Readers Reply
002
Happy Birthday!
With the arrival of the very first copy of BR in February 1985, I was hooked. It has been, and still is, an invaluable source of information as I seek to find my way through a spiritual journey that spans more than 70 years. How do I count the ways? I will try to be as brief as possible.
As I reread the introduction to the magazine printed in the first issue, I found that I had underlined several statements portraying your vision for this new magazine. Among them were: (1) “BR will bring to the layperson first-rate scholarship in biblical studies, written with clarity by the scholars themselves”; (2) “[I know there are] seemingly unlimited variations in approaching and understanding the biblical text”; and (3) therefore “our pages will be open to a full range of opinion, both those we agree with and those we disagree with.” Not only have you been true to your vision, you have exceeded my expectations.
Not only have I benefited from a wide range of perspectives that have enabled me to form a perspective of my own, you have inspired me to read beyond your pages. I have read, and continue to read, such enlightening sources as the Hebrew Pseudepigrapha and New Testament noncanonical writings. You have given me a greater understanding of the formation of the canon of both the Hebrew and Christian Bibles. I have learned much from your many book reviews. I must also express my appreciation for the wonderful charts, chronologies and side-by-sides that make complicated material much more understandable.
Last, but not least, I must say a word about the abundant works of art that grace your wonderful magazine. They are not only beautiful to look at, but also are powerfully instructive.
Thanks for adding so much to the quality of my life!
Jefferson City, Missouri
Congratulations!
Congratulations on surviving 20 years of Letters to the Editor.
I became aware of BR through my on and off subscription to Biblical Archaeology Review. After retiring, I took my wife on a tour to Israel. (I wore my BAR T-shirt the day we went to the Dead Sea, Qumran and Masada.) On returning, I found my interest in Israel and its eternal message had not waned, and that the best way to satisfy my curiosity was to subscribe to your two marvelous publications.
After receiving BR for a couple of years, a back-issue package was offered, and I am now the proud owner of an almost complete collection.
As a suggestion for BR: How about a question-and-answer column? I don’t think BR needs a cartoon or two—the editor does a good enough job with his quips.
Another idea is to run brainteasers. Here’s one to start: How many times did Joshua and his men march around Jericho before “the walls came tumblin’ down”? a) 1; b) 7; c) 10; d) 13.
Or this: Which way were the wise men looking when they saw the star in the East? a) toward Bethlehem; b) away from Bethlehem; c) up.
I am looking forward to your 20th anniversary year with wonderment as to how you can possibly make this year’s issues any better than the earlier ones. However, I have a feeling that you will. You people are kind of good at doing that.
Whiting, Indiana
P.S. The answers are: (d) 13 (see Joshua 6:3–5) and (b) away from Bethlehem (from their home far east of Bethlehem, the magi would have had to turn away from Bethlehem to see a star rising in the East).
For Shame
You have asked for our opinion of BR. Well, here it is: I find the magazine most infuriating. Oh, the art is beautiful, but 004most of it does not accurately portray the events, settings or costumes of the people, places or times that the artists intended.
Most if not all of the articles seem to be by people who want criticize or discredit the Bible. The magazine seems to be a sounding board for the skeptic and unbeliever. Shame on you.
Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin
Indebted to BR
Forty years ago in the Bible class “Truth and Virtue” at Mississippi College, my teacher, Ms. Womack, simply taught the Bible. We read it, she helped us—virtually without theological commentary. We learned what the text truly says, and found virtue in its simple truths. Ms. Womack’s courses in Old and New Testament profoundly affected my life, and I came to have a deep and abiding love of the Bible and its ethical, moral and spiritual teachings.
Bible Review has provided me with the same experience. The oldest copy I have dates to August 1990, and I don’t think I’ve lost any, and I’d sure like to have the prior copies! Every issue contains the views truly held by scholars who have actually read the Bible! Right, wrong or indifferent, whether I agree with them or not, they express the honest views of learned men and women who share my abiding love of the Bible.
Am I indebted to BR? You bet! It’s been a soul-saver.
Rochester, New York
Made Her Pagan
For almost ten years, your magazine has been the highlight of whatever is in the mailbox on the day it arrives. Even in times of very little money, BR remained one of my few luxuries. The Letters to the Editor, especially the Irritated Letters to the Editor, have always amused me.
But this letter is to tell fellow readers how you have affected my life. Through the many articles in the magazine, I feel I have come to understand biblical history better. My thoughts and religious feelings have been altered by what I have read, what I have seen practiced in society and what I have felt to be true. I have found myself sharing articles or other bits of information that I have acquired with others, thereby giving them thoughts to ponder. I have come to the conclusion that Jesus did exist, but not in the way that modern evangelical denominations would have the world believe. I would venture to guess that I am one of the few people who has adopted paganism in the course of reading your magazine. BR has also led me to pursue my interest in archaeology and anthropology, not just by reading about it but by actively working for a second bachelor’s degree.
Keep it up for another 20-plus years!
Carbondale, Illinois
Thanks
Thank you for 20 years of in-depth analysis of the Bible and related literature. I have been a subscriber from the beginning and still have my copy of the February 1985 issue. Information and insight gained from BR greatly enhance my lessons as a Bible teacher in my 006church, College Park Baptist Church of Orlando.
Winter Park, Florida
Take Heart
Having graduated from Lancaster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania in 1963, and having retired from full-time pastoral ministry in October 2002, I have tried to continue to learn more about the Scriptures and biblical faith. I have found BR to be invaluable in keeping up with the latest in biblical studies and scholarship. I plan to keep BR a lively part of my life and, now that I can have a CD-ROM of the archive, I can pitch the many copies of BR that are taking up lots of space and still have all the information I have come to rely on. But there is something I like about having the original copies to thumb through at my leisure!
Finally, take heart over those “Cancel!” letters you print from time to time: Even Jesus couldn’t please everyone!
Interim pastor
Sharonville, Ohio
John
Gospel Truth
In his fascinating article “John—Historian or Theologian?” (October 2004), D. Moody Smith asks, “Is John changing history (or creating it) to serve his theology? Or is he weaving his theological insights into an historically based narrative?”
I propose a third choice: “Is John using factual details and coincidences as a source of theological inspiration?”
For example, Matthew turns one demoniac into two (Matthew 8:28 vs. Mark 5:1), and one blind beggar into two (Matthew 20:30 vs. Mark 10:46), to show that Jesus came to heal not just individuals but rather all the possessed and blind, as the prophets foretold. Matthew turns four beatitudes into a more complete seven or eight (Matthew 5:3–12 vs. Luke 6:20–22), to show that Jesus is the consummate lawgiver. Historical “improvements” that help get the message across are okay with Matthew. The same is true of Luke and Mark.
But John, since he sees deep meaning in details, feels obliged in chapter 5 to say the name of the pool (Bethesda) and the number of porticoes (five) and the length of the illness (38 years). Matthew probably would have increased the number of porticoes to seven, and the illness to 40 years, to indicate fulfillment and completeness. Luke would have moved the whole incident to the end of the book so it would fit with the other Jerusalem stories. But John can’t do any of those things. The changing of details contradicts John’s ground rules. For John, it is the facts themselves that are sacred repositories of meaning.
Even without the many archaeological confirmations of John’s details, the internal literary evidence is enough to show that the most reliable source of factual details is not the Synoptics, but John.
Floresville, Texas
Demons
They’re Still Here
William Propp (in “Exorcising Demons,” October 2004) avers that “today, in the West, demonology is once again in decline.” In fact, today, more than ever, we hear reports of the same Old Testament demons discussed by Propp.
Might not the
The sex-obsessed
Then there is the thing referred to as ruwach that flits before Job’s face and makes his hair stand on end (Job 4:15). This reminds me of “rods,” the invisible buglike things, much discussed in the modern occult, which many have caught in photos and video shots—including one video that shows a “rod” flitting up to the face of a child.
Demonology may be in decline, but the demons are alive and well.
Magnolia, New Jersey
Marriage
Required Reading
Ronald Hendel’s “Amending Marriage” (October 2004) was delightful! I wish I could arrange for it to be read by all those who seek to legislate and enforce a “biblical” definition of marriage in this country. A minor point: It is my understanding that Paul expected the imminent return of Jesus. That’s why he believes there was no real point in establishing a long-term relationship. But this is merely a quibble. I shall continue to enjoy the rational, erudite approach to biblical study that I have come to expect as a subscriber to your fine magazine.
Arlington, Virginia
Get a Job
I was taken aback by Ronald S. Hendel’s words in his column “Amending Marriage.” In so many places in the Bible, God tells us what a marriage is. In both Mark 10:6–9 and Ephesians 5:31 it states, “The two shall become one flesh.” It doesn’t mention any other number. As for marriage being comparable to sin, St. Paul says himself (1 Corinthians 7) that marriage isn’t a sin but, in his view, you can focus on God more if you are 054single. The only thing I can say to Ronald S. Hendel is to think about James 3:1–5 (“Not many of you should become teachers …”).
Dahlonega, Georgia
Not a Bad Idea
Let’s take a look at what Ronald Hendel fears will happen if biblically based marriages become the law:
Adultery will be punishable by death. The result: There’d be no recidivism, and it’s only a danger if you commit the crime.
No divorce. Even secular society recognizes the fallout from divorce.
Could it be that God was on to something?
Spotsylvania, Virginia
What God Says
Ronald Hendel’s statement that “marriage is the union between a man and one or more women” is a gross misinterpretation of the relationship between polygamy and marriage in Scripture.
Marriage was established by God, not by man. Adam did not say, “Let me have a mate.” God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18). Thus, we must view marriage in the Bible not in the sense of whatever man does, but whatever God says.
No reader of the Bible will find any mention of polygamy in a positive light. Was God the One who told Abraham to take Hagar? Was God the One who said to Jacob, “Conceive a child thru Bilhah,” or that tricked him and gave him Rachel and Leah? And, certainly, how can anyone look over the life of Solomon and say that God gave him all those wives and concubines and blessed him?
A biblical marriage amendment excludes polygamy because polygamy is not a part of the biblical, God-established institution of marriage.
El Cajon, California
Sacrifice
Lessons to Learn
The whole idea of the sacrifice to God, and the offering made by any individual, is apparently lost on Bryan Bibb (“What’s a Pleasing Sacrifice?” October 2004). There is no value in asking whether God prefers meat over vegetables. God has no need of, or preference for, anything we could offer.
The first lesson to be learned in making a sacrifice is based on our need to recognize God, and our dependence upon Him for everything, including our very life, and the food we require to sustain it.
The second lesson is that everything in the universe belongs to God. Nothing that we have, acquire or accumulate is ever ours, except on a temporary basis. And that includes our lives.
Greenville, Wisconsin
Who Is to Blame?
Bryan Bibb tries to convince us that there is a problem with the concept of sacrifice as portrayed in Genesis 4. However, I believe that the text he quotes is quite clear.
Abel sacrificed the firstlings of the flock and their fat portions—the very best of the best—while Cain brought an offering of the fruits of the ground. We are not told that these are first fruits or special in any way. We can only assume that Cain was just doing as little as possible to fulfill a requirement.
Mr. Bibb attempts to brand Yahweh as arbitrary. His entire article is an indictment of Yahweh’s system of worship and sacrifice, but I am not at all sure that I would have the courage to lay the blame for the first sin (fratricide) at the feet of God, as Mr. Bibb does.
Gulfport, Mississippi
Happy Birthday!
You have already read your free article for this month. Please join the BAS Library or become an All Access member of BAS to gain full access to this article and so much more.