Ray Fowler .org

From The Washington Post:

[Google] and Israel announced Tuesday that they are teaming up to give researchers and the public the first comprehensive and searchable database of the scrolls – a 2,000-year-old collection of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek documents that shed light on Judaism during biblical times and the origins of Christianity. For years, experts have complained that access to the scrolls has been too limited.

Once the images are up, anyone will be able to peruse exact copies of the original scrolls as well as an English translation of the text on their computer – for free. Officials said the collection, expected to be available within months, will feature sections that have been made more legible thanks to high-tech infrared technology.

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Yet another great deal for the Kindle – The Holy Bible English Standard Version (ESV) for free.
 
 

The English Standard Version (ESV) Bible is an essentially literal Bible translation that combines word-for-word precision and accuracy with literary excellence, beauty, and depth of meaning.

Remember you don’t need a Kindle to read Kindle books. Amazon offers free Kindle apps for your computer or smartphone. Also, be sure to check out this week’s earlier post on 16 free Kindle books from Christian publishers.

Note: Amazon’s free book offers are temporary and often end quickly. Check back often or subscribe by email or feed reader so that you don’t miss any future offers.

Related posts:
    • The Bible Memory Version for the Kindle
    • Top 10 Kindle Features
    • Amazon Kindle’s Most Popular Bible Highlights

(Note: For ebook and audiobook conversions, see Fowler Digital Services.)

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Here are 16 free books for the Kindle presented by various Christian publishers. There is quite a variety here including Bibles, theology, fantasy, novels, historical fiction, Bible study guides and children’s books. And remember, you don’t need a Kindle to read Kindle books. Amazon offers free Kindle apps for your computer or smartphone.

1. The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Bible Digital Text Edition by B&H Publishing. (Bible)
2. CEB New Testament by Common English Bible. (Bible)
3. A Taste of Heaven: Worship in the Light of Eternity by R.C. Sproul. (Theology)
4. Listening to God by Charles Stanley. (Christian living)
5. Luke by John MacArthur. (Bible study guide)
6. Life Lessons Study Guide: Acts by Max Lucado. (Bible study guide)
7. The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher. (Amish novel)
8. Chosen Ones by Alister McGrath. Book 1 of the Aedyn Chronicles. (Fantasy)
9. Preacher Creature Strikes on Sunday by Mike Thayer. (Children)
10. The DNA of Relationships by Gary Smalley. (Christian living)
11. I Quit! Stop Pretending Everything is Fine and Change Your Life by Geri Scazzero. (Christian living)
12. Naomi and Her Daughters by Walter Wangerin Jr. (Biblical novel)
13. The Land Between: Finding God in Difficult Transitions by Jeff Manion. (Christian living)
14. The Malacca Conspiracy by Don Brown. (Military thriller)
15. Mozart’s Sister by Nancy Moser. (Historical fiction)
16. Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60: Being Church for All Generations by Edward H. Hammett. (Church life)

Note: Amazon’s free book offers are temporary and often end quickly. Check back often or subscribe by email or feed reader so that you don’t miss any future offers.

Related posts:
    • The Bible Memory Version for the Kindle
    • Top 10 Kindle Features
    • Amazon Kindle’s Most Popular Bible Highlights

(Note: For ebook and audiobook conversions, see Fowler Digital Services.)

My book, The KJV Bible Memory Version, is now available at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble for just $4.99. Of course you can also buy it for the same price right here at the website (DRM-free in either mobipocket or ePub format). And remember, if you don’t have an e-reader like a Kindle, Nook or iPad, you can always download a free e-reader here.

Related posts:
    • The Bible Memory Version Poll
    • Ebook Formatting for the Ipad, Kindle and Nook
    • Top 10 Kindle Features

I guess it eventually had to happen. George Lucas announced plans to re-release all six of the Star Wars movies in 3-D, starting with “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace” (scheduled for release in 2012). John Knoll, visual effects supervisor for Industrial Light & Magic, commented on the benefits of 3-D for the Star Wars universe.

“When stereo’s done right,” Mr. Knoll said, “it gives you a powerful illusion that you’re there witnessing something. You want to do that with films where it’s someplace where you want to go, and the highly designed and constructed world of the ‘Star Wars’ pictures obviously has a grip on a lot of people’s imaginations. It’s a place I’d like to feel immersed in.” …

Mr. Knoll, who also served as a visual effects supervisor on “Avatar,” was a bit cryptic about how exactly the 3-D conversion process for the “Star Wars” films would work, but said that it did not involve the creation of new visual effects. “We’re taking the films as they exist,” he said, “and simulating the view from a synthetic second eye. It’s fairly painstaking and labor-intensive, and that’s why this isn’t going to happen real quickly. It takes time. And it takes time to get it right.”

So what do you think about Star Wars in 3-D? Yay or nay?

Related posts:

• Star Wars Pumpkins
• Yoda Promotes Small Groups
• Tim Keller and Darth Vader
• Darth Vader Plays a Mean Harmonica
• Jedi Squirrels
• George Lucas Syndrome

Regular readers at this blog know that I get a steady stream of comments on my Living Together Before Marriage Series. Many of the comments come from people who agree in principle that living together before marriage is not right, but who then offer reasons why they feel it is okay for them. Now add a bad economy and unemployment to the list. From The Christian Post:

The number of unmarried couples living together rose 13 percent from the previous year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

This year, there are 7.5 million opposite-sex unmarried couples living together – up from 6.7 million in 2009, reported the bureau on Thursday. The year before had witnessed a two percent drop after a five percent rise in co-habiting couples between 2007 and 2008.

Demographers say a poor job market is likely a factor in the rise of co-habiting couples in 2010.

According to 2010 data, unmarried couples who recently began living together usually have one partner unemployed. Only 49 percent of cohabiting couples this year are ones where both partners are employed. This figure is down from 59 percent in 2008 and 52 percent in 2009.

As I try to share with people in the comments section, if you will trust God and put Christ first in your situation, I believe God will always open up another option for you. If you or your boyfriend/girlfriend are unemployed: check with family, check with friends, check with your local church, and see what living arrangements you can find. But please don’t make the mistake of moving in together before marriage. You can read more about why in the articles below.

Living Together Before Marriage Series:
    ● Statistics on Living Together Before Marriage
    ● Scriptures on Living Together Before Marriage
    ● Living Together Without Sex
    ● What If We Already Lived Together Before Marriage?

Recent Steve Martin tweet:

I have the strangest feeling that I’m being followed.

– from SteveMartinToGo

Related post: Following Jesus is Not the Same As Twitter

Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar year. SourceFlix has put together an excellent 9-minute video explaining the Day of Atonement and showing how it has been fulfilled for believers today through Christ.

The Sacrificial Lamb (Video length: 8:56)

You can also read about the Day of Atonement in the Old Testament in Leviticus 16.

Link: SourceFlix

Here is another great cartoon from Dave Walker.

This CartoonChurch.com cartoon by Dave Walker originally appeared in the Church Times.

So, where do you sit in church? Do you sit in the same place each week or do you like to move around?

Related posts:
    • The Sermon Cartoon
    • The Pastor’s Dog
    • The Dullest Blog in the World

Click here for more Cartoon related posts.

Our family is of Mexican heritage, so I definitely wanted to mark this occasion. Allen Yeh over at the Scriptorium has put together a nice article on this 200th anniversary for Mexico:

Two hundred years ago today (September 16, 1810), Mexico received its independence from Spain. A lot of Americans mistakenly think that May 5th (Cinco de Mayo) is Mexico’s independence day. Actually, Cinco de Mayo is a relatively minor holiday celebrated only in one part of Mexico (the state of Puebla). September 16 is the big day for the whole country.

Today is not the only significant celebration of Mexico this year—in about two months, Mexico will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its revolution, which occurred on November 20, 1910! So, enjoy these next few months of fiesta. Our neighbors to the south will be partying it up, celebrating the bicentennial of their independence, and the centennial of their revolution.

Allen also lists a number of interesting facts about Mexico. Here are the first three:

• Remember that California belonged to Mexico before it belonged to the United States of America. Back then, it was called Alta (“Upper”) California, as opposed to the peninsula to our south, Baja (“Lower”) California.
• The official name of Mexico is the United Mexican States. There are 31 states in the nation, of which Baja California is one. Mexico City is not part of any state but instead is a special territory called Distrito Federal (“D.F.”), just like Washington is part of the District of Columbia (“D.C.”).
• The “x” in Mexico is pronounced like a Spanish “j” because it comes from the Aztec language (Nahuatl), not from Castillian Spanish.

Be sure to visit Allen’s post for more information and fun facts about Mexico. Here is the link: Happy 200th Birthday, Mexico!

Update: Check out some great pictures of Mexico’s Bicentenniel here.

Related posts:
    • 9/11 Proposed Memorial Quadrant
    • 9/11 – Words of Remembrance

So when ebooks take over the world, will protesters just get together and delete files?

Related posts:
    • Ebook Formatting for the Ipad, Kindle and Nook
    • Top 10 Kindle Features