AN APPLE A DAY AND A CHAPTER A DAY

By Dr. M. R. Dowler

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” sounds like one of Benjamin Franklin’s ageless proverbs. While ole Ben gave us many pithy maxims, this one wasn’t one of his. The apple-a-day idiom can be traced back to 1866 Welch proverb. And there’s a lot of truth to it. Researchers continue to find medical and physiological benefits of eating apples. Apples have properties no other fruits contains; low in calories and high in Vitamin C, apples can lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and the risk of heart disease, just a few of the many health benefits of apples.

Here’s another interesting detail about the apple. For centuries the apple has been associated with the fruit of temptation, although interestingly, the Bible does not mention a specific fruit as the fruit Adam and Eve partook of (Genesis 3:6). So where do we get the idea that it was an apple? The Latin word for evil is the word “malum” which is also the same Latin word for apple. And in 382 AD Jerome used the word “malum” in his Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible. From that time people began associating the fruit of temptation with the noble apple.

Perspicuity is a big fancy-spanzy theological word which means clear in its meaning. It is hardly disputed that there are portions of the Bible that are difficult to grasp, however, taken as a whole the most rudimentary teachings of the scriptures can be easily understood by children and adults. The Flesch-Kincaid (FK) formula was developed in 1975 to determine age/grade level of books, magazine and manuals. According to FK, the Bible (in all legitimate versions and translations) has a readability range from 5.6 to 8.5 grade levels. Simply stated, the Bible is shallow enough for children to wade in and deep enough theologians to swim in for a lifetime.

Perspicuity has nothing to do with the division within Christianity by the many different denominations; perspicuity speaks of the clarity of the central message of the scripture itself---God loves you (John 3:16). The Bible was written so that parents (and grandparents) can explain the scriptures to children (2 Timothy 3:14-15) and is profitable to anyone who reads it (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The theological parallel to the apple-a-day proverbs is---A chapter of the Bible a day keeps the devil away. So just read it, everyday. Its good for you. Think about it.