Nicodemus

Nicodemus. The name sounds like a medicinal product to deter tobacco use, doesn't it?


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Thankfully Nicodemus was not a product. He was a Pharisee.

Pharisees were the Jewish lawyers of the day.

Moses had received all 613 laws from God. From this evolved (can I use that word?) a group of Jews that made it their life's work not just to keep these laws, but to study them and add unravel the meaning behind each of them and interpret each. They made sure others followed the law and punished those that did not. They considered themselves shining examples, following the word and meaning of each rule.

We first hear of Nicodemus when in fear for his reputation and career, he appears under the cover of darkness at a home where Jesus was staying to speak with Him.

John Chapter 3

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.

"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? I will tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

The eighth paragraph, John 3:16 is one of the best known of the Bibles teachings. To think that Jesus said this, not to a large crowd of people, but to one individual man is astounding. How could you not be touched by the words of The Lord. Nicodemus was no exception. I feel that in his mindset as a Pharisee and one whose lifework is to study words, he had two choices. He could declare Jesus' words as blasphemy or understand them and come to that eureka moment some of us experience called Salvation.

Nicodemus took the words to heart. In John chapter seven it is Nicodemus who comes to the defense of Jesus, when the chief priest of the Pharisees sends the temple guard to arrest him when Jesus in talking in the Temple court. Jesus went to Galilee in secret to celebrate the feast of tabernacle. The Jews (pharisees) suspected him to be in town and questioned people as to His whereabouts. No one would respond, because the knew the pharisees intended to kill Jesus for what they considered blasphemy. Jesus makes His Presence known by walking right into the Temple Court and speaking to the assembled. The Chief priest order the Temple guards to seize him and bring him before the court. However neither the crowds or the awe struck guards do not lay a hand on him.

John Seven

Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him in?"

"No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards declared.

"You mean he has deceived you also?" the Pharisees retorted. "Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them."

Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?"

They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."

Nicodemus has become "one of their number" and is ridiculed by his pharisee brethren. "Are you from Galilee too?" Galilee was considered a back-water type of place populated by what the elite pharisees considered to be people of low class.

We learn that Nicodemus' standing has been diminished in community because of his choice to follow Jesus.

The last we hear of Nicodemus is in John verse 19.

Nicodemus' last act in the Bible was to assist in removing the body of Our Lord.

John 19:38

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews.

With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night.

Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.

This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

There are a couple of interesting things going on here.

Burial was considered a sacred duty. Corpses not buried, but left to be eaten by insects and animals were an abomination in ancient law.

Even those slain in battle by the Jews were buried by the Jews. Those instances in which bodies were left to rot and be consumed by animals such as the wicked Jezebel seemly served as further punishment, but the lack of proper burial would abhorrent to Jews. This lack of burial hints at further punishment.

The second reason that Jews considered proper burial to be necessary was to prevent defilement of the land. This requirement is grounded in the Mosaic law:

“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is accursed by God; you shall not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance” (Deut 21:22–23).

It is also expressed in Ezekiel:

“They will set apart men to pass through the land continually and bury those remaining upon the face of the land,so as to cleanse it . . . Thus shall they cleanse the land” (Ezek 39:14, 16).

In the Mishnah, where in the discussion of the rules pertaining to execution, the sages teach that one hanged must not be left overnight, lest the command in Deut 21:22–23 be violated (Mishnah. Sanhedrin. 6:4).

It seems to me highly improbable that the bodies of Jesus and the other men would be left hanging on the cross overnight—in contradiction of Deut 21:22–23—during peacetime and on the eve of the Passover.

Philo explains in his writings that crucifixion victims to be taken down and be buried on the eve of a holiday: “I have known cases when on the eve of a holiday of this kind, people who have been crucified have been taken down and their bodies delivered to their kinsfolk, because it was thought well to give them burial and allow them the ordinary rites . . . "

It is far more probable that arrangements would have been made to have Jesus and the other men interred with the Roman government. The story of Joseph of Arimathea, who otherwise is not known, is probably historical. In the telling of the story, Joseph grows in sympathy and allegiance to Jesus.

Pilate is accused of accepting bribes, so it has been suggested that Joseph may have bribed the governor. It is more likely that Pilate only required confirmation that the crucified men were indeed dead. Having their bodies taken down and out of public view for the Passover holiday would have been desirable.

Jewish tradition dictates that the body be washed with warm water from head to foot and, although they may turn the body as necessary to clean it entirely, including all orifices, they never place it face down. The body is dressed in white burial shrouds (tachrichim), which are purposely kept simple to avoid distinguishing between rich or poor. Men are buried with their prayer shawls (tallits), which are rendered ineffective by cutting off one of the fringes. (Thus discouraging theft) If, however, a person suffered an injury and blood soaked into his or her clothing, ritual washing is not completed. The blood of a person is considered as holy as his life and deserves proper burial. From the moment of death, the body is not left alone until after burial. This practice, called guarding/watching (shemira), is also based on the principle of honoring the dead. A family member or an appointed person, perhaps Nicodemus stays near the deceased person passing the time by reciting psalms (Tehillim) and watching over the deceased.


Joseph acted to provide Jesus a proper burial. Nicodemus provided a proper Jewish burial. Nicodemus (and perhaps helpers came as you would want helpers if you were carrying 75 pounds of spices and a bunch of cloth) and he gave Jesus a more formal burial, but one that did not anticipate his resurrection.

It is here that we can tell Nicodemus loved Jesus very much, and in order to honor him with a proper burial he was willing to make himself unclean for the Passover by touching Jesus’ dead body, but he apparently did not believe Jesus would rise from the dead, as evidenced by his embalming his body.

Although Joseph did not anoint Jesus’ body according to custom, it was he who most honored him by believing his words that he would rise from the dead.

Dream #276

I met a blind window washer. I walked with #2 and he said, "Look at all this glass on these buildings. The windows are so high on the stores. It would take a long time to clean."

Of course I was downtown on a city street that seemed to be blocked off. There were buildings that seemed to be joined together on either side of me and all of them had massive plate glass fronts. In the center was an isle, so it looked much like a shopping mall, but it was outside. At one end was a marble staircase that was bathed in yellow-tinted light. I do not know where it lead but #2 desended. That is when I went to wash the dust and dirt from the windows.

I needed supplies, so I went to see the blind window washer and his dog and asked if I could borrow some cleaning equipment. I had a large pole with a brush, but I needed a bucket. I was going to put windex mixed with water into the bucket and dip my brush into it. However there was a drain in the center and all the windex kept leaking out. My friends had all left me, so here I was with the blind window washer. I was using some of his supplies, but I didn't want to take advantage of him. His large white and black hound dog was watching me. I kept pouring windex into the bucket, but the drain in the center was broken and would not close. The window cleaner leaked out.

I then left the blind window washer and his dog to go to the hardware store by going behind the building and walking to the front with my leaking bucket, brush and pole. They had a huge container of windex, however I bought a smaller container of generic window cleaner. Since the bucket, which was now mounted on a stand on wheels, was leaking, my plan was to squirt the window cleaner on the brush. Then I would wrap paper towels on the brush to dry the windows.

After paying for the cleaner in the dimly lit store and making small talk with the lady that owned the place I left. I placed my bucket and other equipment in the street so I wouldn't block the sidewalk. The bucket slowly rolled toward a parked car.

The driver was entering the car in an effort to move it. I retrieved my bucket and was walking back to the storefronts, which by now appeared to be less massive. I realized there was no longer storefronts on either side of the street. In fact there was no street. It had been replaced by a parking lot. I wheeled the bucket back to the sidewalk and was preparing to spray windex on my brush on the long pole. That is when I came to the realization the company's decision to shelve my license had nothing to do with a new direction, but was a cost saving measure. I woke up.

New Baby

Baby Zoey Rose Franxman arrived this morning at around 9 AM and says she is very hungry.

Hooray!

Daddy Glen & Mommy Elizabeth





Big Brother Ben

L'Shana Tova

From the Jerusalem Post article by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin


And you shall return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice in accordance with every thing I have commanded this day... with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 30:2).

Although this commandment which is germane 365 days a year it is especially relevant during the 10 days beginning with Rosh Hashana and concluding with Yom Kippur.

Though I am a Christian, I recognize that my heritage comes through Jesus or more properly, Yeshua. Further, Christians started out as a sect of Judaism. Therefore I believe in the need to acknowledge and embrace what we can learn from our Jewish brothers. This particular biblical reading, falling as it does only one week before Rosh Hashana, is especially opportune.

How do we fulfill this commandment? The noted 12th Century Rabbi, scholar and teacher Maimonides also known as Rambam who wrote the Mishneh Torah, which has become the basis of codification for Hebrew Talmudic law, explains this in clear terms:

"If an individual transgresses any commandment of the Torah, whether it be a positive or negative command, whether he transgressed wittingly or unwittingly, when he repents [does teshuva] and turns away from his sin, he is obligated to confess before God, blessed be He, as it is written, 'A man or woman who transgresses... must confess the sin they have committed...' This refers to a verbal confession, and this confession is a positive commandment..."


It seems difficult to understand how the commandment to repent, could be reduced to a mouthing of words which may be uttered by rote.

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, whose Jerusalem Post column is the basis for this article states there are actually two aspects to the commandment of repentance:

First: kappara, forgiveness, the mechanical bringing of a sacrificial offering and/or the mouthing of the confessional - which are minimal, at best.


Second: the more optimal tahara, purity, which requires a transformational experience. Maimonides discusses this second, more powerful aspect of repentance in his second chapter, and calls it "complete repentance" (teshuva gemura).

Rabbi Riskin goes on to say that Maimonides hit upon a significant existential truth when he insisted that the fundamental commandment centers on confession. Apparently what many might think of as a fairly simple and even mechanical formula - "Please [God, spouse, parent, child, neighbor, coworker] forgive me, I have transgressed, sinned, rebelled against you by having done what I did; I am contrite and ashamed by my actions and will never do them again" - is exceedingly difficult for most individuals.


Recently we have seen an inordinate number of high-powered civil servants, senators, governors and Wall Street tycoons being indicted by the courts and brought to light in the Press. Some have been found guilty and several are beginning prison sentences. Others have lost their positions and credibility.

A significant number of high-profile rabbis and communal leaders in New York have been apprehended and charged with crimes. To the best of my knowledge, very few of them have confessed to wrongdoing or publicly admitted guilt. Very few have stood before the public that elected them, or the congregants who revered them, and said "I'm sorry; I repent of my actions, I'm ashamed. Please forgive me." They seem more ashamed of being caught than their misdeeds.


Why is confession so difficult? A great sociologist-psychologist once wrote: "There are four 'yous' to every individual:

· Who you think you are
· Who others think you are,
· Who you think others think you are
· Who you would like others to think you are

The distance between these four yous, especially between who you are and who you would like others to think you are, is what can cause a tragic disconnect within the psyche of many individuals, producing hypocrisy at best and psychosis at worst.

Every human being, from the biblical perspective, is a complex creature, consisting of earthly flesh and divine image: "And the Lord God formed the human being of dust from the earth, and He breathed in his nostrils the breath of life, and the human became a living being" (Genesis 2:7).

Hebrew sages have taught us, in a prayer to which we rise each morning, "My Lord, the soul you have given me is pure. You created it. You fashioned it. You exhaled it into me from your divine essence." The essence of every individual is the divine entity within him; the external body is merely the shell, which can be peeled away.

Each of us wears an outer uniform. You may be a businessman, a pastor, a butcher, baker, teacher, even a parent. The word persona or personality comes from the Greek word meaning "mask." Many of our professional identities, the clothes we wear and/or the personality we exude, are meant to express the way we want others to see us. They are the manner in which we want to impress others, but are not necessarily our real selves.



Sometimes the garb, the mask becomes so powerful that it overwhelms the divine image within. And if our transgression is of such a nature that it will cause the mask to fall away and reveal the nakedness of the emperor beneath, then one dare not admit one's guilt - perhaps not even to oneself. There may be nothing underneath the persona. Jesus once spoke of “white-washed tombs.” (Luke 11:44)

If, however, we do play act - utilize an external mask to appear to others the way we wish them to see us, but nevertheless maintain a divine image within us not so far from our public persona - there is still the pristine "you" lurking behind the covering curtains. Then, one can apologize and peel off the external trappings, and the real "you" within the image of the divine can be freed from the mask we thought society wanted us to wear. Then, even a high priest can begin his holy day ritual, despite his eight priestly vestments, with a cry of repentance: "Please, God, forgive." His divine image within was always waiting to come out.

The Talmud speaks of a once-great Rabbi Elisha ben Abuya, who became a heretic during the Hadrianic persecutions. He joined the Roman philosophers and was called Aher, the other one. His disciple, Rabbi Mier begged him to come back, to repent. "No, he said. For me it is too late. Aher had overwhelmed his divine image; indeed, as long as Elisha was submerged, it would be too late for repentance as long as he was Aher. But for Elisha ben Abuya it was never too late.


Reactivate your truest self and no matter how far you may have wandered, you too can return to the God whose essence initially formed you.

'EBN Fireworks Drive Home T-Shirt

If you get one of those iron-on pages that you can run through your computer you can be the next kid on the block to have your own, "I SURVIVED THE DRIVE HOME FROM THE CINCINNATI LABOR DAY FIREWORKS DISPLAY" T-Shirt. Remember to click on the image to bring into full size.

Although I never attend the show, I seem to get caught in traffic each year. So to voice my opinion I have created this design. Enjoy!

Back In The Hospital

Dr. Suess, in his book. You're Only Old Once, stated, "Getting old is not for sissies" was quite right. This year I've been to the hospital three times and two of those were through the emergency room.


As of Sunday my bowel movements were full of what medical professionals call frank blood and tarry stool. I think that Frank Blood would be a great name for the hero in a detective novel. Frank Blood investigates the Tarry Stool Murders. Too bad Dashell Hammit and Damon Runyon are around any more.

But I digress. I was somewhat concerned, but thanks to Google, I looked up adverse symtoms of Coumadin and was convinced that was what was wrong with me. So my wife called the doctor early on Monday morning as I was getting ready for work. I was about to leave when the phone rang. I was told to go to the emergency room STAT, which is the medical term for ASAP.

Man was I an unhappy boy.

So I arrived at Saint Elizabeth's emergency room and fitted with a extra large size stretcher and as is customary, stabbed mulitple times to determine the exact color of my blood, which turns out to be somewhere between brickdust #15 and burmese ruby.

I was also treated to experiencing the sensation of a naso-gastric tube. This is an unpleasant procedure wherein a clear tube is inserted in one of your nares, the medical term for nose hole. The tube is then forced up your nose hole and into your stomach. The contents of the stomach are sucked out into a clear plastic cylinder for the viewing pleasure of the hospital staff.

Thankfull I didn't have any blood in my stomach contents. If I did they would have left the tube hanging out of my nostril.

I then was visited by 4 doctors. One doctor had me take off my pants and he used his gloved finger as a dipstick into my hinder and commented, "Oh that's blood alright."

I was whisked off to a room and fitted with a hospital gown. I then was stuck four or five more times by folks that had never seen burmese ruby mixed with brickdust #15. They carted it off in little vials as souveniers of their visit. I was told that my hemoglobin was at 11. Which was sort of low. I'm thinking between the bowel movements and the folks draining me, there is no doubt it would be at 11.

After this it was hurry up and wait. I had a delicious clear liquid diet. Not only did I enjoy chicken broth, but beef broth as well. I had a variety of green, red and yellow Jello.

There was a Marion Davies film festival on The Movie Channel that was pretty interesting. She was a comedic actress that started working in silent movies. Sleep was out of the question.


The noise level of a hospital is pretty close to what you would hear at an Aerosmith concert only slightly louder and more annoying.





The latest invention by Hilldenbrand Industries, ticker symbol HB, is the farting mattress. This feature is exclusive to hospital beds.

To prevent bedsores, medical term would be decubidus ulcers, Hildrenbrand has created a mattress that continually changes positions when anything is set upon it, such as a sheet or a blanket or you. This sounds like a marvelous creation. However the drawback is that once every 30 seconds the mattress emits a sound similar to a whoppee cushion.

So between the racket in the hall and the farting mattress, there is no way to get any sleep at a hospital.

I was told by my nurse that I was scheduled for an espophagogatroduodenoscopy, the medical term for sticking a hose with a camera down your food chute. I was to be anesthetized for this, so I would not feel any discomfort. I asked when this was to take place. The nurse said the doctor had me scheduled after his normal patients. This meant either he would do it late or perhaps I was the beggining of his abnormal patients. Communications obviously were not a priority.


After a sleepless night of watching lightening from my window, filling up the urinal five times (which I actually did) and watching more Marion Davies movies I was visited at about 7 am by my morning nurse and my morning nurse assistant for the complimentary squeezing of the arm, temperature taking, finger poking and blood letting. I was told they needed to do this quickly as the stretcher bearer was here to take me for my procedure. The doc must have worked really fast or his normal patients didn't show up.


So I rode down the hall and up the elevator to the Endoscopy room and was wheeled into a very cluttered cubical. There were several TV monitors none of which were tuned to the Marion Davies festival.

The camera at the end of a scope that was about a meter long was focused on a box of aloe-enhanced surgical gloves, which must have been the doctor's sponsor.

A nurse asked me several questions in a loud voice that sounded like she was used to dealing with geezers, the medical term being geriatric patients. I was asked to open wide as she sprayed something in my mouth. I don't think it was Binaca, because the back of my tongue became numb.

The next thing I recall was the ceiling was spinning. I then recall waking up in another corridor. I was then told some things that I cannot recall because I was focusing on the revolving ceiling tiles at the time. Then it was a quick ride back to my room and more of the film festival. Peg O' My Heart, featuring Miss Davies as Peg, was just starting. Soon after this the house doctor came in an explained that I have several bleeding ulcers in my stomach and a lesion in my esophagus. He didn't really relate how this was affecting my poo. I wasn't questioning him either and don't really recall a whole lot of the conversation as I was still a little tipsy.


My wife came and I explained what I knew to her. She was rather upset that she missed the TV episode of INSIDE MARC, brought to you by Nutricel Aloe Surgical Gloves that leave your hands soft and pleasant smelling. She wasn't at all interested in watching Marion Davies movies.



I was then given my discharge papers from the morning nurse. My IV was removed and I was told that I could put on my clothes and go home. Which I did in record time. Linny and I went to Applebees for some non-clear liquid food.

When our nurse...I mean waitress asked if I would like onions and jalepenos in my chili I started to say Yes, when Linny said, "What are you crazy?" I said, "Just cheese please."

I was still sort of tipsy.

Desecrated Bible

From the AFP – Christian Post - Telegraph Co UK

Christians voiced anger and dismay Tuesday after a Bible, which was part of an exhibition inviting viewers to add their reflections, was defaced with offensive and foul-mouthed scrawl.

Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art has decided to put the Bible in a glass case after the exhibit, called Untitled 2009 and part of a show entitled Made in God's Image, was vandalized.

Artist Jane Clarke, a minister at the Metropolitan Community Church, asked visitors to annotate the Bible with stories and reflections, as a way of making it more inclusive.

But visitors to the gallery took the invitation a bit further than she had anticipated.

The open Bible is a central part of Made in God’s Image, an exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow, United Kingdom. By the book is a container of pens and a notice saying: “If you feel you have been excluded from the Bible, please write your way back into it.”

The Times newspaper reported that the publicly funded exhibition ‘Untitled 2009,’ was proposed by the Metropolitan Community Church, which said that the idea was to reclaim the Bible as a sacred text.

But to the horror of many Christians, including the community church, visitors have daubed its pages with comments such as “This is all sexist pish, so disregard it all.” A contributor wrote on the first page of Genesis: “I am Bi, Female & Proud. I want no god who is disappointed in this.”

One writer has altered the first line of the Old Testament from “In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth” to “In the beginning, God (me) I created religion.”


Another has written “The Gospel According to Luke Skywalker”.

The main sentiment, however, is rage at Christianity. “F*** the Bible”, one message says. And another described the Bible as "the biggest lie in human history" and a third wrote: "Mick Jagger and David Bowie belong in here”

The official Web site of the exhibition stated that the exhibition has been created by the artists Anthony Schrag and David Malone, in with organizations representing gay Christians and Muslims. Mr. Schrag, the gallery’s artist in residence, told the Times that he did not believe in God, but that his research for the 7,000 Euros show had underlined his respect for people of faith.

A video by Roxanne Claxton that forms a second element in the exhibition shows a young woman ripping pages out of the Bible and stuffing them in her knickers and bra and in her mouth in a program to promote equal rights for homosexuals. The film showed “the word as power,” Mr Schrag said. “Roxanne gave a performance where she ate a Bible and it became part of her.”

Some Christians are surprised that Schrag and Malone who have explored faith and sexuality with members of The Metropolitan Community Church, Quest, Al Jannah Muslim Group and individuals from a range of faiths, including members of St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow before the event were even permitted by the Church to carry out such exhibition.

However, Jane Clarke, the minister at the Metropolitan Community Church and artist involved in the bible exhibit said, “Writing our names in the margins of a Bible was to show how we have been marginalised by many Christian churches, and also our desire to be included in God’s love. As a young Christian I was encouraged by my church to write my own insights in the margins of the Bible I used for my devotions – this was an extension of that idea.”

“As a young Christian I was encouraged by my church to write my own insights in the margins of the Bible I used for my daily devotions – this was an extension of that idea. I still have that Bible, although it’s rather tatty now,” she clarified her position through the official Web site of the exhibition.

She added, “It was never my intention to offend anyone – believers and non-believers alike. I had hoped that people would show respect for the Bible, for Christianity and indeed for the Gallery of Modern Art. I am saddened that some people have chosen to write offensive messages.”

Ms Clarke has requested changes to the exhibit. The bible remains on display, but within an enclosed case, the official Web site stated.

On another plinth next to it are loose leaf sheets and pens for visitors to write their thoughts and feelings in relation to the bible. Those loose sheets will be inserted within the pages of the bible by curatorial staff each day, the statement stated.

The Church of Scotland said it condemned any sacrilegious act. “We would discourage anyone from defacing the Bible,” a Kirk spokesman told the Times.

A spokesman for the Catholic Church said: “One wonders whether the organizers would have been quite as willing to have the Koran defaced.”

On Tuesday over 100 people gathered outside the gallery to protest at what they said was vandalism, Agence-French Press reported.

Letitia Reid, a housewife from Glasgow, told AFP the Bible should not be desecrated.
“As a Christian I am offended by this because Christians hold the Bible to be sacred. For it to be publicly defiled in this way is very offensive,” she said.



















Jane Clarke, the artist, asked visitors to annotate the Bible with their experiences, but she has requested the gallery to display it in a glass case after it was daubed with “offensive” comments.

The piece, called Untitled 2009, caused a furore when it went on display in the Made In God’s Image exhibition at Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art.

Miss Clarke, a minister at the Metropolitan Community Church, a ministry for homosexuals, said she had not intended to offend.

“I had hoped that people would show respect for the Bible, for Christianity and indeed for the Gallery of Modern Art. I am saddened that some people have chosen to write offensive messages. I had hoped that people would show respect for the Bible, for Christianity and indeed for the Gallery of Modern Art. I am saddened that some people have chosen to write offensive messages.”

Paper and pens will be provided for visitors to write down their thoughts and will be inserted into the Bible later. More than 100 people gathered outside the gallery yesterday to protest against the exhibit.

Made in God’s Image will be on display at the gallery until August 22, 2009