Today I’m writing about the funny, interesting, and powerful story of Elijah for eighth graders. And just now—just now, after 25 years of being a Bible reader—I realized what the King James translators meant when they have Elijah say, “How long halt ye between two...
Capitalizing Pronouns Referring to Deity
Note: I have written a somewhat lengthier and more definitive post on this topic for the Logos Bible Software blog. I write Bible textbooks for a living, and the various publishing houses for which I write (a grand total of two) have style manuals. Conservative...
“Fervency Is Not a Word, Rand”
Do you ever feel a pang of regret when a certain memory flits across your mind? I won't begin to share all my examples—I typically take them to the Lord alone. But here's one. And don't laugh. Once upon a time, I was a counselor at the Wilds Christian Camp and...
A Blogger After My Own Heart
This guy, a doctoral candidate in linguistics, has a whole blog dedicated to the same mission my posts about Lexicographical Prescriptivism are. He writes on his about page, Grammar is a contentious point. Some argue that it’s horrifyingly appalling that ANYONE would...
A Disinterested Observation
I had an English major for a dad, so vocabulary quizzes were never difficult for me in school. I remember a particular classmate—who bore more than a passing resemblance to Scut Farkus—looking at me with a mixture of incredulity and loathing as I said, "Mrs. S., I...
Skunked Expressions
I've finally found the answer, the right name for a particular problem I face often due to my chosen line of work, Stalwart Opponent of Lexicographical Prescriptivism (SOLP). The problem is this: I happen to know that there's no "rule" against splitting infinitives,...
Absolutely Stolen
I will happily take this down if anyone has a copyright, but I couldn't just link to it. I had to put it on the blog. It is too perfect. (And then it sat in my queue so long that I can't find the link to the original...) I won't say that no pastor has the capacity or...
Xmas Is Not in the Bible, So It’s Okay To Quarrel about This Word
So I get this e-mail from a friend: X in Xmas represents Christ. The “-mas” part is from the Latin-derived Old English word for “mass,” while the “X” comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός, translated [Ed.: transliterated...
Charles Hodge on Love in 1873
I rarely do this, but I felt Hodge was worth quoting at length (I added paragraph breaks and updated the Scripture reference format): Love in us includes complacency and delight in its object, with the desire of possession and communion. The schoolmen, and often the...