This morning I was interviewed on the Son Rise Morning Show about my new book, Light on the Dark Passages of Scripture. You can take a listen here: (My interview starts at about 2:12:30)
11-16-2015
Podcast Episode
Categories
Filetype: MP3 – Size: 82.24MB – Duration: 2:59:40 m (64 kbps 22050 Hz)
If you’ve been following along here, you’ll have noticed that I’ve been talking a lot about the book I just wrote. Finally, last night, I got physical copies of the book in my hands. It’s called “Light on the Dark Passages of Scripture.” Take a look:
So…if you want to order one and see what I have to say about the nasty stuff in the Bible, you can order in two ways:
Here at OSV: https://www.osv.com/Shop/Product?ProductCode=T1609
And here at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Light-Dark-Passages-Scripture-Giszczak/dp/1612788033
In the book, I deal with a lot of the passages that give Bible readers grief: the killing of the Canaanites, child sacrifice, innocent suffering, the problem of Hell. I sort through these problems in a detailed, yet accessible way and try to get the bottom of how it is the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament could be the same. I hope you enjoy the book!
Check out my recent interview on Catholic Answers Live! with Patrick Coffin on Why the Old Testament matters:
http://www.catholic.com/system/files/audio/radioshows/ca150925a.mp3
If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I write weekly articles on the first reading for Sunday Mass over at Catholic Exchange. Well, they recently interviewed me on their podcast about my new book, Light on the Dark Passages of Scripture. You can check out my interview here:
http://catholicexchange.com/the-bibles-dark-passages-with-dr-mark-giszczak
Or you can listen to the interview right here:
In my latest YouTube video, we ask whether the God of the Bible is a God of Justice or a God of Mercy:
In my most recent video, I take a look at one the strangest passages in Scripture. I mean, how often do you come across prophet-inspired, boy-eating bears? Lots of people are disturbed by the violence of this event. But I’ve found out a few interesting things that will really tweak your view of this passage. I hope this video helps explain what’s going on!
This is the second installment of my new YouTube channel, Bible Broccoli. In this video, I explain why some of the typical “solutions” people come up with to address the dark passages of Scripture don’t really work. You can pre-order my new book at Amazon if you’d like.
So…I have a new book coming out entitled “Light on the Dark Passages of Scripture.” It will be released on September 20 from Our Sunday Visitor press. In the time leading up to the book release, I’ve put together a YouTube channel called “Bible Broccoli” and I’ll be posting several videos related to the book. This video above is my very first YouTube video and I address the first question you might ask about the book, “What are the Dark Passages of Scripture?” I hope you enjoy this video and I hope you check out my new book!
I want to tie up some loose ends in this post.
From 2006-2008, I was writing for a website called eCatholicHub.net. I wrote introductions to the books of the Bible and Lectio Divina meditations on the Sunday readings. I also produced a database of saints based on the Roman Martyrology for the site. In 2009, eCatholicHub closed up shop and all the content I had produced was transferred to Catholic News Agency. Their Bible page still houses my introductions to biblical books.
CNA already had a saint database, so I’m not sure exactly how (or if) they used the Roman Martyrology data that I provided. I should explain that I did not translate the whole 2004 Martyrology. Rather, I used the Martyrology to piece together the most complete possible list of saints and blesseds. I referred to the Martyrology project in a few previous posts: here, and here, also here. A few years have passed, so quite a few new saints and blesseds would need to be added to a new edition. As far as I know, there is no current English translation of the Martyrology.
On that note, I also wanted to straighten out exactly what editions exist. The most important one is the 2004 editio typica (official) in Latin:
The Latin uses some very obscure abbreviations that took me a lot of toil to figure out. Some of that is took place in an interchange with Fr. Z and his readers.
The previous editio typica came out in 2001, but was quickly superseded by the 2004 edition. For the sake of completeness:
English translations of older editions:
While not everyone reads the Roman Martyrology on a regular basis, it seems like it might be time for a complete English translation. I’d be happy to help, but I’m sure I’d need to consult some serious Latin experts to bring it to completion.
About six years ago, I did a post on St. Thomas Aquinas’ “16 Precepts for Acquiring Knowledge.” The precepts are from a letter that Aquinas wrote to a certain “John.” Now, some scholars doubt the authenticity of the precepts and I’m no Medievalist to argue over such things, so I’ll leave that up to you. I first became interested in the precepts upon reading A. G. Sertillanges’ book, The Intellectual Life, which is loosely based on the precepts. Last year, I used the precepts in an introductory course that I co-taught and for lack of a standard translation out there, I did my own. I’ll provide the Latin alongside my translation here so you can judge whether it’s a good one or whether there are errors. I hope you all find it useful. And this is the only place you’ll find it on the whole internet.
St. Thomas Aquinas
Sixteen Precepts for Acquiring Knowledge (De modo studendi)
Because it was asked of me, John, my beloved in Christ, how you ought to study in the in acquiring of a treasury of knowledge, such counsel is delivered to you by me:
Following these footsteps, you will put forth and bear branches and fruit in the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts as long as you have life. If you pursue this, you will be able to obtain that which you desire. |
Quia quaesisti a me, in Christo mihi carissime Ioannes, qualiter te studere oporteat in thesauro scientiae acquirendo, tale a me tibi traditur consilium:
Illa sequens vestigia, frondes et fructus in vinea domini Sabaoth utiles, quandiu vitam habueris, proferes et produces. Haec si sectatus fueris, ad id attingere poteris, quod affectas. |
Latin text: Thomas Aquinas, De modo studendi (Textum Taurini, 1954), Corpus Thomisticum, http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/Latin/ModoStud%28false%29.htm (accessed June 29, 2011). Translation is mine. Copyright 2011 CatholicBibleStudent.com.
I should note that the “wine cellar” (cellam vinarium) in Precept #6 is a quotation from the Vulgate rendering of Song of Songs 2:4, “introduxit me in cellam vinariam ordinavit in me caritatem” (He brought me into the wine cellar, he ordered charity in me). This little idea, which in the Hebrew is closer to “house of wine” and dynamically, “banquet hall,” becomes important in Medieval spiritual reading of the Song.