The Bible as a Screenplay

Yesterday, as I was shamelessly trolling the internet due to an expansive bought of boredom, I came across this breaking news:  The Bible has been translated into a screenplay. Yep, it’s true.  Just as a few of the brilliant classics are getting a 50 Shades of Grey style overhaul (don’t even get me started on that one), apparently the Bible isn’t off limits to modern reinterpretations either. And not just any kind of reinterpretation. We’re not talking a new idea on how an ancient Hebrew text should be translated into modern English, no, we’re talking “poets, writers and musicians” all collaborating together to twist the Bible into some kind of accessible novel.  Frank Couch, vice president of translation development for Thomas Nelson, has worked with a whole team of experts in order to offer this new version of the Bible knows as “The Voice.”  Not only is there a modern screenplay format, but the new translation also “reformats the bible and inserts words and phrases into the text to clarify the action or smooth transitions.” So, what happened to reverence towards the living word of God? Since when did pure, unadulterated truth need to be reformatted in order for people to “fall in love with the story of the Bible?” I understand the desire to reach a bigger audience, to share the life-giving words of the Bible and find people not only interested but responsive as well. However, it is fully up to God to open man’s heart, and while He has put us here as a tool for him, no matter how “accessible” or “relatable” we try to make it, God will be the one to save.  They say this new format will help others understand the bible and be drawn into the story.  But the Bible isn’t just a story. It’s a divinely inspired work of ultimate truth that combines every genre you could ever need. It’s an account of history, a source of ultimate comfort, and an instruction book.  It’s the foundation to which we should build our lives from.  The Bible is God’s voice, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t need the help of a few Hollywood screenwriters and poets to give it more impact than it already has.  

In addition to being flabbergasted at the amount of tampering being done with the Bible, I also couldn’t help but be reminded, and disappointed, with our culture’s interest in dumbed down versions of literacy. We’ve become more attracted to easily-read and unsubtle messages; why choose the thought-provoking and seemingly more difficult path when the answers can be blatantly fed to us? Why spend hours exercising your brain when instant-gratification-fluff is readily available? As a twenty-something, I’m just as into technology as anyone, but it’s an undeniable truth that kids are no longer being exposed to classic lit, or art, or philosophy, as a regular occurrence. Now, it’s who can get the highest Angry Birds score or kill the most zombies in the tiny, post apocalyptic land filling the screen mere inches from their noses. But I digress, and I’m sure I’m not the first one to lament the lapse in education and social interactions in today’s society. I guess seeing this new “translation” of the Bible just got me thinking, where exactly is our culture headed? Because I can’t see many benefits in offering people the notion that things needs to be easier to read. How about extending the idea there is value in putting forth effort? Especially when it comes to the Bible.  

Source: QC Times 

Waiting For Us At Home

"The beluga whale who saved a free-diver who had cramped up 20 feet below the surface."                                                            

"The staffordshire bull terrier who protected her owner from a machete gang."

I recently came across a list of 14 stories that “prove animals have souls.” While this is quite the claim to brazenly throw out into the world wide web, the supporting evidence included some anecdotes of animal behavior that are undeniable and eerily comparable to human conduct. Granted, some examples are just a bit too much of a stretch; just because cows stress levels seemingly rise when they are apart from their preferred heifer besties, doesn’t really prove that Dairy Queen and Mr. Beefy are off to heaven once their souls are sacrificed for the growing boys who rank a nice steak with fast cars and pretty women.

On the other hand, there is something simultaneously disconcerting and awe-inspiring in the now famous story of Christian the Lion that leaves one a greater sense of hidden depth contained in our seemingly lesser animal friends. For those unaware of the event, two brothers raised a lion cub in 1969, released him into the wild, and returned a year later only to be told the lion was now head of the pride and unlikely to remember them. Footage of the reunion temporarily breaks down all ideas of the boundary between wild animals and humans. Check it out:

A similar story is on the list of a previously human-raised gorilla who was released into the wild and became hostile to humans, only to gloriously embrace his old friend who had raised him for 5 years and courageously travel to West Africa in order to reunite. Kwibi and Damian shared a bond that defied normal expectations of how animals interact with people.

The stories abound; a nursing home cat that senses death, a Jack Russell Terrier that sacrificed himself for five children being attacked by wild dogs, a German Shepherd who unexpectedly became a seeing eye dog for a blind spaniel. Animals seem to continually surprise us with their seemingly human characteristics.

This article and accompanying pictures immediately got my mind spinning, wondering to what extent these are glimpses into how Adam and Eve must have communed with the variety of creatures in the Garden before the fall separated man from both God and Nature. How must it have felt to lounge with the lions? Did one of God’s lions embrace Adam in a powerful, encompassing hug (just as Christian the Lion did with John and Ace) as a regular occurrence? I imagine Eve just nonchalantly strolling with a Gorilla, with any sense of danger we would feel now being entirely nonexistent. I also think of the verse in Genesis: “And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground - I give every green plant for food. ” (Genesis 1:30). Gators weren’t attacking giraffes and the lion would rest with the lamb. Harmonious relationships abounded, between every animal to animal, beast to man, and most importantly between man and God himself.

I’m filled with a renewed sense of awe regarding the time before the fall. Of course the cardinal joy would have been to be with God and live as he fully intended, but also, the relationships with animals must have been incredible. And I for one cannot wait to see how God truly meant it to be, along with the multitude of other experiences we cannot have here on this earth but are waiting for us at home.

Source: http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/stories-that-prove-animals-have-souls 

"I ask myself; is it worth it? And it just isn't."

“Some people are uncomfortable with silences. Not me. I’ve never cared much for call and response. Sometimes I will think of something to say and then I ask myself; is it worth it? And it just isn’t.” – Miranda July

Whenever a quote is read that immediately causes some sort of kinship between yourself and the writer, it’s as if, in the few seconds it takes to read a few lines of typed letters, a friend suddenly emerges. You mean there’s another human being on this earth who has the exact thoughts I do? Suddenly I don’t feel so alone or peculiar as I did before. Speaking of quotes, I’m reminded of a gem of simple truth by C.S Lewis: “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” I find it fascinating that the simplest voicing of matching sentiment, even by a complete stranger, can bring a smile to your face. It makes me wonder to what extent we need to relate and be understood by others. While listening to the Social Animal on CD on my way to work this morning, David Brooks highlighted a study about mirror neurons, where researchers have discovered a type of neuronal network that seemingly lends specifically to the process of imitating others. Particularly in babies, there is an unconscious desire to connect and match with someone who is closest to you. He also expressed the idea that the brain is just one piece of anatomy inside a skull, whereas the mind emerges from interaction and connection with others. Our minds aren’t just a complex interface of neurotransmitters, synaptic connections and RNA building codes. Just as the brain is influenced by its internal chemical reactions, our mind is impacted by our external connections. A seemingly simple discovery of connectedness with an individual can light up certain pathways in the brain, and if we specifically find fondness towards that person, our mirror neurons activate and we find ourselves unconsciously mimicking their movements and speech patterns. “No man is an island unto himself” seems truer than I previously thought…

Rewinding back to the original quote; I was immediately struck by the statement, “Sometimes I will think of something to say and then I ask myself; is it worth it? And it just isn’t.” While by no means a particularly profound and moving articulation, I nonetheless was a little surprised to hear a personal truth expressed by a faceless woman through a random and seemingly inconsequential tumblr reblog. It’s been a reoccurring aspect of my life, this idea of speaking up even when it seems unnecessary. Small talk? Yeah, not my strong suit. I find myself thinking of something in my head, evaluating the importance of the comment, and continually deciding it’s just not worth saying. Now, I realize this is probably not the wisest decision I could ever make. People connect by conversation, and language, no matter how trivial or insightful, is a way to fulfill our souls. God extols fellowship for a reason. So, as I'm reading someone else say the same thing I think every day, I realized the fallacy and benefits of that kind of thinking in perfect synchronicity. Trivial, vapid remarks are better left unsaid, but at the same time withholding all thoughts and feelings, even if simple comments, can make others uncomfortable and unsure. I suppose, just like every other aspect of life, balance is key. With an extreme bent towards introversion, balance is sometimes hard to find, but practice makes perfect…

I’ve been made aware over the years that multiple people have felt intimidated or disliked because of my silence. And I hate that that is the result of my overactive mental evaluations. Therefore, the point of today’s musing is this: just because I’m not speaking up and adding to the conversation doesn’t mean A) I’m an idiot, B) YOU’RE an idiot (although it’s possible. Kidding! Sort of.) or C) I'd give anything to be somewhere else. Rather, I evaluate my thoughts before their released, and sometimes, they just don’t pass the test. That, and observations and silence can be revealing. There really are perks to being a wallflower ;)