“The words of the 1611 King James Bible ring out today in books, poems, popular songs, speeches, and sermons. But who translated it, and what made this particular translation so influential? Inspired by the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible,
Manifold Greatness tells the story of one of the most widely read books in the English language, through online content, exhibitions, and more.” Previously on Metafilter:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7.
posted by found missing
on Feb 9, 2012 -
8 comments
Biblemap.org is an interactive map system for the bible, which is great for visualising where certain biblical events are said to have occured. It's also great for people who don't subscribe to any kind of organised religion but do like looking at maps (like me!).
posted by Effigy2000
on Jun 14, 2009 -
24 comments
Did a 'dream team' of biblical scholars mislead millions? [Chronicle of Higher Education] You may recall the curfuffle over the gnostic "Gospel of Judas"
(previously). The National Geographic's documentary premiere "attracted four million viewers, making it the second-highest-rated program in the channel's history, behind only a documentary on September 11. . . . However, it's a perfect example, critics argue, of what can happen when commercial considerations are allowed to ride roughshod over careful research. What's more, the controversy has strained friendships in this small community of religion scholars — causing some on both sides of the argument to feel, in a word, betrayed."
posted by spock
on Jun 30, 2008 -
142 comments
Bible Dudes. I'm a
Bible Scholar, a Scriptural caller,
I got a lot of
books but not a lot of dollar.
Things from antiquity you know they be ravin',
I throw around words like
sitz-im-leben,
A bazillion languages are cloggin' my head,
All of my
heroes have been a long time dead.
Come on along now, all the Bibledudes' buddies,
Cuz Yo! We gonna rap BIBLICAL STUDIES!
posted by ozomatli
on Apr 14, 2006 -
34 comments
Gnostic Gospel of Judas, they say! Hot on the heels of
Christ On Ice and the, er,
"newly discovered" Gospel fragment, the news outlets are currently
drooling all over
National Geographic's recent conclusive dating and translation of surviving fragments of the
Apocryphal Gospel of Judas, now dated to about 300 CE. The text is classically
Gnostic, emphasizing a
duality splitting Christ's "spiritual" and "fleshly" natures, as opposed to Christian orthodoxy's belief in the
Incarnation. Looking beyond the wide-eyed "OMG THIS WILL REVOLUTIONIZE CHRISTIANITY AS WE KNOW IT" sensationalism, Internet Monk asks if a
300 year-old apocryphal biography of George Washington would be regarded as authentic were it discovered in 1970.
James F. Robinson, an expert on ancient Egyptian texts,
regards the Judas Gospel as mostly a dud, produced by Cainite Gnostics who took it upon themselves to "rehabilitate" villians of Bible mythos. Even if you don't believe in the
account of Judas, there's no denying his
contributions to the Christian narrative.
Truly a historical icon.
posted by brownpau
on Apr 6, 2006 -
42 comments
The Man Who Unwrote the Bible. In the mid-1720s,
Alexander Cruden took on a self-imposed task of Herculean proportions: he decided to compile the most thorough concordance of the
King James Version of the
Bible (777,746 words). The first edition of
Cruden's Concordance was published in 1737. Every similar undertaking before or since has been the work of a vast team of people. Cruden worked alone in his lodgings, writing the whole thing out by hand. Cruden's day job was as a "Corrector of the Press" (proofreader). He would give hawk-eyed attention to prose all day long. Then he would come home at night to read the Bible—stopping at every single word to secure the right sheet from the tens of thousands of pieces of paper all around him and to record accurately the reference in its appropriate place. He had no patron, no publisher, no financial backers: his only commission was a divine one.
Cruden's Concordance has never been out of print. A
new book tells the tale of Alexander the Corrector's bizarre,
sad life (scroll down to about half page).
posted by matteo
on Apr 3, 2005 -
10 comments
