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Thursday, February 23, 2012

Eat, Drink and Be Merry, Y'all

Here's an ironic website announcement:

The Harry Ransom Center hosts "Kings & Creators" to celebrate the opening of its new exhibition "The King James Bible: Its History and Influence." We invite you to "eat, drink, and be merry" (Luke 12:19) with us on Friday, March 2, from 6 to 8 p.m., for a first look at the exhibition, light hors d'oeuvres, and wine.

I expect I'll go to the exhibit sometime. Our church uses more modern translations thank the KJV, but you can't discount the historical impact of the famous translation.

But what an odd--and unintended?--invitation to "eat, drink and be merry" at the opening of a Bible exhibition. No, this isn't a slam on adult beverages. The invitation to "eat, drink, and be merry" is just so (unintentionally?) out of context. The man who said this in Jesus' story was revealing a thickness about spiritual things. Sort of like, well, a party over an unread Bible?

Here's Luke 12 :16-21 (in the KJV, why not?)

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

 

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