This column will be different from any of the others I have written. In every column, I promote reading the Bible and applying its words to the contemporary world. (It is not my fault that many purveyors of popular culture misapply more than they apply!) This time, in addition to this tried-and-true approach, I am promoting myself or, more specifically, the compilation of my columns that BAS is publishing as an eBook titled The Bible in the News: How the Popular Press Relates, Conflates and Updates Sacred Writ.
The powers-that-be at BAS have been very supportive of this collection, as have my wife, my daughters and my dogs (though not necessarily in that order). But do I get any support for this project from the Bible? Alas, it’s not very promising since the first—and probably the last—word on this subject, coming from Ecclesiastes, offers little that is positive: “of making many books there is no end” (12:12, in the King James Version).
Perhaps my old friends in the popular press can offer something more supportive. It’s at least worth a try.
Many articles and their authors offer support for my publishing project, albeit unintentionally and indirectly. A Toronto Star correspondent at first seems despondent: “Of the making of books there is no end, says the narrator of Ecclesiastes. One can’t help but agree when confronted with the mountains of possibilities for kids’ summer reading.” On further reflection, however, this writer seems to embrace these very mountains: “Here are some places to begin—but they’re only a beginning.” Now that I think of it, during the summer (or, for that matter, any other season), kids could read my new book. So I shouldn’t feel bad about adding it to the “mountains of possibilities.”
When we turn from genres of books to books in general, the outlook from today’s purveyors of popular culture becomes even brighter. To Australia and The Sunday Mail: “ ‘Kangaroos can walk backwards,’ quoth Valmai Hankel, the soul of the State Library of SA [South Australia]. ‘They were chosen as part of our national emblem because they were supposed to be unable to go backwards and are thus always advancing. Nup. I’m afraid, nup.’ Libraries, however, are always advancing Australia, fair … Reading is the greatest joy of my life … I’ve read in my bed all my life. I’m a Luddite. Death to the computer. I hope I never have to go to bed with a VDU [visual display unit]. As Groucho Marx said: ‘I find TV very educational. Every time someone turns it on, I go into another room and read a book.’ I feel the same about computers. Books will endure because nothing built by man can outlast the power of a book. The Bible tells us so: ‘Of the making of books there is no end.’ I hope so. I pray so. I hope libraries of the future will always have more books than ever before.” To which I would say, “amen” and—don’t be so harsh about the computer and the eBooks, including mine, that it can display.
Let us close with another story from The Sunday Mail. “Patsy and Edina on ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ [certainly some readers remember that show!] were accused of burning books. ‘We were cold!’ screamed Patsy. I know how she feels. If I burned several thousand of my books, I would solve a heating problem and my critical book storage problem. I negotiate passage around piles of books. I can barely move for books. How wonderful. It’s a life-long obsession. The Bible says: ‘Of the making of books, there is no end.’ Of the collecting of books, there is no end either.” To this I also say, “amen.”
This column will be different from any of the others I have written. In every column, I promote reading the Bible and applying its words to the contemporary world. (It is not my fault that many purveyors of popular culture misapply more than they apply!) This time, in addition to this tried-and-true approach, I am promoting myself or, more specifically, the compilation of my columns that BAS is publishing as an eBook titled The Bible in the News: How the Popular Press Relates, Conflates and Updates Sacred Writ. The powers-that-be at BAS have been very supportive of this collection, […]
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