Nobody and No Body

 

 

Easy to spot when written

But not as easy otherwise,

In reading it is the intonation

Unless otherwise disguised.

 

Text, audio and video:

Three ways in which we present,

By now you know what I mean

We are talking news content.

 

Nobody and no body

Appear in the news quite often

And they are easier to distinguish

When either one is written.

 

When the police arrived

There was no body at the scene,

Nobody had any information

Re where the body had been.

 

Pretend to be an announcer

And read the verse before,

In order to indicate the distinction

Intonation must be at the fore.

 

Video is just as impossible

If you catch what I really mean,

Try showing nobody or no body

At a murder scene.

“Nobody was at home”

No problem deciphering that

But change it to no body

And you have a case to crack.

 

So, when you read this poem

Be prepared to intone,

Especially if you are reading aloud

And people are in your zone.

 

Otherwise it would be confusing

These bodies to differentiate,

Between a nobody and no body

Let there be no mistake.

 

Even with nobody alone

One must be very careful,

For if the indefinite article goes before

That speaks of certain people.

 

 

 

Nobody, let me quickly state,

Likes being called a nobody

Since a nobody is a type of person

Nobody thinks of seriously.

 

So, be aware of these nuances

That can at times cause trouble,

Intonation makes a lot of difference

And also, the indefinite article.

 

Stewart Russell © November 10, 2021

 

Nobody and No Body

 

 

Easy to spot when written

But not as easy otherwise,

In reading it is the intonation

Unless otherwise disguised.

 

Text, audio and video:

Three ways in which we present,

By now you know what I mean

We are talking news content.

 

Nobody and no body

Appear in the news quite often

And they are easier to distinguish

When either one is written.

 

When the police arrived

There was no body at the scene,

Nobody had any information

Re where the body had been.

 

 

Pretend to be an announcer

And read the verse before,

In order to indicate the distinction

Intonation must be at the fore.

 

Video is just as impossible

If you catch what I really mean,

Try showing nobody or no body

At a murder scene.

 

“Nobody was at home”

No problem deciphering that

But change it to no body

And you have a case to crack.

 

So, when you read this poem

Be prepared to intone,

Especially if you are reading aloud

And people are in your zone.

 

Otherwise it would be confusing

These bodies to differentiate,

Between a nobody and no body

Let there be no mistake.

 

Even with nobody alone

One must be very careful,

For if the indefinite article goes before

That speaks of certain people.

 

 

Nobody, let me quickly state,

Likes being called a nobody

Since a nobody is a type of person

Nobody thinks of seriously.

 

So, be aware of these nuances

That can at times cause trouble,

Intonation makes a lot of difference

And also, the indefinite article.

 

Stewart Russell © November 10, 2021

 

Text out of Context Is Pretext

 

 

I am becoming increasingly amazed

How we treat to the word of God:

Some preachers, totally out of context

Yet to appreciable applause.

 

Aligning the word with their agenda

And wooing the audience support,

Such are many televangelists

When delivering their reports.

 

I caution that we should be careful

When interpreting the word of God,

That we listen to the voice of the Spirit

And not the enticement of the Fraud.

 

 

Any text that is used out of context

Tends to support someone’s agenda,

Hence, such must be seen as a pretext

That supports their propaganda.

 

Agendas must be shaped by the Word

And not the other way around,

But pretext is the dominant mood

And towards error we are bound.

 

To support the point of the theme

I must cite three relevant scriptures

And trust that by the end of the poem

We are seeing the full picture.

 

 

Let me start with the Word, himself

He is the first we ought to see,

“And ye shall know the truth

And the truth shall make you free”.

 

Jesus is speaking to his disciples

Found in John chapter 8 verse 32

And note that in the preceding verse

His word is the same as the truth.

 

We take it out of its context

When applying it to any other truths

Like getting to the bottom of a matter

In which we are requiring proof.

 

“Tell me the truth,” a parent says,

When addressing a delinquent child,

“And the truth will set you free.”

And spare him from the cowhide.

 

That’s not the truth that Jesus meant

He didn’t mean the opposite to a lie,

But he meant the truth that is himself

On which all of life rely.

 

 

Next there is the overworked text

The “go-to” when we want something fixed

“Without faith it’s impossible to please God”

How we like to quote Hebrews 11 verse 6!

 

This verse is universally used

When there is a specific agenda in mind,

From the individual to the group

To entertain aspirations of all kinds.

 

What pleases God most is our walk

A daily walk of faith in the Spirit

And, not fulfilling the deeds of the flesh

But depending on faith to accomplish it.

 

Take note of the Old Testament saints

Faith was the characteristic of their walk,

Their walk was evidence of their faith

The faith that requires more than talk.

 

 

Another text we loosely noise around

Is Proverbs chapter 29 verse 18:

“Where there is no vision the people perish”

Usually as a pretext for a different scene.

 

The scene here treats to relations

In fact, relations both good and bad,

But it also speaks of the consequences:

Some of them pleasant and some sad.

 

Where there is no law of righteousness

People’s behavior is unrestrained,

It shouldn’t be a wonder to you and me

Why our world seems so insane.

 

Blindness and disaster go hand in hand

It’s like people that have no vision,

Jesus himself is the light of the world

And his light should determine our decisions.

 

A text out of context is a pretext

It is like exchanging the truth for a lie,

At times, it may appear very trivial and light

But remember that when we perish, we die.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2019

 

Text, Context and Pretext

 

 

Text, context and pretext

Disagreement and getting vexed,

Let’s be simple, not complex,

After this verse move to the next.

 

Flurries, scurries, even stories

Personal agendas and self-glory,

Soap boxes, pulpits and rostrums

Any facility to air their theories.

 

Starting with the Holy Word

But quickly veering off

Cause if it doesn’t fit the agenda

Then it must be scoffed.

 

Observe the gymnastics

Both physical and spiritual,

Charismatic type and emotional hype

Cheered on by gullible people.

 

 

The verse carries the text

While the Word provides the context

Everything is good so far

But this changes with pretext.

 

Pretext comes in different forms

Though a lot of it is personal,

Consider too this other usage

The sectarian or denominational.

 

“O I know the Bible says,”

But the doctrine says otherwise

And if you look very carefully,

There's the cleverly concealed disguise.

 

A need to change the Word as is-

It doesn’t fit in with today,

Back then the culture was different

It was a totally different way.

 

Clearly God could not have known

How things would come to be

So we must draw this to His attention

And hope that He would see.

Text, context and pretext

With pretext holding sway,

Mixing the literal with the figurative

And coming up with my own way.

 

Yes, pretext suits me very well

I could comfortably live with that,

It is not exactly in the text

But grey could pass for black.

 

So many verses are misused,

Bearing a bent to men’s traditions,

Pretext more appealing than context

Brings a more acceptable rendition.

 

Every text is within a context

And is corroborated in the Word,

Pretext plays absolutely no part

Neither anything we have heard.

 

The Word can speak for itself

The Holy Spirit assures us,

Throughout the pages of Holy Writ

The focus is always Jesus

 

The Living Word and the written

There’s absolutely no conflict,

Pretext might be your desire

But the Word you should not edit.

 

 

Take the Word as it’s written

It’s God breathed; by now you know,

God can never make an error

I’m sure you know this is so.

 

Go with its text and context

Get rid of learned or induced pretext,

Regardless of sect or denomination

Be faithful to the biblical text.

 

Stewart Russell © February 2019