Calvary

I love words and their history and origin and I like studying foreign languages. Because of this, I am really interested in Bible translation. I find it fascinating why some translations/scholars use one word and others don't.

One example that I just learned today is the word, "Calvary." What an important word because it is such an important place! How many hymns do we sing with "Calvary" in the words somewhere?

"Burderns are lifted at Calvary"
"Mercy there was great, and grace was free, pardon there was multipled to me...At Calvary"

How many churches use "Calvary" in their name? It seems really common, especially among Baptists.

I got a phone call from a brother involved in a Bible study asking me why Luke 23:33 in the KJV has the word, "Calvary" but the pew Bible at church (NIV) has "place called the Skull".

I did remember that Golgotha was Hebrew for skull (Matt 27:33, Mark 15:22, John 19:17), but it dawned on me that I wasn't really sure where "Calvary" came from. Even though I sing it often and it is a word with emotional effect, I don't know where it came from. So I started investigating.

Checking an interlinear (apologies to my greek professor), I found that the word in Greek translated "Calvary" in KJV's Luke 23:33 is the word for "skull", from which our English word "cranium" is derived.

Thanks to modern technology (Bible software: sometimes a blessing, sometimes a crutch), I found that the KJV is one of few that has the word, "Calvary" at all, and only in Luke 23:33.

But where did "Calvary" come from? Okay, then I checked a Bible Dictionary and figured it out. "Calvary" comes from the Latin word, "Calvaria," meaning skull.

So, when the Bible mentions "Golgotha" (Hebrew) or "Calvary" (Latin), it is simply transliterating the word for skull from another language. That still doesn't explain why the KJV scholars chose Calvary. And more confusingly, why they used the word, "skull" in the other gospels. I am sure that it is find-outable somewhere but this is where my searching stops, at least for now.

How interesting that this word taken from Latin has become so important and so often-used among Christians and it might be another example of a word like, "baptism" that wasn't in common usage but was more or less created by the KJV.

World Cup Musings (that's soccer)

• I love the name Torsten Frings. He plays for Germany. I like saying it. It sounds like a type of snack you would buy to watch the game. "I bought some soda and Torsten Frings. Would you like the BBQ Torsten Frings or Ranch flavored Torsten Frings?"

• Here is a link to the World Cup of Hair. There does seem to be a high percentage of wierd hair-dos among soccer players. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hruby/060623
  
• This has been commented on way too much but it is still fascinating how soccer players learn to fall and grab their leg so naturally, hoping to draw a penalty. The contrast to American Football is so great. In the NFL, if a 220 lb free safety drills the WR into the ground, said WR jumps up as quickly as possible and plays it off like it was a bump. You don't acknowledge a big hit. But in soccer, if you are nudged, you must fall to the ground as though you were hit by the aforementioned 220 lb free safety. I think the Italians teach this to their children as they learn to walk.

• I like soccer because every goal is a big deal. Most of the games are close. Since they are close, things can change quickly. Deep down we value things that are more difficult to accomplish. Scoring is more appreciated and more celebrated when it is rare. Of course, I also like 1-0 baseball games with two great pitchers. Also the build up when a team is pushing the ball up and might score is intense.

• We don't have cable but there are three Spanish networks nearby. I love listening to their announcers. It drives Marisa crazy when the guy screams, "Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal!" like a siren or one long "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!" but I like it.

• Now that USA is out, I am pulling for Italy. I have always liked Argentina and Holland but Italy and USA are the only teams I really root for seriously. Otherwise, I am tired of Brazil winning.

Fasting?!

John Piper is one of my favorite authors and I just started reading his book, "A Hunger for God." Fasting is counter-culture, neglected, and looked down upon and I am talking about in the Christian community. I would definitely recommend anything by Piper and I recommened this book even though I have only read the introduction.

Here are some quotes from the introduction to make you think and pique your interest:

"Christian fasting, at its root, is the hunger of a homesickness for God. "

"The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when we replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable."

"The issue (fasting) is not food per se. The issue is anything and everything that is, or can be, a substitute for God."

"Fasting is not the forfeit of evil but of good."

"...we easily deceive ourselves that we love God unless our love is frequently put to the test, and we must show our preferences not merely with words but with sacrifice."

"It's (the book) about the inward war with our own appetites that compete with hunger for God."

"My aim and prayer in writing this book is that it might awaken a hunger for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples."

"If you don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great."

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Poor Persecuted Brethren

We pray often for the persectued brethren in China or Africa and we should. They are having an awful time.

They might be struggling with lots of joy (Acts 5:41).
They are developing perseverance, character, and hope (Rom 5:1-5).
They have an inheritance that they are gaining (Rom 8:17).

Gee, we are so blessed to have nice houses and cars. We get to assemble without "hurt, harm, or danger." We get to go to Wal-Mart and McDonald's. If the laws of our country are ungodly or anti-Christian we can march in the streets, call our Senators and vote. We are so blessed with all these freedoms.

If we suffer unjustly, we can hire a lawyer. If those poor, persecuted Christians don't have that right, all they get is to be commended by God (1 Peter 2:19-21). Aren't we so blessed.

Those poor Christians being persecuted in all of the world...all they get is joy, perseverance, character, hope, and an inheritance. How sad for them! How blessed we are!


"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." --Jesus

30 Years!

I have completed 30 years of life on this earth. Wow! I thought it might seem weird but so far I don't foresee any nervous breakdowns or midlife crises, or a third-of-life crisis. Yesterday, two sweet ladies from church took Marisa and I out for brunch. Today was a normal day of worship. I preached on the OT prophecies about Jesus as reasons to believe in Him. Tonight, we will have our monthly singing so I won't be preaching. Marisa and I plan to finally go into NYC in the next week or two to visit a museum and eat in Little Italy.

Every now and then, I feel a twinge of "weirdness." I keep thinking about Paul's illustration in 1 Corinthians 13: "when I became a man, I put away childish things. "Am I a man?" That's one question. And then, "which things in my life are childish and need to be kicked out?" is another good one. "Are there childish things?" is a moot and stupid question.

I have two children. That number "2" is a lot more shocking and gives me more to think about than the other number.

5 years ago, we were newlyweds living in Searcy, AR. In a new apartment, enjoying a hot Arkansas summer.
10 years ago, I was working a summer job at a grocery store in Paducah, in the produce section and also taking a lit class at Murray State.
15 years ago, was my first summer after my mother died.
20 years ago, I was spending my summer playing with neighbor/best friend Bryan and we were exploring in the woods, following the creek, playing G.I. Joe and baseball.

Oh well. I guess I can handle another 30 or so.

World Cup 2006

I played soccer for two or three years while in elementary school. It was fun, I guess. We took a trip once to St. Louis to play in a tournament. We weren't good but for some reason we drove 3 hours to play in a tournament. I mainly remember my mother complaining to a parent who only brought water for us at half-time instead of Gatorade like everyone else had done. I really liked the Gatorade. I probably wasn't old enough to be embarassed, plus, like I said, I really liked the Gatorade.

I didn't have much interest in it again until the summer of 1995. I was attending Harding's foreign study program in Florence, Italy. On a Sunday afternoon in June many of us went to a professional soccer game. Although I still didn't understand the game, I had a blast. The passion of the crowd and the way they responded collectively to the game was amazing. I had been to a couple of MLB games but they didn't compare. A regular season soccer match seemed like the playoffs.

When I returned to Italy in 1999-2000 I became a fan of soccer and AS Roma--one of two professional teams in Rome. Watching it on TV, talking with friends, and going to a Champions League match helped me understand the game and appreciate it more. The game was between Roma and Leeds (a professional team in England). "We" lost 1-0 but the intensity in the crowd was almost scary. And we were almost assaulted by British hooligans outside the stadium. One of them purposely stepped on my shoe. We kept our heads down and kept walking. Fun stuff.

I share all this to say that I am excited about the World Cup in Germany. Of course, I am rooting for USA, but also for Italy. Unfortunately, they play each other on June 17th.

If you can't understand why anyone would like soccer, or if you would like to learn more about it, check out these two articles. They are written for the confused, disinterested American.

Here are a couple of vocab words for fun:
What we call a field, they call the "pitch".
When we would say team, they say "side", e.g. the American side.
Instead of playing an exhibition, they call it a "friendly".
And it's not a game, but a "match".

Quick World Cup primer on why it's a big deal
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/5646442

World Cup vs. U.S. sporting events
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/5655244