Here & There

The bishops of the Antiochian Archdiocese. From left to right: Bishop MARK, Bishop BASIL, Bishop ANTOUN, Metropolitan PHILIP, Bishop JOSEPH, Bishop THOMAS, Bishop ALEXANDER.
Thanks Rdr Andrew

Over at Pontifications, a letter entitled “Why I Can’t Be Episcopalian“.

This from Bob Felton & Blogger News:

“I wonder how much the average Christian knows about the history of the Bible – not the history recounted in the Bible, but the history of the book per se. Not much, I suspect. There are far more than the 4 canonical gospels, for instance, and several apocolyptic revelations, too, and the battle over the selection of texts which now comprise the Bible were fierce; today’s orthodoxy – whatever that really means, given that there are more than 2000 Protestant denominations alone – wasn’t settled till the Council of Nicea, in 325 A.D. What is more, the Catholic and Protestant versions of the Bible differ. Some Bibles flag the concluding chapter of Mark, which is where the talk of snake-handling is found, as dubious – and others do not.”

Yikes! I’m not all that sure of Mr Felton’s knowledge. Why is it that Prots put so much stock in the First Council of Nicea? The Canon of Scripture was not codified there. Besides, the final Chapter of Mark barely mentions snake handling … but it does recount the Resurrection & Ascension. The reason the final Chapter of Mark is “flagged” is because it’s not there in early manuscripts –not, to my knowledge, because of the snake stuff! Go figure; here’s the story.

Now for some real whack-nuttery:

This new Bible includes: The Parable of the Prodigal Daughter, The Lady’s Prayer, and other revised favorite passages, such as:

* Her birth — Luke 2:4 And Joseph went to Bethlehem. 5 To be enrolled with Mary, his wife, who was then pregnant. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn child. 21 And her name was chosen to be Judith.

* Her crucifixion — John 19:17 And She bearing her cross went forth. 18 There they crucified Judith.

* Her resurrection — Matthew 28:1 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Judith who was crucified.” 6 “She is not here; for She is risen.”

Knowing you, you probably want to read the whole press release.

Then there’s this stuff …

In most states – especially in the South and Northeast – families often defer to centuries-old religious rules that proscribe how to handle death. Cremation was taboo in many Christian religions until recently and is encouraged in the Hindu faith, but still is strictly forbidden among Orthodox and Conservative Jews.

“Cremation was my way of taking death back,” says Saul, the Aurora man who will have his wife of 52 years spread in at least three places. “I didn’t let religion dictate what should be done.”

Families these days are “wildcatting,” spreading Mom illegally in state parks and other public places; having grandpa made into a reef; shooting Dad into space; or turning grandma into jewelry.

Good heavens! More, if you must.