{"id":998,"date":"2010-02-18T15:00:41","date_gmt":"2010-02-18T15:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/2010\/02\/grave-diggers.html"},"modified":"2010-02-18T15:00:41","modified_gmt":"2010-02-18T15:00:41","slug":"grave-diggers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/02\/grave-diggers.html","title":{"rendered":"Grave Diggers"},"content":{"rendered":"<form mt:asset-id=\"11592\" class=\"mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image\" style=\"display: inline;\" contenteditable=\"false\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/satan1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"satan1.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/137\/import\/assets_c\/2010\/02\/satan1-thumb-400x401-11592.jpg\" class=\"mt-image-none\" style=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"401\" \/><\/a><\/form>\n<div><meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta name=\"ProgId\" content=\"Word.Document\"><meta name=\"Generator\" content=\"Microsoft Word 11\"><meta name=\"Originator\" content=\"Microsoft Word 11\"><link rel=\"File-List\" href=\"file:\/\/\/C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CBENWIT%7E1.ASB%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C02%5Cclip_filelist.xml\"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags\" name=\"City\"><\/o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags\" name=\"place\"><\/o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument>  <w:View>Normal<\/w:View>  <w:Zoom>0<\/w:Zoom>  <w:PunctuationKerning\/>  <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas\/>  <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false<\/w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>  <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false<\/w:IgnoreMixedContent>  <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false<\/w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>  <w:Compatibility>   <w:BreakWrappedTables\/>   <w:SnapToGridInCell\/>   <w:WrapTextWithPunct\/>   <w:UseAsianBreakRules\/>   <w:DontGrowAutofit\/>  <\/w:Compatibility>  <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4<\/w:BrowserLevel> <\/w:WordDocument><\/xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState=\"false\" LatentStyleCount=\"156\"> <\/w:LatentStyles><\/xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid=\"clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D\" id=\"ieooui\"><\/object>\n\n<style>st1\\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }<\/style>\n\n<![endif]--><\/p>\n<style><!-- \/* Style Definitions *\/ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal\t{mso-style-parent:\"\";\tmargin:0in;\tmargin-bottom:.0001pt;\tmso-pagination:widow-orphan;\tfont-size:12.0pt;\tfont-family:\"Times New Roman\";\tmso-fareast-font-family:\"Times New Roman\";}@page Section1\t{size:8.5in 11.0in;\tmargin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;\tmso-header-margin:.5in;\tmso-footer-margin:.5in;\tmso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1\t{page:Section1;}--><\/style>\n<p><!--[if gte mso 10]>\n\n<style> \/* Style Definitions *\/ table.MsoNormalTable\t{mso-style-name:\"Table Normal\";\tmso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;\tmso-tstyle-colband-size:0;\tmso-style-noshow:yes;\tmso-style-parent:\"\";\tmso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;\tmso-para-margin:0in;\tmso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;\tmso-pagination:widow-orphan;\tfont-size:10.0pt;\tfont-family:\"Times New Roman\";\tmso-ansi-language:#0400;\tmso-fareast-language:#0400;\tmso-bidi-language:#0400;}<\/style>\n\n<![endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>They knowhow to shovel that stuff<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The dirt and the mud and the grime,<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>They&#8217;reprobing for a shady character<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Or just another citizen to slime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>They&#8217;llbury your reputation<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">After poking around in your past<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>Occasionallythey will be quite fawning<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">But don&#8217;t worry, it won&#8217;t last.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>No matterhow seldom you&#8217;ve slipped<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Or how often you&#8217;re in the right<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>If theyfind any metal that&#8217;s tarnished<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">They&#8217;ll bring it into the light.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>They&#8217;llhound you for juicy tidbits<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Or sleazy and salacious details<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>Not enoughthe wages of sin<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">On the pen of the press your impaled.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>They&#8217;llmeasure you for a casket<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">They&#8217;ll assess your body&#8211; of work<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>They&#8217;llfind a fitting epitaph<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">&#8216;Here lies a world class jerk&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>They hangaround in graveyards<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">They comb the catacombs<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>They&#8217;rebirds of prey, like vultures<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">They&#8217;ll follow you where ere you roam.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>Life&#8217;s agrave undertaking<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">For those who feast on your falls<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>And maketheir own reputation<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">By describing your burial pall. <\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>Thedismissal can be quite brief,<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The interment takes no time at all<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>But if youshould rise from the dead<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">You&#8217;ll find they won&#8217;t be appalled. <\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>For itgives them more work to do,<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">More fodder for their sod farm<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>They&#8217;lltell you they are happy to see you<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">And of course they meant you no harm,<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-indent: 0.5in;\">So here&#8217;s to the political pundits<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The shock jocks and tabloiders too<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-indent: 0.5in;\">Not to mention personal injurylawyers<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Who know how to manipulate you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>They&#8217;ve made their namesoff your misfortune<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-indent: 0.5in;\">But there&#8217;s too little grace inthat <st1:city w:st=\"on\"><st1:place w:st=\"on\">Nancy<\/st1:place><\/st1:city><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">They&#8217;ll fillet and barbecue you slowly<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-indent: 0.5in;\">&#8216;Would you like it slow-cooked orfancy?<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">But what&#8217;s even more disturbing<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-indent: 0.5in;\">Are the grave diggers manyfans<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The morbid lust for blood<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-indent: 0.5in;\">Makes grave diggers ratings quitegrand<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">They stop to look at the accident<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>The victimlies sprawled on the road<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">They&#8217;re curious to see if you&#8217;ve croaked<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>Likeanother road-killed toad<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">I wonder what layer of Hades<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-indent: 0.5in;\">Dante&#8217;d reserve for these folks?<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The grave diggers annual roasting<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-indent: 0.5in;\">Where they are the butt of thejokes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Why is it that those ole flame-throwers<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-indent: 0.5in;\">Have trouble taking the heat<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">They&#8217;re good at claiming a victory<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-indent: 0.5in;\">When they&#8217;ve retold your defeat<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">I&#8217;m thankful I&#8217;m not a grave digger<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-indent: 0.5in;\">Nor even one of their fans,<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">I&#8217;d rather die on the cross<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-indent: 0.5in;\">Like that ole Son of Man<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">BW III<span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>Jan 22<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>2010 <\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They knowhow to shovel that stuff The dirt and the mud and the grime, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They&#8217;reprobing for a shady character Or just another citizen to slime. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They&#8217;llbury your reputation After poking around in your past &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Occasionallythey will be quite fawning But don&#8217;t worry, it won&#8217;t last. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; No matterhow&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Grave Diggers - The Bible and Culture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/02\/grave-diggers.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Grave Diggers - The Bible and Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They knowhow to shovel that stuff The dirt and the mud and the grime, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They&#8217;reprobing for a shady character Or just another citizen to slime. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They&#8217;llbury your reputation After poking around in your past &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Occasionallythey will be quite fawning But don&#8217;t worry, it won&#8217;t last. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; No matterhow&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/02\/grave-diggers.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Bible and Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-02-18T15:00:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/files\/import\/assets_c\/2010\/02\/satan1-thumb-400x401-11592.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ben Witherington\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Grave Diggers - The Bible and Culture","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/02\/grave-diggers.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Grave Diggers - The Bible and Culture","og_description":"&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They knowhow to shovel that stuff The dirt and the mud and the grime, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They&#8217;reprobing for a shady character Or just another citizen to slime. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They&#8217;llbury your reputation After poking around in your past &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Occasionallythey will be quite fawning But don&#8217;t worry, it won&#8217;t last. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; No matterhow&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/02\/grave-diggers.html","og_site_name":"The Bible and Culture","article_published_time":"2010-02-18T15:00:41+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/files\/import\/assets_c\/2010\/02\/satan1-thumb-400x401-11592.jpg"}],"author":"Ben Witherington","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/02\/grave-diggers.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/02\/grave-diggers.html","name":"Grave Diggers - The Bible and Culture","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/02\/grave-diggers.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/02\/grave-diggers.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/files\/import\/assets_c\/2010\/02\/satan1-thumb-400x401-11592.jpg","datePublished":"2010-02-18T15:00:41+00:00","dateModified":"2010-02-18T15:00:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/d1fd6c7893819eabc624db38ecfd8426"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/02\/grave-diggers.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/02\/grave-diggers.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/02\/grave-diggers.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/files\/import\/assets_c\/2010\/02\/satan1-thumb-400x401-11592.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/files\/import\/assets_c\/2010\/02\/satan1-thumb-400x401-11592.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/02\/grave-diggers.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Grave Diggers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/","name":"The Bible and Culture","description":"All Things Biblical and Christian","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/d1fd6c7893819eabc624db38ecfd8426","name":"Ben Witherington","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/75e\/75ec11e1916a2008bc4cc638a0a0de2fx96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/75e\/75ec11e1916a2008bc4cc638a0a0de2fx96.jpg","caption":"Ben Witherington"},"description":"Bible scholar Ben Witherington is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland. A graduate of UNC, Chapel Hill, he went on to receive the M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England. He is now considered one of the top evangelical scholars in the world, and is an elected member of the prestigious SNTS, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. Witherington has also taught at Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell. A popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings not only in the United States but also in England, Estonia, Russia, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia. He has also led tours to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. Witherington has written over thirty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications, and is a frequent contributor to the Beliefnet website. Along with many interviews on radio networks across the country, Witherington has been seen on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Discovery Channel, A&amp;E, and the PAX Network.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/author\/bwitherington"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/998\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}