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| Things I never expected to see: No.1: Carol's poking in the Military History at Barnes and Noble. |
It's a time-honored bit of wisdom: Garbage in, garbage out. You are what you eat.
I seem to remember a Native American fable about a young warrior who consulted his medicine man about dreams that bothered him. He related the dreams about two wolves, one white as snow, the other black as night. One seemed to embody everything good in him - family, faith, love, loyalty, bravery; while the other embodied lust, violence, fear and hatred. He saw these two wolves at war with each other - inside his own soul.
The medicine man nodded and after a while responded that these two wolves symbolized the two natures inside the young man - two natures that seem to be present in just about everyone, come to think of it. The young warrior wasn't aware that he shared this internal war with every other human, so he was concerned.
He asked which one would grow stronger and dominate in his life?
The old man answered simply: "The one which you feed."
So how does the Preacher nourish his inner white wolf? With a lot of books, time spent with good people, and a lot of prayer.
So, as far as books are concerned, here's what the preacher reads:
I suppose it goes without saying I read my bible. Bibles in my case: Feel free to come into the study sometime to see if you can guess the total: A total of THREE German bibles, - a facsimile edition of Luther's first translation (in two giant illustrated volumes), an old pulpit bible from a German immigrant congregation in Iowa somewhere, and my Luterbibel 1984 edition from Stuttgart. Carol and I (and Sam and Abby) visited the home of the German Bible Society back in 1999 and had a wonderful time at their 'Bibel Haus Museum.' The Society has produced scholarly editions of Greek and Hebrew texts for over a hundred years now, and it is holy ground for bible lovers world wide.
Which leads to my next treasure, my Hebrew Bible, now known as the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, fifth edition 1997. I can read parts of it nicely (Psalm 1, for instance) but mostly, it's slow going, and I don't read it as much as I dreamed I would in seminary. Ah well.
My Greek Bible is much more useful. The Nestle-Aland 27th Edition 1993 LARGE PRINT: I bought this in Washington State and read it on the bus commuting to the inner city private school where I taught at the time (1995-97), and it's got coffee stains all over it, and packing tape up the spine to boot. The large print was a brilliant choice, because Greek letters can be horrible to read with any speed. It's a joy to work with. I read the Gospel lessons for Sundays in Greek most weeks, and I prepare bible studies from it as well. It's beat up compared to my Hebrew bible, as you can imagine.
When I was at Warner Pacific College in Portland, Oregon, back in ... well, way back there, they made us buy the New Oxford Annotated Bible, a fancy notated edition of the Revised Standard Version. Back in that day, if you were old school, you read King James. If you were hip, you read 'The Living Bible,' with it's puffy green cover. If you were younger, you read the paperback version, 'The Way' which had pictures filled with flower shirts, bell bottoms, long hair, and Vietnam. I've got both those versions on my shelf here, somewhere, too, if anyone wants to take a trip down memory lane to their church in the 1970's.
Back to the New Oxford...well, it was new then, I suppose. The Revised Standard Version was one I'd never heard of, and I really liked it - it was like half way between the King James and the Living Bible: Elegant, yet hip at the same time.
By the time I got to bible school in Los Angeles years later (1993-94), my wife bought me the new 2nd edition of the New Oxford Annotated Bible, and that's the one that's stuck with me to this day.
I've a hardback version of the Fourth Edition on my desk, but if I'm going anywhere I need a bible, it's the black leather one Carol got me way back when I take. It's in the New Revised Standard Version, which we use every Sunday and, all things considered, is as good as any recent translation out there.
My dad sent me his old King James bible he used to preach out of back in the day: the dedication says it was given by mom, Cliff, Cindy, and Me for Christmas in 1964 - I was all of six months old then, but apparently I agreed with the rest that it was a fine bible. The leather is still supple and warm, and the type is clear as day. It is free from the notes and the other stuff most bibles have in them, and lets the words speak for themselves. Very nice!
And, that's it for bibles, I think. There's probably others worthy of mention, but I'll get to those later, perhaps. In the meantime, keep reading, and feeding the white wolf!
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