Reading the last chapter of a mystery novel first may sound like a bad idea to those who love the suspense of a good story But some people enjoy reading a book more if they know how it ends In Reading Backwards author Richard Hays shows how important the practice is for our understanding of the Bible By illustrating how the unfolding words and events of Scripture anticipate echo and throw light on one another Professor Hays gives us reason to read our Bibles forward and backward Hays reminds readers that it was only after Jesus rsquo resurrection that His [... more]

Something so cordial can happen in first introductions when two persons discover that they have a friend in common In what may be its most memorable form a big-hearted host welcomes a guest with something like ldquo So nice to meet you Any friend of Sam rsquo s or Samantha rsquo s is a friend of mine rdquo nbsp nbsp Jesus said something similar He rsquo d been attracting crowds by healing many But He rsquo d also been making enemies of local religious leaders by disagreeing with the way they were commercializing the temple and misusing their influence In [... more]

Caesar Augustus BC ndash AD the first emperor of Rome wanted to be known as a law-and-order ruler Even though he built his empire on the back of slave labor military conquest and financial bribery he restored a measure of legal due process and gave his citizens Iustitia a goddess our justice system today refers to as Lady Justice He also called for a census that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem for the birth of a long-awaited ruler whose greatness would reach to the ends of the earth Micah ndash nbsp nbsp nbsp What neither Augustus nor the rest [... more]

Beethoven was angry He rsquo d intended to name his Third Symphony ldquo The Bonaparte rdquo In an age of religious and political tyranny he saw Napoleon as a hero of the people and champion of freedom But when the French general declared himself emperor the celebrated composer changed his mind Denouncing his former hero as a rascal and tyrant he rubbed so hard to erase Bonaparte rsquo s name that he left a hole in the original score Early believers in Jesus must have been disappointed when their hopes of political reform were dashed He had stirred such hopes [... more]

During the Golden Age of radio Fred Allen ndash used comedic pessimism to bring smiles to a generation living in the shadows of economic depression and a world at war His sense of humor was born out of personal pain Having lost his mother before he was three he was later estranged from his father who struggled with addictions He once rescued a young boy from the traffic of a busy New York City street with a memorable ldquo What rsquo s the matter with you kid Don rsquo t you want to grow up and have troubles rdquo The [... more]

ldquo Mr Singerman why are you crying rdquo asked twelve-year-old Albert as he watched the master craftsman construct a wooden box ldquo I cry rdquo said Isaac ldquo because my father cried and because my grandfather cried rdquo The woodworker rsquo s answer to his young apprentice provides a tender moment in an episode of Little House on the Prairie ldquo Tears rdquo explained Mr Singerman ldquo come with the making of a coffin rdquo ldquo Some men don rsquo t cry because they fear it is a sign of weakness rdquo he said ldquo I was taught that a [... more]