Pondering Pastor

The headline is innocent enough.  “Czechs get chance to view rare medieval manuscript”  But when you read the whole article, you are treated to an amazing legend.

Legend has it that the monk [who allegedly wrote the "Devil's Bible"] was condemned to be walled up alive for committing a grave crime. To escape from that slow death, he proposed to create the masterpiece in a night so that it would bring glory to the monastery and wipe out his sins.

To achieve that, however, he had to solicit help from the devil and, in recognition of that aid, slipped in the illustration of his “helper” in the final work.

Enlisting the aid of the devil to complete a Bible!  Priceless!

Of course, this whole measuring one’s good deeds against one’s sins is terrible theology and runs counter to scripture, but it was a common medieval belief … who am I kidding … it’s a common belief today also!

This Bible has an interesting history apart from legend.   At the end of the Thirty Years War, Swedish troops removed the Bible from Prauge and has been the object of negotiations for some time now.  The Bible weighs 165 pounds, and is the biggest medieval manuscript known.

Pondering Pastor