Conservative Book Talk

I know, there are technically 66 books in the Bible, but it is also one complete book by itself. For almost a thousand years, only the rich or well-educated could read the Bible, because the only translations available were in Latin. You’d think every Christian would have read the whole Bible at least once. Take a poll at your next Bible Study or Youth Group meeting; I’d be obliged to hear the result in the commentary section.

It’s a family tradition for us to go through the whole Bible in a year; four chapters a day, six days a week, gets you done two weeks before New Year’s Eve. You can get done on New Year’s Eve with three chapters of the Old Testament a day and five on New Testament chapters on Sunday. There are many published “daily reading” plans that you can go by as well; most Bibles have at least one in the back somewhere. Doing this every year has been really influential in my spiritual growth; I’m much more familiar with scripture now than I was five years ago. While one should certainly take time to deeply study the individual books, a general familiarity with the Bible is within the grasp of every Christian. Everyone, eventually, comes across someone who is in error about Biblical teachings; being familiar with the Bible can help you recognize, if only subconsciously, that they are wrong. You may not know why, but you can know where to go for answers.
Some fun Bible facts:

* The first legally owned English Bible was in England, and belonged to Anne Boleyn. While legend has it that William Tyndale sent it to her, more likely one of his business associates named Robert Pyle gave the Bible to her as a thank-you for intervening on his behalf with the English merchants (who acted a lot like a union, and would have refused him entry into the markets had he not established a lack of royal disfavor).
* Many people I know carry one of those pocket New-Testament-and-Psalms editions of the Bible. While I have every respect for them, it is worth noting that at the time most of the New Testament was written, “the scriptures” meant the only extant written portion of God’s word, the Old Testament. The first compiled list of the books we now call the “New Testament” came out after 300 AD.
* Most Bibles are a particular “version” or translation; this is merely a designation to differentiate between various editions, and is usually in acronym form. NKJ, KJ, ESV, RG, etc.
* By 400 A.D., the Bible (or portions of it as we know today) had been translated into 500 languages. By 500 A.D., in Europe, it was available only in one language; Latin. A thousand years later, Erasmus couldn’t even buy a Greek translation; he had to borrow Greek texts from all his scholar friends.
* The first ‘legal’ translation of the Bible into the local language after 500 A.D. was by Martin Luther, who did so under the protection of his local prince, Duke Fredrick the Wise, and the intense disapproval of both his emperor Charles V and the Pope (who technically was over both Duke and Emperor).

There are several benefits to reading the entirety of God’s word “from in to amen” on a regular basis. If you haven’t made this a New Year’s Resolution yet, I encourage you to do so. Even if you do not believe it is the inspired word of God, read the Bible anyway; it’s not a collection of myths, but real history that actually happened.

Tags: Holy Bible, Sincerelyornot

Yeah, that Houdini. Houdini was fascinating man and a great magician, but what made him famous was his ability to escape from every cage, cell, rope, and handcuffs. It was this later capability that birthed the idea for this work. Houdini became friends with police officer, investigators and jailors across the world and from those contacts, he compiled a book of true stories along with the correct way to commit crimes. As he wrote in the foreword, this book is not teaching people how to commit crime but to teach the public how to protect themselves.

Those in the “know” still debate whether people should be told how to commit crime. Yes, some good people will learn how to protect themselves, but some bad people will now learn how to commit crimes more effectively. We’ll come back to this debate later, but I think it’s plainly obvious on which side of the debate Houdini fell.

This book covers mail fraud, all-purpose scams, house breaking, safe cracking, and plenty of other nefarious deeds. Many of these schemes still make the rounds today. The name and faces might change but the methods still work.

Houdini spends much time covering the various techniques used to break into homes. Often, crooks will scout out a house and/or neighborhood for a while before they break into a home. In fact, Houdini argued that good criminals only robbed one home a month or so. He also points out that they usually get caught in the end. A major component to avoiding burglary is watchful neighborhood. If neighbors watch for people scouting out a neighborhood, they will protect others and themselves. Simply talking to those who appear out of place can scare away potential crime. Few criminals will return if a neighbor spoke with them for a while. Houdini also argues that homeowners should take simple precautions commonsense precautions: lock the doors and windows, keep valuables in a room other than a bedroom and so on.

Mail fraud you say? Whether it was in 1906 or 2007, mail fraud is the same and quite prolific. Mail fraud lures people with the hope of a free fortune or a fantastic deal. Its mail fraud because the victim nevery meets the crook; everything is handled by mail. Now, mail fraud takes place via e-mail and on the internet. Either way, the rules are straightforward. The crook will contact you and offer you the latest whizbang doodad or deal for a price way below cost. Or maybe you just won a foreign lottery. All you need to do is send the lottery a certified check for $200 for processing fees and they’ll send you $5,000,000. Sounds too good to be true? That’s cause it is.

The subject that interested me the most in this book was begging. In 1906 after traveling around the world, Houdini was convinced that <90% of all beggars were professional beggars or in begging gangs. Whether on the street or via mail, these professional beggars would plead for your hard-earned cash. Now, I have seen too many professional beggars (and known of a few confirmed cases); I don’t trust any beggars. A friend told me that he always gives and figures that God will handle the details. He says that we should give and God will take care of us. I see my position as a bit more frugal and I don’t want to support a slothful person. Oh well, you decide which way you handle it.

Houdini has a great story about a man visiting Russia who discovered that his coat kept accruing cash while he walked the streets. It’s worth reading the book for that story.

Overall, if crime interests you, then you’ll want to read this book. Despite having been published slightly more than 100 years ago, the principals are still relevant. And if you need a gift for that person who finds crime interesting (from an intellectual point of view), then this might be a great book for a gift.

Buy it here

The audio books is here

The text is here

Tags: Crime, Expose, Harry Houdini, Matt Gardenghi

October 31, 1517; Martin Luther nails the 95 theses to the wooden door of the church in Wittenburg. I would like to take this opportunity to make a plug for Reformation Day. Halloween has demonic origins, and our society as a whole is really going for the roots of the holiday with all its grusomeness. “Harvest Parties” are just fine, but what if, instead of just neutralizing the holiday, we as Christians actually sought to reform it? Make it about learning the roots of the Protestant Reformation (which, for any Catholic readers, was also the start of the Catholic Reformation and led to a revival of the Catholic church in many areas of Europe. So pick someone like Erasmus, but its still the same idea). Encourage people to dress up as Biblical/ Christian heroes of the faith; give handouts with a short biography of a Reformer (available online; I wrote ours in one hour after reading this book); have booth attendants dress up in medieval costume; or even ask the pastor to prepare a short talk on the Reformation and its significance. This year, our church is theme-ing our (first ever) Reformation Day party on Martin Luther.

Plot: Martin Luther is famous for starting the Protestant Reformation. A monk of the Augustian Order, he was a diligent scholar whose dedication to the church (and history as a law student with a degree in theology) made him a prime candidate for a professorship at the university of Wittenberg, where he had time to study the scriptures and write. His travails with (and eventual separation from) the Catholic church were published all over Europe, (not always with his consent; the famous 95 theses were written in Latin because they were intended as points for scholarly debate, not public consumption). The former monk eventually married a nun, and they had six children. Far more fascinating than his life, though, were his writings of theology, and the context in which he said them.

Good: Lots of period details, literally and figuratively: there are fun 16th century prints on almost every page, including both famous woodcuts (Luther accused of heresy, the debate at Worms, etc.) and rarer etchings (fancy Reformation-themed capitals kick off each chapter). I confess, I love pictures like these; especially since the Latin names look similar to English, so I could translate who was who for myself! Also, the author takes time to point out the historical setting, including that which made Luther a 16th century celebrity. The printing press was the YouTube of that era: new, exciting, and made “instant” notoriety available to more people than ever before. And Luther utilized it (by the grace of God) while the Pope didn’t. This is only a small example out of a multitude.

Bad: This isn’t really bad, but worth considering if your child is reading this. I should note that the author explains many various doctrines of the era, and while good to know, the author is not shy about his opinion. Infant baptism is good, transubstantiation is wrong, etc. I am old enough to understand that what a book says doesn’t necessarily reflect my personal beliefs; not all teenagers, even, may have gone over these points of doctrine for themselves. Personally, I loved it, because Bainton’s view dovetails with most people in the 1500s, and he explained a lot of things I hadn’t quite understood, “how can anyone think that?” Younger minds might simply absorb the opinions, though, and not catch the disclaimers that bracket the ideas the author disagrees with (the existence of elves, for example, was a common belief among German peasants like Luther’s parents).

Overall: I loved this book. It made Luther seem more human than others I have read. His faults are mentioned, but so are his graces. Roland Bainton incorporates the rich tapestry of Renaissance life into his narrative of Luther’s life. Highly recommended for all ages.

My apologies for not posting this last week when it was more timely. Matt

Tags: , biography, book, History, Martin Luther, Reformation, review, Roland Bainton, Sincerelyornot