Rocco Maiolo's Ramblings and Musings

Over the course of a few days, I heard/read inquiries/comments like this:  At our church, we don't apologize for what we believe . And,  I'm new to the area: can someone please recommend a church that follows and teaches the Bible?       A few years ago when our teaching pastor dealt with the question of biblical authority, interpretation and how to read the Bible, one of the results was that some people left the church. It wasn't so much what he taught during this series -- although some took exception to that as well -- it was his approach and attitude. Which was one of:  I can't possibly be right 100% of the time about 100% of all things theological, therefore... humility?  It deserves to be noted that said teaching pastor who advocates humility is currently working on his Phd in theology.  Some didn't like,to be reminded for example, that within any biblical tradition -- even the particular strand of, say, evangelicalism to which you be...

There has been considerable debate around the idea that William Shakepspeare in some minor way helped to translate for the 1611 version of the King James Bible.  Regardless of the veracity of this claim, there is far more, and safer, evidence to suggest that he certainly would've known the Bible narrative very well, as would all of his educated contemporaries. Several years ago, I decided to read the Bible in a year.  It occurred to me somewhere around the story of Samuel, Saul and David that a lot of biblical narrative, some incredibly similar, had managed to make its way into the Bard's tales.  I started keeping a chart.  Below are my findings (unfortunately rather sketchy, in no particular order and having no particular method of organization):                          Bible Shakespeare Esther 1:10-12 – King Xer...