Don't Know Much About the Bible - Kenneth C. Davis [190]
Jesus’ instruction for proper prayer is especially interesting in light of the public school prayer debate in modern America. The notion of making public prayers seems so antithetical to Jesus’s ideas that one can only wonder if the proponents of school prayer laws, often fundamentalist Christians, have read what Jesus had to say on this pressing question.
APPENDIX 4
THE PROLOGUE TO JOHN’S GOSPEL
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth…. From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. (John 1:1-18)
GLOSSARY
An asterisk (*) indicates words defined elsewhere in the Glossary.
angels: Members of the heavenly court, God’s retinue of divine assistants; described as “sons of God,” “morning stars,” “gods,” or the “host of heaven.” They are depicted in the *Bible as sent to deliver messages (angel is from the Greek for “messenger”) and protect God’s friends. Although called “angels,” *cherubim or *seraphim were not messengers but supernatural creatures with specific roles.
apocalypse: The words “apocalypse” and “apocalyptic” are from a Greek word for “to reveal” or “uncover” and describe a literary genre. There are two truly apocalyptic books: Daniel in the Hebrew Bible and Revelation in the *New Testament; the Book of Ezekiel also contains “apocalyptic” material. Generally speaking, apocalyptic writing contains revelations expressed through visionary experiences, intense symbolic images, and often deals with the “end times” or “final days,” when there will be a great cosmic upheaval.
Apocrypha: Writings that are not universally regarded as part of the *“canon,” or official list, of either Hebrew or Christian scripture. The word means “things hidden away.”
apostle: From the Greek for “send away,” used for the envoys of Jesus. Traditionally twelve, but not the same twelve as the *disciples. Paul is also added to the list of primary apostles, and there are others also considered apostles in a more general sense of the word.
Aramaic: The Semitic language of Aram (what is approximately modern Syria). Closely related to *Hebrew, which it largely displaced by the first century CE. It was almost certainly the language spoken by Jesus and his *disciples.
Ark of the Covenant: A wooden box containing the stone tablets of the Law, carried by the Israelites on their journey through the desert. It disappeared during the sack of Jerusalem in 587 BCE.
Bible: The English word “Bible” is derived from