Bitemybible

Bible Dude Says: Pick up the Joy Book!

In terms of innovative formats for the Bible, lycra is possibly the strangest I've come across. In this TV satire, the superhero Bible Dude zaps both biblical interpretation and Christian culture. While I thought it was a good laugh, you can tell the scriptwriter isn't really a fan of the Bible.

Yet, it's interesting that despite such a negative take, he or she seems quite familiar with many of its characters. For those of you who are wondering, the verse referenced on the superhero's costume is from Matthew 4.20 (NIV): "At once they left their nets and followed him". Don't ask.

The Manga Bible: the story that never dies

 

Bizarre. Yesterday, the BBC featured a video segment of some RE students reading from The Manga Bible. The piece was presented by Robert Piggott, the BBC's Religious Affairs Correspondent. The report gave the impression that the Manga Bible was brand new. In fact, it's been kicking around for ages.

What's stranger is that Piggott also covered the Manga Bible on the Today Programme, just before Christmas last year. And that last November, the BBC covered it in a magazine feature on quirky Bible translations (in which I was also quoted).

Don't get me wrong. I'm a fan of the Manga Bible - if it's understood as a way of stimulating interest in the sacred page. It's just strange that more groundbreaking formats of the Bible - such as for the Kindle reader - go unreported while the Manga Bible hogs the limelight.

Weeping, Wailing and Aaqil Ahmed

 
According to the scare stories currently doing the rounds, the BBC is being 'Islamised' as we speak. A string of media commentators have come out of the woodwork, decrying the appointment of Aaqil Ahmed as the BBC's first Muslim Commissioner for Religion and Ethics.

The weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth has been of almost biblical proportions. "How is this possible?", cried Christian Concern for Our Nation. Even the BBC's in-house newspaper, Ariel, was not immune to the furore, splashing the story of the "controversial" appointment on its front page. But is the appointment of a Muslim in such a role a real cause for concern?

Star Trek 'Vulcan salute' is biblical

Many of the cinema-goers who went to see Star Trek XI this weekend have probably seen Mr Spock's famous Vulcan salute many times. But few of them are probably aware that the tricky manoeuvre is actually based upon a biblical blessing.

According to the Daily Mail, the original Mr Spock (Leonard Nimoy) based the greeting on a gesture of blessing he had seen at a Jewish synagogue. And that gesture is part of the Priestly Blessing, which is described in the Bible at Numbers 6:23-26. Ironically, Nimoy even reads this verse out aloud as a narrator during the popular computer game, Civilization IV.

And as you can see above, the precursor to the Vulcan salute is even featured on a synagogue door in Essen, Germany. Also note that originally, the gesture is done with both hands - making getting it right twice as difficult. Photo: Aaron Olaf

Not such a Good Book?

 
The Metro ran a news item today that looked at the issue of sexual deviance in the Bible. Yes, you read that right. Sexual deviance. The tenor of the story was that the Bible documents a series of sex crimes - and therefore, it's not such a morally upstanding book after all.

Indian professor Anil Aggrawal took upon himself the thankless job of cataloguing the sexual deviancy referred to in the Bible. Apparently, he found everything from common or garden adultery to Rohypnol-style rape and even necrophilia. He then wrote about his research in the April issue of the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine.

But does this really mean that the Bible's moral authority is now in tatters? (Photo: Topic Agnostic)

Daily Mail gives big tick to biblical parable

 

Great story in The Daily Mail today linking research into child psychology with the Bible. It seems that a US study has found that second-born children tend to be more wayward than their elder siblings.

The findings echo the biblical parable of the Prodigal Son, where the more diligent older son gets ratty with his rebellious younger brother. I think this is a great illustration of how timeless stories from the Bible still resonate today, whether or not they are viewed as part of a sacred text.

And apparently, there is a growing scholarly interest in psychological studies of the Bible. Did Ezekiel have post-traumatic stress disorder? Did Job find his sufferings psychotherapeutic? Allegedly, there are a whole rash of textbook cases found within its pages. (Photo: JD Pavkovich)