made them “righteous” was heeding the warning and repenting. 
            Think about that Syrophenician mother who came asking Jesus to heal her demon-possessed daughter.  At first Jesus ignored her.   Then he insulted her.  If she had left with her feelings hurt, her daughter would never have been healed.  She understood that something was more important than her feelings.  And Jesus called that attitude “faith.”  Ah!  Another Bible definition.
            When I hear the warning, if I want to be counted righteous, I must stop blaming others and recognize my responsibility to listen and act.  The failures of others will not save me.
 
Take heed how you hear…Luke 18:8.
 
Dene Ward

Last year, before her death, I could not reach my mother one day, even after a full day of phoning.  I called her best friend Linda and asked if she could go check on her.  At least once before she had found her in the floor, unable to get up on her own.  So Linda, who lives in the same town as Mama and 25 miles closer than I, jumped in her car and ran over to her apartment.  As it turns out she was fine, but she had lost her phone.  She heard it ringing all day long and scoured the place (she thought) but was unable to find it.
            The next day we were in town for a class I was teaching, so Keith and a friend went to her apartment for a visit while I was occupied.  They, too, looked up and down and could not find the phone.  Keith ran downstairs to the front desk and asked them to call the phone while the friend waited there to help.  Surely one of them could follow the ring and find the thing before it went to voice mail.  The phone began ringing and they knew it was in the bedroom, but look high and low they still could not find the phone.
            When I returned from class, we tried again with my cell phone.  This time Keith went into the bedroom and this deaf man suddenly called out, "I found it!"  He walked out of the bedroom and said, "Come here."  He led us to my mother's bed.  "Do you see it?"  No, it hadn't been under anything like a pillow or robe, he said.  It was lying out right in the open.  Finally I saw it—right on the bed.  My mother's phone is magenta, sort of halfway between rose and purple, a little darker than fuschia.  The bedspread was white, decorated with pink, purple, and magenta roses.  Everyone who had walked into that bedroom looking for the phone had thought they were seeing another rose on the bed, a rose that was really a phone.
             We often do the same sort of thing when we study the Bible.  We can't see what is in plain sight because it is hidden by our preconceived notions, by the things "we've always heard," or by the instant acceptance of the mistaken ideas we grew up with as a child.  I have a husband who constantly questions things.  Some days it's very annoying, but if it hadn't been for him, I might never have discovered the truth of the matter in many of my Bible studies.
            For a quick example, how about that gate called the "eye of the needle" that everyone thinks exists in Jerusalem?  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Matt 19:24).
           Our first problem is that we don't keep reading.  The very next verse says that the apostles were "astonished."  Why would they be astonished if this were a well-known gate where, according to some of the things I have heard preachers say, you had to unload your worldly goods off the camel and then have it go down on its knees to get through this tiny little slit of a gate?  That would make a great analogy, but the apostles, who would have known of such a thing, were flabbergasted, meaning they thought he meant the eye of a needle, not a gate.
            Second, Jesus used language just like we do.  He spoke in hyperboles quite often.  Have you ever seen a man going around with a two by four sticking out of his eye?  We go around using hyperboles all the time (notice what I did there?), and Jesus wanted to communicate with us in ordinary, everyday language so why wouldn't he do the same?  What Jesus was really saying was, "It's really, really difficult to be saved if you are wealthy."  But don't despair.  Even the disciples were a little slow on that one.  They took it literally, too, but we need to be careful of something we are constantly fussing at our friends about when they study the book of Revelation.  Sauce for the goose, and all that.
            And third, there is neither archaeological nor historical evidence of such a gate in ancient Jerusalem.  The first instance of this story occurred several centuries ago, which was many centuries after Jesus spoke these words.  Even the Talmud calls the "eye of the needle" a metaphor, a figure of speech.  But we wouldn't need this outside knowledge if we had just kept on reading, noting the disciples' reaction and using a little common sense.
          A lot of old chestnuts are floating around out there because we have gotten lazy.  We accept what we have always been told far too easily.  We don't look for the truth that is hidden in plain sight.  We are too blinded by what we have always believed, or heard, or read.  Be careful this week when you read God's Word.  Don't let the Truth hide among the roses.
 
Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.  (Ps 119:144).
 
Dene Ward

On August 27, 1776, George Washington and his troops retreated from New York City across the East River as the British swarmed the city.  On September 15 the redcoats raised the Union Jack and, for the rest of the Revolutionary War, New York served as the British Army Headquarters.  For seven long years the citizens endured poverty and mistreatment along with a devastating fire that left them all living in shacks made from old ships.  Over 10,000 American POWs died on prison ships floating in New York harbors.
            Finally, in mid-August, 1783, the British commander was given orders to evacuate.  England was giving up on the recalcitrant rebels.  The city had become a haven for loyalists so besides evacuating 20,000 British soldiers, the commander also had to make arrangements for those of his supporters who took advantage of England's offer of relocation.  Over 29,000 Tories were eventually evacuated to places like Nova Scotia, East Florida, and the Caribbean.
            The last British soldiers left on November 25, 1783.  Everything was timed so that as the last of them left, Washington and his troops would enter.  The time was set for noon.  A near disaster occurred when it was discovered that the British soldiers had left the Union Jack flying and greased the pole and removed the climbing cleats so that no one could take it down—several had tried and merely slid back to the ground.  A mad dash to a local hardware store ensued and just as Washington and his procession headed up the street, an army veteran named John Van Arsdale installed cleats one by one, climbing until he could reach the hated flag and tear it down.  Finally the American flag once again flew over New York City.
            New York Governor Henry Clinton arranged a dinner that evening in Washington's honor at Fraunces' Tavern in Lower Manhattan.  It is reported that 13 toasts were made in all, so we know the spirits were flowing.  For dessert Molly O'Neill reports that Washington was fed carrot cake, and that this is the first mention of that dessert anywhere (American Century Cookbook by Jean Anderson, p 435).  However, that tea cake, as it was called, was probably far healthier than the three layer carrot cake we know and love now.  Undoubtedly it was made with whole grain, rather than refined white flour, and since cream cheese had not yet been invented (1872), it was probably served quite plain.
            I still occasionally hear people talk about carrot cake being healthy.  The average slice of carrot layer cake with cream cheese frosting has about 580 calories, 30 grams of fat, 87 mg of cholesterol, and 415 mg of sodium.  Okay, it does have 105% of the required daily allowance of Vitamin A, thanks to those carrots, but only 1.5 grams of fiber to try and offset 73 grams of carbs. 
            We fall for these things all the time.  How about the Impossible Whopper?  Totally vegetarian, if not totally vegan.  (It is prepared on the same grill as regular Whoppers and thus absorbs some of that meat fat.)  But while a regular Whopper has 660 calories, an Impossible Whopper still has 630—not exactly diet fare.  A regular Whopper has 40 grams of fat, but the Impossible one has 34—not a huge savings.  But get this—a regular Whopper has 980 mg of sodium, the Impossible Whopper has 1080!  It has to—so it will taste decent.  (Double check—I found slightly different numbers on different websites, but they are all similar.)
            And we fall for these things spiritually as well, and the Devil is as happy as the Burger King adman is.  We think we can stay spiritually healthy with an hour or so in the Sunday morning worship.  We believe that as long as we "think about God" in our lives, it has the same benefit as personal Bible study and prayer.  We think that keeping our radios set on the Christian music station will help us stay holy, even if the lyrics spout unbiblical notions and unscriptural dogma—a spiritual carrot cake loaded with cream cheese frosting if ever there was one.  We think that because we pray at our meals, we are truly a spiritual family.  Meanwhile our children grow up starving for the meat of the Word and the company of strong Christians, people we had rather avoid because they make us feel uncomfortable with their obvious Christianity.
            Evacuation Day was a great event for those New Yorkers.  They still celebrated that day a century later, and they had every right to do so, even with a calorie and fat-laden modern carrot cake if they had had one back then.  But I doubt they would have eaten it every day thinking they were being "healthy." 
Too many of us eat spiritual carrot cake every day and think we are just fine.  Think again.
 
Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.  (Jer 15:16).
 
Dene Ward

On November 3, 1906, a clinical psychiatrist and neuroanatomist reported a peculiar and severe disease process of the cerebral cortex in one of his patients.  She had been admitted to the Frankfurt Psychiatric Hospital for paranoia, progressive memory problems, sleep disturbance, cognitive impairment, and aggression.  He described her case at the 37th meeting of the South West German Psychiatrists, and attracted little interest at the time. 
            Five years later, that first patient, Auguste Deter, died at the age of 55.  Her doctor, Alois Alzheimer, kept up his research and treatment of similar patients.  Emil Kraepelin, another doctor, suggested that the new disease should be given the name Alzheimer's disease after the doctor who first recognized it.  Today, the methods for diagnosing the disease are still basically the same as those that first doctor himself used over 100 years ago, which in itself is amazing given the advances medicine has made.
            Alzheimer's may be one of the most feared diseases there is.  I know it scares me to think of still being alive and yet not being who I am any longer, being a burden to my family, or even mistreating them because of it.  We focus on the memory loss, and that may be the worst part.  18 years ago Keith suffered something called Transient Global Amnesia for about five days.  That was scary enough.  I think we just don't realize what a blessing memory is, even a memory that is a little faulty as we age normally.  At least something is still there.  But every time we suffer a lapse, we wonder…
            I walked into the kitchen and stopped, looking around at the counters, the stove top, the sink, the pantry. 
            Keith came in behind me and asked, “What are you looking for?”
            “I don’t know,” I said. “I can’t remember,” and nothing lying around in plain view had jogged that memory, one that couldn’t have been over a minute old.  I have finally reached that stage when my memory is as fragile as my old lady bones.
            My short term memory, that is.  My memories of childhood, school, early marriage, and raising kids are firmly intact, and so are the memory verses I learned decades ago as a child.
            For a while there, memory verses seemed to be out of style.  I even heard a sister in Christ say their value was “overrated.”  She was even older than I.  I wonder how she feels now, especially during long nights when she can’t sleep, as happens so often to the elderly.
            Those memorized verses are invaluable to me.  They instantly spring to mind when I await another scary test result (“casting all your cares on him because he cares for you” 1 Pet 5:7); when the aches and pains of old age slow you down and you can no longer do what you have always done (“For this perishable body must put on the imperishable” 1 Cor 15:53); when friends and family pass on before you leaving a hole no one else can fill (“That you may not grieve as those who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” 1 Thes 4:13,14); when you suddenly realize you’ve reached an age where anything could happen any time (“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord” Rev 14:13).
            All my life during times of temptation, suffering, and betrayal, but also joy, hope and thanksgiving, those passages memorized so long ago have kept me going.  They’ve helped me answer a skeptic, refute false teaching, encourage a suffering friend, and edify my sisters in Christ.  If I lost them all due to a disease, I cannot imagine how empty I would feel.  Those words etched on the hearts of you and your children are anything but overrated.  Fill up your children now, and while you’re at it, fill yourself up before your memory, too, becomes as fragile as your bones.
 
“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, Deut 11:18-20

Dene Ward

No, that title is not a typo.  Well, it is actually—a typo on purpose.  That is what happens when you try to type “One Key Off” with your hands exactly one key off from the correct starting position.  Even when you make the right moves with the correct hands you get something that makes no sense, that isn’t even pronounceable.
            How many times do we do that with the Bible?  We start studying in the middle of things, with the most difficult things, with things that do not even apply to our lives.  What do we get?  A big mess. 
            If one fundamental fact is wrong, you create a long line of false doctrine.  Calvinism, anyone?
            If one step in logic is left out, you find yourself believing something so ridiculous, you may eventually lose your faith altogether when you come to your senses, or worse, actually come to believe it so emphatically that you take others down the drain with you.  How else do some of these strange cults get their start?
            If you get bogged down in things far removed from what you really need to get through life, how will you ever grow?
            Isn’t it odd that simply being one key away can make such a huge difference?  Be careful where you put your time studying the scriptures.  Match one passage with another.  Anytime your interpretation of something does not jive with another scripture, my guess is that you are at least one key off, maybe more. 
            Start with the simple, start with what you need to believe to be in Christ.  Then move to what you need to live your life every day.  Worry about Revelation and Zechariah a little further down the road.  Find someone you can trust to help you.  Elders come to mind, and good Bible class teachers.  But whatever you do, be careful where you put your faith.  One step away from the truth is not a good place to be.
 
Hold the pattern of sound words which you heard from me, in faith and love which is in Jesus Christ.  2 Tim 1;13.   
 
Dene Ward

I have been doing a lot of outside reading for some classes I am teaching, and find myself reading blurbs on the backs of these books at odd times, usually when my mind needs a rest from all the scholarly stuff my old and feeble brain is trying to make sense of.  I saw this one a few weeks ago and it stopped me in my tracks.
            “In Story as Torah Gordon Wenham showed how biblical narrative texts little used by ethicists, can inform Christian moral teaching.”  John Barton, University of Oxford.
            In other words, the man has written a book in which he uses the Bible “stories,” as we are prone to call them, to teach us right and wrong.  First, I do understand that the word “inform” has a special meaning in scholarly circles, but it still seems plain to me that the critic is saying that using the Bible this way is highly unusual, in fact, a groundbreaking idea. 
            I sit here wondering why they are reading their Bibles at all if they have not figured this out before.  We do this every Sunday in Bible classes.  I did it every day when my children were growing up.  I do it now when my grandsons come for a visit.  We talk about the Bible narratives and how they teach us we should be behaving in our lives.  We talk about Noah and how “everyone is doing it,” proves that “it” is probably wrong.  We talk about Daniel and how important prayer is, and how God takes care of the faithful.  We talk about Elijah and the One True God.  We talk about Judas and betrayal, about Peter and impetuosity—and then forgiveness.  We talk about Jonah and God’s love for everyone and our responsibility to share that love.  My children grew up knowing what the Bible is for.  What in the world did these people think they should do with it?
            And we can laugh at them and think ourselves so much better than they, but are we?  We know the Bible is to be used to “inform” our lives, but does it?  Does the sermon go in one ear and out the other?  Do the Bible classes become exercises in finding yet another way to bring up my pet hobby, or to show everyone how much I know instead of finding something I need to improve on?  Do I give the right answers and then go out and live the wrong ones?
            Before we laugh at men who have become a little too smart for their own good, let’s check our own behavior.  We may know better, but are we doing it?
 
Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come, 1Cor 10:6-11.
 
Dene Ward