06 June 2006

you've gotta get one of these...



i just got my copy of relevant books' new release from author jason boyett, "pocket guide to the bible" - lemme say this much right off the bat -- it is hilarious.

okay, now that i said that, the truth is that it's probably a pretty valuable resource for some of those little trivia things like "ten uses of the number 40 in scripture" or "does anyone's name in the bible start with the letter f?" (yes, just one) or "seven phrases from the book of judges that would make great band names" (i'm gonna use #6 if i ever start a band).

there's a really cool "biblicabulary" that deciphers some Christianese and just explains regular bible words for those new to the deal.

there's a cast of characters summary that's pretty cool - in case you want to know who Og was or what were the highs and lows in Peter's life.

and then there's my favorite, a run through of each testament "at break-neck speed" - i wish i'd had this available for me during my OT survey and NT survey classes in bible college.

but then at my bible college, this book would have been banned for several reasons, mostly the envelope-pushing vocabulary of the author. there's probably a couple times that jason goes further than i'd go with describing stuff (as far as use of words that could be offensive to people), but i was honestly surprized at how little i felt like it was an issue. most of the time when someone writes with this level of funny, they do so at the expense of keeping clean. jason keeps it on the right side of the line, i think, for the vast majority of the time.

i laughed out loud several times over and over while reading. i don't know what angie and marc (in the adjacent offices) thought was going on.

this is a great value (i think it's only like 10 or 12 bucks to pick it up) - it'll fit in a pastor's resource library and it'll fit in the basket in the bathroom. either way.

7 comments:

Phillip LeBlanc said...

Definetly the basket in the bathroom.


Or not...

-Phill

agardana said...

Is the name starting with an "f" Felix?

danohlerking said...

wow. i think you actually got one the author didn't. the one he has that he said was the only one was "fortunatus" in i think 2 Corinthians.

nice catch.

any others?

Carole Turner said...

Sounds like a book I will have to get.

Anonymous said...

Stacie's right. There actually is a "Felix" mentioned in Acts: Antonius Felix, a tyrannical ruler who pestered Paul. I left him out because it's his last name, and last names don't count in the Pocket Guide.

In fact, there's a footnote explaining exactly that on page 47. (Look it up, Dan!) So, to recap...Jason: 1, Stacie: 0.

And yes, it definitely belongs in the bathroom. Bathroom reading at its finest.

danohlerking said...

oooooh, it's on now.

i have a hard time believing that there's not a fred or frank in the bible.

i thought about phineas, and while it is possible that the hebrew derivative probably should have carried into english with an "f" rather than a "ph" the rule of the game was first names starting with "f".

while i know jason HAS to have done quite a bit of homework on this one, part of me (probably the same part that loves finding typos in a church bulletin) still would love to find a fernando hiding somewhere in the book of job or something.

agardana said...

Now, now boys....no fighting. I have to admit the only reason I mentioned Felix is because my husband's name is Anthony Felix and he knew his name was in the Bible. Since it is his middle name, I didn't know it was the last name of this "tyrannical ruler." I stand corrected, Jason. And Dan, I wouldn't hold my breath for Fernando!