By the Numbers

15,271 – The number of miles we have driven since
                  we’ve been in the States.
        30 – The number of pounds I’ve gained since we’ve
                   been in the States.
        21 – The number of hotels we’ve stayed in.
        16 – The number of states we’ve been in.
        10 – The number of homes we’ve slept in.
         9 – The number of outlet malls we’ve skipped.
         6 – The number of outlet malls we’ve visited.
         4 – The number of zoos/animal parks we’ve visited.

Three Things I've Noticed While in the US

As we have been traveling in the United States, I have noticed a few things:

I have seen long freight trains loaded with UPS trailers and have been surprised at how much freight UPS apparently moves by train. In the late 80's I was an employee of UPS and was aware of their shipping efforts both on the ground and in the air, but was not aware of their efforts on rail. I assume that FedEx also uses rail, but have yet to see any evidence.

Apparently Curves is challenging Coca Cola as the most widely marketed product in the world. I have been surprised to see a Curves franchise seemingly in every town through which we have passed. Even Rawlins, Wyoming (pop. 8,538) had one.

Finally, I was surprised to see the Archaeological Study Bible for sale at Wal-Mart in Odessa, Texas. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so surprised since I saw 3 copies of Biblical Archaeological Review for sale at Hastings Books in Odessa. Anyway, I got a smile upon seeing the Archaeological Study Bible because, among other reasons, it was my brush with fame. My friend, Todd Bolen of BiblePlaces.com is one of the main photo contributors to this fine study Bible.

These aren't the only things I've noticed, but they are the things that stand out at the moment.

How’s Tourism in Israel?

Jerusalem Post headline: Tourism drops 4.5% in ’06. For all those who have recently asked me about tourism in Israel, the short answer is, it’s down. If that isn’t enough information for you, please read the article here.

For those not interested in all the details, here’s the thumbnail: In 2006, 1.8 million foreign tourists entered the country, 4.5% fewer than entered in 2005.

The article doesn’t indicate if that number reflects unique passports, or total entries by foreigners. For example, I entered the country 3 times during the year on the same passport: twice from Jordan and once on a flight from the United States. So, maybe I was counted once, or I might have been counted three times. If the latter, then the number of visitors might be dramatically lower and more disappointing.

The largest number of visitors (494,000) came from the United States, which was followed by France (252,000) and Germany (87,000). The origin of the remaining 967,000 visitors is unclear.

If you think 1.8 million is a lot of tourists, consider that the officially published number of tourists to Czech Republic is 6.3 million people, 3.5 times the number of visitors to Israel.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a soft spot in my heart for Czech Republic: I proposed to Colleen on the Charles Bridge in Prague. But really, a trip to Israel can dramatically change the way you read your Bible. Book a trip and visit the Holy Land!

I Must Be Getting Old

Last night, Colleen and I went to Hastings Books for a casual evening of perusing the bookshelves. After about 1 ½ refreshing and relaxing hours of sitting in the nice leather chairs reading and talking, we got up to leave. As we did, our attention was drawn to a clearance display and we stopped to look through the selection of reduced price books.

While we were showing each other the various discount bargains that caught our attention, it happened: I realized that I am getting old. As Colleen and I were goofing around, suggesting this book and that to each other, I overheard a conversation at the help desk between a customer who was about my age and a 16-17 year old clerk.

Clerk: “May I help you?”
Customer: “Yeah, do you have Mad Magazine?”
Clerk: “Uummm, let me look [in the computer]. Is that the name of it?”
Customer: “Yeah, Mad Magazine.”
Clerk: “Hmmmm. Is that an actual magazine?”
Customer: “Yes, it’s called Mad Magazine.”
Clerk: Surrendering the search in the computer, “Well, if it’s an actual magazine, it would be over there in the magazines.”

If it is possible that a 16-17 year old clerk in a popular bookstore hasn’t ever heard of Mad Magazine, then it’s official: I’m getting old!

Foto Friday: Some Cowboys Love Jesus

It's been some years since I have been to a rodeo, and many more since I was a pretty bad bull rider.

One of the things that I noticed this week at the Sandhills Rodeo, was that cowboys seem to display symbols of their faith more than they did when I was rodeoing.

This Christian bull rider is ready to slide up on his rope and call for the gate.

Isaac or Ishmael?

Eid al-Adha, sometimes called the Festival of Sacrifice is an important festival for Muslims around the world. It occurs in connection with the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, serving as the conclusion to the (at least once in a lifetime) required journey for all Muslims.

The point of the festival is to remember and commemorate the trials and triumphs of the Prophet Abraham. Some suggest that Eid al-Adha is the most important festival in Islam because God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice his son, who was ultimately replaced by a ram, was Abraham’s greatest trial and triumph. Abraham obediently took his son, placing him on the altar (Qur’an: on his forehead) and as he raised the knife, the angel directed him to replace his son with a ram that was nearby.

Whether the Festival of Sacrifice is the most important or not, the symbolism demonstrated in the festival activities is quite powerful. For me, the most memorable activity of the festival is the sacrificing of animals: camels, goats or sheep. And this might be the most memorable for many. In fact, for some 1400 people in Turkey this year, the sacrifice will be the most memorable part because they all ended up in the hospital emergency room as a result of wounding themselves in the process.

Sometime last year while preparing for a lecture on Islam that I was to give, I was reading the Qur’an and stumbled upon a very interesting (to me) discovery. I was reading Surah 37, as-Saffat, when I came upon the detailed story of Abraham sacrificing his son, which was mixed in with stories of several prophets, eight to be exact.

The names of those prophets named in Surah as-Saffat are: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Aaron, Elias, Lot, and Jonah. You will see that Ishmael’s name is missing. Why is this important? Because Muslims, during the Festival of Sacrifice, are commemorating the near sacrifice of Abraham’s son Ishmael, not Isaac as the Bible teaches. When I discovered the absence of Ishmael’s name, it was one of those explosive moments when one thinks, “I can’t be reading this right.” That being the case, I re-read the passage and Ishmael’s name was still absent. Then, I got a pencil and re-read the chapter, writing down the list of people named in as-Saffat. And, my first reading was still correct: Ishmael isn’t named. In fact, he isn’t named as (almost) being sacrificed anywhere in the Qur’an.

This has surprised every Muslim I have asked about it. Usually, the encounter goes something like this:

Me: Does the Qur’an say that Abraham attempted to sacrifice Ishmael?
Them: Yes.
Me: Do you know where it is written that Ishmael is the object of sacrifice?
Them: It must be in Surah Ibrahim. Let me find it. Hmmm, it’s not here.
Me: Perhaps you can look at Surah as-Saffat.
Them: Yes, here’s the story. Here it tells about Ibrahim who went to sacrifice his son.
Me: Does it say Ishmael there?
Them: Well…his name isn’t here, but it’s him. It must be written somewhere else. Let me look for it.
Me: I’m sure you will not find it because it isn’t there. Does it bother you that Ishmael’s name isn’t actually mentioned in a story so important to Islam?
Them: Well, I’m sure it’s somewhere else in the Qur’an.
Me: But it’s not.
Them: It must be…

It isn’t and I find that very interesting. Especially since one of the main places Muslims say the Bible has been corrupted is here, where Abraham agrees to sacrifice his son. The Bible says that son was Isaac, Islam disputes that. But the Qur’an doesn’t specifically name Ishmael within the story itself. I wonder why?

One gentleman that I spoke with asked his imam to call me and answer my question. When I posed the question to the imam, he said that I was correct: Ishmael’s name isn’t found in the Qur’anic version of this story. The understanding that Ishmael was the intended sacrifice is Islamic tradition, which is binding upon Muslims to believe. Therefore, all Muslims believe that even though not specifically named, Ishmael was the son whom Ibrahim prepared for sacrifice.

My question: What happens when tradition seems to go against the text? “Which is more authoritative,” I asked the imam. His answer: “Neither. It doesn’t work like that in Islam. The Qur’an is the Qur’an and the Tradition is the Tradition. They go together.”

For those wondering: NO, I wouldn’t embrace the Qur’anic version of this story if Ishmael’s name were specifically mentioned. I fully believe the Bible’s version and simply use this “irony” as a conversation starter with Muslims.