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I agree with Peter because this topic hits home for me, as it may for others. From the ages of 4 through 9, I grew up in a household where my grandmother was Catholic and my mother was an evangelical. I witnessed the dissimilarities of the two, but also the slow progression of what Peter talks about, “ the change occurring within both religious traditions.” During the the years I lived with my grandmother and simultaneously followed the teachings of my mother taught me to have a profound respect for both religious traditions. As a young child, I witnessed my grandmother holding her rosaries and looking out at the window while deep in thought. I admired her daily dedication to the Catholic tradition. At the same time, I woke up every morning to see my Mother reading her Bible and praying, and I was inspired by her dedication to biblical study. Years later, when I was 16, I found my grandmother flipping through the books of the Bible, frequently using the concordance, and pondering on what she read. And years later learned about my mother’s influence of confession and she uses an accountability group to fulfill this need.

What are your thoughts and/or experiences on this matter?

Rachael A. Baxter
Program Director

An article by Reuters headlined yesterday–
Bible is America’s Favorite Book.
To read the article in full, please visit: Read more!

Comments from the article were astounding, “When it comes to literary pursuits in the United States most people agree on at least one thing — the most popular book is the Bible…” “The Bible is number one among each of the different demographic groups”

The Bible is the most influential and widely spread book ever to exist. It is translated into more languages than any other book.. According to a worldwide status of Bible translation (2007) from the Wycliffe Bible Translators, the numbers are significant. “1,168 is the number of language communities which have access to the New Testament in their heart language. 438 is the number of language communities which have access to the entire Bible in the language they understand best.”

There are hundreds of organizations committed to promoting Bible Reading, printing Bibles, and distributing Bibles. Why is the Bible so significant that thousands of individuals do everything in their power to get the Word out? That is because for centuries the Bible has withstood many critics and skeptics. And its moral values have stood the test of time. Lastly, it has influenced culture in tremendous ways

ART - Michelangelo created two of the most influential works in fresco in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling and The Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

MUSIC – Bob Dylan, a voice of a generation, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his music for his profound contribution to American Culture through his music. Interestingly enough, some of Bob Dylan’s lyrics quote the scriptures, for instance - “They say prayer has the power to heal / So pray for me mother / In the human heart an evil spirit can dwell / I am a-tryin’ to love my neighbor and do good unto others / But oh, mother, things ain’t going well.” —from “Ain’t Talkin’”

FAMOUS AUTHORS - C.S. Lewis, author of the Chronicles of Narnia, outlines sacrifice and redemption.

MOVIE THEMES - Prominent movie themes such as good versus evil create emotional connections as proven throughout the series of The Lord of the Rings

GOVERNMENT - Our founding fathers based their decisions on biblical principles. John Adams, our second president quoted “Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book. And every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God… (Diary, Feb. 22, 1756)

MOVERS AND SHAKERS - William Wilberforce read the Bible daily and memorized scripture. He was a man who was very influential in the abolition of slavery and the renewing of minds within society in the 18th century.

YOU - What about you? Please share your story with us on how the Bible has influenced your decisions in life.

Rachael A. Baxter
Program Director

Actually, the Orthodox faith does not celebrate Easter on a fixed date each year. Instead, Orthodox faithful celebrate Easter after Passover, whenever it falls. That keeps in accordance with Biblical chronology, since Jesus was crucified and buried on the day before Passover, and rose the day after.

And yet, I fear that the answer is not even that simple. I found this explanation on the official site of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Note that “pascha” means Easter here.

The Orthodox Church continues to base its calculations for the date of Pascha on the Julian Calendar, which was in use at the time of the First Ecumenical Council. As such, it does not take into account the number of days, which have since then accrued due to the progressive loss of time in this calendar.

Practically speaking, this means that Pascha may not be celebrated before April 3, which was March 21, the date of the vernal equinox, at the time of the First Ecumenical Council. In other words, a difference of 13 days exists between the accepted date for the vernal equinox then and now. Consequently, it is the combination of these variables which accounts for the different dates of Pascha observed by the Orthodox Church and other Christian Churches.

Got it? At any rate, it is a fascinating article. To read the whole thing go to this site: Read more!
Whenever you do celebrate Easter, be sure to read all of the relevant Bible passages from the source. Download our Weekly Bible Reading Guide from this site to read all of the Holy Week and Easter Week passages from the Bible.

Peter A. Giersch
National Bible Association

The other thing that is coming early this year is Easter. In fact, Easter, which falls on March 23rd this year, could only possibly be one day earlier. Here’s why:

Easter is tied the cycles of the moon. That’s because it is based upon the ancient reckoning of the Jewish Passover. The current reckoning of Jewish Passover now follows a different formula, and that’s why Passover and Easter don’t always fall on the same day in modern times.

But according to this ancient formula of understanding where Passover should fall, Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. Now the Vernal Equinox is the first day of Spring, and that falls either on March 21st or 22nd, depending on some other astronimical stuff. So, if you follow this, the first full moon AFTER March 21st could only fall on March 22nd. Meaning that Easter could only fall one day earlier than it does this year.

But what about the Greek Orthodox who are just now getting ready to celebrate Ash Wednesday? Well, they keep Easter tied to a calendar date so it’s the same date every year. I am not sure how they chose the particular date they did — but knowing them, it’s some ancient reckoning.

Peter A. Giersch
National Bible Association

I’m glad that the Wall Street Journal pointed out that this quote comes from the Bible. Many people might mistakenly think that Spitzer was quoting Peter Parker, who says this at the end of the first Spider Man movie.

At any rate, we at the National Bible Association don’t take positions on political scandals, so let me take this reflection in a different direction, and try to put the quote that former Governor Spitzer said in context.

The quote is from the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 12, v.48b. It’s a rather complex sentence structure, which Spitzer handled correctly. Most people who try to quote this verse start out by saying, “To whom much is given . . .” and then the sentence just doesn’t work. You’ve got to start by saying, “From whom . . .” Because the point is that God is demanding more of some than others. He is demanding something from us.

Doesn’t sound fair right? It makes a little more sense in context. Here is the whole relevant passage from the lesser known New Century Version:

Always Be Ready
35 “Be dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. 36 Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party. When he comes and knocks, the servants immediately open the door for him.37 They will be blessed when their master comes home, because he sees that they were watching for him. I tell you the truth, the master will dress himself to serve and tell the servants to sit at the table, and he will serve them. 38 Those servants will be blessed when he comes in and finds them still waiting, even if it is midnight or later.
39 “Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. 40 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!”
41 Peter said, “Lord, did you tell this story to us or to all people?”
42 The Lord said, “Who is the wise and trusted servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time? 43 When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed.44 I tell you the truth, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns.45 But suppose the servant thinks to himself, ‘My master will not come back soon,’ and he begins to beat the other servants, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46 The master will come when that servant is not ready and is not expecting him. Then the master will cut him in pieces and send him away to be with the others who don’t obey.
47 “The servant who knows what his master wants but is not ready, or who does not do what the master wants, will be beaten with many blows! 48 But the servant who does not know what his master wants and does things that should be punished will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.

So Jesus starts out by talking about the need to be vigilant, watchful, always aware of what you’re doing. Then Peter asks him, “Does this mean us too?” And in essence, Jesus tells him — especially you! So a few lessons come across in this verse, and all are quite applicable in the Spitzer case. First, never let your guard down, and never, never forget your values, your duties, your vows and promises. Then, secondly, never think that you are exempt from the first lesson.

There’s another question here, and that has to do with the emotional power of quoting the Bible. Is it manipulative? On the one hand, it’s good to hear an elected official quoting the Bible, especially in such an appropriate way. But on the other hand, the Bible is such an emotionally charged book, it is hard not to feel manipulated when someone does quote it.

What do you think?

Peter A. Giersch
National Bible Association