OK, the release of the 7th book of the Harry Potter series is on the horizon. So, here is your opportunity to answer that age-old question:

Is Severus Snape friend or foe?

The wife is utterly convinced that Snape is a good dude. She works in a local dental office, and it appears that no human under the age of 18 agrees with her. What do you think? Do you think that Snape is an unwilling aid to Harry’s cause? Or do you think that the Dark Lord controls Snape and he will eventually use weak little Severus to torment Harry?

It could go either way…make your argument below!

Categories: Arts

The fine folks at Hodder & Stoughton were kind enough to send me a copy of The Manga Bible: NT—Extreme for review. First, I’d like to apologize to them for taking so long to do this. I see now that the rest of the Bible is out. So, that’s exciting.

Essentially, the Manga Bible (see this wikipedia article for more on manga) is a graphic interpretation of the biblical text coupled with a TNIV translation, a translation that seems to be gaining in popularity. The graphic portions of the text are illustrated by Siku. You can find a short interview with him (and his brother, Akin, who wrote the script) on pages 65–74.

From the outset (p. vii) the authors make no claims to have attempted to recreate the whole of the New Testament in manga form. I must admit that this was the most disappointing aspect of the work. When I originally read Hodder & Stoughton’s ads for the book, I was hoping to get a whole book full of wonderful illustrations of the New Testament. I was hoping to find a fast-paced print version that some of my artsier friends could really dig in to. Unfortunately, the graphic novel portion of the book only lasts for about 64 pages.

In terms of the artwork, I am not at all an expert. The illustrations are lively and full of emotion, often presented in a sort of widescreen format that makes me feel like Cecile B. DeMille somehow got mixed up with a bunch of Japanese comics. Siku uses a few little devices that intrigue me. For example, when illustrating Jesus’ parables, the art moves into a very cartoonish, non-detailed style. It is almost a sketch. Some of the characters are even comic looking. I think this adds a nice personal touch, and helps to differentiate the parables from the narrative as a whole.

The comic attempts to move chronologically, which means that snippets of the letters of Paul are interspersed throughout the book of Acts. While, generally speaking, this is a feature I like, there are some issues here. First, as with anything like this, there are going to be some disagreements about dating of letters and when certain events happened. Therefore, the authors have had to interpret, for better or worse, the chronology of Acts and the life of Paul. Second, some of the scenes in the letters become, for my taste, comically dramatic. For example, Barnabas and Paul “fighting back” against those who would force Gentiles to be circumcised.

The language, written by Akin, is rough and tumble—up to date and appropriate to the artwork. It is funny how certain groups of people are characterized by certain language. To me, it feels like the religious leaders use a much higher style, while lower social classes use more street lingo (for lack of a better phrase).

Overall, I’d say The Manga Bible is worth a look if you are a fan of the genre, or if you have friends who are. As an everyday Bible, it fails—but that’s not what it’s designed to be, so I can’t fault it for that!

I would definitely be interested in getting a look at the more recent version which contains the Old Testament as well. I am willing to bet that there are some interesting illustrations of some of those good ol’ OT stories.

Categories: Reviews · Arts · New Testament

Thanks to the NT Gateway for this one!

Rowan Atkinson, best known in the U.S. as “Mr. Bean,” appears to have uncovered a new version of John 2 and the story of “The Wedding at Cana.” Most of these interpretations do not appear in the critical apparatus of my Nestle-Aland text. I’d be very interested to discover what manuscripts Atkinson is working from.

Categories: Arts · New Testament

It’s been a full three weeks since I last posted here. I apologize profusely for the delay. For the last several days, I’ve been utterly terrified to open my RSS reader to see what might be lurking in there. But, I’m going to do it now…live…right here.

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Refreshing Subscriptions

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619 unread messages. I’ll be slowly working my way through these over the next few days. In reality, I’m just hoping that in my absence the whole “Jesus Tomb” thing has blown over. I’m guessing it hasn’t, since this thing was well timed…hitting the media in preparation for Easter. Hmmm…suspicious?

Categories: Arts

ThoughtsOnGod

I just want to draw everyone’s attention to a new blog that has been created by my friend, Chris Bressoud. I imagine his focus will be God (hence the title), music (he’s a rocker!) and life in the Boston area.

Chris is also a budding amateur photographer. You can see some of his stuff at his flickr page. He is responsible for this sweet shot of Memorial Drive seen at right.

Update

Note Chris’s comment below—props to Danielle.

Categories: Arts · Ministry

Codex: Biblical Studies Blogspot » Blog Archive » Judaikitsch: Tefillin Barbie

Tyler Williams’ post must be seen to be believed.

Categories: Arts

Ben Witherington: Rob Bell’s Nooma Videos 1-5

Recently, Ben Witherington has written a few posts about Rob Bell (here and here). Now, Witherington turns his critical eye to Bell’s highly acclaimed NOOMA videos, reviewing the first 5.

NOOMA is a short film project featuring Bell:

It’s short films with communicators that really speak to us.
Compact, portable, and concise. Each NOOMA touches on
issues that we care about, that we want to talk about,
and it comes in a way that fits our world.
It’s a format that’s there for us when we need it,
as we need it, how we need it. (source: NOOMA.com)

I’ve heard some interesting things about these videos. I’ll be trying to get my hands on them in the next week or two so that I can write some about them. I have just finished reading Bell’s Velvet Elvis, and I hope to pick up a copy of Sex God soon.

I suppose I’ll just become a Bell reviewing machine!

Categories: Arts

Lucinda Williams is one of my favorite singer/songwriters. I have had people over the years tell me that this is odd, or even wrong. Lucinda doesn’t deal with “kosher” themes. She deals with the nit and the grit. Her voice is gravely. She comes out of the dark heart of America. As I listen to her, I feel like I’m sitting in her apartment listening to her play as she sits on the edge of her bed. She is recounting the tragedies of daily life. It’s not happy.

I like her for the same reason I like Bob Dylan: grit, uniquely American imagery played in a uniquely American style, and a willingness to go where others are less-than-willing.

I actually don’t know anything about Lucinda Williams personally. I do know that at the Austin City Limits Music Festival a few years ago, she evidently lost a bit of decorum and spewed cusswords at her band and at the crowd. I don’t know if this is merely an unsubstantiated rumor, a failed memory, or reality.

On her most recent album, West, for the first time Lucinda appears…well…pretty. She’s certainly not dolled up like Lindsey Lohan or something. That would just be disgusting and wrong. Instead, she’s wearing an appropriate amount of make-up, a leather jacket with western flair, a straw hat in her hand, and her wind-blown hair is no longer shockingly white, but blonde. She looks like a woman who may have found some of the things she’s looking for.

Additionally, when listening to West, I think I hear a different side of Lucinda Williams. There seems to be less anger than her previous album (World Without Tears)—less of the aggravation or vitriol present in “Bleeding Fingers,” “Those Three Days,” or the apocalyptic anger of “Atonement.” Rather, this is a blend of tunes that feels more ethereal…at peace, yet unresolved.

I find one song interesting in particular: “Unsuffer Me.” Rob Bell in Velvet Elvis discusses how behind every truth is God. It doesn’t matter who it is uttering the truth, or where that truth is being uttered. Truth is truth. “Unsuffer Me” is one of those songs that has a truth in it. It’s lyric is every person’s story. So, I share some of it with you:

Unlock my love
And set me free
Come fill me up
With ecstasy
Surround my heartbeat
With your fingertips
Unbound my feet
Untie my wrists
Come into my world
Of loneliness
And wickedness
And bitterness
Unlock my love

Unsuffer me
Take away the pain
Unbruise, unbloody
Wash away the stain
Anoint my head
With your sweet kiss
My joy is dead
I long for bliss
I long for knowledge
Whisper in my ear
Undo my logic
Undo my fear
Unsuffer me

For me, this is exactly what I feel in my darker moments. This is what we all feel when we are mired in the abysmal depths of this world, longing for the wonder, longing for a way out, longing for purpose and meaning. This world can be an awful place, and we often find ourselves wanting to be “unsuffered.”

When I heard this song the first time, driving home from Border’s, I instantly thought of Jesus.

Categories: Arts