AbeBooks' Reading Copy » Religion

Happy Birthday John Milton (you don’t look a day over 375)!

Beth Carswell — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:50:15 +0000

Tomorrow, December 9th, John Milton would have turned 400 years old. As a result, Milton aficionados around the world are celebrating in various appropriately literary ways.

Milton, who died in 1674, was an English writer, whose poetry was known for its pastoral and religious imagery. While he is most famous today for poetry, Milton also wrote much in the way of editorial prose for the time. His most well-known work is Paradise Lost.

Paradise Lost is an epic behemoth of blank verse, telling of the story of man’s transition from innocence to experience, from the Garden of Eden to the sulfuric fires of hell. Tackling allegorical references to Greek mythology, classical religious writings and challenging theological ideas, Paradise Lost is considered by many to be one of the finest pieces of writing about creationism in existence.

“Paradise Lost is more remarkable for the way it was created: When Milton began writing the poem in 1658, he had been blind for four years. He recited the entire work to an assistant, 40 lines each morning for five years, says William Kerrigan. When the secretary was late, Milton was said to have grumbled around the house, “I want to be milked. I want to be milked.’”

Rare Fragment of Gospel of John Up For Grabs

Beth Carswell — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:38:44 +0000

A rare, large fragment of papyrus with Greek writing of what is either the first or second oldest copy of the Gospel of John is up for sale this month, and likely to bring up to $460,000.

The fragment is believed to date to 200 AD, less than 170 years after the crucifixion of Christ, when Christianity was still illegal and around 100 years after experts believe the original Gospel was first written.

At last! Something to go with my clay cylinder from King Nebuchadnezzar II.

Ian McEwan attacks Islam

Richard Davies — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:44:30 +0000

I’m not sure Ian McEwan is barking up the right tree here after defending Martin Amis (who is clearly bonkers) and attacking Islam. The Independent has the story.

“A dear friend had been called a racist,” he (McEwan) said. “As soon as a writer expresses an opinion against Islamism, immediately someone on the left leaps to his feet and claims that because the majority of Muslims are dark-skinned, he who criticises it is racist.

“This is logically absurd and morally unacceptable. Martin is not a racist. And I myself despise Islamism, because it wants to create a society that I detest, based on religious belief, on a text, on lack of freedom for women, intolerance towards homosexuality and so on – we know it well.”

I can see his point, but using words like ‘despise’ doesn’t heal wounds.

Vatican versus Angels and Demons

Richard Davies — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:21:52 +0000

The Vatican has banned the makers of Angels and Demons from filming in its grounds or any church in Rome, describing the work as “an offence against God” reports The Times of London.

Nice work your Holiness – let’s lay that book of dubious quality to rest.

Father Marco Fibbi, a spokesman for the Diocese of Rome, said: “Normally we read the script but this time it was not necessary. The name Dan Brown was enough.”

Best of the Bible

Richard Davies — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:43:54 +0000

Cliff Richard – once labelled at Britain’s answer to Elvis in the 1950s – lists his favourite Bible stories in The Times. I suppose I like Jonah and the Whale. Imagine being stuck in a whale’s stomach for a few days? That would learn yer for disobeying the Lord and certainly an innovative punishment. Last week, I was actually reading a book about whaling – Nathaniel Philbrick’s In The Heart of the Sea, which concerns a whaling ship called the Essex that was sunk by a sperm whale. The crew were forced to travel thousands of miles across the ocean and it got so bad that people were eating people. Incredible story.

Here’s a different take on the Jonah and the Whale story from the VeggieTales crew. VeggieTales are animated vegetables in case you don’t know.

Anne Rice interview

Richard Davies — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:02:06 +0000

The Catholic Explorer has an interview with Anne Rice – author of Interview With the Vampire

The Shack

Richard Davies — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:56:29 +0000

USA Today tells me The Shack is the latest smash hit from the religion section.

A little novel written by an Oregon salesman and self-published by two former pastors with a $300 marketing budget is lighting up USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list with a wrenching parable about God’s grace. First-time author William P. Young’s book The Shack, in which the father of a murdered child encounters God the Father as a sarcastic black woman, Jesus as a Middle Eastern laborer and the Holy Spirit as an Asian girl, is No. 8 on the list.

Richard Dawkins’ interview

slaming — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:44:44 +0000

Douglas Todd, a religion and spirituality reporter for the Vancouver Sun, was supposed to interview touted atheist Richard Dawkins (author of the God Delusion). However Dawkins refused to do the interview. Eventually an interview was arranged with a different reporter.

You would think that someone like Dawkins would be just itching to get into it with a religion reporter…