(NOTE: I have received thus far only one response to yesterday’s post about the new “Cursive King James Version.” The respondent did recognize that the announcement was a “spoof” intended to have a little fun with the KJV Only crowd.)
Christmas is a time of light and joy, but a new book develops a neglected but solidly Biblical theme: That the original Nativity stories were set in a time of darkness and conflict. A Not So Silent Night by Verlyn Verbrugge (Kregel, $9.99 on Amazon) uncovers the darker side of Christmas, a side that exposes pain, humiliation, fear, and danger. The author maintains (quite accurately) that until we shed tears with Mary and Joseph and experience the fear that war is on the horizon, we will never truly understand the awesomeness of what happened in that little town of Bethlehem. Verbrugge steers us past holiday commercialism and directs us to the real reason for the season.
The chapter titles sound familiar but in each of them we discover a dark side that really is not hard to discover when we simply look at the Biblical account.
1. Born To Die (“I came to give my life”)
2. The Beginning of War (attempts to kill Jesus)
3. O Little Town of Bethlehem (its rather shady history)
4. Mary’s Shame (unwed pregnancy)
5. Mary and Zechariah’s Songs (Messiah’s war with evil)
6. The Katyluma (no space in the guest room!)
7. The Humiliation of Jesus’ Birth (no explanation needed)
8. Angels on the Fields of Bethlehem (heavenly host as an army)
9. Song of the Angels (angels as legion of soldiers)
10. Words of Simeon (a sword through Mary’s soul)
11. Visit of the Magi (flee for their lives and slaughter of babies)
This may not be what you read on Christmas Eve to toddlers, but adults and older children will appreciate the reality of these accounts which are based squarely on the Biblical text. There is still time before December 25 to get a copy for yourself and as a gift for someone else.