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HISTORY: unwrapped – August 2007

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August 28, 2007– Botched Bibles

Several English Bibles published in the seventeenth century get their nicknames because of typographic errors. The so-called Murderer’s Bible misprints “murderers” instead of the correct word “murmurers” in Jude 16. Mark 7:27 was made to read: “Let the children first be killed” (instead of “filled”). The Wife-Hater Bible tells a man to hate his own wife: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father . . . yea, and his own wife also.” Of course, “wife” should read “life.” The first edition of the King James Bible correctly has Matthew 26:36 stating, “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane…” The second printing reads, “Then cometh Judas with them unto a place called Gethsemane.” The Adulterer’s or Wicked Bible, a 1631 King James Version, leaves out an essential “not” and commands “Thou shalt commit adultery.” King Charles fined the printer Robert Barker the enormous sum of £300 and took away his license to print Bibles. An Oxford edition of 1717 was known as the Vinegar Bible because the chapter heading to Luke 20 had “Vinegar” for “Vineyard” in the title “The Parable of the Vineyard.” A 1716 KJV Bible made a common typographical mistake by transposing letters.  Instead of John 8:11 reading, “Go, and sin no more,” it read, “Go and sin on more.” The Printer’s Bible laments that “printers” (not “princes”) “have persecuted me without cause” (Ps. 119:161). Considering how these botched Bibles got their name, the Psalm might not be too far off.

August 27, 2007– Star Light, Star Bright

The Star Chamber was a room in the palace at Westminster, England, where the king's council met. The room was named because of the star-decorated ceiling. From medieval times the king's council had ruled on specific legal cases that were beyond the jurisdiction of the common courts. By an act of Parliament in 1487, Henry VII strengthened the power of the council so nobles could be put on trial. In 1540 Henry VIII put the committee under his direct control that came to be known as the Court of Star Chamber. There was no jury and any punishment could be inflicted except the death penalty. The Star Chamber forced people to testify against themselves. By the time of Charles I, the Star Chamber had the reputation of being a "legal" way for the king to get rid of his political enemies. The authority of the Star Chamber was taken away by the Long Parliament in 1641 and restored the concept of "lawful judgment" of a defendant by "his peers or by the law of the land." The Courts of High Commission served a similar purpose but were directed at the clergy, especially Puritan ministers. They, too, were abolished in 1641.

Michael Douglas and Hal Holbrook starred in the movie The Star Chamber (1983). When cases must be dismissed because of technicalities, a small cadre of judges resort to establishing a secret tribunal—a star chamber—to try cases and pass their own sense of justice. At first, justice seems to prevail. But before too long, things go awry. Open tribunals, as frustrating as they may be, are better than any star chamber no matter how perfectly conceived.

August 24, 2007– The Gentle Professor

The most famous scientist of the 20th century, Albert Einstein, was born in Germany in 1879. Einstein didn’t talk until he was three, but the precocious boy taught himself Euclidean geometry at twelve. He detested dull education and often cut classes to study physics or play his violin. His professors turned him down for a teaching position. Instead he worked as tutor, substitute teacher, and an examiner in the Swiss patent office. Einstein earned a doctorate and published three theoretical papers that would change the way scientists regarded light and motion. Like Sir Isaac Newton, Einstein believed in a universe ordered by God. When Adolph Hitler came to power in 1933, Einstein accepted a position at Princeton University. At Princeton, Einstein became a beloved and familiar figure who was often seen taking walks and checking out the kitchen gadgets at Woolworth’s.  His rumpled appearance and finger-in-the-light-socket hair often caused visitors to the university to mistake him for a bum. Always approachable, Einstein, whose brilliance rocked the scientific community, was not above helping a young neighbor with his math homework.

August 23, 2007– The Fugitive Translator

If England were ever to be evangelized, William Tyndale was convinced that it would take place only if people could read the Bible in their own language. His efforts to get permission to translate Scripture failed, so Tyndale left England. He settled in Antwerp where he worked translating the Bible. When his English Bibles were smuggled into England, Tyndale became a hunted man. For seven years Tyndale eluded his pursuers who eventually tracked him down. At his trial, Tyndale was condemned to die. But the story does not end there. After his death, the king was presented with one of Tyndale’s New Testaments and he proclaimed without realizing the translation’s source, “In God’s name let it go abroad among the people.” Two years later, every church in England displayed one book of the whole Bible in English as directed by the king.

August 22, 2007– Up, Up, and Away

The idea of using balloons for transportation had always intrigued George Washington from the time of the first manned flight in Paris in 1783. When the greatest of the aeronauts, Jean Pierre Blanchard, crossed the Atlantic to give a demonstration, Washington was present. The site chosen for the lift-off was the Walnut Street Prison courtyard in Philadelphia, the nation’s capital at the time. Arriving at 9:00 A.M., Washington presented Blanchard with a passport he himself had signed. Not knowing how far the balloonist might travel, Washington had thoughtfully prepared a passport, just in case. It would seem that the nation’s president had high hopes for Blanchard’s flight.

When the 46-minute flight ended in New Jersey, 15 miles away, Blanchard was met by two astonished farmers, one carrying a gun! Blanchard, who didn’t understand English, waved the paper with the presidential signature and produced a bottle of spirits. Fortunately for Blanchard, his actions lessened the tension, and he was given a warm reception and passage back to Philadelphia. The balloonist presented Washington with the first flag literally to fly over U.S. soil.

August 21, 2007 – The Pro-Life Feminist

Feminists embrace Susan B. Anthony for her role in the women’s rights movement during the 19th century. She published The Revolution, a journal that promoted women’s and African American’s right to suffrage. What is often not know is that Anthony wrote about abortion: “No matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed.” Another article called abortion “child murder.” She fought to overturn cruel custody decisions where a baby could be taken from the mother if the child’s father died before its birth. Miss Anthony’s writings are a testimony to her respect for the unborn. Today’s feminists do not want us to know that one of their beloved icons upheld the sanctity of life.

August 20, 2007– A Boy Named Sue

Johnny Cash had a large repertoire of songs—everything from “Matthew 24 is Knocking at the Door” to “Burning Ring of Fire.” The one song that brings the most laughter to the listener is “A Boy Named Sue.” The lyrics are those of the multi-talented Shel Silverstein (1930–1999), author of The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Falling Up, and other award-winning children’s books. In addition to books, Silverstein wrote dozens of clever songs. You might remember “The Unicorn” by the Irish Rovers and “Cover of the Rollin’ Stone” by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show. But it was Cash who made “A Boy Named Sue” memorable when he recorded it on February 24, 1969 at San Quentin Prison before a live but incarcerated audience. Cash hadn’t had the chance to learn the lyrics before he began to belt it out to his demanding audience. He was reading the words as he sang it. If you listen closely, you can hear the shouts of approval from the appreciative crowd of convicts, many of whom could tell stories of their own about abandonment and abuse. Cash commented that it was the most cleverly written song that he had ever heard. The song is about a boy who grows up angry at his father, not only for leaving his family but for naming him Sue. After the boy grows up, he sees his father in a bar and gets in a fight with him because his father gave him a girl’s name. When his father explains that he named him Sue to make sure he would grow up tough, the son embraces his father but still detests his name.

Now to the title of this article. There really was a boy named Sue. Sue Hicks, the City Attorney of Dayton, Tennessee, was the person who arrested John Scopes in the famous Scopes “Monkey Trial” of 1925 that pitted the state of Tennessee against the ACLU and the teaching of evolution in public schools. Maybe Shel (Sheldon) Silverstein got the inspiration for “ A Boy Named Sue” from his own life. His parents called him “Shelly.”

August 17, 2007– In God We Trust

Our nation's coins have not always had "In God We Trust" stamped on them. In 1862 many people began to request that our coinage make reference to God. A sermon by the Reverend Henry Augustus Boardman of Philadelphia declared that "The coinage of the United States is without a God." Some suggested "God our Trust." In 1863 the motto "God and our Country" was proposed. The motto "In God We Trust" appeared for the first time in 1864; it did not receive formal Congressional approval until the following year. In 1865 Congress enacted the following:

And be it further enacted, That, in addition to the devices and legends upon the gold, silver, and other coins of the United States, it shall be lawful for the director of the mint, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, to cause the motto "In God we trust" to be placed upon such coins hereafter to be issued as shall admit of such legend thereon.

The interest to secure a place for the motto was so high because of the events of the civil war. Repentance and trust in God were themes that echoed through the nation after blood of so many had been shed. The motto was dropped in 1907 when President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned the American sculpture Augustus Saint-Gaudens to design new coins. Saint-Gaudens's design did not include the "In God We Trust" motto. As one might imagine, many people were upset at the change. In November of 1907, the president wrote a letter to a minister who objected to the omission. In it Roosevelt claimed that there was "no legal warrant for putting the motto on the coins." Of course, the president was mistaken, since the motto had been authorized by Congress. The matter came before Congress again on May 18, 1908, and an act was passed to restore the motto. "In 1955 Congress extended the act by requiring the phrase to appear not only on all coins but on all paper money thereafter minted or printed. The next year, 1956, Congress enacted a law making the phrase `In God We Trust' officially the national motto."

August 16, 2007– The Vaulting Vicar

Bob Richards, affectionately known as the “Vaulting Vicar” because he was an ordained minister, won two Olympic gold medals in the pole vault (1952 and 1956), the first and only person to do so. Richards was the second man to clear 15 feet. That doesn’t seem like much when you consider that today’s pole vault record is over 20 feet. Richards did it with a steel pole. Steel, unlike fiberglass, does not bend and therefore does not have the catapult effect of fiberglass. Getting over the bar was the major concern of every vaulter, but landing was especially hazardous. Unlike today’s massive pits that vaulters can fall into as they drop on their back, pits in Richards’ day were saw dust. A vaulter had to land on his feet or risk serious injury. Richards was the first athlete to appear on a Wheaties box in 1958. Richards ran for president in 1984 backed by the Populist Party.

Richards had two sons who also were outstanding pole vaulters. Brandon broke the national high school record in 1985 (18’ 2”) that stood until 1999.

August 15, 2007 – John Jay the Reluctant

John Jay, considered by many to be one of our country’s Founding Fathers, was first opposed to American independence. Jay was from a wealthy New York Huguenot family and had a successful law practice, which was cut short by escalation of hostilities with England. Jay was elected to the First Continental Congress and initially opposed the use of strong measures against England due, in part, to his family’s wealth and Tory connections. However, he did write Address to the People of Great Britain, which accused Parliament of “establishing a system of slavery” by denying Americans the same rights as Englishmen. During the Second Continental Congress, Jay opposed all discussion of independence. He was concerned that mob rule would prevail. Though he was absent during the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Jay became a strong supporter of the cause once independence was declared and served as president of Congress in 1778. He was appointed to write a peace treaty with England after the war and was given the role again in 1794, which resulted in the famous “Jay Treaty.” John Jay became the first chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. His long political career reflected his motto “Nothing is useful except what is honorable.”

August 14, 2007– The Hessians are Coming

Many of the 29,000 involuntary volunteers hired out to the British by German princes and sent to America to fight in the War for Independence were described as spendthrifts, loose livers, drunkards, arguers, restless people, political troublemakers, not more than sixty years old and of fair health and stature. Students on their way to university and young men plowing the fields were abducted and forced to serve as well. One young man, a theological student, was “recruited” amid his many protestations while on his way to Paris. The mixed rabble and honest young men were forced to serve in a far off country whose citizens viewed them as soldiers who fought only for money. No one was safe from the grip of the seller of souls. The troops were called Hessians due to the treaty made between Britain and the mercenary German princes, one of them being from Hesse. The Hessians pay went to the German princes. Thousands of the soldiers stayed in America after the war and became, in the end, citizens of the country they were sent to destroy.

August 13, 2007– 19th Century Terrorists

Terrorist foes are not new to the United States. Two centuries before 9/11, our country sought to protect its citizens from a foe who held allegiance to no country, the Barbary pirates of North Africa. Capturing ships and demanding a ransom for the crew provided a steady income for the pirates. Many seamen became slaves when the ransom couldn’t be paid. The newly elected president, Thomas Jefferson, was forced to confront the continued attacks. Many wished to avoid conflict at any cost. Jefferson believed that continued payment to the terrorist pirates would only encourage more demands, so he refused to pay. The U.S. Navy was formed during 4 years of war in the Mediterranean. Our naval victories in 1815 led to treaties which ended all tribute money paid by the United States.

August 10, 2007 – Saviors from Space

Science fiction movies have always done well at the box office. Probably the most noteworthy is The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), adapted from the 1940 short story "Farewell to the Master" written by Harry Bates. Like so many movies of the era, their storylines were often set against the backdrop of the Cold War. The Day the Earth Stood Still is no exception. But there is another element that is often missed by moviegoers. There's a great deal of religion mixed in. Probably the most overt example can be found in the Star Wars movies and its use of the Force. George Lucas admitted that he "put the Force into the movie in order to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people. . . . I think there is a God. What that God is and what we know about God, I'm not sure." There's a more subtle expression of religion in The Day the Earth Stood Still in addition to Klaatu's stated belief in "the Almighty Spirit":

Scriptwriter Edmund H. North transformed the alien emissary Klaatu into a Christ-figure, implying that extra-terrestrials would be the true saviors of mankind. He did this in a subtle manner, having Klaatu adopt the earth name Carpenter and through the alien’s death and resurrection.

North considered it his "private little joke" hoping "the Christ comparison would be subliminal." So the next time you sit down to watch Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, and Billy Gray, who played "Bud" in Father Knows Best, see how many New Testament, Christ-like allusions you can find in The Day the Earth Stood Still.

August 9, 2007 – The Man Behind the Mask

Lon Chaney was the son of deaf mute parents and learned from childhood to communicate through pantomime, sign language and facial expression. Little did he know that the skits he reenacted mimicking the towns people would one day help him start a career entertaining people, which would last nearly forty years and make him the world’s most popular box office attraction. Silent movies were made for Chaney. He started out singing and dancing in touring musical shows but it was silent films where his genius for makeup and pantomime made its mark. His bizarre characterizations often portrayed villains or physically disabled or deformed characters. By 1922, Chaney was being billed as The Man of A Thousand Faces.  His roles as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925) made him a superstar. MGM offered the actor a contract where he became the studio's most popular male star. Chaney was a fine actor dedicated to his craft and remains a mysteriously enduring star even today.

August 8, 2007– The Family of Spies

Benedict Arnold’s treasonous acts against America during the War of Independence should not be viewed any less harshly, but his second wife, Peggy, probably was not the innocent woman she claimed to be. Peggy Arnold may have been providing secrets to the British even before her husband decided to become a turncoat. Socialite Peggy Shippen was 18 and from a wealthy Philadelphia family when she married Benedict, a widower of 37. Marrying into the Shippen family gave Benedict Arnold the social status he seemed to so desperately need. Arnold also was continually in debt from living beyond his means. He and Peggy enjoyed the good life and spent more money than Arnold made. Arnold’s motives were personal not political when he made the decision to work with the British. His greedy desire for more money and his wife’s encouragement were behind a decision Arnold probably later regretted. His resentment with Congress, who slighted Arnold and promoted men of lesser rank, added to his discontentment. New evidence suggests that Peggy Arnold always hated the American cause and actively promoted her husband’s plan to switch allegiance. The Arnold’s went into exile in England, where they were generally scorned and unrewarded.

August 7, 2007– The Other September 11^th

Over 300 years ago, there was another September 11 when the king of Poland, led Christian armies to the Gates of Vienna. The Ottoman Empire had been expanding into Europe. Cities were plundered, churches turned into mosques, free people made slaves, and thousands of Christians were forced to convert to Islam. The Ottomans wanted Vienna, because it would provide the way into Austria and Germany. The Pope recognized the danger posed by the Ottomans and issued a call to all rulers to unite against this common foe. The Polish king answered the Pope’s call to save Vienna. The Turks were starving the city into submission and had begun tunneling under the city walls. King Sobieski arrived on September 11, just in time to rout the Turks and halt the Ottoman tide, causing its long withdrawal from occupied territory.

August 6, 2007–Bones that Started a Reformation

England had a head start on the Reformation because of the work of John Wycliffe (c. 1324–1384). It was Wycliffe who held that the Bible alone (sola Scriptura) set forth the definition of true Christianity. Wycliffe’s efforts to translate the Bible into the language of the people prepared the way for a reform movement that would take England and the New World by storm. His hand written translations were based on Jerome’s Latin Vulgate, the only source text available to Wycliffe. Like Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and Tyndale, Wycliffe’s reform efforts did not go unopposed. Thirty-one years after his death, the Council of Constance condemned Wycliffe on 260 different counts, ordered his writings to be burned, and directed that his bones be exhumed and buried in unconsecrated ground. In 1428, on orders from the Pope, Wycliffe's remains were dug up and burned. His ashes were thrown in a nearby river. Wycliffe's followers, called Lollards,* carried on his work under severe persecution from Henry V (1413–1422). Because of continued opposition from the Crown and the outlawing of Bible reading in the English language, the Lollards worked in secret. But by the late fifteenth century, the activity of the Lollards began to grow more bold and effective. They brought the discussion of theological issues to the masses which in turn led some people to question certain aspects of Roman Catholic doctrine. In the end, Wycliffe’s views won out. His ashes became seed for a Reformation that transformed the world. “The sacred Scriptures,” Wycliffe wrote, “be the property of the people, and one which no party should be allowed to wrest from them.”

* The Lollards derived their name from the medieval Dutch word meaning “to mutter” (lollaerd), possibly a reference to their style of worship, which was based on reading the scriptures. The derivation may be of Latin origin, from lollen, “to sing softly” (cf. Eng. lull).

August 3, 2007– Jesus Out West

When we read about religion in America, most of the attention is placed on the earliest period of settlement—beginning with Jamestown in 1607—and limited to the original 13 colonies. While credit for the settlement of the West “has been given to trappers, explorers, miners, the military, homesteaders and even gunslingers,” history textbooks are nearly silent on the role religion played. Christian History magazine states, “Though history has all but forgotten them, it was Christian preachers and teachers who really tamed the West.” The language used to describe western expansion carried with it religious descriptions such as the “promised land” or “Eden before the fall.” Discovery of gold in California was viewed as a “sign of divine favor.” All of this helps to put journalist Louis O’Sullivan’s words in perspective: “The American claim is by right of our manifest destiny to overspread and possess the whole of the continent, which Providence has given us.” Christianity was not the only religion to make its way west. Of course, there was an indigenous native religion. Led by the Spanish in the sixteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church had settlements in the western frontier before Protestants settled in New England. Historian Ferenc Morton Szasz of the University of New Mexico writes: “The west had no institutions per se—the churches provided the institutions: the hospitals, schools, orphanages, old-age homes and colleges. The state would eventually take them over but at the start, it was the churches. The railroads donated land to the churches because churches meant stability.” Sam Houston’s wife Margaret led him to Christ in 1854. When a friend asked if the baptism he received at Rocky Creek had washed his sins away, Houston said, “I hope so. But if they were all washed away, the Lord help the fish down below.”

August 2, 2007– Shakespeare and the End of America

Some people believe that the translators of the King James Bible asked William Shakespeare (1564–1616) to help them put at least some of the Psalms into English verse. There does not seem to be hard empirical evidence to support the theory, but staunch believers think that Shakespeare left a hidden clue, a signature of sorts, in Psalm 46. Look at a KJV version of the psalm. Count 46 words from the beginning. Then count 46 words from the end. (Do not count the “Selahs.”) What do you come up with? “Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof” (46:3). . . . He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire” (46:9). Did you know that in 1611, the year the King James Bible was completed, Shakespeare would have been 46 years old? This brings us to the latest end-time prophecy, this time by an Islamic scholar who claims that America will be destroyed by a tsunami in 2007. By counting verses in the Koran, he contends that America has a lifespan of only 231 years. “Silwadi said that by combing a number of suras hinting at US sins he reached the numbers 1776 (the year the US achieved independence) and 231. He added the two numbers and the result was 2007, the year when the US is expected to disappear.” I suspect that with enough imagination the Bible can be made to say anything, and the Koran too. If William Shakespeare can be found in a Psalm, then maybe an American Armageddon can be found in a sura.

August 1, 2007 – The Ten Commandments. . .

“Ladies and Gentlemen, young and old. This may seem an unusual procedure, speaking to you before the picture begins, but we have an unusual subject: the birth of freedom. The story of Moses.” Yes, it was an unusual way to begin a movie. The introductory words were spoken by Cecil B. DeMille, the director of The Ten Commandments (1956), before the movie was shown. If you’ve only seen The Ten Commandments on television, there’s a good possibility that you’ve never seen DeMille’s opening remarks. He considered his production to be so important that he came out on stage to deliver a short but powerful statement on the nature of freedom under the law of God:

The theme of this picture is whether men ought to be ruled by God's laws or whether they are to be ruled by the whims of a dictator like Rameses. Are men the property of the State or are they free souls under God? This same battle continues throughout the world today.

All law is a reflection of some worldview. It is impossible to avoid legislating morality. Laws against theft and murder are legislated, and they reflect some moral code. There are few people who would object to laws being made that would punish thieves and murderers. And yet, such laws impose a moral system on all of us. Although, thieves and murderers might object, no one is calling for these laws to be rescinded because they impose a moral code.