This month, Yale University Press released “The Widening of God’s Mercy: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story,” a highly anticipated book coauthored by preeminent New Testament scholar Richard Hays and his son, Christopher, himself a respected Old Testament scholar. In this book they seek to make a biblical case for same-sex relationships and marriage. Ending the Read more
I have a friend in Europe who can barely keep a job. She’s brilliant, well-educated, charming, and loaded with experience in all aspects of her profession. The problem is her emotional state, which, even with therapy and medication, is always one meltdown away from another pink slip. Another friend who went to school with me Read more
Bishop Steve Lowe will introduce Identity:Identified, the newest spiritual guide for youth, at the World Youth Day 2023 (WYD23) Pilgrims’ Commissioning Mass in Auckland on July 9th. The guide seeks to present Holy Scripture in an engaging manner to younger individuals who may not typically engage with the Bible. The guide, a brainchild of the Read more
An extremely rare bible famous for an unfortunate error that encourages adultery has been discovered in New Zealand. The 1631 “Wicked” Bible, as it has become known, omits the word “not” from its seventh commandment, informing readers “thou shalt commit adultery” Read more
According to the American Bible Society’s 11th Annual State of the Bible Report, more Americans are turning to the Bible than they have in prior years, and they are reading it more often. Read more
A social media post claims Pope Francis has cancelled the Bible and proposed a new book to take its place. The post features a photo of Pope Francis and a screenshot of an article from April 2018, which is headlined: “Pope Francis cancels The Bible and proposes to create a new book.” Continue reading
The most popular Bible verse in 2019 encourages readers not to ‘worry about anything.’ The ‘most popular’ claim is made by the creators of Bible App, YouVersion. YouVersion’s statistics show that worldwide 400 million users shared, bookmarked and highlighted Philippians 4:6 during 2019. The Philippians verse reads: ‘Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Read more
The mystery over the ‘unauthorised’ sale of ancient bible fragments by an Oxford academic deepened last night amid claims matching texts have been sold to other private collectors. Dr Dirk Obbink, 62, an associate professor at Oxford University’s classics faculty, has been accused of selling without permission fragments belonging to the vast Oxyrhynchus collection. Dr Read more
The Bible Society has launched its new scripture-based website, The Word, the first Catholic Bible-engagement focused website of its kind in New Zealand. Mass readings are also delivered every day, thanks to a partnership with the Marist Messenger. The site delivers inspirational stories through video and word from Catholics for whom the Bible is an Read more
Bible Society New Zealand has recently donated 5,000 specially designed Bibles to the chaplaincy service of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). “People come into my office, and many aren’t religious, but they are all going through things”, says the Principal Defence Force Chaplain Ants Hawes. “I say to them, ‘Look I know you are Read more