Bible, Web, Musical Instrument

I assume that this question relates to things that I’d be sorry to lose rather than something that would literally cause your death, such as losing access to essential medication.

So, I choose the Bible, something that allows me to access the Web, and a musical instrument.

I don’t absolutely need these. I have enough head knowledge of the Bible to be able to get by without it. In church history, I often wonder about the millions that didn’t have access to a Bible. So many were illiterate, and printed, reasonably priced Bibles didn’t really become widely available until the 19th Century. We had a big family bible at home. As a child, I think I remember looking at the pictures more than reading it. I remember various pictures of popes and cardinals. And I remember a picture of Daniel in the lions den.

In secondary school, the religion teacher asked us to buy “Good News for Modern Man”, a modern translation of the New Testament. And we got free pocket Gideon’s New Testaments. It was then that I started reading the Bible. And I used to read our big old Roman Catholic Bible too, just to compare versions. There was little difference apart from a few obscure additional books in the Old Testament which the Roman Catholic Bible included, known as the Apocrypha.

And nowadays, everyone has excellent access to the Bible through the web. I generally use Bible Gateway. And I enjoy audio Bibles.

Anyway, that brings me to my second object, which is basically anything that gives me access to the Web. I’d probably miss my desktop computer more than my smartphone, but perhaps a time will come when that’ll be all that I have access to.

I sometimes wonder if I’ll end up in a care home someday without anything. I can understand short-term memory getting messed up with age, even without dementia. Even now, I often forget where I put things like reading glasses and earphones 😀. But I’d hate to lose my life-long memories. I’m pretty obsessed with memories and particularly music memories. And it would be nice to be able to remember the simple act of meditation, doing body scans etc. When I was young, that all seemed strange and sinister, but it’s simply the joy of being able to be calm and relaxed. And you don’t need anything to do it.

Here are some of the things that I enjoy on YouTube. I sometimes like these short videos of hits from years gone by. It’s hard to believe that 1976 is 50 years ago now. For mindfulness, I like to read and listen to Mark Williams. I’m not sure if he’s evangelical (like I am) but he is an ordained priest of the Church of England. Some are suspicious of anything that doesn’t come from the Bible, but I see meditation in the way that I see chocolate or the Beatles. I don’t see anything in the Bible that endorses chocolate or the Beatles, but they’re part of God’s glorious creation, there for us to enjoy. And so is relaxation. Some say that we should meditate on the Bible instead, but that’s different, even if it’s the same word. Meditating on the Bible might involve trying to figure things out or even getting agitated about something. It’s not that you shouldn’t do it, but meditation for relaxation might not be the same.

Yet, sometimes, you can gently weave your Christian faith into meditation. What’s to stop you from thanking God for your ability to breath while you practice slow belly breathing?

And here are two hymns that reflect on the goodness of God. If I were lying in bed in a care home or in solitary confinement in a prison, I’d like to sing these, just like Paul and Silas sang when they were in prison.

Acts 16:25
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.