Tuesday, December 21, 2010

A review of the book Precious Moments Storybook Bible

**This review may offend people so if you are easily offended do not read this and stop. If you choose to read this then do not leave rude comments on my blog, they will be banned and deleted.**

I received this book from booksneeze.com and was very unhappy with this book. It is supposed to be stories from the bible explained easily to children but there were so many misconceptions in this book that I could not believe. The first misconception is the first bible story of Adam and Eve.It was not God’s will for Adam to sin; he warned Adam against it.God did allow Adam, as he does us, the freedom to choose what he would do. Perfection did not rule out the exercise of free will to disobey. Adam chose to rebel against God, despite the warning that death would result.’ Nowhere in this book I got did it reveal that Adam and Eve died for their sins as a result of eating that fruit that GOD told them not to.

The second misconception is that Jesus died on a cross, not true. Jesus died on a stake actually. The Greek word rendered “cross” in many modern Bible versions (“torture stake” in NW) is stau·ros′. In classical Greek, this word meant merely an upright stake, or pale. Later it also came to be used for an execution stake having a crosspiece. The Imperial Bible-Dictionary acknowledges this, saying: “The Greek word for cross, [stau·ros′], properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling [fencing in] a piece of ground. . . . Even amongst the Romans the crux (from which our cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole.”

The third misconception is how they say to praise GOD loudly with trumpets and cymbals and such. That is not true. Prayer to GOD is meant to be something private done between you and GOD and not meant as a showy way to show people that you are one of GOD's people. Another example is always saying Hallelujah. That exclamation is commonly heard in Christendom’s churches. Some people punctuate daily conversations with the expression. Few, however, know its sacred meaning, and the lifestyle of many who use it dishonors God. “Hallelujah,” explains one Bible dictionary, is a “word used by the writers of various psalms to invite all to join them in praising Jehovah.” In fact, a number of Bible scholars point out that “Hallelujah” means “‘Praise ye Jah,’ [that is] Jehovah. If end up praying the wrong way, we could think that GOD and Jesus know us but they will say, “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew YOU! Get away from me, YOU workers of lawlessness.(Matthew Chapter 7, verse 21.)

The 4th misconception with the book is the wisemen and the star. They were not actually wisemen and being led by a star. Those Magi were actually astrologers from the east. Although astrology is popular among many people today, the practice is strongly disapproved in the Bible.Would God have led to the newborn Jesus persons whose practices He condemned? Matthew 2:1-16 shows that the star led the astrologers first to King Herod and then to Jesus and that Herod then sought to have Jesus killed. No mention is made that anyone other than the astrologers saw the “star.” After they left, Jehovah’s angel warned Joseph to flee to Egypt to safeguard the child. Was that “star” a sign from God or was it from someone who was seeking to have God’s Son destroyed?

I think if someone is going to write a book about the bible it would be nice to have truth put it in it.

***This information came from the reasoning book published by Jehovah's witnesses and not by my own.***

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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 * I didn’t write this * As you know, I once was an evangelical megachurch pastor and my pastoral career stretched over many years. Eventual...