Biography
To understand how the book Those Funny Scriptures and this webpage came about, it will help you to have a little background of my life.
I was born of parents who cared deeply for us. They were of different religions and sought to raise us with a Christian upbringing. They had diverging viewpoints, often joking about their views, the different meanings and the interpretations of scripture. Another of my relatives a great-grandfather (Jerome) had a knack for asking annoying questions of religious leaders. He had many scriptures memorized and often quoted famous passages both in and out of context to make a point or to be funny. My mother often quoted great-grandfather in the way he used those scriptures. This was the starting point to the “funny” way that I look at the scriptures.
Before going to far in this biography there needs to be a disclaimer. No Church, religious group or entity, is responsible for the content of this webpage or the book. The purpose in this webpage and the book is so the student and the teacher may find enjoyment from reading the Scriptures, have their interest piqued, then search for answers. I have taken some verses out of context to incite your laughter and your thought.
References are primarily from the King James version of the Bible. There is a poetic feel and rhythm to this translation that brings out the spirit. Some may feel that bringing light to "funny scriptures" is sacrilegious or may drive people away from the Gospel. It has been my experience that sharing funny stories or verses from the scriptures leads people, especially youth, to come to the gospel. As you read the scriptures and notice the prophets, kings and historians didn't leave out the odd details of their history, it brings credence to what they wrote.
Back to the narrative. I was born in the year 1960 in Southern California and raised in Riverside California. We moved only once to Rancho Cucamonga where we lived until a few months after my nineteenth birthday when I served on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to New York City. Living and serving in New York gave me a new way of looking at language, people, and society. The people were great, and New York will always have a warm place in my heart. It was a fantastic experience, and I am very grateful that I was able to serve those two years in such a wonderful place. I believe this played the biggest role in finding "those funny scriptures."
During my high school years, I attended what our church calls seminary. This is where a deeper study of the Scriptures began for me. I will always be appreciative of those teachers who spent countless hours giving lessons during those early mornings. I too have spent a little time teaching seminary. One of the motivating factors for writing the book Those Funny Scriptures was from the experience teaching. I often shared some of “those funny scriptures” with my seminary students to interest them in the Scriptures we studied. It is my hope the book and this website will help those teaching the Scriptures. Those Funny Scriptures woke me up to the written word. Now it is my joy to bring the Scriptures alive to the next generation.
Approximately two years after serving on a mission, I found a wonderful woman whom I married. We have been married for a little more than thirty years now. She has been the love of my life and the joy of each day. She is the one who is the more serious of the two of us and has kept me from getting too far-off the "straight and narrow" path. I mention that our lives have not always been that storybook fairytale that some may think as they read the book or this website. In fact, we have had one miscarriage and one stillborn child. I share this because should we have had children, I, most likely, would not have sent these funny scriptures to print. I would have kept it in the family for future generations to pass on. Now I pass them on to you who have become my family in hopes that you will enjoy Those Funny Scriptures.
I wish you all
the joys the
Scriptures bring.
- Craig Holmes