Reader Request Friday 23 November

As you may be aware, boottomlesscoffee007 from http://bottomlesscoffee007.com nominated me for the Friday Reader Request.

https://bottomlesscoffee007.com/2018/11/15/reader-request-friday-16-november-2018/

I gave a post here:

https://jmshistorycorner.wordpress.com/2018/11/18/reader-request-friday-23-november/

So, having given you time to ask questions, I will post my answers – THIS WEEK!  (I might do it again at some point in the future – but not next week.  I’ll notify if & when I elect to do it again.)

EKURIE’S QUESTION

What first prompted you to research the truth of the Bible amongst all present available translations?

OK… I hope I can adequately answer that one.

Um… I guess it began when I was little.  I felt YAH (God) wanted me to be a Hebrew teacher, so I decided to start a Bible translation.  I actually made several false starts (“false” as in I kept losing interest, although the translations themselves were accurate) before (and once or twice after) I became a teenager.  And then in the last year, I began a serious effort to translate the Scriptures – which eventually resulted in the Restored English Translation (RET) that I publish on here.

From a young age, I was brought up on the belief that the Apocrypha is inspired Scripture.  However, much of what I read (such as Answers in Genesis’ material) was anti-Apocrypha.  And then finally, my Dad got a book called Channukah and the Last Days by James Trimm, which contained an appendix giving the very cear evidence that the Apocrypha is inspired Scripture – and later removed.  After reading that – and the introduction to YAHWEH’s Sword translation of the Book of Enoch – prompted me to do my own research on the Canon, which research resulted in my Canon of Scripture articles.

And of course there’s my research into overlooked facts either in or relating to the Bible.  Such as the facts (both Biblical and extra-Biblical) that went into The Forgotten Jews.  And I got into those (the Forgotten Jews) through my family research.  You see, I’m a genealogy freak.  I could trace my ancestry back to the Middle Ages – some lines back to ancient times.  Some online family trees showed connections between my forefathers and Biblical figures.  I HEAVILY researched this material as much as possible to know absolutely for certain whether or not it was true (as a genealogist and a Believer, I really liked the thought of being able to trace in a direct, unbroken line – or as it turned out, SEVERAL unbroken lines – back to Adam and Eve).  And I eventually discovered that it IS true (and yes, almost all of the “forgotten Jews” I discuss are my direct ancestors).

And I did a little bit of research into the Biblical pharaohs & true Egyptian chronology (conventional chronology is ridiculously off; for instance, Pharaoh Ramses II – who is commonly claimed to have ruled in the 1200s BC and is a common candidate for the Pharaoh of the Exodus, mainly due to movies such as The Ten Commandments – actually ruled in the 700s [absolutely ruling out being contemporary with Moses]).  A large portion of this was again genealogy driven – I descend from several Egyptian Pharaohs.

I hope that answers your question, ekurie.

THE BRITCHY ONE’S QUESTIONS

What is your favorite season?

Summer.  Hands down.  (I much prefer warm-to-hot weather.)

What part of Thanksgiving dinner do you like best?

I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving.  Unlike other public holidays such as Halloween and Christmas, I’ve got nothing against Thanksgiving (it’s the only one without pagan origins).  But, I don’t personally celebrate it.

(That said, I LOVE roast turkey!)

What are your favorite foods?

Lasagne (I fully agree with Garfield there).  Potato bake.  Chocolate.

What kind of books do you like/favorite authors?

My ALL-TIME FAVOURITE author is James Rollins – and my ALL-TIME FAVOURITE novel series is his Sigma Force novels (of which I have read The Doomsday Key, Bloodline, The Eye of God, and The Kill Switch – all quite good).

I’m currently reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy for the first time, which I’m enjoying.  I’m currently reading the first book The Fellowship of the Ring.  I also read The Hobbit a few weeks ago.

And while mentioning classic fantasy authors, I love his friend C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia novels (of which I’ve read – and enjoyed – all 7: The Magician’s Nephew; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; The Horse and His Boy; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; and The Last Battle).

And there’s Darrell Pitt and his Jack Mason Adventures (of which I’ve read and enjoyed all 5 – The Firebird Mystery, The Secret Abyss, The Broken Sun, The Monster Within, and The Lost Sword).  These ultra-fun detective action-adventure steampunk novels (combo of Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones) are BEGGING to be made into movies – although unfortunately Hollywood directors don’t seem to have discovered them yet.

This should have been at the top – they are among the GREATEST (possibly THE greatest) novels ever made.  I am talking about Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy (of which I’ve read and enjoyed all 3 – The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay).

Then there’s Alex Scarrow and his TimeRiders novels (of which I’ve read the first two – TimeRiders and Day of the Predator, both quite good).

Others are James Dashner (The Maze Runner trilogy), Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society series), Steve Berry (Cotton Malone series), Michael Adams (The Seven Signs series), Clive Cussler (NUMA-related) and Frank Peretti (The Cooper Kids Adventure Series).  (Unfortunately, I don’t have time to do all their pictures.  Sorry!)

Do you like to travel and have you ever travelled outside the US?

I don’t travel much – but when I do, I enjoy it.  And would you believe, not only has ALL my travel been outside the United States, but so has my entire life!  (I’m an Aussie.  Don’t worry, I would have made the same assumption in your shoes.)

What music do you like?

Paul Wilbur and Don Francisco.

What state do you live in?

Somewhere in the Great South Land.

Do you have a family of your own?

Nope.  I’m a very young, single, eligible bachelor.

What would be your dream job?

Becoming an actor/director.

If you were able to take part in a space mission, would you?

YES!!!

What would be your dream vacation

A) within the US?

Not really sure.

B) Internationally?

Again, not sure.

Are you a tv or movie watcher? What shows/movies do you like?

I’m a DVD watcher – my TV doesn’t get signal, and I don’t attend the cinema.  I mainly watch movies – but there are several shows I enjoy as well.  I might as well list my all-time favourite movies and shows.  My all-time favourite movies (in order of release):

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Back to the Future (1985

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Back to the Future Part III (1990)

Jurassic Park (1993)

Independence Day (1996)

Deep Impact (1998)

Equilibrium (2002)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

WALL-E (2008)

Journey to the Centre of the Earth (2008)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

The Three Musketeers (2011)

Skyscraper (2018)

And my favourite shows:

Thunderbirds Are Go (2015-present)

Conspiracy 365 (2012)

Little House on the Prairie (1974-83)

Thunderbirds (1965-66)

All Creatures Great and Small (1978-90)

AUTHOR RYAN CALLAHAN’S QUESTIONS

You are from Australia, right? Where else have you been in the world? 

Nowhere.  Literally.

When did you accept Jesus (I’d like to hear your testimony)?

At a young age (I was raised in a Christian household, which converted to Messianic Judaism when I was young).  I asked Him into my heart.  Did a couple more times in later years as well.

LANDER7’S QUESTION

What is the most hated group on Earth?

That’s actually a VERY tough question to answer.  Ethnically, it’s Jews and Whites.  Religiously, it’s Christians.  Politically, it’s conservatives.  With regards to countries, it’s Israel.  Hatred abounds, sadly.

THE NOMINEES

Ah, here’s the catch of the Reader Request: everyone who asks questions is nominated.

https://friendwise.wordpress.com/

https://bitchininthekitchen.org/

https://authorryanc.com/

https://realitydecoded.blog/

You’re officially nominated to this at least once – Friday 30 November (although if you want you can do it every week).  The rules: if you elect to do it, do what I did.  Do a post at the beginning of the week (or end of the previous week), and take (and on Friday answer) the questions.

Have fun!