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Quote by A.J. Jacobs

“The Bible is right: A deluge of images does encourage idolatry. Look at the cults of personality in America today. Look at Hollywood. Look at Washington. I'd like to see the next presidential race be run according to Second Commandment principles. No commercials. A radio-only debate. We need an ugly president. I know we're missing out on some potential Abe Lincolns because they'd look gawky and gangly on TV.”

Quote by A.J. Jacobs

Book:The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
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The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible

This non-fiction book chronicles the author's attempt to live according to the Bible's literal instructions for an entire year. The narrative explores his experiences, challenges, and reflections on the religious text's relevance in modern life. more

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A.J. Jacobs

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“Images are taking over, and writers are a dying breed. The Norman Mailers of today are reduced to writing pun-filled captions for paparazzi photos. Blogs--which were threatening enough to professional writers--are being replaced by video blogs. We writers need to embraced the Second Commandment as our rallying cry for the importance of words. In a literally biblical world, all publications would look like the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Or the way it used to look, anyway.”

WritingGraven ImagesPage 106Second Commandment
Book:The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
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“Jesus probably studied this same information, in his youth. The apostle Paul probably studied this same information. How can I make such a bold assertion? Because, without this knowledge, much of the New Testament would make no sense. Many of the idioms used in the New Testament are the result of lessons learned from this ancient Hebrew education system. Unfortunately, what was common in their day, has become forgotten in ours. For a Hebrew, math doesn’t get in the way. It blazes the way. Other languages are disconnected from this mathematical relationship . . . and it shows.”

JonahHomeschoolKabbalahNumericsTeaching HebrewSacred AlphabetHebrew AlphabetHidden Wisdom
Book:The Meaning of Hebrew Letters: A Hebrew Language Program For Christians
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“Among those ways and thoughts of God, then, is the principle of accommodation. God works within human limitations - both individual and corporate - to transform the world according to his good purposes. To be blunt, God works with what he's got and with what we've got. He does not create a whole new situation but instead graciously pursues shalom in the glory and the mess we have made. The living water of the Holy Spirit pours over the extant topography of the social landscape and rarely sweeps all before it. The Spirit usually conforms himself to the contours he encounters. But as he does so, like an irresistible flow of water, he shapes them by and by, eventually making the crooked ways straight and the rough places a plain (Isa. 40:3-4).”

GodEgalitarianismComplementarianismChristian FeminismDivine Accommodation
Book:Finally Feminist: A Pragmatic Christian Understanding of Gender
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“Planning Meetings might be the greatest art form ever, since what happens is nothing less than this: a soul shapes a new incarnation, then boldly commits. Quite the contrast to Life Reviews, when a soul comes out the other end. Frankly this returning to heaven to learn about your recent incarnation… it’s like coming out the poop end of life… in contrast to the restaurant-like, lip-smacking deliciousness of a planning meeting. Around here we have this saying, “Planning Meetings for joy. Life Reviews for… compassion.” Basically, watching a Life Review makes you want to hunker down with some celestial tissues, feeling sorry for the sad parts of the story, consoling yourself with knowledge of growth that took place anyway, and maybe wondering if you’ll ever risk leaving heaven again. By contrast, how do you feel after watching an inspiring Planning Meeting? You can’t wait to leave.”

SpiritualSpiritualityConsciousnessEnlightenmentSelf AwarenessSpiritual GrowthNew AgeSpiritual AwakeningSpiritual JourneyNew Age Spiritual
Book:Bigger than All the Night Sky: The Start of Spiritual Awakening. A Memoir.
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“Mr. Birdwell," he asked, "how're you grounded in regard of religion? I have no mind to shake any belief of yours." "Grounded deep enough," Jess said, "so's nothing thee can say will matter." "When I's a child," Eli said, "I believed as a child but now I've come to maturer thinking." Jess looked into old Eli's eyes. they were like the screens a man sets across his windows, reflecting nothing, but hiding whatever lies beyond from sight. "God's only begotten son," said old Eli, leaning across the fence rail in his earnestness. "Why only one, Jess Birdwell? Why only one? And why a son? Whyn't a daughter? Something fishy there, Jess Birdwell, and the more you think on it, the plainer it becomes. Something mighty fishy.”

Begotten SonOutside The LinesConsidering SalvationDoubting DoctrineOne Right Way
Book:The Friendly Persuasion: A Classic American Saga of Family, Faith, and Love in the Revolutionary Era
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“She flipped through the notebook. In most places, Murphy’s large, crooked handwriting ate up the pages greedily, as if she couldn’t write large enough to get her point across. Occasionally Birdie’s more graceful handwriting appeared, adding asides or participating with Murphy in some kind of list she had thrown together, like favorite Leeda moments, or most unknown things about Leeda, or Leeda’s top five best articles of clothing. Mostly, though, it was all Murphy. Listing albums Leeda had to own before she died, like Janis Joplin’s Pearl. Copied scraps of her favorite poetry: about nature and despair and cities and even one or two about love that Murphy had annotated with words like Sickening, but she’s good and Horrible but worth reading. Dried leaves---pecan, magnolia, and, of course, the thin slivered shape of the peach leaf---taped in messy crisscrosses. A cider label Birdie had once kissed. A diagram of Leeda---outlined sloppily with colored-in blond hair, with words on the outside pointing to different parts of her: brainy pointing to her head, good posture pointing to her back, hot gams pointing to her legs, impenetrable (ha ha) pointing to her heart.”

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Book:The Secrets of Peaches
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