Nook Color (A Review with Images)

When powering up a Nook for the first time, you see the words "Read Forever." I simply love this slogan that Barnes & Noble has adopted for their Nook line of eReaders and tablet devices. It captures the essence of what makes me enthralled with eReaders to begin with: the ability to carry an entire library in one handheld device.

Barnes & Noble was kind enough to send me a complimentary Nook Color for use in a seminar on tablets and eReaders in the classroom, which I led at an education conference in Indianapolis last week. As of this writing, I've spent almost a month with the Nook Color, and I have to admit it's an impressive little device. I say "little" because it's difficult not to compare it to my iPad, which with a 9.7" screen is significantly bigger than the Nook Color's 7" screen. At the same time, the Nook Color's screen is slightly larger than my Kindle's 6" screen or the screen of the same size on the new second edition Nook with a touchscreen E Ink display (review forthcoming). But the Nook Color is not only dimensionally positioned between an iPad and a Kindle, it is also functionally in-between the two popular devices as well. The $249 Nook Color, existing not just as an eReader, but also as a full-fledged Android tablet, incorporates a bit of the best of both worlds for these kinds of devices that often overlap in function.

iPad & Nook Color

Now if you're a regular reader of This Lamp, you might be surprised to read my words of acclamation for the Nook after seeing so many posts about the iPad, and more recently, about the Kindle. But you need to understand that while I will use the device that suits my needs best, I'm not all that partisan. I'm simply pro-tablet and pro-eReader. If you don't have an iPad or a Kindle or a Nook or one of the many other devices recently bursting onto the market, I suggest you examine your needs and get the one best for you. I don't care if it's different than what I'm using; you should simply use whatever benefits you best.

Nook Color & Kindle 3

Moreover, although I'm partial to reading eBooks on a Kindle, Amazon needs competition to keep them honest and to keep both the market and technology moving forward. And Barnes and Noble is best positioned to do just that with a device like the Nook Color. The same can be said for the Nook Color against the iPad. Some will look at the features of the Nook Color and realize they don't need an iPad; the Nook Color handles all their needs just fine.

Nook Color and E Ink Nook (second edition)

Plus, now I don't have to feel guilty about neglecting great bookstores like Barnes & Noble. With a Nook, I can still offer give them my business. B&N has easily been the most aggressive bookseller second only to Amazon in regard to making a strong foray into ebooks and hedging their bets as the market changes (probably) more towards electronic texts and paper declines. That's not to say the physical book is ever going to go completely away. And hopefully there will always be physical B&N stores, but my hunch is there will be fewer of them in the future. Fortunately, the company is keen to discern the times and make the transition as they need to.

The always-accessible primary menu system for the Nook Color. This displays at the bottom of the device by pressing the arrow icon that appears on every screen

The Nook Color is a deceptive little device. It initially presents itself as a color eReader, but it is much more than that. In fact, it is really a tablet computer, running Android 2.2, that gives primary attention to its eReader app. The Nook Color doesn't look like a standard Android tablet because of its proprietary interface that gives emphasis to reading. But other features are as near as the menu system found by touching the arrow icon at the bottom of the screen. Pressing this symbol brings up options for Library (one's purchased books), Shop (where one can buy more books), Search (which will search books, content on the device, as well as on the internet), Apps (non-eReader programs), Web (a basic internet browser), and Settings (for customizing one's experience).

Reading a book on the Nook Color

When I set up the Nook Color, I was surprised to discover that I already had over 40 Nook titles thanks to the Nook app on the iPad and the NookStudy app on my MacBook Pro. Most of the titles I have were free, but I also have a few others that I bought because they were cheaper for the Nook or because I took advantage of special offers. Logging in with my B&N account was easy enough, and I immediately had access to all my books and even a copy of Newsweek that I'd inadvertently bought a few weeks ago, mistakingly thinking I could read it on my iPad. It wouldn't read on my iPad, but it certainly reads just fine on the Nook Color.

Magazines have been very popular on the Nook Color

In fact, the Nook Color has been very successful by taking advantage of the second part of its name: color. From what I've read, magazines have been very popular on the Nook Color, as well as children's books. Speaking of the latter, my Nook Color came with two children's books that include an optional recorded narrator's voice. This is a professional reader, mind you—not a digitized voice like on the Kindle.

The Nook Color now has apps!

Setting up the Nook Color also involved  adding my Google account. I'm not a diehard Google user like some, but I do have an email address and at some point, I must have synced my address book with the Google address book. Once you add your credentials, the calendar and contacts app immediately populates with data. I did find the contacts app to be a bit lacking as it only allowed for one email address and phone number per person. I have listings in my address book that have multiple instances of each. However, there are already more robust PIM apps in the built-in Nook app store.

Email composition on the Nook Color. I believe this would be more functional if it could be viewed (and typed on) horizontally, but this is one of the apps that I never could get to change orientation.

The Nook Color is designed to rotate the screen when it's turned to the side. However, this doesn't always work, and evidently, some apps simply aren't programmed to do so automatically, although it always works just fine when reading. The touchscreen was also different in its responsiveness from what I'm used to with the iPad. It's not as reactive as the iPad, and often I found myself touching something multiple times before a response was acknowledged. The more I've used the Nook Color, the better I am at using its touchscreen. I'm certain that there's a different technology at play than what's in the iPad, and it simply takes some getting used to.

I was impressed that Pandora comes on the Nook Color by default. All I had to do was add my Pandora user name and password and my "channels" immediately appeared (including the 80s channel as seen above).

The Nook Color is completely navigable by touchscreen. That is to say, there are no optional page buttons like there are on the new E Ink Nook. This works fine, and pages can be turned by either swiping the screen in one direction or another or merely by tapping at the screen's edges. Of course, the downside, like on the iPad, are the fingerprints left behind. If such things bother you, keep a cloth handy or just learn to get over it.

What about memory? The Nook Color has 8 GB of built-in memory. If that sounds like a lot at first compared to E Ink eReaders, keep in mind that the Android OS and downloaded apps take up considerably more space than eBooks. On my Nook Color, I currently have about 5 GB free after loading in my books, a few of my own documents, and downloading a handful of apps. As an advantage over some devices, including the iPad, a micro-SD memory card can be added to expand memory. The memory card is protected by that funny-looking loop on the bottom left of the device. This protects the card and prevents it from accidental ejection.

Documents can be loaded onto the Nook Color. It natively reads Word documents and PDF files. These are "side loaded" via a USB cable or emailed and saved if an optional micro-SD memory card has been added (I was unable to save a document from an email without the additional memory card). Any added document is accessed on the Library screen by selecting "My Files."

I find selecting text on both Nooks more difficult with touch than selecting text on my Kindle using the five way controller, or selecting text on the iPad, for that matter. The problem is my finger is in the way, and I can't see what I'm selecting. This isn't a problem on the Kindle where the finger is not used and the screen remains unobscured. The same goes for the iPad in which a magnified portion of one's selection appears above the line. There's no such feature on the Nook, and I often find myself having trouble getting a highlight to end exactly where I want it to.

The longest uninterrupted amount of time I spent with the Nook Color was the night I first had it. After setting it up and thoroughly exploring it, my eyes were very sore after about four hours. This confirms why I prefer reading on E Ink—it's simply easier on the eyes.

More apps can be added to the Nook Color. Some are free and some for pay, but prices are comparable to what's seen on iOS devices.

The Nook Color has been extremely popular since B&N expanded its functionality a few weeks ago and introduced the ability to add apps. This move didn't diminish its role as an eReader, but certainly put it in greater standing as a full-fledged, multi-purpose tablet. At the moment, there are only a little over 200 apps available for the Nook Color, all discriminatingly selected by the PTB at B&N. That may seem like an even greater walled garden than Apple enforces with its screening process for iOS apps, but it doesn't strike me that B&N is going after high numbers of apps for the Nook. I believe they're looking to make certain that all the important categories are covered with solid representation.

For hackers, the Nook Color has been popular as a device to root and add a non-proprietary version of Android. Some have even called it one of the best Android tablets on the market, especially in its price range. And some believe it deserves that title, even as it exists out of the box.

The Nook Color also plays video, but it's not necessarily a robust video-playing device. I noticed early on in some of the tutorial videos that frame rate was a bit choppy. I doubt that anyone is going to buy a Nook Color just for playing videos, but if that's a strong need, keep in mind that this isn't the best device for that task.

Social features are built into the Nook Color. Any highlight or note can be shared over Twitter or Facebook. The Nook family also has its own social network called "Nook Friends." Adding other Nook owners you know to your circle of Nook Friends allows you to share with each other which books you're reading and allows for easy lending of books.

Highlighting text offers a popup menu with a number of different options.

All Nook devices primarily read titles in the ePub format. This means that ePub titles from other sources, such as Google eBooks and even Christian Book Distributors, can be read on the Nook. ePub is also the primary choice for thousands of libraries across the country that have added eBook library lending to their services (Amazon has promised that Kindles will be able to participate later this year, but they can't yet).

As already mentioned, files can be transferred via USB cable, but that cable attachment alone will not charge the battery as it will with a Kindle. The Nook Color needs to be connected to an outlet to charge. The battery won't last anywhere near the amount of time that an E Ink device will, but it's probably closer to the kind of battery life with an iPad. I never really tested the battery, and there hasn't been a time that I've used the Nook Color all day either. I would guess that if it's being used pretty heavily, in whatever manner, that it's going to need to be charge overnight daily just like an iPad.

Who is the Nook Color for? It's for the person who wants ebooks, but needs more than a dedicated eReader, and probably doesn't need or want an iPad. With the ability to carry documents and access email, calendar, and contact information, the Nook Color makes a great device for business that has a larger screen than even the most capable smartphone, yet at the same time can still fit in the average suit pocket or purse. I don't know of any way to connect the Nook Color to a projector, but it's really not designed for that.

The Nook Color "home screen" which displays when turned on. Background image can be changed to another image provided by B&N or from personal pictures added by the user.

I don't know if anyone who already has an iPad needs a Nook Color. There's simply too much overlap, but that's not to say someone might very well choose a Nook Color over an iPad if it meets that person's needs. I must say, however, in evaluating the Nook Color on its own terms, I have very few criticisms.What it does, it does well, and Barnes and Noble has been aggressively improving it through software updates. And the Nook Color may just surprise you with some features you won't expect to find if you're only expecting an enhanced eReader.

In the Transition to iCloud, Questions Remain for MobileMe Users

Late last year, Steve Martin appeared on Leo Laporte’s The Tech Guy radio show and referred to a phenomenon that sometimes occurs in software development. At about the 22 minute mark, Steve says this:

“I want to tell you my term for when you’re very happy with a piece of software, and then they ‘improve’ it, and then it’s no longer functional, and they’ve taken out your favorite parts. I call those deprovements.”

Well, I fear that in the transition from MobileMe to iCloud, some of us are about to receive a deprovement.

According to the MobileMe preference settings on my MacBook Pro, I’ve been a member since January 5, 2000—the very first day it was offered. Of course, it wasn’t called MobileMe back then. Way back in 2000, it was called iTools, and it came free in OS 9. Then in 2002, the name was changed to .Mac (pronounced dot-Mac). And of course, 2008 saw the catastrophe of the transition to MobileMe.

My MobileMe settings on my MacBook Pro

I realize that MobileMe (or any of its predecessors) has received plenty of criticism and has often been the joke of the tech world—plenty of which was justified, but not all. In fact for heavy users of MobileMe, of which I would include myself, MobileMe has been a very good all-in-one solution for a number of services. Outside of slower-than-I-would-prefer iDisk transfers, the 2008 fiasco has been the only real downside in my experience, and that was temporary. Rather than having a half-dozen services, all with separate logins and passwords, I had this one service that did everything I needed and had connections from a number of software applications developed by both Apple and third parties.

I use MobileMe as my primary email service. In fact, I have a number of MobileMe email addresses including RMansfield@mac.com (or me.com—either one works). Other aliases, such as thislamp, cast.iron, and GoSP, all forward to my primary account and cost me nothing above the $99 yearly fee I've paid since the service transitioned from iTools to .Mac.

MobileMe has been a great way for me to sync email, contacts, calendars, and internet booksmarks among my iPhone, iPad, Mac, and for that matter, any computer I need access to—Mac or Windows. From what I understand, in Apple’s transition to the new service iCloud (which will now be free instead of the $99 cost of MobileMe), the above features are safe. They will transition over to iCloud. Yesterday, Apple sent MobileMe members an email which reads—

Dear MobileMe member,

We'd like to share some exciting news with you about iCloud — Apple’s upcoming cloud service, which stores your content and wirelessly pushes it to your devices. iCloud integrates seamlessly with your apps, so everything happens automatically. Available this fall, iCloud is free for iOS 5 and OS X Lion users.

What does this mean for you as a MobileMe member?

When you sign up for iCloud, you'll be able to keep your MobileMe email address and move your mail, contacts, calendars, and bookmarks to the new service.

Your MobileMe subscription will be automatically extended through June 30, 2012, at no additional charge. After that date, MobileMe will no longer be available.

When iCloud becomes available this fall, we will provide more details and instructions on how to make the move. In the meantime, we encourage you to learn more about iCloud.
 

Sincerely,

The MobileMe Team

So, from the above message from Apple, I understand that my email (even the old .Mac addresses), address book, calendar, and bookmarks will still sync. But there are other features of MobileMe that aren’t mentioned here which have a number of users similar to myself scratching our heads to wonder what the future holds.

Webhosting. Two of my websites reside on MobileMe. The first of these is my original This Lamp website, which still resides at a mac.com address. The other is a site for my local homeowners association.

I’ve stated that I want to gradually move all of the posts on the original This Lamp website over to the new site where you’re reading this. Part of my concern for the move has been that the .Mac domain will eventually go away and the site would simply be gone unless I moved it elsewhere. But even if I moved it somewhere else, there are thousands of internal links that would be broken as well as incoming links from other websites.

And although I do not use iWeb, there are tens of thousands of users who publish iWeb websites directly to MobileMe. There are plenty of reasons to pick at iWeb or hosting a site on MobileMe, but the fact remains that it has been a very convenient way for many Mac users to quickly publish a website. After June 30, 2012, what happens to all of these websites? What happens to my non-iWeb websites which reside on MobileMe? I had planned to gradually move my posts to the new site over the next three years. It looks like I may only have a year to do so now.

iDisk. All those above-mentioned websites reside on what is called the iDisk, a virtual drive in the cloud that can be directly accessed from any computer or iOS device. Think Dropbox, but the iDisk has been around longer. Like Dropbox, I can even make certain files public or password protect them for specific users to download.

I use my iDisk nearly every day. I use it the same way lots of folks use flash drives. I often create a Keynote presentation on my Mac and then transfer it to my iPad via iDisk. The other night, my wife Kathy, who is currently on the personnel team at church, had over 100 resumes to sort through because our church is looking for a new youth minister. We converted all of them from their original format (mostly MS Word) to Adobe PDF, dropped them in a folder on her iDisk, and then imported them into GoodReader on her iPad. This was an easy solution in spite of a slower file transfer than I’d prefer. Regardless, it worked and we knew it would work before we began.

Besides iWeb, a lot of other programs use iDisk including Quicken Essentials which has a backup feature specifically for use with iDisk. I use this twice a month to create a separate backup from my regular full-system backup. I realize that I could simply copy the file elsewhere, but the convenience of the service lies in the fact that it’s built into the Mac version of Quicken.

As you can see in the first graphic of this post, I have 17 GB of content in my iDisk. That includes websites, photos, videos, backups, transferred files, password-protected files for specific individuals to download, files linked to other websites (hosted both on MobileMe and off MobileMe—including individual files and videos linked from this site) and who knows what else. The issue is not simply moving it to another service. I do have a free Dropbox account, and I know I could pony up some cash and get more space. But in addition to the hassle of moving to another service, if iDisk goes away, I’m going to end up with hundreds  of broken links and loss of the simple internal functionality that I have now.

The new iCloud service doesn’t offer 20 GB of space; users only get 5 GB. If this were simply a name change as has been done in the past, and I got to keep my iDisk, none of this would matter. Perhaps Apple will allow users to purchase more space, but they haven’t made this clear. In fact, there’s not even a hint, as of this writing, that a user will be able to purchase more space.

MobileMe Gallery. Also residing on the iDisk is all the content I have in my MobileMe gallery. That includes thousands of photos and quite a few videos. There are lots of both that I share primarily with family that I don’t care to share on this site or on my Facebook page.

Yes, there’s Flicker and yes, there’s YouTube. But MobileMe Gallery has been a one-stop shop for both photos and video.  Moreover, YouTube limits the length of my videos to about 15 or so minutes. I’ve posted videos to the MobileMe Gallery that are well over an hour in length. I can set options in iMovie that allow my videos to be downloaded from MobileMe Gallery in a variety of sizes and formats.

There are direct publishing features in iPhoto, Aperture and iMovie (and scores of third party software) to MobileMe Gallery. Is Apple really going to remove functionality from these apps and kill this service?  The new photo streaming function in iCloud only keeps the last 1,000 pictures a person has shot. It’s no substitute for MobileMe Gallery, which is where I often keep much older pictures for completely other purposes. I don’t know of any comparable service to the MobileMe Gallery on the market. If you do, please let me know. I may be looking.

So now we wait. According to Apple’s communiqué above, more details about the transition will be made available when OS X Lion and iOS 5 are released. It would be helpful, though, if we knew the status of these other features now, so we could determine whether we need to begin making transitions to other services or if we're okay to sit still.

The fact that I’m a “charter” member of iTools/.Mac/MobileMe means nothing to Apple, and I understand that. They are a company designed to make money, and Steve Jobs has never been one for nostalgia or sentiment. Fine. But when a person finds services such as these that simply work, with connections from lots of other programs, creating a unified system and experience, one is inclined to invest plenty of time and resources to those services and that system. One expects it to be around for the long haul, regardless of name changes. It would therefore seem that 11 years of investment count for something.

I’m not asking Apple to give me anything for free, in spite of the new iCloud services, which will be free. Instead, I’d ask that I could continue with the same functionality I have now, and I’d be willing to pay for the privilege. I’m certain I’m not alone. Overnight, literally thousands of posts have been added to Apple’s MobileMe support forums. Hopefully, this will prod the PTB at Apple to give us more details about the MobileMe to iCloud transition now instead of later.

As always, your thoughts, comments, questions and rebuttals are welcome in the comments section below.

 

(Un)Common Courtesy

According to a 2008 estimate, Simpsonville, Kentucky—the town where I live—has a population of about 1,436 people. Dining out choices, as you may well imagine, are limited, but I am glad we have a Subway, where I can at least attempt to eat a bit healthier when I'm so inclined. Adding to the healthy mix is the new avocado spread introduced this month.

This past Saturday night, Kathy and I ran by our local Subway to grab a sandwich to take home. The $5 footlong special for the month of June was some kind of chipotle chicken sandwich, so we decided to get one of those to split. We had been at the church that evening, had only eaten a few snacks, and this was to be a late-night bite to eat a bit later than we normally enjoy having dinner. The Subway closes at 10 PM. We walked in at 9:40 and noticed all the chairs already stacked on the table. This was not a problem as we were planning to take our sandwich home with us.

One other customer was at the counter in front of us, and while we waited, I noticed a sign on the sandwich toaster that indicated it was not working. When we were ready to place our order, I told the teenage-looking girl behind the counter that we wanted to try the chicken sandwich on special, but wondered whether it was usually toasted since we'd noticed the toaster out of order. I observed the body language on the young girl change as she immediately shifted into a defensive mode. She apologized profusely about the toaster. She even said she could microwave the chicken and cheese and then add it to the sandwich if we liked.

To me, microwaved food is never preferable, but suddenly I had an idea. I looked at Kathy and said, "Since we're taking this with us, we could toast it ourselves in the oven at home, right?" Kathy agreed, stating that was a perfect idea, and she asked the Subway employee if it would be possible to put some of the vegetables in a side container to add after we toasted it.

Then an older employee came out of the back room, having evidently heard our exchange. "You two are the sweetest couple," she said. I've always thought Kathy and I were great together, so I just assumed she was speaking of us in a general way. :-)

But she went on. "We've had people come in here all day and get so upset at us for having a broken toaster. Some customers have yelled at us as if we did something to break it! You two are the only ones this entire day who have been nice about it."

Kathy and I were both a bit stunned. "You're kidding," I said. "It's not your fault if equipment fails. Why would folks get angry with you? And Subway didn't even have toasted sandwiches until a couple of years ago!"

They were genuinely appreciative of our reaction and response. We were "rewarded" for our civility with free cookies (which kind of defeated the purpose of trying to eat healthy, although we did not refuse them) and extra avocado spread for the sandwich.

Now, please understand me. I'm not telling you all of this to pat myself on the back or to try to make us look like models of equanimity. I assure you that we can both have our moments of grumpiness and selfish behavior. But I'm really surprised that in a town our size (although, granted, there would be a lot of interstate business, too), no one else would react with common courtesy to a situation that was clearly not the fault of the employees. It's a fact of reality that equipment eventually fails—all equipment. I wouldn't expect any establishment to have an extra toaster oven in the back in case the one in use fails. That would simply not be cost-efftective. And a non-toasted sandwich is not the end of the world. The majority of the sandwiches at Subway are fine without being toasted.

Simpsonville has almost literally a church on every corner with five found within city limits. Again, I'd like to blame poor behavior on interstate traffic, but I know that can't exclusively be the case. People in food service have my utmost respect. I worked in a McDonalds for only three weeks as a teenager. That was enough for me to know I wasn't cut out for that kind of a job—it's highly stressful even when all the equipment is working correctly. It bothers me that customers would show poor attitudes and take their frustrations out on employees who weren't responsible for the problem at hand.

Now, if you're a Christian reading this, you really have to choice in these kinds of matters. As Paul wrote to the Colossians, we have an obligation to be courteous to others: “Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person” (Col 4:5–6, HCSB).

But even if you're not a Christian, I would hope to appeal to any reader on the basis of a shared desire for civility (a lost virtue in our culture if there ever was one). The word civil is the root of the word civilization, and a loss of one will lead to the loss of the other. It doesn't help that we live in a technological culture where people hide behind computer screens and say things to each other virtually that they would never say in person, or that all of our primetime news networks feature one show after another where people yell at each other rather than disagreeing in a civil and courteous manner.

We make the world a better place with one conversation, one encounter at a time. There's simply no room for treating each other discourteously over nonsense as inconsequential as a sandwich—or whatever other petty matters come our way in the day.

Significant Updates to iWork for iOS: A Quick Look

Not only did Apple release "universal"  versions of their iWork Suite (Pages, Keynote & Numbers) today making them available for the smaller screens of the iPhone and the iPod Touch, the releases also included a few significant updates from previous versions on the iPad.

Here's a quick overview in pictures (click on images for a larger view).

In the "I don't know why it wasn't there in the first place" department, files in the individual apps can be sorted into folders. This works the same way that application folders are created on all iOS devices: drag one file on top of another and a folder is created that can be given any name.

Files & folders in Keynote for the iPad

Files & folders in Pages for the iPad

A folder's content in Keynote in Keynote for the iPad

Exporting and printing is now handled internally in a document rather than in the file browser as before:

Print/Export features now accessed from within the file (Keynote on the iPad)

No doubt many who teach with Keynote will be thrilled that the Keynote Remote on the iPhone can be used to control slides. The Keynote remote even gives access to presentation notes for complete classroom wandering! The two devices connect over WiFi.

Enable remote from within Keynote on the iPad (cropped image from Keynote on the iPad)

Control Keynote slides with an iPhone or iPod Touch. Presentation notes included! (iPhone screenshot) 

While the new iPad features of iWork are the most exciting to me, no doubt many will find the new iPhone/iPod Touch versions of these apps to be the really big news.

While I couldn't imagine doing serious editing of a Keynote slideshow on my iPhone, I have to admit it offers some new possibilities worth pondering. It was just a little over a year ago that we neded a full-blown laptop to use presentation graphics software. The iPad last year scaled those hardware requirements considerably. But can you imagine now—walking into a classroom and simply pulling an iPhone and an adapter out of your pocket as the only hardware needed for a presentation (assuming the projector is already in the room)?

Keynote on the iPhone: Create a presentation natively or import a PowerPoint or Keynote file created elsewhere.

Creating a new document in Pages for the iPhone

The same templates available in the iPad version are also available in the iPhone version of Pages.

 

Typing in Pages on the iPhone

 

Editing text in Pages on the iPhone

Insert a chart: all the same features available on the iPad version are available in the iPhone/Ipod Touch versions.

Again, I'm not totally psyched about the smaller versions of these apps as I doubt I will use them that much (although I may experiment with using Keynote from my iPhone), but simply giving some file management features as well as allowing remote control of presentations really begins to bring the experience up to par with using an actual laptop.

And yes, I know I've offered no screenshots for Numbers, but the same principles above (with the exception of the Keynote remote) apply to that app, too.

The Fallacy & Legalism of the Church Tithe

"The Widow's Mite" by Gustave Doré, Mark 12:41-44 (source: Accordance)
Earlier this week, T. C. Robinson delivered a short post, "What I've Come to Believe about Tithing" which generated a good bit of healthy discussion. Last year, in private correspondence, I laid out my own beliefs about the subject, but did not make them public at the time. While I hope this post doesn't come back to haunt me later, I'm encouraged by the overall response to T. C.'s post to offer my own thoughts here. The idea of a tithe has a "sacred cow" status in many of our churches, and for this fact alone, should be re-examined. The content below is adapted from my private correspondence from last year with personal content removed.

From the outset, despite the title, I do believe in supporting one's church financially, which I see as a different issue than giving a tithe. One's support of a church is even more important if you have covenanted with a church as a member or participant and take part in its ministry and/or receive the benefits (spiritual or otherwise) of its service. Moreover, if one's church has a set budget, members and regular participants in the church's ministry are obligated to seeing that its financial obligations are met.

As I hope to demonstrate, I don’t believe the idea of a church tithe is biblical. And I find it ironic, after spending my entire life in Baptist churches that seemed so careful to separate themselves from the very idea of tradition because somehow that seemed to be Catholic, the reality is that we have numerous traditions of our own, while not always recognizing them as such. Actually, I don’t mind having traditions at all if we can all agree on them and recognize them for what they are. But I do have a problem with holding to a tradition, while masking it under the label of biblical imperative.

Let me try to summarize as briefly as I can my objection to tithing as a model for church giving.

1. The term itself.
As the most minor of points, I don’t care for the word tithe in general. It is an adaptation of a 12th century Old English word, teogotha, that originally simply meant tenth. The problem, for me, lies in the fact that the current English word tithe has taken on religious baggage over the years that the original word never meant.

While this is ultimately a semantic issue and doesn’t matter in the big picture, I have noticed that the HCSB—the Southern Baptist, Lifeway-sponsored and owned translation of the Bible used in our Sunday School literature—never uses the word tithe, opting to more specifically translate the Hebrew word מַעֲשֵׂר/maaser and the Greek words ἀποδεκατεύω/apodekateuo and δεκάτη/dekate as tenth or, when in the verb form, give a tenth.

Regardless, I’ll use the word tithe as needed below for sake of common terminology.

2. The Old Testament context does not resemble the context of the church.
The practice of Israelites giving a tenth of their annual yield comes primarily from Levitcus 27 and Numbers 18. The Levites, as a priestly class, were to be supported by the other tribes because they did not have a tribal land allotment of their own. Having no land meant that crops could not be grown and cattle could not be bred. “Since the Levites do not possess any land and therefore cannot readily produce their own food, they are given the agricultural tithes of the people for their sustenance and as reward for their service in the tent of meeting.” [J. Christian Wilson, "Tithe," in The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992). 6:579.]

Essentially, the Old Testament practice of giving a tenth/tithe was a stipulation of the civil and cultic law for the ancient nation of Israel (as opposed to any other nation, let alone non-nationalists, which would include the church). “The tithe was subject to a variety of legislation. Numbers 18:20-32 provides for support of the Levites and the priests through the tithe. The Deuteronomic code stipulated that the tithe of agricultural produce be used for a family feast at the sanctuary celebrating God’s provision (Deut. 14:22-27). The same code stipulated the third year’s tithe for care of the Levites, orphans, widows, and foreigners (Deut. 14:28-29).” [Chad Brand, Charles Draper, Archie England et al., “Tithe,” in The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1600-01.]

This also means that quoting Mal 3:10 as a model for giving in the church (which I've often seen over the years) is not only invalid, but completely ignores the context of the verse. Here God was speaking to post-Exile Israel, who was in danger of falling back to the position their ancestors were in before the Exile. They were not keeping the commands of giving a tenth to support the Levites as had been commanded in the Law (among their other offenses). This was partly out of greed and partly out of a lack of faith. While we can certainly draw valid application from this to a church context today, to say that this application for us centers on the tithe is wholly mistaken.

If we’re supposed to bring “the whole tithe” as is often promoted in church stewardship rhetoric, from a biblical basis, this would have very little to do with our paychecks, but would require among other things, any cattle farmer in our church bringing a tenth of any livestock born this year (what a mess that would make of the average church sanctuary!). I would need to bring 10% of any new food I’ve put in my pantry this year. And frankly, I don’t know of any Levites on the church staff to receive any of this. Now, you can say I’m being overly literal here. But to hold up Mal 3:10 as a model for church giving—that we must “bring in the whole tithe" as the biblical standard—means that we can’t simply pick and choose which parts of the biblical commands to follow. If we're going to be biblical, let's bring in the cows. Seriously, because I want a front row seat to see it.

3. No Support for the tithe in the New Testament or in the early church as described in the New Testament.
While the tithe is mentioned in the New Testament (Matt 23:23; Luke 11:42; Luke 18:12; Heb 7:2, 4-6, 8), none of these instances are in reference to any kind of command to the church to implement a tithe along the lines prescribed by the Old Testament Law. All of these references in the New Testament refer to either Jewish practices during Jesus’ ministry or, as in the case of the references in Hebrews, to Old Testament practice.

Don’t misread me at this point to think I’m saying that just because something is in the Old Testament that it is to be ignored by the church. I don’t believe that at all, but as mentioned in the point above, the practice of giving a tenth in the Old Testament is part of the legal and cultic system of the nation of Israel, not as something prescribed for those outside that nation, including the church. Every New Testament reference to the tithe is in the context of Israelite Law (or Abraham and Melchizedek, which was part of the foundation for Israel’s laws on tithing).

Let me be perfectly clear on this: There is neither biblical nor historical evidence that the New Testament Church practiced anything similar to a tithe. The Old Testament tithe was not even really about money, which is nearly always the emphasis for modern church stewardship campaigns. It was primarily about giving a tenth of what was mostly agricultural yield in support of the Levites who had no land of their own.

And no doubt, some in the early church gave much more than a tenth of their income for both church needs and for charity, but also many probably gave a lesser percentage.

In fact, while there is much about generosity in the New Testament (and the Old Testament), there is no reference to regular offerings as practiced in today’s church at all (although don’t misread me to think that I’m opposed to regular offerings as we have each week; I’ll address this below).

The earliest reference in church literature to a regularly taken offering comes not from the Bible, but from the Didache (probably early second century) which reads: “As for money and clothes and any other possessions, take the first fruit that seems right to you and give in accordance with the commandment” (Did 13:7). Note that “seems right to you” echoes 2 Cor 9:7: "Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver" (HCSB, emphasis added). Note carefully that there is no percentage model given.

4. Often the idea of a church "tithe" results in church members giving less.
This happens in two ways. I've heard one prominent Christian financial guru say, "If you can't live on 90%, you can't live on 100%. Well, that's probably true most of the time, but certainly if the household income is $3,000 a month it's easier to live on $2700 than to live on $900 when one's income is only $1,000 a month.

I've seen low-income believers give very generously in my lifetime. I've seen people who ought to be receiving help from the church, give sacrificially. In Mark 12:42, Jesus praises the widow who gives a 100% offering.

YetI've also seen a different scenario in which for people in desperate financial situations see the tithe as nothing but one more burden in their lives. I've known people, who knowing they couldn't give ten percent of their income, simply give nothing at all. I was in a situation similar to this many years ago. I had so many bills and expenses that I didn't feel like I could reach the 10% my church was teaching. So, knowing my inability to meet that goal, I simply gave up and gave nothing at all for a period of months. Then, I heard a financial speaker at our church say, "If you can't give 10%, give something." Suddenly, "giving something" was endorsed from the pulpit, and I knew I could do that. So, before the next Sunday, I sat down to write an offering check. I intended to write out the check for $25 because I knew that was a good manageable beginning. But instead of writing $25, my hand wrote out $50, which was a bit of a risk to me at the time, but something I felt I could trust God with. From that small start, I was able to begin giving to the church again and eventually go beyond that amount.

I've seen the opposite happen, also. I've seen people for whom giving 10% is nothing. They would have to give much more than that for the gift to come anywhere close to being sacrificial. But they give only 10% because that has been taught to them as their Christian obligation. Supposedly, if they give 10%, they're in good standing with the church and with God. But this may actually be very far from the truth.

With either scenario, blind allegiance to the idea of a tithe in our churches keeps us from receiving the offering amounts than we're capable of as a whole.

5. The emphasis on a church tithe promotes legalism.
Most of the churches with which I'm most familiar  would quickly tell their members and the community at large that they preach the grace of Jesus Christ. Yet beyond this grace are little pockets of works and legalism. If it's promoted that good standing equals a tithe, this is legalism, plain and simple. If taking on a responsibility within the church such as teaching or some committee position or a role like deacon requires giving at least 10% of one's income, this is legalism by its very definition. And yet these same churches supposedly believe they promote God's grace in all areas. Sadly, they do not.

So what is an appropriate New Testament model?
A good friend of mine has written, “God owns 100%, not just 10%. We are accountable for how we use all his gifts for His glory,” and I agree. Ultimately this is true in both testaments (see Psalm 50:10 for foundation in the Old Testament) as true stewardship is not just about giving to the church, but also about (perhaps more about) what we do with (i.e. how we manage) what we “keep.”  Of course, the standard church stewardship committee never seems to discuss this part of the Christian financial obligation, even though it's probably a more significant issue.

Ultimately, there is no New Testament “policy” or “standard” given to the church on giving, but I do believe we can draw some solid principles.

The first principle is mentioned above—that 100% of what we have belongs to the Lord.

Paul says a lot about giving, especially in 1 & 2 Corinthians, but none of this can be called church “policy” or commands for standard practice. Everything Paul says to this subject in these letters was in the specific context of the offering he was collecting among the gentile Christians for the poor in Jerusalem.

Paul’s command in 1 Corinthians 16:2 that “On the first day of the week, each of you is to set something aside and save to the extent that he prospers…” (HCSB) is in reference to this collection for the poor in Jerusalem. So, while we can’t call that policy given to the entire church, we can say that when the church has a reason for collecting funds (and a voted-on church budget surely counts!) this collection ought to be done regularly. Thus, we have a solid second biblical principle—that we can take up regular weekly offerings (but we can’t call it biblical command or policy to do so).

How much does one give?
The “cheerful giver” label in 2 Cor 9:7 is often touted as to what our response should be in giving to the church. I agree, but this, as evidenced in earlier points, has nothing to do with a tithe. The context here, too, had to do with Paul’s collection for the poor in Jerusalem. But if we draw a third principle from his statement, we must surely read the whole verse: “You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. ‘For God loves a person who gives cheerfully’” (emphasis added, NLT).

What’s the principle here? We should give based upon our own convictions with no outside pressure and no set requirement (such as a tithe). And if we follow the principles of Paul, we must be willing at times to give sacrificially (he writes about this in 2 Corinthians especially) meaning we give more than what we can really afford to at times, trusting that God will provide for any shortfall in our personal budgets.

No doubt our churches suffer from members who give less than what they ought. But rather than hold that 10% mark over their heads, why not have members determine what percentage they are actually giving and encourage a 1% increase every year? That will inevitably reach its own limits after a while, but it won't hold an artificial mark of spirituality over anyone's head or prevent someone from giving beyond this artificial mark.

So there’s my little theology of giving to the church. It has nothing to do with tithing, it’s not legalistic, and I certainly believe it reflects biblical principles. And honestly, I believe that if it was fully taught, we’d never have trouble meeting budget.

If we're to have traditions, let's recognize them as such.
Now, it may be that a particular body of believers gets together and decides that 10% is a good measure of what a their members ought to give as a minimum. But let's not be all pious about it and resort to the kind of spiritual manipulation that I often hear such as "To be a Christian in good standing with God and the church, you must be giving at least 10% of your income." No, let's call this what it is: tradition. As I said, I'm not opposed to tradition if we can acknowledge it for what it is. Let's just not dress it up in Bible verses taken out of context and call it something that it's not.

As always, your comments, thoughts, questions and rebuttals are welcome below.

Territorial Spirits

Tomorrow night, I'm going to hear Kenneth Slawenski, owner of the dead caulfields website, discuss his recent book, J. D. Salinger: A Life. I won't be able to finish the book in time (my Kindle tells me I'm at 27%), but when I do, I'll post a review here. In truth, I've never been a huge fan of Salinger, who is most known for his one published novel, Catcher in the Rye. No, I'm not opposed to Catcher for the reasons some have wanted to censor it over the past six decades. I actually find the book to be well-written and very creative.

My problem with Catcher results from the reality that I simply read the book too late in life. I feel that if a person is really going to connect with the book's protagonist, Holden Caulfield, it needs to be read around high school or college age. I was around 40 or 41 when I first read Catcher in the Rye, and I think it was simply too late for me to make a spiritual or emotional bond with the character. By the time I got around to reading the book, I'd already had a good bit of adult experience in life. Yes, I don't have much patience with phonies, either; but having been at an age where I'd already spent one part of my life teaching high school students, I simply wanted to wring Holden's neck at times while I read the book. Having already lost much of my own youthful ideals and having given in to life at times through compromises of my own, perhaps Holden would have called me a phoney!

And yet, I don't feel that same disconnect when I've re-read Huckleberry Finn a couple of times in recent years. Why? Perhaps because I first read Huck when I was around 14, and I very much connected with him then.

Moreover, Salinger's somewhat abrupt disengagement from public life had always struck me as a bit of a narcissistic act. I suppose I've always thought of him as a bit of a literary prima donna.

However, I was curious enough about Salinger, the man, to request tickets to hear Slawenski. And in reading the first quarter of his book, I have to admit that I'm beginning to have new appreciation for both Salinger and his writing. The portrayal of Salinger presented in what I've read from Slawenski, so far, gives me reason to think that perhaps I judged Salinger too quickly and too harshly.

So, I went back to the Amazon page for J. D. Salinger: A Life to look at some of the reviews of the book. I tend to often take reviews of books or movies with a grain of salt—perhaps because I occasionally write some of them myself. But I was surprised to read some of the harsh words that some reviewers, specifically those who only gave one or two stars to the biography, had for this book.

As I read through the negative reviews, I feel like I perceived a few themes, such as Slawenski offers nothing new and Slawenski defends Salinger too much. One review even mentioned that NPR called the book "sludge." Now, I wouldn't say that the book is perfect. What biography is? Yet some of these reviews are more harsh than necessary—and this evaluation is coming from me, someone who's never really appreciated Salinger or The Catcher in the Rye all that much. And then it struck me why I believe the writer was receiving such a tough time: Slawenski is an outsider. He's perceived as someone who's "merely" a fan (with a fan website to boot!). It doesn't matter that he worked on his book for years and it was published by a major publisher (Random House) with their own team of editors and fact checkers. How dare someone like him try to interpret Salinger's life and works for us!

Of course, whether Slawenski's critics like it or not, considering his work is the first book on Salinger published after the writer's death—at least for the moment—J. D. Salinger: A Life is pretty much the definitive biography of the writer's life.

Reflecting on this drew me back twenty something years ago to when I was in college at Louisiana Tech University. I had decided to major in English after enjoying my first two classes in the subject that everyone in most liberal arts programs was required to take. My first English class specifically in my major was a course in American literature. We had to write a paper for the class that was based around a book by a major American author. In the first few days, I learned that my instructor (I'm tempted to state his name out of spite, but I'll refrain) was a published "expert"on three subjects: Twain, Faulkner, and the King James Bible (referring to the literary aspects of the KJV, as I never detected any spiritual devotion to the Bible in the man).

In my eager (and naive) attempt to impress this man, I decided to write my paper on William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, which I had never read before this class. The image you see to the right is the exact same cover as that of the paperback copy I bought for the class (which I still have). I wanted my own copy instead of checking one out at the library, so I could make notes in the margins for my paper. I worked very hard on the paper—much harder than my "Bartleby the Scrivener" paper which had been assigned to me by my teacher in my previous English class after I waited so long to pick a topic.

On the day we were to begin presenting our papers, I let a couple of other students read theirs first, so I could get a feel for my instructor's reaction. After two successful papers, one on a Steinbeck novel and another on a Hemingway title, I volunteered to read my paper. I was certain that my professor would be pleased that I had picked a book by one of his favored American authors. I couldn't wait to get the paper back with "A" and "Excellent insights!" written across the top in red ink. How was I to know that the grade would actually fall two letters lower?

As I reached the mid-point of the third page of my paper, the professor completely stopped me. This was a bit of a shock to both my classmates and me. I thought everything had been going quite well. Over two decades later, I still remember his expression of frustration and his exact words that continue to bounce around in my cranium from time to time. "Did you even read the book?" he asked. I think I may have stammered a "Yes," but if I did or if he heard me, it didn't really matter.

I was humiliated. He then spent the rest of the class taking apart the points I'd already made and explaining the book to me. At some point in this, when I realized he wasn't going to let me finish my paper, I simply walked back to my desk, sat down, and listened to him continue his rant. When we met for the next class, no one would volunteer to read their paper, so the professor began calling readers randomly.

As I said, I was naive. I had no idea that some profs were egomaniacs. While I thought I was gaining favor by writing on a topic he was interested in, I had no idea that to him, since he was the expert on the subject and I was the neophyte, there was simply nothing I could possibly contribute to the the discussion—at least not in his view. Fortunately, I stuck with my major, and I also still enjoy reading Faulkner, but it's a wonder I didn't give up on both after that experience.

I've often said that much of how I relate to my students today comes as a reaction against some of the jerks I had in college. Yes, I read papers from students with which I disagree. I even read papers occasionally, where beyond mere disagreement of opinion, I believe the student is simply wrong in his or her assertion of the facts. But I don't belittle the student. I don't present myself as the expert and the student as the imbecile. I tell my students that I often learn new things from their papers; I often see insights to familiar subjects that I'd never thought of before.

It's too bad so many of us go through life putting up walls of superiority between ourselves and others. It's too bad that we become so territorial in our own little worlds of ideas that we have no patience for outside voices.

John said to Jesus, "Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn't in our group."

"Don't stop him!" Jesus said. "No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us." (Mark 9:38-40, NLT)

Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) for Kindle & Nook

Kindle Edition
Nook Edition

Popular eReaders like the Kindle and Nook are still new technologies essentially. As such, there are features not yet present in eReaders, such as the ability to display right-to-left languages like Hebrew and Arabic. To my knowledge, because of this limitation, there have not been any Hebrew Bibles available for the Kindle or Nook until now.

Last week, Miklal Software Solutions, Inc. released a true Bible in Hebrew for both the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook. Here is the description from the company website:

Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) is a complete Hebrew Bible in an aesthetically pleasing Hebrew script. It contains all of the consonants, vowels, cantillation marks (accents), and other symbols. It follows the text of the Leningrad Codex as digitized by the J. Alan Groves Center for Advanced Biblical Research. This is the same manuscript underlying Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) and Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ).

In addition, the Kindle version has The Comprehensive Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic Glossary, by Humphrey H. Hardy, appended to it.

The reference to an "aesthetically pleasing Hebrew script" is no exaggeration. Drayton Benner, president of Miklal Software, sent me review copies of both the Kindle and Nook versions of the text. Although I think I'm probably biased at this point toward E Ink displays, honestly, the text in both versions looks as professional as the type in my hardcopy Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Here are a couple of screenshots:

Psalm 23 on the Kindle

 

Psalm 23 on the Nook Color

As you'll notice the formatting looks much better on the Kindle version than the Nook Color screen. I'm trying to get a screenshot of an E Ink Nook screen for comparison, and if I do, I'll update this post. My hunch is that the E Ink Nook will display this text better than the Nook Color, which is essentially an Android tablet. This version of the Hebrew Bible seems primarily intended for dedicated eReaders as there is a warning that the formatting has mixed results on some mobile devices (the iPhone is specifically mentioned). I'll come back to this subject toward the end of the review.

Regardless of the differences, the final result is impressive when considering the limitations of a device like the Kindle or Nook when it comes to right-to-left text. Benner is not currently revealing his method of reproducing the Hebrew text on these devices, but I have a few hunches. For instance, the text itself cannot be increased or reduced like normal English text on a Kindle or Nook. When navigating through the text with the Kindle's five-way controller, the insertion point jumped letter by letter instead of word by word as with other titles. This leads me to believe that perhaps each Hebrew character, including vowel markings and cantillations, are essentially small graphic files, but I may be wrong. I checked file sizes to see if this title took up an inordinate amount of space on my Kindle, but it does not; I actually have a number of other titles, including some English Bible translations, that are much larger in size. But in the final analysis, none of this really matters because it's the end product that counts, and the end product is quite impressive.

The Hebrew Bible for Kindle and Nook includes a fairly sophisticated navigation system—one that is more feature rich than most eReader titles. Like a handful of other better-formatted Bibles, there is a fully interactive table of contents allowing the reader to go from the listing in the contents to the text and then back very quickly. But there's even greater flexibility than that. The search feature built into the device allows for strings such as "Joshua 4" to be entered as one means for accessing a chapter. If you don't want to type that much on an eReader keyboard, no problem, as there is a table included in the preface that offers abbreviations such as "jos" instead of the aforementioned "Joshua." While in a passage, pressing left or right on the five-way Kindle controller moves to the previous or next chapter respectively.

Interestingly, the order of the books matches that of most English Bibles rather than the traditional order found in Hebrew Bibles.

The Kindle edition has one advantage over the Nook version: the inclusion of a concise Hebrew glossary. Here is a sample screenshot:

Representative page from The Comprehensive Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic Glossary, by Humphrey H. Hardy

The navigation system for the glossary has received a good bit of thought as well to make navigation as quick as possible.

So, what's the true need for something like this? Even though there are Kindle and Nook apps on iOS and Android devices, those are not the platforms for which this title is really intended. The more advanced mobile devices all have dedicated Bible apps that make displaying and reading the Hebrew Bible a breeze. In fact, I tried viewing the Nook version of this Hebrew Bible on my iPad and the Nook app repeatedly crashed. I viewed the Kindle version on my iPad, and it was stable; but again, it wasn't overly necessary for that device.

When I got my Kindle, I wondered whether I needed a Bible installed on it. Bible reading and study on the iPad becomes more and more practical as the software and platform continue to improve. But after installing a few English translations of the Bible on my Kindle, I discovered that I ended up accessing the biblical text much more often that I initially imagined I would. That's what this Hebrew Bible is for. If you need access to an original language text on your Kindle or Nook, this is it. And what's more, this isn't something that you have to "settle for" simply because it's an only option. Rather, this edition of the Hebrew Bible is put together with quite a bit of thought and skill, and more impressive navigationally and in other ways than many "normal" Kindle books in English.

So, if you're a student of Hebrew, and if you have a Kindle or a Nook, you're covered. Be certain to look at the Miklal website for more information, and pick up either version for only $9.99 each, which, incidentally, is much less expensive than the average print copy of a Hebrew Bible.

This Lamp Now Available for Kindle Subscription

I'd like to take a quick moment to announce that my blog here at This Lamp is now available for Kindle subscription from Amazon. For 99¢ a month, you can have the most recent posts on This Lamp wirelessly delivered to your Kindle as they're updated.

Now the first question some of you may ask is "Why would I want to pay 99¢ for something I can already get for free?" (that's assuming, of course, you're not asking the more fundamental question, "Why would I want to read This Lamp at all?"). Well, that is a good question (the first one, not the parenthetical one), and the reality is that most people will not want or need to subscribe. This is merely an option that may be a convenience for some readers who might have a busy schedule—and receiving a digest version of multiple posts, directly to their Kindle, will allow for greater ease and portability. For instance, if you're like me, you may often let your Kindle read books and magazines to you while you drive. I do this regularly with Time Magazine on the Kindle or with articles I've clipped and sent to Instapaper.

This is merely another option for distributing This Lamp. Amazon sets the price, not me, and I have no plans to make any significant money on this venture. You'll have to decide whether or not it's worth the cost to you. If you're unsure, here's the good news: the subscription is on a month-to-month basis, so if you decide it's not for you or not worth the cost, you can cancel at any time. I have set a goal to have at least three posts a week on average, although there will sometimes be more and rarely less, I hope moving forward. Sometime later this year or perhaps next year, I may launch an audio podcast version of This Lamp that will feature an interactive discussion of the topics from the previous week. That won't be any time in the immediate future, but stay tuned.

Amazon actually offers a number of blogs for subscription on the Kindle, and you can add yours, too, as a convenience for some of your readers. In regard to the content, Amazon states,

"Kindle blogs are fully downloaded onto your Kindle so you can read them even when you're not wirelessly connected. And unlike RSS readers which often only provide headlines, blogs on Kindle give you full text content and images, and are updated wirelessly throughout the day."

Yes, I know most RSS feeds provide more than just headlines, but I didn't write that.

I had to subscribe to my own blog to see how it looked on the Kindle. I've actually been fairly impressed that it captures graphics and retains formatting such as bold and italics. External links are retained such as URLs that will launch the Kindle browser. Images can be enlarged, too.

As always, anything on a Kindle looks best when looking in person at the device, but here are a couple of screenshots to give you the idea of how This Lamp is formatted on the Kindle:

A recent post. Notice the retention of bold and italics.

Above is a standard page seen when reading any post. Note the retention of bold and italics, as well as different fonts and external links. The title of the next article is listed at the bottom as well as an option to view all available posts.

There is an "Articles List" view similar to that in Kindle magazine subscriptions.

The Articles List above acts as a table of contents. There are three articles listed on three pages for a total of nine articles in this edition. If a post contained graphics, a thumbnail of the topmost graphic is included here while a larger version remains in the article itself.

Having now received two downloads of This Lamp to my Kindle, I noted that the previous edition was moved automatically to my periodicals collection folder just like issues in my Time Magazine subscription. Presumably, unless an edition is designated "keep" (and why would you?), it will be deleted after six or so downloads accumulate. Of course, you can also always manually delete it yourself.

Currently, This Lamp Kindle Edition, like other Kindle blogs and periodicals, is only available on dedicated Kindle devices, including all previous Kindle models. I hope that eventually all Kindle apps (on computers, Android and iOS devices) could carry these types of periodical writing. Although the subscription itself is 99¢ a month, like all periodicals on the Kindle, there is a two-week free trial period. So, feel free to try it out, and if it's not for you, cancel within that 14-day window and you won't be charged.

Of course, if you want to leave a comment, you'll still have to come back to the website for that!

More Thoughts on Forgiveness

Last week, I shared some thoughts on forgiveness that I had earlier shared with some of my students and a few members of our church. As I mentioned, I received numerous responses to this subject. One notable question came from a member at our church who asked about the limits of forgiveness—specifically whether we are required to forgive those who do not actually ask for forgiveness. She said that she heard a prominent minister on television (you would recognize the name, but I'd prefer not to mention it since I cannot confirm the statement) say that we aren't required to forgive those who never ask for forgiveness.

This is certainly an interesting idea, but I think at the root of it might be an excuse not to offer forgiveness to those who are the most difficult to forgive. Forgiveness is never easy. It is the difficult option, not the easy one.

With all due respect to the minister my fellow church member mentioned, I disagree with this position, and here’s why.

It’s true that there are passages in the Bible that refer to a direct connection between repentance and forgiveness such as

“Be on your guard. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him” (Luke 17:3—all references in this post from the HCSB). However, I don’t ever see any direct statement in Scripture that echoes what this minister was saying—that we don’t have to forgive someone if that person does not ask for forgiveness.

This is in spite of numerous passages about forgiving others which never mention anything about forgiveness being dependent upon repentance or a request for forgiveness:

"And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matt 6:12).

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing" (Mark 11:25).

In fact, Luke 11:4 says we are to forgive everyone in our debt:

"And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves also forgive everyone [πᾶς = all, the whole]
in debt to us.”

Most importantly, I think Jesus offers the greatest example in his words from the cross:

"Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing'" (Luke 23:34).

Those who crucified Jesus certainly didn’t ask for forgiveness. I think this alone counters the idea that a receiver of forgiveness must request it first. [Note: I realize that there are issues regarding the manuscript evidence for this statement by Jesus, but strong arguments can be made on both sides. For recent discussions, see Marshal (NIGTC) and Comfort (NTTTC).]

Now all of this is not to diminish the horrendous acts people commit against one another.Forgiveness can often be a long process and is rarely quickly resolved. In fact, there are some who have suffered such horrible acts that I would not judge them at all if they could not reach the point of forgiveness in this life.

However, the other side of forgiveness is that not only does it rob power from the offender, it also creates power in the victim over the offender. To say to someone who doesn’t ask forgiveness, “I forgive you” accomplishes what Paul said when he wrote

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head” (Rom 12:20).

Forgiveness is not always easy, but it is liberating if it can be achieved.

Finding Forgiveness

A few weeks ago, I was leading my New Testament Survey class in a devotion based upon 1 Corinthians 13, and for a while we got stuck on v. 5: “love…does not keep a record of wrongs” (HCSB). I made the statement, "Sometimes, I hear people say, ‘I’ll forgive, but I won’t forget.'" I questioned the level of forgiveness offered if someone makes such a statement.

Of course, this opened up a floodgate of questions about what it really means to forgive someone. A number of my students opened up about very deep hurts they had faced in life with some describing how they had found forgiveness for the person who had hurt them and left emotional scars felt for many years. Another student described her hurt and admitted that she had not forgiven the person and didn’t know if she ever could or even wanted to. She was encouraged by those who had faced similar situations and had managed to overcome what had been done to them.

It was a very emotional time; lots of tears flowed. My fifteen minute devotional and prayer time lasted an entire hour! Of course, it was a New Testament Survey class, and we were studying Paul’s epistles that evening, so I had my justification ready if administration had walked in and asked why we were taking so long for our devotional.

Anyway, I’ve continued to think about this discussion, and a few days ago I wrote a devotional for another class, which is online. I thought I would share it with all of you here. Surely there are not easy answers for the most deep-seated hurts in our lives. But I do personally know that forgiveness is freeing and allows us to move forward in the journey to which God has called us.

Here’s what I shared with my online class:

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

“I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus said to him, “but 70 times seven.”
(Matt 18:21–22 HCSB)

When Peter asked Jesus if he should forgive his brother’s sin seven times, he thought he was being generous. Jewish tradition (but not biblical command!) said a person should be forgiven three times. So, Peter was offering twice that plus one!

Surely Peter thought he was being quite generous. I’m certain he was not expecting Jesus’ response that we should forgive each other “seventy times seven.” What does this mean? Well, Jesus wasn't raising the bar to simply a higher number—that is, 70 x 7 = 490. My wife sometimes jokingly says, “Sorry, that’s 491, and I’m all out of forgiveness for you!”

No, Jesus was saying that we simply shouldn’t keep count. That’s easier said than done for most of us.

I have occasionally heard people say, “I might forgive, but I won’t forget!” I think just making that statement proves one hasn’t quite reached the state of forgiveness yet.

Of course, someone can easily respond, “But you don’t know what so-and-so did to me.” Well, it’s true that there are very deep hurts that we often experience in life. And, let’s be honest, there are different levels of hurt. There’s a scale of offense, is there not?

There’s the hurt of someone lying to us, or breaking a confidence, or failing to keep a promise. There’s the pain of hurtful words and betrayal. And then there’s the hurt that is nearly unfathomable: abuse, molestation and even taking the life of someone we love. Those who survive such atrocities are usually never quite the same.

What does it mean to forgive? I believe the starting place for understanding forgiveness is to look at what happens when God forgives us. The Psalmist writes,

As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed
our transgressions from us.
(103:12 HCSB)

When God forgives, our offenses no longer count against us in regard to our relationship and standing with Him. How do we offer the same level of forgiveness with each other?

Well, it’s one thing to be forgiving of the neighbor who borrows your lawnmower and returns it without telling you he hit enough rocks that you’ll have to get the blades resharpened. But those more serious offenses aren’t always so easily resolved.

Remember when we were children? One of us might get angry at another and say something unkind or worse, strike our playmate. Our parents or teachers then made us say we were sorry. We quickly made up, forgave each other and went back to playing. But it’s not so easy in the “adult” world, is it?

I believe we have to start with being willing to be forgiving in the little things. From there we can develop an attitude of forgiveness that allows us to seek reconciliation whenever we can.

Certainly, it’s true that we can’t simply say, “I forgive” and it be so. But we can work toward that. In those really big offenses, and especially in those horrendous acts that sometimes occur in life, we may need a great amount of time to process our movement toward forgiveness. We might need the help of a Christian counselor or other mature Christians who can help us down this part of our journey.

Even actual forgiveness doesn’t mean that we put ourselves or our loved ones in harmful or vulnerable positions. However, if we keep unforgiveness in our hearts, we risks our own hearts becoming hardened. If we refuse to forgive, then we allow the one who wronged us to still have power over us. We let the offender win—we even risk letting evil win.

God wants more from us because he wants us to be whole. Sometimes the journey is uphill. But ultimately, we must forgive just as he forgave us. And aren’t we glad he did, in fact, forgive us!

Is there any unforgiveness in your heart toward someone who hurt you—perhaps even long ago? What steps will you take to find forgiveness so that you can move past whatever it is that is holding you back emotionally and spiritually?

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I also shared these thoughts via email with a Bible study group I teach at church. I've received a number of positive responses from friends of mine who were struggling with forgiveness toward individuals who had wronged them. One person asked me a very good question—almost a rebuttal to the ideas presented above. I'll come back and share that question in a couple of days as well as my response.