Monday, September 25, 2017

10 commandments revelation!


I'm teaching Sunday School at our Presbyterian church this month. (several of us take turns to teach for a month at a time throughout the year at different age levels.) I decided to look at the Ten Commandments with my 5 to 8 year-olds.  Most of these children would have met the commandments in the preschool class but I thought that would be good to get them to think more deeply about them. 
I wanted to show them that different wording can be used to convey the same instructions and prohibitions.   In preparation for this I looked up the internet to get different versions, Imagine my horror when I saw that Catholic versions have mucked around with them! No. 9 is not the prohibition against lying.  I avoided those ones and just picked versions that were compatible with my Good News version.
In further preparation I borrowed 'Salt and light' by Mark P. Shea - it is a paperback on the Commandments, the Beatitudes and a joyful life. Just the ticket I thought as I plucked it from the library shelf, and it is!
Chapter 1.5 bought me great relief.  Catholics have not deleted commandments, they are all there.
The original Hebrew didn't enumerate them, so we can count not making idols and worshiping them  as separate from No. 1: worship only God or we can include it in.  Likewise coveting your neighbour's spouse can be separate or included in with coveting your neighbour's belongings. 
The Catholic church chose to divvy them up one way, Protestants another, no big deal.

Friday, February 10, 2017

Title: Every day

Title: Every day
Author: David Levithan
Year: 2012
Publisher: Knoph

'A' is a sort of spirit, he has no body of his own: each day he inhabits the body of someone his own age, a different body each day.  Sometimes a boy, sometimes a girl.  Obese, beautiful, bullied and a bully, blind, athletic, a varied life, but  'A' is always aware that it is borrowed.  'A' is honourable and careful with the bodies, knowing that others will have to bear the consequences of anything that is done.  Then he falls in love with the girlfriend of the current body he is in and he wants to stop moving on, to stay the same, to be with her.  Totally original book, will appeal to anyone who loved "The time-traveller's wife"