Read a good book lately?

March 19, 2020, Ruminations
Dear Friends,
            If you are staying home more than usual because of concerns over Covid-19, here are a few things you might enjoy reading.

1. If you are interested in exploring ancient sacred religious texts to a number of religions, you will enjoy (www.bl.uk/sacred-texts/)  The link brings you to the British Library, and to almost 300 texts.  You will discover articles about Hinduism, Buddhism, the Sikh faith, and the Abrahamic religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
2. If you like a good book, then of course read the Bible.  I know it can be daunting to think about it, but it can be done.  Overall, there are 1,189 chapters in the Bible; 929 in the Old Testament, and 260 in the New Testament.  Reading 40 chapters a day, you will finish it in 30 days.  Reading 15 chapters a day, you will finish it in just over 79 days.  Reading 12 chapters a day, you will finish it in barely over 99 days.  I have found that 10 chapters a day is manageable for me.  At that pace, I finished reading the Bible in four months.  Just in time to start again!
3. Other good books include:
   1. The Last Week: A Day-by-Day Account of Jesus’s Final Week in Jerusalem, by Marcus Borg & John Dominic Crossan.
   2. Faith and Feminism: Ecumenical Essays, edited by B. Diane Lipsett and Phyllis Trible.
   3. Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, by Elaine Pagels.
   4. Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?, by Brian D. McLaren.
   5. Good Girls, Bad Girls; The Enduring Lessons of TWELVE WOMEN of the Old Testament, by T. J. Wray.
   6. Treatise on Thermodynamics, by Max Planck.
   7. The Case for God, by Karen Armstrong.
   8. Edvard Grieg, Little Great Man: The unorthodox life of Norway’s greatest composer, by Brendan Ward.
   9. All About Weeds, by Edwin Rollin Spencer [this book has scores of illustrations]
   10. In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, by Gabor Maté, MD.

 
            If you have ideas you would like to share in this space, please let me know.  We are in this adventure together.
                                   
                                                                                    Blessings,
 
                                                                                                Jim