Those who have ears

Take time to listen to the Word of God. In our culture of constant bombardment of visual images and noise, added to our practice of silent reading (which is a result of Enlightenment and foreign in antiquity) we are not very good at listening. In some of our churches we may not practise reading of Scriptures (whether silent or aloud) regularly. This is the main tenet of my proposed thesis and has been confirmed by the lecturers. Gordon Fee and Christopher Hall, in the classes I've been attending these few weeks. They strongly emphasize listening the Word - Chris calls it reading with the ears of our hearts.

For those who are interested here are 2 products you may want to consider.
1. TNIV Bible Experience - The New Testament has been released and named Audiobook of the Year, the most prestigious award for excellence in audiobooks, by the Audio Publishers Association (APA). Narrators include some top Hollywood personalities like Angela Bassett (Narrator), Cuba, Jr. Gooding (Narrator), Samuel L. Jackson (Narrator), T. D. Jakes (Narrator), Blair Underwood (Narrator).
See the video of the making at Zondervan site. The Complete Bible is scheduled to be released on 7th September.
Of course, listener should be mindful of their emphasis and pauses, which can affect our understanding of a particular passage.

2. NIV read by Max Maclean
This is read at a good pace with appropriate emphasis. You can listen the whole Bible online (free): NIV Audio. You can purchase it in MP3 or other audio format, or you can choose to download it. I have found his emphasis and dramatising easy to follow.


Finally BibleGateway offers free audio Bibles online (Max Maclean reads the NIV version). You can also get the other versions as well as Bible in other languages, as well as different Chinese dialect - this is especially helpful for those who are illiterate.

Fascination with dates

Yes, I have a thing about noting certain dates, like today's: 07.07.07! The best part is, this works no matter where you come from and what order you write your dates. Of course this only refers to the Roman calendar and does not apply to lunar or Muslim calendar.

p/s: Have you noticed how lawyers have a tendency to qualify and defend what they say even as they are saying it? I hope that does not irritate you. Can't help it.