The Bible Today

We Walk by Faith


For We Walk by Faith not by Sight Art Print
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From 1611 to 1870 the changes made in the "Authorized" Version were of only minor importance, chiefly matters of punctuation, spelling, and typography. But the Revised Version of 1881-85 was a major change which troubled many readers and proved wholly unacceptable to some; it never won acceptance by the majority of Bible readers, and to this day most Bibles read at public worship or in private study or devotional meditation are the King James. The most magnificent handset Bible of modern times, the famous edition composed by Bruce Rogers, is the King James "Authorized" Bible.

Many Christians cling to it as inspired and therefore sacred. The frequent reference to a "St. James Bible" is more than a joke or a slip of the tongue. As St. Augustine and others viewed the Septuagint as inspired, and as some Roman Catholics view the Vulgate, so many Protestants think of the traditional English text --which no one should attempt to alter. Mr. William Collins, the British publisher, has said, "When the first traveller takes a Bible to the moon, you may be sure it will be a copy of the Authorized Version." Perhaps it will offset the Soviet insignia landed there in advance, by rocket! But is this the real purpose of the publication, or the reading, of the Bible? It is like Bibles buried in cornerstones, or kept in courtrooms where oaths are administered!

Rachel, daughter of Laban and wife of Jacob



Rachel

In the Old Testament, daughter of Laban and wife of Jacob, for love of whom he served her father fourteen years.

Rachel weeping for her children "and she would not be comforted, for they were not." An allusion to Herod Massacre of the Innocents after the birth of Christ.

The phrase is an Old Testament quotation introduced in the New Testament narrative.

Le Saint-Esprit Jesus Christ Light Art print

Le Saint-Esprit


Le Saint-Esprit Art Print
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the fourteen stations of the Catholic Church

These are generally called "Stations of the Cross," and the whole series is known as the via Calvaria or via Crucis. Each station represents, by fresco, picture, or otherwise, some incident in the passage of Christ from the judgment hall to Calvary, and at each prayers are offered up in memory of the event represented. They are as follows:

1. The condemnation to death.

2. Christ is made to bear His cross.

3. This first fall under the cross.

4. The meeting with the Virgin.

5. Simon the Cyrenean helps to carry the cross.

6. Veronica wipes the sacred face.

7. The second fall.

8. Christ speaks to the daughters of Jerusalem.

9. The third fall.

10. Christ is stripped of His garments.

11. The nailing to the cross.

12. The giving up of the Spirit.

13. Christ is taken down from the cross.

14. The deposition the sepulcher.

The Judgement of Solomon Giclee Print

The Judgement of Solomon


The Judgement of Solomon Giclee Print
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Solomon
The wisest and most magnificent of the kings of Israel, son of David and Bathsheba. Aside from his wise choice of "an understanding heart," he is perhaps most celebrated for his building of the famous temple that bore his name and his entertainment of the Queen of Sheba.

The Biblical narrative ( I Kings ii-xi) relates that "he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart." Nevertheless "King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom." The glory of his reign gave rise to innumerable legends, many of which are related in the Talmud and the Koran.

the English Solomon

James I (reigned 1603-1625), whom Sully called "the wisest fool in Christendom."

the second Solomon

(I) Henry VII of England; (2) James I.

the Solomon of France

Charles V. ( 13641380) called le Sage.

Solomon's ring

Rabbinical fable has it that Solomon wore a ring with a gem that told him all he desired to know.

The Dream of King Solomon Giclee Print

The Dream of Solomon, c.1693


The Dream of Solomon, c.1693 Giclee Print
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Solomon

The wisest and most magnificent of the kings of Israel, son of David and Bathsheba. Aside from his wise choice of "an understanding heart," he is perhaps most celebrated for his building of the famous temple that bore his name and his entertainment of the Queen of Sheba.

The Biblical narrative ( I Kings ii-xi) relates that "he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart." Nevertheless "King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom." The glory of his reign gave rise to innumerable legends, many of which are related in the Talmud and the Koran.

the English Solomon

James I (reigned 1603-1625), whom Sully called "the wisest fool in Christendom."

the second Solomon

(I) Henry VII of England; (2) James I.

the Solomon of France

Charles V. ( 13641380) called le Sage.

Solomon's ring

Rabbinical fable has it that Solomon wore a ring with a gem that told him all he desired to know.

Satan: the chief of devils

Satan

One of the most popular names for the chief of devils. According to the Talmud, Satan was once an archangel but was cast out of heaven. In medieval mythology, he holds the fifth rank of the nine demoniacal orders. Milton, in his Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, follows the tradition of his expulsion from heaven and makes him monarch of Hell. His chief lords are Beƫlzebub, Moloch, Chemos, Thammuz, Dagon, Rimmon and Belial. His standard-bearer is Azazel.

He [Satan], above the rest
In shape and gesture proudly eminent,
Stood like a tower. His form had not yet lost
All her original brightness; nor appeared
Less than archangel ruined, and the excess
Of glory obscured . . . but his face
Deep scars of thunder had intrenched, and care
Sat on his faded cheek . . . cruel his eye, but cast
Signs of remorse.

Milton, Paradise Lost, i. 589, etc.

In legendary lore, Satan is drawn with horns and a tail, saucer eyes, and claws; but Milton makes him a proud, selfish, ambitious chief, of gigantic size, beautiful, daring, and commanding. Satan declares his opinion that "'tis better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven."

Santa Claus or Santa Klaus

Santa Claus or Santa Klaus

The patron saint of children and bearer of gifts at Christmas. His name is a corruption of the Dutch form of St. Nicholas. His feast-day is December 6, and the vigil is still held in some places, but for the most part his name is now associated with Christmastide. The old custom used to be for someone, on December 5, to assume the costume of a bishop and distribute small gifts to "good children." The present custom is to put toys and other presents into a stocking late on Christmas Eve, when the children are asleep. When they wake on Christmas morning, they find in the stocking, hung by the mantelpiece, the gifts left by Santa Claus. According to modern tradition Santa Claus lives at the North Pole and comes driving down over the snow in his famous sleigh, driven by eight reindeer. Clement Clarke Moore's familiar poem for children, A Visit from Saint Nicholas, better known as The Night before Christmas, gives this picture of him:

As I drew in my head and was turning around
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedlar just opening his pack.
His eyes--how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow
And the beard of his chin was as white as the
snow. . . .
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf.
And I laughed when I saw him in spite of
myself.