All in Cultural Background
Harold Goddard writes, "The history of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in." As we live in the modern world, we see the evidence of Goddard's statement all around us. People have particular views of the world, and those views often are driven by the stories they have embraced.
God wants to pull us into his Story and shape us by it. You may not be terribly familiar with the Old Testament stories, which play a vitally important role in telling the Grand Story, but there are a number of reasons why we should read those stories (which make up a bit less than 50% of the Old Testament).
I am a fan of the KJV as a religious and literary masterpiece. As Geddes MacGregor points out,
“In respect of both equipment and method, . . . the translation was made according to the highest standards of scholarship and the most advanced knowledge of the day.”
An amazing collection of scholars—most of the best of England’s biblical savants—were able to produce a work that made an impact on the world for four centuries, and that is something to be celebrated.
Augustine of Hippo stands tall as one of the greatest churchmen and theologians of Christian history, and he is one of my personal heroes. It is hard to express how deeply indebted to him we are today. Yet, between AD 394 and 405 he and another church luminary, Jerome, corresponded about various matters, including Augustine's concerns about Jerome's translation of the Old Testament from the Hebrew original. I think in this rare case, Augustine got it wrong.
When wrestling with Hebrews 13:2 (“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares”), it is easy to wonder, Have I ever talked to an angel without knowing it? Or, Maybe that lady who caught my baby buggy, keeping my child from rolling into the street, was—well, you know.
