The Ben-Zvi Institute in Jerusalem houses the
Aleppo Codex, considered the oldest and most authoritative text of the Hebrew Bible. Written in the 10th century AD and annotated by Maimonides himself, it was safeguarded by the Jewish diaspora and revered for its linguistic precision and its beauty. "The story of how some 200 pages of the codex went missing — and to this day remain the object of searches carried out around the globe by biblical scholars, private investigators, shadowy businessmen and the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency —
is one of the great mysteries in Jewish history."
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Jul 25, 2012 -
36 comments
“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
"A culture that does not possess this common store of image and allegory will be a perilously thin one. To seek restlessly to update it or make it “relevant” is to miss the point, like yearning for a hip-hop Shakespeare."
-Christopher Hitchens
stands up for the King James Bible
posted by beisny
on Jul 14, 2011 -
70 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
Thomas Jefferson so wanted to fix what he thought was wrong with religion that he
rewrote the Bible.
He went through and cut out the parts that he liked most and pasted it to a fifth volume. He cut out Miracles. He cut out the Christmas story. He cut out most of the Easter story. Resurrection is gone.
Wikipedia.
previously
posted by nax
on Mar 16, 2008 -
64 comments
The Smithsonian's Sackler gallery opened a unique and wide-ranging
new exhibit yesterday featuring fragments of Bibles from before the year 1000.
"
Most of the manuscripts have never been seen outside the countries where they are stored. [Some Smithsonian-owned documents in the exhibition] have never been exhibited and two have not been shown since 1978." Fragments of the
Codex Sinaiticus are included in the exhibit.
Along with the
archaeological interest, these fragments can pose theological and historical challenges for Christians. Some, like UNC's Bart Ehrman, have
lost their faith as a result of studying early Bibles; some, like Luke Timothy Johnson of Emory, believing that Christianity is about a
common cultural and spiritual experience, are unmoved by the "
corruptions" and
differences in the New Testament over time; other Christians try to
refute (MeFi link) claims that the text has changed.
posted by ibmcginty
on Oct 22, 2006 -
36 comments
Have you got a copy of the bible you no longer want or need? Do you want some porn? Well, if you live in San Antonio, you're in luck, because a group of atheists at UTSA are
trading bibles for porn.
posted by Effigy2000
on Dec 6, 2005 -
84 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
The Lilith Shrine. As the story goes, Lilith was the first woman, being created at the same time as Adam but not from him, as with Eve. After refusing to submit to Adam's will, Lilith was cursed by God and ejected from the Garden of Eden.
Although she is only mentioned in the bible
once, do you suppose Lilith ever really existed?
posted by mcsweetie
on May 19, 2002 -
25 comments
And the word was whack As a former Congregationalist whose father had a stroke - dropping down on the floor after ordering me from the house for denying the Adam and Eve story Is a fundamentalist literal view of the Bible passe.
posted by onegoodmove
on May 10, 2002 -
62 comments
"Fine! I'll do it!" Man cuts off the penis. There, I did it. It has been 2 days since the last penis-related post. This is the most recent penis-related post.
Dear Penis-amputating man:
That thing there, in the Bible,
it's a metaphor!
Love,
Jesus
posted by jaysoucy
on Dec 7, 2001 -
37 comments
Can Christians use Marijuana for recreation? In 1Cor 6:12 Paul writes:
"Everything is permissible for me--but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me--but I will not be mastered by anything."
So, does that mean that Christians can use marijuana recreationally, as long as they are not mastered by it? This paper looks at the issue from many angles and should provide good fodder for both sides of the pot debate. Personally, I think God would not have put cannabis on the earth if we were not to smoke it.
[found on 4twenty.net]
posted by DragonBoy
on Jun 21, 2001 -
18 comments
APOCAMON! The Book of Revelations, Pokemon style. Yes, that's right. The really strange thing is how seamlessly the Pokemon elements fit into the story. Maybe St. John anticipated more than we thought...
(PS: Those with a limited sense of humor about this kind of thing can probably already see where this is headed, and should feel free to just not click the link.)
posted by misterzoo
on May 5, 2001 -
6 comments
We're glad too, Justice Scalia. A New York State public school has prohibited an evangelical group from offering Bible study and prayer in its classrooms, and the case is now before the US Supreme Court:
"This is divisive in the community?" Justice Scalia exclaimed. "I don't understand. What would the community get upset about? I don't understand." He continued: "You must have a very divisive community down there. I'm glad I don't live in New York anymore."
posted by nicwolff
on Mar 1, 2001 -
17 comments
religious action figures! yes! no more stealing my friends' action figures! seriously, this could be good for families with a new testament preference; they have "african heritage" and "caucasian heritage" lines. one odd thing -- the "african" eve is
much lighter than the "african" adam... what's up with that?
link from k10k.
posted by o2b
on Feb 7, 2001 -
7 comments
