You know something? You've seen this countless times. There's a scene where someone - maybe it's a Christian or some believer having a crisis of faith or trying to provide comfort or inspiration. And they start quoting a Bible verse ---
And the other one finishes it. USUALLY someone you wouldn't expect to know it at all.
I have seen this on TV so many times, I can usually guess how it goes EXCEPT for one thing.
I've never heard the verse before.
Now - I've been reading the Bible for about 35 years. At one point, I probably knew about a dozen Psalms and three or four books committed to memory. Completely. In fact, my mother mentioned that before my father died, he was trying to memorize the book of James - where I smiled and rattled off the first couple dozen verses.
So there's that. I know it.
Secondly - I've been around churches for even longer than I've been reading the Bible. I know WHAT verses people are most likely to find solace and comfort in. I think any regular reader of the Bible can possibly cite several dozen verses and reference even more. For example, in "Remember the Titans" he references Isaiah 40 - the same verses referenced in "Chariots of Fire" near the end. It's very familiar to Christians. Ditto Phi 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". I cannot even count the number of times that has been quoted, and for good reason - VERY popular in churches.
The other night I saw a show where a girl mentioned some obscure verse and THEN mentioned, grew up in Catholic schools. Yeah. So did I. Guess what? You get a LOT of religion class in Catholic schools, but you do NOT study the Bible. Hey, I got all A's in religion class. NEVER read the Bible. I didn't even own one.
And of course, the scene went just as you'd expect - person starts quoting some little known verse - it's quoted slightly out of context - and the other person finishes it AND gives the reference. And they finish the scene. And I wonder who the heck the writer is, because they don't know the Bible. Your average person just doesn't know any verse you pick out.
I swear this drives me nuts. I'd much rather see some schlub quote a verse to a minister and have them say something like, where is that? It sounds familiar. But that won't happen because TV is limited in the time it can run scenes.
Still - drives me crazy.
And the other one finishes it. USUALLY someone you wouldn't expect to know it at all.
I have seen this on TV so many times, I can usually guess how it goes EXCEPT for one thing.
I've never heard the verse before.
Now - I've been reading the Bible for about 35 years. At one point, I probably knew about a dozen Psalms and three or four books committed to memory. Completely. In fact, my mother mentioned that before my father died, he was trying to memorize the book of James - where I smiled and rattled off the first couple dozen verses.
So there's that. I know it.
Secondly - I've been around churches for even longer than I've been reading the Bible. I know WHAT verses people are most likely to find solace and comfort in. I think any regular reader of the Bible can possibly cite several dozen verses and reference even more. For example, in "Remember the Titans" he references Isaiah 40 - the same verses referenced in "Chariots of Fire" near the end. It's very familiar to Christians. Ditto Phi 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". I cannot even count the number of times that has been quoted, and for good reason - VERY popular in churches.
The other night I saw a show where a girl mentioned some obscure verse and THEN mentioned, grew up in Catholic schools. Yeah. So did I. Guess what? You get a LOT of religion class in Catholic schools, but you do NOT study the Bible. Hey, I got all A's in religion class. NEVER read the Bible. I didn't even own one.
And of course, the scene went just as you'd expect - person starts quoting some little known verse - it's quoted slightly out of context - and the other person finishes it AND gives the reference. And they finish the scene. And I wonder who the heck the writer is, because they don't know the Bible. Your average person just doesn't know any verse you pick out.
I swear this drives me nuts. I'd much rather see some schlub quote a verse to a minister and have them say something like, where is that? It sounds familiar. But that won't happen because TV is limited in the time it can run scenes.
Still - drives me crazy.
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