Paper Church Silhouettes

       These paper cuts or silhouettes of the front and back of a church, plus stained glass windows would look lovely in any Sunday School. I've restored them for students and teachers, enjoy.

• Find more stained glass windows to color at Color The Bible
• Craft stained glass windows from melted crayons

Abraham and Isaac

       In the early days of Bible story there lived in the land of Ur of the Chaldees a man named Abram. Ur of the Chaldees was a city of Mesopotamia, which is the land between the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers, in Western Asia. There is today a ruined temple on the west bank of the Euphrates River, at the place where a canal joins that stream and the Tigris, and Bible students tell us that in the time of Abram Ur lay at the point where the temple may be seen. Abram was a rich man; he owned large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, and he had many servants. But there came a time when it was revealed to him that he must depart from the country of ^Mesopotamia and go to a land called Canaan, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It would be interesting to trace on a map that long, toilsome journey over desert, stream and mountain. After he had settled in his new home, God told him that he was to be the father of a chosen people, and that his descendants were to possess all the land of Canaan. Kings were to come from his race, and he himself was to be called Abraham, which means "father of a multitude." A son, too, was promised him, for Sarah, his wife, was childless.

       When, at last, a little son was born to Abraham and Sarah, they were so happy they named him Isaac, for Isaac means "laughing." The child became a great comfort to his parents, and Abraham loved him above all other things. In those days men offered up sacrifices as a part of their religious duty. Very often they would kill a choice lamb out of the flock, and burn it on the altar as a sacrifice. One day God spoke to Abraham and said, "Take thy son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go to the land of Moriah; thou must offer him there as a burnt offering, upon a mountain which I will tell thee of." There is nothing in the Bible record to make us think that Abraham rebelled or complained when he received this strange command. Early in the morning he saddled his ass, gathered the wood for the offering, and departed with Isaac and two young men-servants. On the third day he saw a summit in the distance that he knew to be the place of sacrifice, and he said to his servants, "Wait here; I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and will come again to you." Then Abraham and Isaac went on together; Isaac carried the wood, and his father bore the fire. The lad did not understand why they were going up to the mountain, and he said to Abraham, "Father, here is fire and wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" "My son," was the reply, "God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering." When they came to the place of sacrifice, Abraham built an altar, arranged the wood upon it, and then placed his boy on the wood. But just as he was about to lay his hand on him he heard a voice saying, "Abraham, Abraham." He answered, "Here am I." Then the voice said, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad: for now I know that thou fearest God." And Abraham knew then that God was testing him, to see whether he was willing to give up the dearest treasure he possessed. But he was not required to give up his son, for as he looked about him he saw a ram caught in a thicket by the horns, and he took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering. But because he had been obedient to the divine voice, and had not refused to give up that which he loved most dearly, Abraham received greater blessings than ever before.

The Bible as Literature

       Macaulay says in one of his essays, "If everything else in our language should perish, the English Bible alone would suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and power." There are so many passages of high literary quality in the "Book of Books" that innumerable citations could be made to show the beauty and power of its language. Several passages from Isaiah, for example, were used by Handel as a setting for the matchless music of his Messiah, and the rhythm in each case is perfectly adapted to the noble melody The Psalms, too, have been chanted and sung for centuries.

       There are countless examples of beautiful figures of speech in the Bible, and practically every form of literature is found in its pages - the epic, the allegory, the parable, the short story, the historic narrative, the song of rejoicing, the dirge, and so on. Secular literature is permeated with allusions to the Bible, and whoever would aspire to a general culture cannot afford to ignore this great literary monument.

King James's Version

       In the reign of James I a Hebrew scholar, Hugh Broughton, insisted on the necessity of a new translation, and at the Hampton Court Conference (1604) the suggestion was accepted by the king. The work was undertaken by forty-seven scholars, divided into six companies, two meeting at Westminster, two at Oxford and two at Cambridge, while a general committee meeting in London revised the portions of the translation finished by each. The revision was begun in 1607 and occupied three years, the completed work being published in folio in 1611 and known as King James's Bible. Through the general accuracy of its translation and the purity of its style, it superseded all other versions. In response, however, to a widespread desire for a translation even freer from errors, the Convocation of Canterbury in 1870 appointed a committee to consider the question of revising the English version. Their report being favorable, two companies were formed, one for the Old Testament and one for the New, consisting partly of members of the Convocation and partly of outside scholars. Two similar companies were also organized in America, to work along with the British scholars. The result was that the revised version of the New Testament was issued in 1881; that of the Old Testament appeared in 1884. An American Revised Version appeared in 1901.

Bible Versions

       The earliest and most famous version of the Old Testament is the Septuagint, or Greek translation, executed by Alexandrian Greeks, and completed probably before 130 B. c. This version was adopted by the early Christian Church and by the Jews themselves and has always held an important place in the interpretation and history of the Bible. The Syriac version, the Peshito, made early in the second century after Christ, is celebrated for its fidelity. The Coptic version was made from the Septuagint, in the third or fourth century. The Gothic version, by Ulphilas, was made from the Septuagint in the fourth century, but mere insignificant fragments of it are extant. The most important Latin version is the Vulgate, executed by Jerome, partly on the basis of the original Hebrew, and completed in A. D. 405.

       The printed editions of the Hebrew Bible are very numerous. The first edition entire was printed at Soncino in 1488.

       The books of the New Testament were all written in Greek, unless it be true, as some critics suppose, that the gospel of Saint Matthew was originally written in Hebrew, Most of these writings have always been received as inspired; but the Epistle to the Hebrews, commonly ascribed to Saint Paul, that of Saint Jude, the second of Peter, the second and third of John and Revelation have been doubted. The three oldest manuscripts are:

1. The Sinaitic manuscript, discovered by Tischendorf in a convent on Mount Sinai in 1859, assigned to the middle of the fourth century 
2. The Vatican manuscript at Rome, of similar date
3. The Alexandrian manuscript in the British Museum, assigned to the latter half of the sixth century. 

Each manuscript contains also in great part the Septuagint Greek of the Old Testament. The division of the text of the New Testament into chapters and verses was introduced later than that of the Old Testament, but it is not precisely known when or by whom.

       Of translations of the Bible into modem languages the English and the German are the most celebrated. Considerable portions were translated into Anglo-Saxon, including the Gospels and the Psalter. Wycliffe's translation of the whole Bible (from the Vulgate), begun about, 1356, was completed shortly before his death, 1384. The first printed version of the Bible in English was the translation of William Tyndale, whose New Testament was printed in quarto at Cologne in 1525, a small octavo edition appearing at the same time at Worms. He also published the Pentateuch in 1530 and translated some of the prophetical books. Our translation of the New Testament is much indebted to Tyndale. A translation of the entire Bible, undertaken at the instance of Thomas Cromwell, was published by Miles Coverdale in 1535 and, being made from German and Latin versions, was inferior to Tyndale's.

       The first Bible printed by authority in England was an edition with a preface by Cranmer, hence called Cranmer's Bible. A royal proclamation in 1540 ordered it to be placed in every parish church. This continued, with various revisions, to be the authorized version till 1568. In 1557-1560 an edition appeared at Geneva, based on Tyndale's - the work of Whittington, Coverdale, Goodman, John Knox and other exiles, and commonly called the Geneva, or Breeches, Bible, from "breeches" standing instead of "aprons" in Genesis III, 7. This version, the first printed in Roman letters, and also the first to adopt the plan, previously adopted in the Hebrew, of a division into verses, was for sixty years the most popular in England and was allowed to be printed under a patent of monopoly in 1501. It omitted the Apocrypha, left the authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews open and put words not in the original in italics. The Bishop's Bible, published 1568 to 1572, revised by Archbishop Parker and eight bishops, succeeded Cranmer's as the authorized version, but did not commend itself to scholars or people. In 1582 an edition of the New Testament, translated from the Latin Vulgate, appeared at Rheims, and in 1609-1610 the Old Testament was published at Douai. This is the version recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.

The Apocrypha

       There are a number of sacred books not accepted by Protestants as authorized parts of the Bible, and to these the name Apocrypha has been applied. They are, however, accepted by the Roman Catholic Church. These books were written during the two centuries preceding the birth of Christ: The first and the second books of Esdras, Tobit, Judith, the rest of the book of Esther, the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus, Baruch the Prophet, the Song of the Three Children, Susanna and the Elders, Bel and the Dragon, the Prayer of Manasses and the first  and second books of Maccabees.

"Apple Of My Eye" Valentines

The "Apple of My Eye Valentine" card.

On top you see three white apple shaped interior pages and two red
exterior apple shaped pages. Below, left, half of the apple is glued on
to the other, leaving a section open to insert the interior white apple
pages that have been previously folded.

   This little tutorial for Valentine's Day was created for those of you who still like to handcraft your own cards and letters. If you are looking for a special Valentine pattern for your classroom teacher, this is a classic prototype. I have also included here the origins of the first "apple of my eye" references as well. Also view a few vintage versions of similar cards (below) from American publishers over fifty years ago.

 Materials You Will Need:

• white glue
• scissors
• red, brown, green, and white construction paper
• black pen (preferably permanent ink)
• pattern
• heavy cardboard
• a stapler
• googly eyes (tiny)
  

Step-by-step Directions for the Apple of My Eye Valentine Card:

1. Download and print the pattern for the "Apple of My Eye Valentine."
2. Cut the pattern shapes out and trace these onto heavy cardboard.
3. Trace around the smaller apple shape three times. Cut out at least three white pages for the interior of the card. Fold these in half and set them aside.
4. Cut two larger apple shapes in red, yellow, or green for the exterior of the apple card.
5. Glue the two red shapes front to back on only one half of the apple. see  picture, right.
6. Now take the folded white interior apple pages and staple these together along their outside edge to form a kind of a pamphlet. 
7. Then glue the outside pages of this little pamphlet into the open leaves of the red apple card. You may like to write a message on these. I have chosen to write mine on the outside of the card.
8. Now trace and cut out the worm shapes from green paper. 
9. Glue the worm's head on the outside of the front part of your Valentine. Glue the backside of the paper worm to the lower outside, back half of the Valentine card.
10. Now look carefully at the interior white pages and approximate where it would be best for the worm's body to be threaded through in order for both ends to appear as though they are attached. Cut a hole through all of your Valentine's white interior pages at this point.
11. Now you will need to weave together to strips of paper that are cut to an approximate width similar to the that of the worm pattern. You will only need about five inch lengths of two colors. One strip should be green and the other white or pale pink.
12. This art teacher, Mr. Lundgren, demonstrates the accordion ribbon fold technique in his video, that I used in my card. He has made several excellent videos for art students and visitors may access them here.
13. Now glue the accordion folded ribbon into place after threading it through the hole. Hold the two ends firmly in place until the white glue becomes a bit tacky. 
14. I have also drawn on the pattern sheet a stem and an apple leaf for you to trace and cut. Glue these onto the outside of your card at it's top.
15. Add details to the worm, leaves, and stem with a thin tipped, black permanent ink marker along with an expression: "You are the apple of my eye," or "An apple for the teacher," or a scripture, all of which are listed below. I also glued tiny googly eyes to my worm for character.

I have cut a hole, left, large enough to insert my accordion folded ribbon. I will "guesstimate" where to glue this in order to
make the interior ribbon look as though it is a natural extension of the worm's body.

Here you can see that I have inserted an accordion woven ribbon through the worm hole and glued it in place. The worm now looks as though it has eaten through the pages of my Valentine apple card. Below it a link to an art teacher who demonstrates this simple accordion paper folding technique in a video.

Pattern for the "Apple of My Eye" Valentine Card.
Click on image to download the largest file.

Where does the expression "Apple of My Eye" come from? The phrase "Apple of My Eye" comes from the Bible. It is first mentioned in Deut. 32:10 “He found him in a desert land and in the waste howling wilderness; He led him about, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye,"and then Psalm 17:8 "Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings. . . Proverbs 7:2 also includes the expression, "Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye," and lastly in Zech. 2:8 "For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye."

• Read more about these scriptures and what the meaning behind the phrase is here.
• "James Re: Who is the apple of God's eye?"
• Apple of God's Eye

More Apple Inspired Valentines:

• Share the Love {You're the Apple of my Eye}
• Apple sweet teacher's treat for Valentine's Day!
• Printable Sandwich Bag that may be used for apple candies on Valentine's Day
• Digital Costume Stamps Perfect for "Apple of My Eye" Valentine Cards
• Bridget's Paper Blessings: "You're the apple of my eye" card idea perfect as a valentine

Vintage Apple Themed Valentines: 

"Of Core-se You Know You're the Apple of My Eye!"

 

"You're the "Apple" of my eye Dear Valentine!"

"You're the APPLE of my eye . . . Please be my Valentine! card

Biblical Wayang

"The Wayang Wahyu or biblical wayang is a unique and exceptional art form that became popular int the '60s as a means to preach the gospel through puppets. Bible stories are depicted through shadow theater, accompanied by the music of the traditional gamelan. Wayang Wahyu uses Javanese language, music and other supporting platforms to complete an artistic religious expression. It is an evolved form of the Wayang but uses the pattern of the traditional version.

It is a phenomenon, as it combines the old and new and cross-over of cultures and religions. It uses Hindu-Islamic influenced art to propogate Catholicism in a predominantly Islam and Hindu population. It is presented through light entertainment, the puppet theater, and yet is imbued with meaning, and steeped in philosophical, religious, moral and cultural nuances. It makes for an enriching and meaningful artistic experience, a glimpse into the colorful culture of Indonesia."