William S. Shepard

Thanks for being my friend

Pastor Chris: Many thanks for your helpful comments. Hope this comment reaches you, but I am new to the system. I am reading the Old Testament, book by book, with the aid of the Oxford Companion To The Bible, so that helps a lot. But I am not sure that I would have heeded Jeremiah's pessimism - the message of his rival prophet was surely received better!
I am intrigued by the idea of Israel as a small power between greater powers, then as now. It seems to me that Netanyahu plays on this by talking about Judea and Samara rather than the West Bank. One can quite see why he doesn't say instead the proper terms, Judea and Israel! William

Greetings My New Friend!!! In answer to your Bible reading request, I can offer the following wisdom:

1. King Jimmy is a classic, but for a first read can be very challenging. Depending on why you are reading the Bible, you may want to check out an alternate translation such as The Message, or the NIV. If you let me know the specifics of your study, I can offer some specific translations that will help.

2. Remember that the Bible is a collection of stories written by different people, during different times, with different agendas.

3. The Hebrews write with a style that leaves the "riddle in the middle". In many areas, you will see one topic addressed in 3 different ways in a row, with the "middle" reference being the clue to what they are trying to say.

4. Allegory, allegory, allegory.

5. The writings are subject to scribal errors, purposeful omissions, and additions. 6. One can read the Bible as a devotional collection and a historical collection.

6. If you read it slowly and with thought, and not take it as a challenge to do a cover to cover race, you will get more out of it.

7. Don't be afraid to ask and think of the tough questions, and always investigate. If one hands you Kool-Aide as you are being told the "only way" to understand scripture.....RUN!!! (wink)

If you have any questions, feel free to email me and I can assist you to the best of my ability. I am considered a liberal pastor, so my answers reflect that type of theology which is more open and less dogmatic than other denominations.

Deep peace to you.

Pastor Chris

Unbelievable, and without a question yet. The score for today is machines 1 people 1 (My Kindle Sponsorship for Coffee Break Mysteries got delayed because the person in charghe tped in the wrong date!) William

Hi William! *waving*

It worked... YAY!

Lisa