Well, here we are, the home stretch. The rest of these 'books' are actually just letters, except for Revelations. Sooo, yeah. Let's do this.
All of Paul's letters start with "The Letter of Paul to X", or "The Second Letter of Paul to X" or what have you, but Hebrews is just "The Letter to the Hebrews". From whom?
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it" Hebrews 13:2.
"Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured" Hebrews 13:3. / "As long as there is a lower class, I am in it. As long as there is a criminal element, I'm of it. As long as there is a soul in prison, I am not free"--Eugene Debs
The Letter of James:
"Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field" James 1:9-10.
"No one, when tempted, should say, 'I am being tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one... One is tempted by one's own desire" James 1:13-14.
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world" James 1:27.
"But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you?" James 2:6.
"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,' and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?" James 2:14-16.
"You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder" James 1:19.
I don't have any notes for either 1 Peter or 2 Peter.
The First Letter of John:
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" 1 John 1:8.
"Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world--desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches--comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away" 1 John 2:15-17.
"God is love" 1 John 4:8.
I don't have notes for John's second or third letters, nor do I have notes for Jude's letters.
...Buuuut I do have a note or two in Revelation. (Though I could have sworn that it's Revelations, but okay, fine.)
My first note is that this is where our picture of the apocalypse comes from. The final judgment, the raising of the dead, the four horsemen--! That was fun, it brought me right back to Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, a book that was torturous enough to read that it actually felt like you were suffering the blows dealt by the four horsemen and the seven angels' horns. But seriously, when they were describing the four horsemen, I was just expecting one of them to be introduced as Ras the Exhorter. Bad times with that book. Awful times. Yet not the worst.
What confused me is that John talks about these seven angels with their horns--every time one blows their horn, something terrible happens. When angel number five blows his horn, John "saw that a star had fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit; he opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft" Revelation 9:1-2. So one would automatically assume it's Lucifer/Satan (come to think of it, Satan is never once referred to as Lucifer in the Bible--), no? But that doesn't make sense, because those events would have happened pre-Eden, not during the end of times... Right? Or maybe it's supposed to be a metaphor. Or maybe John is seeing an illusion that is playing up to Satan releasing hell's contents to the world...?
It's also implied that none of the 144,000 who go to heaven forever are women. That's fun.
Oh, and might I add--the 'number of the beast'? We normally think of it as 666, but according to the footnote, depending on your translation/edition of the ancient writings, it could be 616. I had a dream once that it was 521.
Also, demons and devils preparing to ransack the world during the end of times gather in a place that is called 'Harmagedon' in Hebrew. Gee, wonder what word that sounds like...
"And in those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them" Revelation 9:6.
Other than that, there are a few errant notes here and there relating to the final Chronicles of Narnia book, The Last Battle--but of course there'd be similarities between this and that.
MLA citation information: Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Edition. American Bible Society: New York, 1989.
So, I'm sure you're hankering for a big reaction to everything, the old and new testament, to have some major religious revelation or what have you...
As for me myself, I had some insight--but it didn't do nearly as much for me as, say, Everything is Illuminated. There are clearly some things that have touched me, but it didn't quite do it. My views spiritually--well, some found backing here, and some were not satisfied. I don't know them that well myself, yet, they're still for the most part unformed. Or maybe it's not quite that, it's just hard to verbalize them. Anyways, like I said--some things boded and some didn't. I tried to remain objective when I read this, but there are many moments when I clearly did not do so. Well, these things happen.
You may be wondering if this will be going on the 'Classics' shelf. I'm not sure yet.
Answer to last post's cryptic song lyrics: Elephant Love Medley from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack
This post's cryptic song lyrics: The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast, the slow one now will later be fast, as the present now will later be past, the order is rapidly fading, and the first one now will later be last, for the times they are a-changing
Friday, January 7, 2011
The Bible: 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon
Look at all those books covered! Just kidding, they're just Paul's letters. I figured I might as well get them all done in one fell swoop. I'm so close to the end I'd be able to taste it if not for the taste of blood in my mouth from the space formerly filled by my wisdom teeth.
So, first off--The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians!
"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16.
"'All things are lawful for me,' but not all things are beneficial" 1 Corinthians 6:12.
"For the woman does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does" 1 Corinthians 7:4. He means sexually. This is the only time he's going to put men and women on an equal level. For extra fun, you can see my rage build as we go on! Anyways, he goes on with this bit: "Do not deprive one another except perhaps by agreement of a set time, to devote yourselves to prayer, and then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control" 1 Corinthians 7:5. Yes, I included it here mostly because it made me chuckle. So I'm not so mature. So sue me!
"It is better to marry than to be aflame with passion" 1 Corinthians 7:8. He means that it's better to marry than to sleep around with anyone, but it definitely sounds harsh if you don't realize that...
"For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his [believing] wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her [believing] husband" 1 Corinthians 7:14.
Paul talks a lot about the wed versus the unwed, and how the unwed are better off because they don't have to spend so much time worrying about pleasing their spouses, and "the affairs of the world" 1 Corinthians 7:33. He doesn't say don't marry ever, but he says that he just wants to make that point. Okay, fine, but wow, talk about throwing an institution under the bus. Paul wasn't even ever married either, just saying!
One thing that I don't understand is how he explains how widows' second marriages should be: "But if the husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord" 1 Corinthians 7:39. What does that mean? Is that like how nuns are "married" to God?
"Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up" 1 Corinthians 8:1.
"Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wealth, but we an imperishable one" 1 Corinthians 9:24-25. I know that it's not fair to say Paul's writing reminds me of CS Lewis's because CS Lewis came much, much later, but again, I read CS Lewis before I read this, so let me be. The whole section of 'The Rights of An Apostle' (which concludes in the paragraph that contains that last quote), or 1 Corinthians 9, reminds me greatly of CS Lewis's writing style in particular, maybe not as much as anything else Paul wrote, either... Well, maybe that's just me.
"You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons" 1 Corinthians 10:21.
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved" 1 Corinthians 10:31-33. I like the first sentence a lot, but that which follows bothers me. It makes me think of Aesop's fable about the father, the son, and his donkey--they take the donkey to market, and the first man to pass them laughs because they are walking and not riding the donkey. So the father puts his son on the donkey, and the next person to pass is upset that the boy is forcing his father to walk, and says it out loud. So the man takes his boy off of the donkey, and he gets on. The next person expresses verbally his disgust at the father making his son walk. So, the two of them get on the donkey together and the next person who passes gets upset that they should be overworking the donkey so. According to this, the clincher is that they carry the donkey and the donkey slips from their grasp and drowns, though that doesn't sound quite right to me... But the point of this tangent is that the moral is, "Please all and you will please none", or "Try to please everyone and you will end up pleasing no-one", or anything else in that vein. Soooo yeah.
And here comes the first of many times Paul enrages me with what he says about women! "A man ought not to have his head veiled, since he is an image and reflection of God; but woman is the reflection of man. Indeed, man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man. For this reason a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head" 1 Corinthians 11:7-10. Really, Paul? You're cool. He goes on to say that they are still important, as both genders come from God, but still. Listen, Paul. Broski
Surprise, surprise: I like 'The Gift of Love' (1 Corinthians 13). "Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude... it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. / "Love is like a tree: it shoots itself; it strikes its roots deeply into our whole being, and frequently continues to be green over a heart in ruins"--Victor Hugo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame).
"Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end" 1 Corinthians 13:8.
"And now, faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love" 1 Corinthians 13:13.
"...Women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?" 1 Corinthians 15:34-36. Really, Paul? That's cute of you. I know it was undoubtedly the mindset of the times, but did you have to add the "Or did the word of God..." et cetera bit? Women are allowed to talk in church now, so there! BAM, Paul. Bam.
"And why are we putting ourselves in danger every hour? I die every day!" 1 Corinthians 15:30-31. I'm not sure if I quite understand what Paul means here, other than that he means it metaphorically...
Here's Paul's second letter to the Corinthians--aptly named 2 Corinthians in the index.
"And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them" 2 Corinthians 5:15. / "Christ died for men precisely because men are not worth dying for; to make them worth it"--CS Lewis.
"Everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" 2 Corinthians 5:17.
The next book, Galatians, is a letter from Paul to them too.
"Am I now seeking human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ" Galatians 1:10.
"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith through love" Galatians 5:6. Again, it is not the symbol that matters, it is the heart that matters.
"...Through love become slaves to one another" Galatians 5:13. / "We burned with love for ourselves, all of us, starters of the fire we suffered--our love was the affliction for which only our love was the cure"--Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated).
"For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another" Galatians 5:14-15.
Paul also lists a number of sins, some of which look familiar--some of the seven deadly sins are listed here, though not all of them--those that make an appearance here are: lust, envy, and avarice. Just thought I'd mention it. (Who decided the whole list?)
Ephesians is another letter from Paul.
"Be angry but do not sin; do not act rashly on your anger, and do not make room for the devil" Ephesians 4:26-27. / "When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord" Psalms 4:4-5.
"Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children on the light--for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true... Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them" Galatians 5:8-9, 11.
Paul annoys me more about what he says about women, but that's really all you need to know. My note on it again is, "REALLY, Paul?" ('The Christian Household', Ephesians 5, if you're that curious about what Paul said.
"Whatever good we do, we will receive the same from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free" Ephesians 6:8.
I have no notes on Philippians, but I've got two quotes from Colossians.
"Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourself with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!" Colossians 3:9-11.
"Above all, clothe yourselves with love" Colossians 3:14.
One quote from 1 Thessalonians:
"...Encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances" Thessalonians 5:14-18.
Two quotes from 2 Thessalonians:
"Anyone unwilling to work should not eat" 2 Thessalonians 3:10.
"Brothers and sisters, do not weary in doing what is right" 2 Thessalonians 3:13.
1 Timothy, 'The First Letter of Paul to ""'.
Paul makes me mad about treatment of women again... (1 Timothy 2.)
"...In later times some will renounce the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods, which God created to be thanksgiving by those who believe and the truth" 1 Timothy 4:1-3. This throws me off a little. Is the abstinence from food meant to be abstinence from (certain) foods? If so, is this a shot at the Jews? Wasn't Paul Jewish? Did Christianity exist as its own thing at this point? Help, please.
"For everything created by God is good" 1 Timothy 4:4. But what about these demons and liars that were just named? I'd say that yes, they are still good--because they would exist to test man and see who is worthy and upstanding and whatnot. So... They have good... means? Kind of? But you see what I mean?
And you know the saying that "Money is the root of all evil"? One, Jesus didn't say that. Two, that's not the correct quote. "For the love of money is the root of all evil" 1 Timothy 6:10. Aha! What a difference a seemingly paltry four words can make!
"They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life" 1 Timothy 18-19.
"Avoid the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge; by professing it some have missed the mark as regards the faith" 1 Timothy 6:20-21. Aaaaand this is why the Catholic church pretty much suppressed every discovery prior to the nineteen-hundreds, I'm going put my neck on the chopping block and say.
I have no notes for 2 Timothy, The Letter of Paul to Titus, or Philemon.
MLA citation information: Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Edition. American Bible Society: New York, 1989.
Not much to say that I haven't said above. One thing I have noticed that, while the old testament emphasized the fear of God, the new testament seems to emphasize love, love from either party. I guess this explains why things were kind of fudged in Sunday school...
Well, one more post--less than sixty pages left--eleven books left--we're almost there. See you later.
Answer to last post's cryptic song lyrics: Time of Your Song by Matisyahu
This post's cryptic song lyrics: "Love is a many-splendoured thing! Love--lifts us up where we belong! All you need is love!"
So, first off--The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians!
"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16.
"'All things are lawful for me,' but not all things are beneficial" 1 Corinthians 6:12.
"For the woman does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does" 1 Corinthians 7:4. He means sexually. This is the only time he's going to put men and women on an equal level. For extra fun, you can see my rage build as we go on! Anyways, he goes on with this bit: "Do not deprive one another except perhaps by agreement of a set time, to devote yourselves to prayer, and then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control" 1 Corinthians 7:5. Yes, I included it here mostly because it made me chuckle. So I'm not so mature. So sue me!
"It is better to marry than to be aflame with passion" 1 Corinthians 7:8. He means that it's better to marry than to sleep around with anyone, but it definitely sounds harsh if you don't realize that...
"For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his [believing] wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her [believing] husband" 1 Corinthians 7:14.
Paul talks a lot about the wed versus the unwed, and how the unwed are better off because they don't have to spend so much time worrying about pleasing their spouses, and "the affairs of the world" 1 Corinthians 7:33. He doesn't say don't marry ever, but he says that he just wants to make that point. Okay, fine, but wow, talk about throwing an institution under the bus. Paul wasn't even ever married either, just saying!
One thing that I don't understand is how he explains how widows' second marriages should be: "But if the husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord" 1 Corinthians 7:39. What does that mean? Is that like how nuns are "married" to God?
"Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up" 1 Corinthians 8:1.
"Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wealth, but we an imperishable one" 1 Corinthians 9:24-25. I know that it's not fair to say Paul's writing reminds me of CS Lewis's because CS Lewis came much, much later, but again, I read CS Lewis before I read this, so let me be. The whole section of 'The Rights of An Apostle' (which concludes in the paragraph that contains that last quote), or 1 Corinthians 9, reminds me greatly of CS Lewis's writing style in particular, maybe not as much as anything else Paul wrote, either... Well, maybe that's just me.
"You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons" 1 Corinthians 10:21.
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved" 1 Corinthians 10:31-33. I like the first sentence a lot, but that which follows bothers me. It makes me think of Aesop's fable about the father, the son, and his donkey--they take the donkey to market, and the first man to pass them laughs because they are walking and not riding the donkey. So the father puts his son on the donkey, and the next person to pass is upset that the boy is forcing his father to walk, and says it out loud. So the man takes his boy off of the donkey, and he gets on. The next person expresses verbally his disgust at the father making his son walk. So, the two of them get on the donkey together and the next person who passes gets upset that they should be overworking the donkey so. According to this, the clincher is that they carry the donkey and the donkey slips from their grasp and drowns, though that doesn't sound quite right to me... But the point of this tangent is that the moral is, "Please all and you will please none", or "Try to please everyone and you will end up pleasing no-one", or anything else in that vein. Soooo yeah.
And here comes the first of many times Paul enrages me with what he says about women! "A man ought not to have his head veiled, since he is an image and reflection of God; but woman is the reflection of man. Indeed, man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man. For this reason a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head" 1 Corinthians 11:7-10. Really, Paul? You're cool. He goes on to say that they are still important, as both genders come from God, but still. Listen, Paul. Broski
Surprise, surprise: I like 'The Gift of Love' (1 Corinthians 13). "Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude... it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. / "Love is like a tree: it shoots itself; it strikes its roots deeply into our whole being, and frequently continues to be green over a heart in ruins"--Victor Hugo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame).
"Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end" 1 Corinthians 13:8.
"And now, faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love" 1 Corinthians 13:13.
"...Women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?" 1 Corinthians 15:34-36. Really, Paul? That's cute of you. I know it was undoubtedly the mindset of the times, but did you have to add the "Or did the word of God..." et cetera bit? Women are allowed to talk in church now, so there! BAM, Paul. Bam.
"And why are we putting ourselves in danger every hour? I die every day!" 1 Corinthians 15:30-31. I'm not sure if I quite understand what Paul means here, other than that he means it metaphorically...
Here's Paul's second letter to the Corinthians--aptly named 2 Corinthians in the index.
"And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them" 2 Corinthians 5:15. / "Christ died for men precisely because men are not worth dying for; to make them worth it"--CS Lewis.
"Everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" 2 Corinthians 5:17.
The next book, Galatians, is a letter from Paul to them too.
"Am I now seeking human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ" Galatians 1:10.
"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith through love" Galatians 5:6. Again, it is not the symbol that matters, it is the heart that matters.
"...Through love become slaves to one another" Galatians 5:13. / "We burned with love for ourselves, all of us, starters of the fire we suffered--our love was the affliction for which only our love was the cure"--Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated).
"For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another" Galatians 5:14-15.
Paul also lists a number of sins, some of which look familiar--some of the seven deadly sins are listed here, though not all of them--those that make an appearance here are: lust, envy, and avarice. Just thought I'd mention it. (Who decided the whole list?)
Ephesians is another letter from Paul.
"Be angry but do not sin; do not act rashly on your anger, and do not make room for the devil" Ephesians 4:26-27. / "When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord" Psalms 4:4-5.
"Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children on the light--for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true... Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them" Galatians 5:8-9, 11.
Paul annoys me more about what he says about women, but that's really all you need to know. My note on it again is, "REALLY, Paul?" ('The Christian Household', Ephesians 5, if you're that curious about what Paul said.
"Whatever good we do, we will receive the same from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free" Ephesians 6:8.
I have no notes on Philippians, but I've got two quotes from Colossians.
"Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourself with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!" Colossians 3:9-11.
"Above all, clothe yourselves with love" Colossians 3:14.
One quote from 1 Thessalonians:
"...Encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances" Thessalonians 5:14-18.
Two quotes from 2 Thessalonians:
"Anyone unwilling to work should not eat" 2 Thessalonians 3:10.
"Brothers and sisters, do not weary in doing what is right" 2 Thessalonians 3:13.
1 Timothy, 'The First Letter of Paul to ""'.
Paul makes me mad about treatment of women again... (1 Timothy 2.)
"...In later times some will renounce the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods, which God created to be thanksgiving by those who believe and the truth" 1 Timothy 4:1-3. This throws me off a little. Is the abstinence from food meant to be abstinence from (certain) foods? If so, is this a shot at the Jews? Wasn't Paul Jewish? Did Christianity exist as its own thing at this point? Help, please.
"For everything created by God is good" 1 Timothy 4:4. But what about these demons and liars that were just named? I'd say that yes, they are still good--because they would exist to test man and see who is worthy and upstanding and whatnot. So... They have good... means? Kind of? But you see what I mean?
And you know the saying that "Money is the root of all evil"? One, Jesus didn't say that. Two, that's not the correct quote. "For the love of money is the root of all evil" 1 Timothy 6:10. Aha! What a difference a seemingly paltry four words can make!
"They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life" 1 Timothy 18-19.
"Avoid the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge; by professing it some have missed the mark as regards the faith" 1 Timothy 6:20-21. Aaaaand this is why the Catholic church pretty much suppressed every discovery prior to the nineteen-hundreds, I'm going put my neck on the chopping block and say.
I have no notes for 2 Timothy, The Letter of Paul to Titus, or Philemon.
MLA citation information: Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Edition. American Bible Society: New York, 1989.
Not much to say that I haven't said above. One thing I have noticed that, while the old testament emphasized the fear of God, the new testament seems to emphasize love, love from either party. I guess this explains why things were kind of fudged in Sunday school...
Well, one more post--less than sixty pages left--eleven books left--we're almost there. See you later.
Answer to last post's cryptic song lyrics: Time of Your Song by Matisyahu
This post's cryptic song lyrics: "Love is a many-splendoured thing! Love--lifts us up where we belong! All you need is love!"
Thursday, January 6, 2011
The Bible: John, Acts of the Apostles, and Romans
Introductions stopped being needed posts and posts ago...
First up is the book of John, again, a telling of the story of Jesus.
So, my first note has to do with Samaritans. After reading these books, I find myself faced with the age-old question: What the hell is a Samaritan? When I was a kid and I asked that in Sunday school, our teacher skirted the issue because she clearly did not know either. Fairly recently, it occurred to me that Samaritan sounds a lot like Semitism. Semitism is another way of saying Judaism, so Samaritan=Jewish person, which seemed pretty logical. However, there is a passage in Luke that threw me for a loop: "(Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans)" John 4:9. Maybe that was true in those days, but in these days, the two groups are very similar. Considering how Samaritans practice, it seems more likely that this was a human statement by John, rather than an objective statement based on fact...
"But Jesus answered them, 'My father is still working, and also I am working'" John 5:17
Jesus also only feeds the five thousand in John's chronicling of events.
"'The world cannot hate you [the disciples], but it hates me [Jesus] because I testify against it that its works are evil'" John 7:7. Also, according this section, not even Jesus's flesh-and-blood brothers believed he was who he said. (What about Joseph? No further mentions of him after Jesus's birth...)
"'Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin'" John 8:34.
Oh, and the story 'A Man Born Blind Receives Sight'--that gets a 'super-metaphor' status. Jesus gives sight to a blind man? No further explanation is necessary.
Only in John's version of the story is it specifically Mary (Magdalene) who buys the ointment and rubs it on Jesus's feet with her hair. (True story! Yuck.) This is also the only time it is said that Judas was the one who protested her buying the ointment instead of giving money to the poor. After he says that, John adds in parenthesis: "(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it)" John 12:6. I'm going to say that's almost certainly slander.
"'The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may hot overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light'" John 12:35-36.
Only in this version does Jesus wash the disciples' feet.
Also, when Judas leaves, it is said he does so because Satan enters him. That's new, too.
"'How can you say, "Show us the Father?" Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?'" John 14:10. Okay, come on, this is a hard thing for somebody to wrap their heads around, Jesus! It's harder for me to believe that he is in the father as well as vice versa. My brain does not bend that way well. What rubs me the wrong way is that Jesus says, if you can't believe that, then "'believe me because of the works themselves'" John 14:11. That sort of policy doesn't seem right to me... I suppose it's better than not believing at all, but it almost seems like, I don't know, cheating.
Also, in this version, Peter does not weep after he realizes he has denied Jesus three times and therefore fulfills Jesus's prophecy; rather, he goes to warm himself with the waiting soldiers and slaves.
Okay, and maybe I missed this in all four of the books, but that bit about the other crucified criminal who is forgiven by Jesus while they're hanging isn't in any of them. That kind of made me sad. In a weird way, I liked that story.
Acts of the Apostles is basically about miracles performed by the disciples after Jesus's crucifixion.
Now, Jesus heals a lot of lepers and those bedridden. Many more acts of this kind occur in this book, which leads me to wonder about the acts. I can't think of a cure for the lepers that could have occurred through regular means, other than those he made wash (since people hardly washed in those days, it is possible that a simple dip in a river could be enough to remove infection or other impurities)... But those who could not walk: perhaps Jesus was, well, silly as this may sound, a sort of early chiropractor? And before he died he taught his skills to Peter, hence why Peter (I mention Peter specifically because the notes pertaining to this are next to 'Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar') could do as he did. It sounds like a decent hypothesis...
For my next note--it may seem silly to compare this group with a group that wouldn't appear until about 1,800 years later--but I read The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test before this, so cut me some slack. That book is about Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, a group which would rather reject mainstream society and make their own. They tried their best to live communally while sharing absolutely everything--no money was used, and even norms regarding monogamous relationships were disregarded. (Sounding familiar? Perhaps you've read Heinlein's Stranger in A Strange Land, one of the books that inspired Kesey.) Another thing they attempted to reject was religion, though KeseyLevite... [who] sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet" Acts 32, 34, 35-37. Granted, the Pranksters tried to eject money, but still. Just saying... And while I'm making the argument that I am, cleanliness is next to fordliness, and Ford is in his flivver--and all is well with the world.
Also, according to Acts, Jesus was crucified on a tree.
Romans are also referred to as 'Hellenists', which is rather strange, as that was what the Greeks called themselves. That would have gone into antiquity when Roman became a superpower and super-dominator of the ancient world, but okay, fine...
What I find really interesting is that while Paul is in Athens, he recognizes that the Athenians are very religious, and he commends them for it. He sees, among all the Athenian altars to all the Athenian gods, one that reads "'To an unknown god'" Acts 17:23. He goes on to say that that unknown god is his God, and though the Athenians have been worshiping incorrectly, it is good for them to be so full of faith and spirit, they need only to mend there ways but a little. "'From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and boundaries of the places where they would live, so they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him--though indeed he is not far from each one of us'" Acts 17:26-28. I absolutely one-hundred percent love this passage.
My next note is from Romans--the full title of the book being 'The Letter of Paul to the Romans'. It is, from what I understand, Paul attempting to educate the Romans in the ways of Christ.
First of all, Paul is referred to as a servant of Christ--though a footnote tells us that in the Greek he is referred to as a slave of Christ! Not sure how I feel about that one...
"Claiming to be wise, they became fools" Romans 1:22.
Anyways, Paul says that in the beginning, and even now/then, people were aware of God's presence and existence through the majesty of the world and its workings that are obviously always surrounding. The people didn't honour God properly, and are basically called idiots in their inability to understand this, and from their misunderstanding created various other gods and deities. (Paul is being a lot harsher on the whole of Rome than on Athens...) And because of this, God "gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another" Romans 1:26-27. Roman men sleeping with other men? Unheard of! You must be thinking of some other empire that was notorious for its, er, sexual freedom.
"All those who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all those who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law" Romans 2:12.
"For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart--it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God" Romans 2:28-29. At its base, this is saying, it's the heart, rather, your faith--you could go to church or synagogue or mosque or whatever else you may participate in every Sunday, Friday, Saturday, or whatever day you choose to go, and you could celebrate Purim or Christmas or Passover or Ramadan or Easter or what have you, but if you don't believe it doesn't mean a thing. People will say "What a fine, upstanding person, going to X every Y day, like a good, right Z should", but their words don't mean a thing, you see? It's just a symbol (as would the actual physical circumcision be). The heart is what counts most--and although this does not completely apply, or maybe not at all, I feel compelled to insert this here in relation to that last quote or at the very least what I just wrote: "People have good hearts whether or not they live like Dharma Bums"--Jack Kerouac
"'Rarely will anyone die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die'" Romans 5:7. I'm not sure if I understand what is being said here exactly--the better a person is, the less likely someone is to die for them...? And this brings up what I've been thinking since reading Matthew. Perhaps this is too skeptical and cruel of me--undoubtedly it is--but I couldn't help it: "Martyrdom was to me merely a tragic form of scepticism, an attempt to realise by fire what one had failed to do by faith. No man dies for what he knows to be true. Men die for what they want to be true, for what some terror in their heart tells them is not true"--Oscar Wilde*
"The wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23.
'The Law and Sin' and 'The Inner Conflict' are rather intriguing--they voice some very common arguments and problems with religious teachings. (They're both located in Romans 7, and I'll provide you with a few quotes from both.) "What then should we say? That the law in sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet'... Apart from the law sin lies dead" Romans 7:7-8.
From 'The Inner Conflict': "For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh; sold into slavery under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" Romans 7:14-15. That is, by acting good he is acting as he does not want, and in some way, hates it. It also treats sin as a sort of separate personality--"It is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me" Romans 7:20--which takes over the body and acts as it wants.
"So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin" Romans 7:25.
"Let love be genuine" Romans 12:9.
"Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer" Romans 12:12. Or, if you'd rather, persevere in hope or faith. Again, it is the heart of the matter, not exactly the matter itself...
"Extend hospitality to strangers" Romans 12:13.
"We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves" Romans 14:7. It goes onto say that we live and die in God, but I like this just as well--if not more--just taken at that face value. It gives me hope.
"Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin" Romans 14:23. This I don't like a bit. I think it's quite unfair and unjust.
"The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet" Romans 16:20. Again, this doesn't feel quite right at all.
Well, here we are. You're probably wanting a reaction to Jesus now--I promised I would include one--and I'd be willing to say he was a visionary, certainly. Clearly he was and still is an important figure. It bothers me, though, how flat a character he is. I mean, in Matthew his character bounces all over the place like a pinball, but by John he's just a flat fellow. He doesn't seem human (of course, depending on what you believe, there's a very good reason for that), though his words and teaching do carry a great power, regardless of your religious inclinations. Honestly, this is going to sound lame, but I preferred him in Jesus Christ Superstar (how does one treat a musical's title?)--because he was portrayed as a human with faults and fears. He was scared to die, he was upset that he'd be betrayed, and though he eventually accepted it, he certainly cried out to God about it. Only once in the books does Jesus cry out (in one situation, I mean, this occurs in the the first two books), and that is right before he dies--he cries out, "My father, why have you forsaken me?" Thus reality meets idealism, but, are you getting what I'm driving at?
I really like Romans. It's sort of like a latter version of Leviticus, at least that's how I see it. It's pretty interesting.
*I apologize if this seemed like a rude quote to include, considering what I am implying by including it, but again, I could not help it. It's simply my reaction to what I read.
MLA citation information: Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Edition. American Bible Society: New York, 1989.
Answer to last post's cryptic song lyrics: What's the Buzz? from the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack (I told you to expect a facepalm!)
This post's cryptic song lyrics: Keep my feet on the ground and my head in the clouds--I'm the arrow, you're my bow, shoot me forth and I will go
First up is the book of John, again, a telling of the story of Jesus.
So, my first note has to do with Samaritans. After reading these books, I find myself faced with the age-old question: What the hell is a Samaritan? When I was a kid and I asked that in Sunday school, our teacher skirted the issue because she clearly did not know either. Fairly recently, it occurred to me that Samaritan sounds a lot like Semitism. Semitism is another way of saying Judaism, so Samaritan=Jewish person, which seemed pretty logical. However, there is a passage in Luke that threw me for a loop: "(Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans)" John 4:9. Maybe that was true in those days, but in these days, the two groups are very similar. Considering how Samaritans practice, it seems more likely that this was a human statement by John, rather than an objective statement based on fact...
"But Jesus answered them, 'My father is still working, and also I am working'" John 5:17
Jesus also only feeds the five thousand in John's chronicling of events.
"'The world cannot hate you [the disciples], but it hates me [Jesus] because I testify against it that its works are evil'" John 7:7. Also, according this section, not even Jesus's flesh-and-blood brothers believed he was who he said. (What about Joseph? No further mentions of him after Jesus's birth...)
"'Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin'" John 8:34.
Oh, and the story 'A Man Born Blind Receives Sight'--that gets a 'super-metaphor' status. Jesus gives sight to a blind man? No further explanation is necessary.
Only in John's version of the story is it specifically Mary (Magdalene) who buys the ointment and rubs it on Jesus's feet with her hair. (True story! Yuck.) This is also the only time it is said that Judas was the one who protested her buying the ointment instead of giving money to the poor. After he says that, John adds in parenthesis: "(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it)" John 12:6. I'm going to say that's almost certainly slander.
"'The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may hot overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light'" John 12:35-36.
Only in this version does Jesus wash the disciples' feet.
Also, when Judas leaves, it is said he does so because Satan enters him. That's new, too.
"'How can you say, "Show us the Father?" Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?'" John 14:10. Okay, come on, this is a hard thing for somebody to wrap their heads around, Jesus! It's harder for me to believe that he is in the father as well as vice versa. My brain does not bend that way well. What rubs me the wrong way is that Jesus says, if you can't believe that, then "'believe me because of the works themselves'" John 14:11. That sort of policy doesn't seem right to me... I suppose it's better than not believing at all, but it almost seems like, I don't know, cheating.
Also, in this version, Peter does not weep after he realizes he has denied Jesus three times and therefore fulfills Jesus's prophecy; rather, he goes to warm himself with the waiting soldiers and slaves.
Okay, and maybe I missed this in all four of the books, but that bit about the other crucified criminal who is forgiven by Jesus while they're hanging isn't in any of them. That kind of made me sad. In a weird way, I liked that story.
Acts of the Apostles is basically about miracles performed by the disciples after Jesus's crucifixion.
Now, Jesus heals a lot of lepers and those bedridden. Many more acts of this kind occur in this book, which leads me to wonder about the acts. I can't think of a cure for the lepers that could have occurred through regular means, other than those he made wash (since people hardly washed in those days, it is possible that a simple dip in a river could be enough to remove infection or other impurities)... But those who could not walk: perhaps Jesus was, well, silly as this may sound, a sort of early chiropractor? And before he died he taught his skills to Peter, hence why Peter (I mention Peter specifically because the notes pertaining to this are next to 'Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar') could do as he did. It sounds like a decent hypothesis...
For my next note--it may seem silly to compare this group with a group that wouldn't appear until about 1,800 years later--but I read The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test before this, so cut me some slack. That book is about Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, a group which would rather reject mainstream society and make their own. They tried their best to live communally while sharing absolutely everything--no money was used, and even norms regarding monogamous relationships were disregarded. (Sounding familiar? Perhaps you've read Heinlein's Stranger in A Strange Land, one of the books that inspired Kesey.) Another thing they attempted to reject was religion, though KeseyLevite... [who] sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet" Acts 32, 34, 35-37. Granted, the Pranksters tried to eject money, but still. Just saying... And while I'm making the argument that I am, cleanliness is next to fordliness, and Ford is in his flivver--and all is well with the world.
Also, according to Acts, Jesus was crucified on a tree.
Romans are also referred to as 'Hellenists', which is rather strange, as that was what the Greeks called themselves. That would have gone into antiquity when Roman became a superpower and super-dominator of the ancient world, but okay, fine...
What I find really interesting is that while Paul is in Athens, he recognizes that the Athenians are very religious, and he commends them for it. He sees, among all the Athenian altars to all the Athenian gods, one that reads "'To an unknown god'" Acts 17:23. He goes on to say that that unknown god is his God, and though the Athenians have been worshiping incorrectly, it is good for them to be so full of faith and spirit, they need only to mend there ways but a little. "'From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and boundaries of the places where they would live, so they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him--though indeed he is not far from each one of us'" Acts 17:26-28. I absolutely one-hundred percent love this passage.
My next note is from Romans--the full title of the book being 'The Letter of Paul to the Romans'. It is, from what I understand, Paul attempting to educate the Romans in the ways of Christ.
First of all, Paul is referred to as a servant of Christ--though a footnote tells us that in the Greek he is referred to as a slave of Christ! Not sure how I feel about that one...
"Claiming to be wise, they became fools" Romans 1:22.
Anyways, Paul says that in the beginning, and even now/then, people were aware of God's presence and existence through the majesty of the world and its workings that are obviously always surrounding. The people didn't honour God properly, and are basically called idiots in their inability to understand this, and from their misunderstanding created various other gods and deities. (Paul is being a lot harsher on the whole of Rome than on Athens...) And because of this, God "gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another" Romans 1:26-27. Roman men sleeping with other men? Unheard of! You must be thinking of some other empire that was notorious for its, er, sexual freedom.
"All those who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all those who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law" Romans 2:12.
"For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart--it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God" Romans 2:28-29. At its base, this is saying, it's the heart, rather, your faith--you could go to church or synagogue or mosque or whatever else you may participate in every Sunday, Friday, Saturday, or whatever day you choose to go, and you could celebrate Purim or Christmas or Passover or Ramadan or Easter or what have you, but if you don't believe it doesn't mean a thing. People will say "What a fine, upstanding person, going to X every Y day, like a good, right Z should", but their words don't mean a thing, you see? It's just a symbol (as would the actual physical circumcision be). The heart is what counts most--and although this does not completely apply, or maybe not at all, I feel compelled to insert this here in relation to that last quote or at the very least what I just wrote: "People have good hearts whether or not they live like Dharma Bums"--Jack Kerouac
"'Rarely will anyone die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die'" Romans 5:7. I'm not sure if I understand what is being said here exactly--the better a person is, the less likely someone is to die for them...? And this brings up what I've been thinking since reading Matthew. Perhaps this is too skeptical and cruel of me--undoubtedly it is--but I couldn't help it: "Martyrdom was to me merely a tragic form of scepticism, an attempt to realise by fire what one had failed to do by faith. No man dies for what he knows to be true. Men die for what they want to be true, for what some terror in their heart tells them is not true"--Oscar Wilde*
"The wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23.
'The Law and Sin' and 'The Inner Conflict' are rather intriguing--they voice some very common arguments and problems with religious teachings. (They're both located in Romans 7, and I'll provide you with a few quotes from both.) "What then should we say? That the law in sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet'... Apart from the law sin lies dead" Romans 7:7-8.
From 'The Inner Conflict': "For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh; sold into slavery under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" Romans 7:14-15. That is, by acting good he is acting as he does not want, and in some way, hates it. It also treats sin as a sort of separate personality--"It is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me" Romans 7:20--which takes over the body and acts as it wants.
"So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin" Romans 7:25.
"Let love be genuine" Romans 12:9.
"Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer" Romans 12:12. Or, if you'd rather, persevere in hope or faith. Again, it is the heart of the matter, not exactly the matter itself...
"Extend hospitality to strangers" Romans 12:13.
"We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves" Romans 14:7. It goes onto say that we live and die in God, but I like this just as well--if not more--just taken at that face value. It gives me hope.
"Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin" Romans 14:23. This I don't like a bit. I think it's quite unfair and unjust.
"The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet" Romans 16:20. Again, this doesn't feel quite right at all.
Well, here we are. You're probably wanting a reaction to Jesus now--I promised I would include one--and I'd be willing to say he was a visionary, certainly. Clearly he was and still is an important figure. It bothers me, though, how flat a character he is. I mean, in Matthew his character bounces all over the place like a pinball, but by John he's just a flat fellow. He doesn't seem human (of course, depending on what you believe, there's a very good reason for that), though his words and teaching do carry a great power, regardless of your religious inclinations. Honestly, this is going to sound lame, but I preferred him in Jesus Christ Superstar (how does one treat a musical's title?)--because he was portrayed as a human with faults and fears. He was scared to die, he was upset that he'd be betrayed, and though he eventually accepted it, he certainly cried out to God about it. Only once in the books does Jesus cry out (in one situation, I mean, this occurs in the the first two books), and that is right before he dies--he cries out, "My father, why have you forsaken me?" Thus reality meets idealism, but, are you getting what I'm driving at?
I really like Romans. It's sort of like a latter version of Leviticus, at least that's how I see it. It's pretty interesting.
*I apologize if this seemed like a rude quote to include, considering what I am implying by including it, but again, I could not help it. It's simply my reaction to what I read.
MLA citation information: Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Edition. American Bible Society: New York, 1989.
Answer to last post's cryptic song lyrics: What's the Buzz? from the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack (I told you to expect a facepalm!)
This post's cryptic song lyrics: Keep my feet on the ground and my head in the clouds--I'm the arrow, you're my bow, shoot me forth and I will go
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The Bible: Matthew, Mark, and Luke
So, here we are in the new testament, and the end of this is fast approaching! Obviously this testament starts with the story of Jesus--actually, the first four books of the Bible are about Jesus. So that's good times? Is it unfair to assume that any average reader at least has some inkling of his story so that I won't have to summarize it? Well, I have a lot of notes anyway, so hopefully that will answer any question that may arise. Basic background image: Jesus was a prophet who may or may not have been conceived by the holy spirit unto (into?) the virgin Mary, and thus may or may not have been the son of God.
First off, we have Matthew.
My very first note has to do with a footnote for alternative texts. The footnote says that in some alternative texts, Jesus is referred to as "her firstborn son" (877), which got me wondering--did Jesus have siblings? Why yes, he did, quite a few in fact. They make very brief appearances in these three books, but they do appear. I wonder how they felt about all the hubbub surrounding their older brother.
I also must mention that the story of Jesus going out into the desert for forty days, fasting and being tempted by the devil... Well, it's just that. In every source I've read the story from, or heard the story, it's Satan. Satan is not referred to by name in Matthew's version of the tale. I know it probably seems like I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, but you must admit, it is a curious situation... Well... I think it's a curious situation. A name can be pretty important, and so can discrepancies in names...
Thus far, in not one of these three books, is Jesus's career as a carpenter mentioned. That too I thought was curious. Come to think of it, I don't think even Joseph's career as a carpenter was mentioned. I wonder where that came from, unless if John has something to say about the matter...
The Beatitudes are only (as of yet) discussed by Matthew, and they say who are those that are of the blessed. The poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, those who "hunger and thirst" (Matthew 5:6) for righteousness, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemakers, the unjustly persecuted, and the reviled and persecuted for other false reasons. "If it weren't for the message of mercy and pity in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, I wouldn't want to be a human being. I would just as soon be a rattlesnake"--Kurt Vonnegut
Hell is mentioned for the first time, though it is used as an adjective more than a place name.
"'You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart" Matthew 5:27-28. I was originally going to leave this just as a standalone quote. However, CS Lewis has parodied in one of his many writings, and being that I only came across the parody thanks to CSLewisDaily , I have absolutely no context and can't figure out what the hell he means, or if he's even being serious. Someone please explain this to me: "If you look upon ham and eggs and lust, you have already committed breakfast in your heart"-CS Lewis
"'Give to everyone who begs from you'" Matthew 5:38.
"'Your Father in heaven... makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous alike'" Matthew 5:45.
"'Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven'" Matthew 6:1.
"'And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others'" Matthew 6:5.
Jesus's recommended way of prayer: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one'" Matthew 6:9-13. / How we say it at the church I went to: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen." Again, not vastly consequential, but I thought it was intriguing.
"'Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone?'" Matthew 7:9. See, Jesus is thinking he's asking a rhetorical question, but clearly he has never been to Charlie Brown's neighbourhood.
Hell is used as a noun--place name--in Matthew ten. It was apparently associated with a place on earth known as Gehenna, however. (Gehenna was a popular gathering/worshiping/child sacrificing spot for followers of Baal and others.)
Jesus says he has not come to earth to bring peace, but to "'set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'" Matthew 10:35. I mention this mainly because turning sons against their fathers was one of the charges held against Socrates as well.
Salome, is that Salome (the daughter) was in love with John, and wanted him to kiss her. He refused a number of times and when his head is removed from his body, she picks it up and kisses its lips.
Oh, and the story of the loaves and fishes? Apparently like events occurred twice--at least, according to Matthew and Mark, a horde of people (five thousand first, and then four thousand) were fed with seemingly insufficient food supplies. Luke only lists one such event, however...
"'It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of a mouth that defiles'" Matthew 15:11.
"From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, 'God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.' But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things'" Matthew 16:21-23.
So, you remember how in Psalms, I was all "Oh, they gambled for this guy's clothes too! Crazy, huh?" Well, apparently that bit was a prophecy (according to a footnote of that section in this very book) that Jesus after/during his death fulfilled. So, yeah, Wilde was definitely saying Keats equaled Jesus. So... Mystery solved!
Next, we've got Mark's interpretation of events...
Hell is officially a place, known as a place of "'unquenchable fire'" Mark 9:43. It is also a place where "'their worm never dies'" Mark 9:48. I couldn't tell you exactly what that means, though I'd guess that that refers to some sort of dragon that... keeps on... making... fire...? Well, some sort of hell-beast, anyways.
My next note is just similarity of language--Jesus says 'Abba', which our footnote tells us is Aramic for 'father'. Latin for father is 'Abbas'. So... Fun times?
Um... Those are my only notes for Mark. That's... odd. I could have sworn there were more. But okay! It looks like there's a lot more in Luke...
And here is Luke:
Luke too tells the story of Jesus fasting in the desert and being tempted by the devil. It tells the usual story, but it concludes with this: "When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time" Luke 4:13. That raises my eyebrow. The devil doesn't appear at any other point, but... an "opportune time"? Obviously he'd try to tempt Jesus again, but with that--well, it makes me curious. There could be a whole hidden story here. Not a conspiracy theory, but you could really play with that. Like in the garden, knowing he was about to die--I'm just saying. All the disciples were asleep. Maaaaaybe? There's got to be some literature on this.
So, we've settled that Jesus did in fact have brothers, right? Okay, so thus far, in all of the gospels, there's been this short story of Jesus preaching and being told that his mother and brothers are waiting outside because they want to see him. In the first two books, Jesus is kind of cold--he responds with: "'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?' And pointing to his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother'" Matthew 12:48-50. Yeouch! I get the point he's trying to make, but talk about harsh. Luke has Jesus act a little more nicely about it: "But he said to them, 'My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it'" Luke 8:21.
And another thing I find interesting--there are going to be a lot of tales of exorcism, surprise surprise. And in all of these books, we hear the same story about a man who was possessed by so many demons that when Jesus asks for the name of the man, the man/demons respond with "Legion". In Luke's version of the tale, when it becomes clear that Jesus is fixing to exorcise them, they beg him "not to order them to go back into the abyss" Luke 8:31. This I find really cool! I mean, I've never really given much thought as to why a demon would possess someone before now. If you forced me to make an answer I'd probably guess that it would be out of malice, a chance to wreak havoc, or something like that. Buuuut this makes it seem like they'd do it to escape the ravages of hell. Sure, a demon wouldn't be getting tortured in hell, but it says that it's so terrible even they don't want to be there and would do this to get out--well. Pretty interesting stuff there...
Luke also only has the 'Feeding the Five Thousand' tale; there's no 'Feeding the Four Thousand' tale afterwards.
"Another said, 'I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.' Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God'" Luke 9:61-62.
Okay, the tale of Martha and Mary--great, it's good that Mary wants to expand her spiritual life and all, but if I was Martha I would not be very receptive of Jesus's response. Like, as a kid I was all for it, but now, I'd be like, "Listen, Jesus. Broski. You're thinking of an ideal civilization, which unfortunately this is not, so you just earned yourself one helping me clean this damn house." Actually, while I'm thinking of that, I'm going to say that maybe that was one of Jesus's problems, or the one thing that really bothers me about him. He's too concerned with after, or the spiritual plane. Hard work and toil has to happen. There are certain things that must be adhered to, and he didn't seem to be quite... with that. He was too much for the future, if you get me. Call me a realist, or a pessimist, but I can't handle that bit so well, at least not in this great amount...
"He said to his disciples, 'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more important than food, and the body more than clothing... And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?'" Luke 12:22-23,25-26.
"'What is impossible for mortals is possible for God'" Luke 18:26.
MLA citation information: Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Edition. American Bible Society: New York, 1989.
Well... In retrospect, maybe I should have done John with these, but since the books have adopted a somewhat regular length again, we're going to try and do three at a time again for as long as possible. So, let's hope the formatting isn't weird (thanks to that Kurt Vonnegut quote, the formatting from this page looks like hell), because I don't know how to fix that. Hmm... More retrospection? I suppose there must be some curiosity regarding my feelings towards Jesus after reading the bona fide texts on him, but I'm going to put that off till I finish John. So... Yeah, I'll see you soon, or perhaps not so soon!
Answer to last post's cryptic song lyrics: Message in a Bottle covered by Matisyahu
This post's cryptic song lyrics: What's the buzz? Tell me what's a-happening
PS. I apologize for the facepalm cryptic song lyrics, but I had to. It was too obvious not to. And anyways, I could have done worse...
First off, we have Matthew.
My very first note has to do with a footnote for alternative texts. The footnote says that in some alternative texts, Jesus is referred to as "her firstborn son" (877), which got me wondering--did Jesus have siblings? Why yes, he did, quite a few in fact. They make very brief appearances in these three books, but they do appear. I wonder how they felt about all the hubbub surrounding their older brother.
I also must mention that the story of Jesus going out into the desert for forty days, fasting and being tempted by the devil... Well, it's just that. In every source I've read the story from, or heard the story, it's Satan. Satan is not referred to by name in Matthew's version of the tale. I know it probably seems like I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, but you must admit, it is a curious situation... Well... I think it's a curious situation. A name can be pretty important, and so can discrepancies in names...
Thus far, in not one of these three books, is Jesus's career as a carpenter mentioned. That too I thought was curious. Come to think of it, I don't think even Joseph's career as a carpenter was mentioned. I wonder where that came from, unless if John has something to say about the matter...
The Beatitudes are only (as of yet) discussed by Matthew, and they say who are those that are of the blessed. The poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, those who "hunger and thirst" (Matthew 5:6) for righteousness, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemakers, the unjustly persecuted, and the reviled and persecuted for other false reasons. "If it weren't for the message of mercy and pity in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, I wouldn't want to be a human being. I would just as soon be a rattlesnake"--Kurt Vonnegut
Hell is mentioned for the first time, though it is used as an adjective more than a place name.
"'You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart" Matthew 5:27-28. I was originally going to leave this just as a standalone quote. However, CS Lewis has parodied in one of his many writings, and being that I only came across the parody thanks to CSLewisDaily , I have absolutely no context and can't figure out what the hell he means, or if he's even being serious. Someone please explain this to me: "If you look upon ham and eggs and lust, you have already committed breakfast in your heart"-CS Lewis
"'Give to everyone who begs from you'" Matthew 5:38.
"'Your Father in heaven... makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous alike'" Matthew 5:45.
"'Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven'" Matthew 6:1.
"'And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others'" Matthew 6:5.
Jesus's recommended way of prayer: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one'" Matthew 6:9-13. / How we say it at the church I went to: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen." Again, not vastly consequential, but I thought it was intriguing.
"'Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone?'" Matthew 7:9. See, Jesus is thinking he's asking a rhetorical question, but clearly he has never been to Charlie Brown's neighbourhood.
Hell is used as a noun--place name--in Matthew ten. It was apparently associated with a place on earth known as Gehenna, however. (Gehenna was a popular gathering/worshiping/child sacrificing spot for followers of Baal and others.)
Jesus says he has not come to earth to bring peace, but to "'set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'" Matthew 10:35. I mention this mainly because turning sons against their fathers was one of the charges held against Socrates as well.
Salome, is that Salome (the daughter) was in love with John, and wanted him to kiss her. He refused a number of times and when his head is removed from his body, she picks it up and kisses its lips.
Oh, and the story of the loaves and fishes? Apparently like events occurred twice--at least, according to Matthew and Mark, a horde of people (five thousand first, and then four thousand) were fed with seemingly insufficient food supplies. Luke only lists one such event, however...
"'It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of a mouth that defiles'" Matthew 15:11.
"From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, 'God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.' But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things'" Matthew 16:21-23.
So, you remember how in Psalms, I was all "Oh, they gambled for this guy's clothes too! Crazy, huh?" Well, apparently that bit was a prophecy (according to a footnote of that section in this very book) that Jesus after/during his death fulfilled. So, yeah, Wilde was definitely saying Keats equaled Jesus. So... Mystery solved!
Next, we've got Mark's interpretation of events...
Hell is officially a place, known as a place of "'unquenchable fire'" Mark 9:43. It is also a place where "'their worm never dies'" Mark 9:48. I couldn't tell you exactly what that means, though I'd guess that that refers to some sort of dragon that... keeps on... making... fire...? Well, some sort of hell-beast, anyways.
My next note is just similarity of language--Jesus says 'Abba', which our footnote tells us is Aramic for 'father'. Latin for father is 'Abbas'. So... Fun times?
Um... Those are my only notes for Mark. That's... odd. I could have sworn there were more. But okay! It looks like there's a lot more in Luke...
And here is Luke:
Luke too tells the story of Jesus fasting in the desert and being tempted by the devil. It tells the usual story, but it concludes with this: "When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time" Luke 4:13. That raises my eyebrow. The devil doesn't appear at any other point, but... an "opportune time"? Obviously he'd try to tempt Jesus again, but with that--well, it makes me curious. There could be a whole hidden story here. Not a conspiracy theory, but you could really play with that. Like in the garden, knowing he was about to die--I'm just saying. All the disciples were asleep. Maaaaaybe? There's got to be some literature on this.
So, we've settled that Jesus did in fact have brothers, right? Okay, so thus far, in all of the gospels, there's been this short story of Jesus preaching and being told that his mother and brothers are waiting outside because they want to see him. In the first two books, Jesus is kind of cold--he responds with: "'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?' And pointing to his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother'" Matthew 12:48-50. Yeouch! I get the point he's trying to make, but talk about harsh. Luke has Jesus act a little more nicely about it: "But he said to them, 'My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it'" Luke 8:21.
And another thing I find interesting--there are going to be a lot of tales of exorcism, surprise surprise. And in all of these books, we hear the same story about a man who was possessed by so many demons that when Jesus asks for the name of the man, the man/demons respond with "Legion". In Luke's version of the tale, when it becomes clear that Jesus is fixing to exorcise them, they beg him "not to order them to go back into the abyss" Luke 8:31. This I find really cool! I mean, I've never really given much thought as to why a demon would possess someone before now. If you forced me to make an answer I'd probably guess that it would be out of malice, a chance to wreak havoc, or something like that. Buuuut this makes it seem like they'd do it to escape the ravages of hell. Sure, a demon wouldn't be getting tortured in hell, but it says that it's so terrible even they don't want to be there and would do this to get out--well. Pretty interesting stuff there...
Luke also only has the 'Feeding the Five Thousand' tale; there's no 'Feeding the Four Thousand' tale afterwards.
"Another said, 'I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.' Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God'" Luke 9:61-62.
Okay, the tale of Martha and Mary--great, it's good that Mary wants to expand her spiritual life and all, but if I was Martha I would not be very receptive of Jesus's response. Like, as a kid I was all for it, but now, I'd be like, "Listen, Jesus. Broski. You're thinking of an ideal civilization, which unfortunately this is not, so you just earned yourself one helping me clean this damn house." Actually, while I'm thinking of that, I'm going to say that maybe that was one of Jesus's problems, or the one thing that really bothers me about him. He's too concerned with after, or the spiritual plane. Hard work and toil has to happen. There are certain things that must be adhered to, and he didn't seem to be quite... with that. He was too much for the future, if you get me. Call me a realist, or a pessimist, but I can't handle that bit so well, at least not in this great amount...
"He said to his disciples, 'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more important than food, and the body more than clothing... And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?'" Luke 12:22-23,25-26.
"'What is impossible for mortals is possible for God'" Luke 18:26.
MLA citation information: Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Edition. American Bible Society: New York, 1989.
Well... In retrospect, maybe I should have done John with these, but since the books have adopted a somewhat regular length again, we're going to try and do three at a time again for as long as possible. So, let's hope the formatting isn't weird (thanks to that Kurt Vonnegut quote, the formatting from this page looks like hell), because I don't know how to fix that. Hmm... More retrospection? I suppose there must be some curiosity regarding my feelings towards Jesus after reading the bona fide texts on him, but I'm going to put that off till I finish John. So... Yeah, I'll see you soon, or perhaps not so soon!
Answer to last post's cryptic song lyrics: Message in a Bottle covered by Matisyahu
This post's cryptic song lyrics: What's the buzz? Tell me what's a-happening
PS. I apologize for the facepalm cryptic song lyrics, but I had to. It was too obvious not to. And anyways, I could have done worse...
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
The Bible: Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi
Here's the conclusion of the old testament...
I don't have any notes for Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, or Malachi, sorry. But here's a note--well, a quote rather--from Haggai to start us up.
"Consider how you have fared. You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and you that earn wages earn wages to put them into a bag with holes" Haggai 1:6. The problem of being human! Haggai--with the help of a conversation with God--decides that this must be because men have let the spiritual side of them fall into ruins. With the food and drink, we can write the never full bit off to naturally occurring phenomena (you can never completely fill yourself, you will eventually get hungry again, unless you die in between meals), but I'm guessing that the aforementioned deeper meaning is being driven towards here. You can't be fulfilled without the spirituality because--well, it's a necessary element of it. So... Yeah. (I feel like there's a CS Lewis quote about this exact thing, but I can't recall it, which is bound to drive me mad.)
I've got a few notes for Zechariah.
Zechariah has several visions, in one of which he sees Satan accusing Joshua. I only mention this because this time the Hebrew for Satan isn't the Accuser--it is the Adversary. Due to the change in the Hebrew, is it fair then to refer to this devil as Satan? If he has a different name, should it be some other one, or even just a generic devil?
"Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you'" Zechariah 8:22-23. What I'm not sure and I can't figure out from the passage is if they're doing it out of fear and a clinging to life, or if these 'ten men' are sincere in their pursuit of God. Either way, there was something about the passage that struck me.
MLA citation information: Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Edition. American Bible Society: New York, 1989.
Sorry about the shortness of this post. Not to worry, however, the next one is going to be about a thousand years long, trust me on this. I'm not even finished with Matthew and already I've marked enough to make me worry for the binding. Can't say when that post will actually happen, I've got a few busy days coming up, and besides that, a few Ken Kesey-ish days thanks to the extraction of my wisdom teeth. So... Good times? Well, as long as I can't feel the terrible pain in my mouth...
Answer to last post's cryptic song lyrics: Interstate 8 by Modest Mouse
This post's cryptic song lyrics: There's no message in your bottle, emptiness, it's just hollow
I don't have any notes for Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, or Malachi, sorry. But here's a note--well, a quote rather--from Haggai to start us up.
"Consider how you have fared. You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and you that earn wages earn wages to put them into a bag with holes" Haggai 1:6. The problem of being human! Haggai--with the help of a conversation with God--decides that this must be because men have let the spiritual side of them fall into ruins. With the food and drink, we can write the never full bit off to naturally occurring phenomena (you can never completely fill yourself, you will eventually get hungry again, unless you die in between meals), but I'm guessing that the aforementioned deeper meaning is being driven towards here. You can't be fulfilled without the spirituality because--well, it's a necessary element of it. So... Yeah. (I feel like there's a CS Lewis quote about this exact thing, but I can't recall it, which is bound to drive me mad.)
I've got a few notes for Zechariah.
Zechariah has several visions, in one of which he sees Satan accusing Joshua. I only mention this because this time the Hebrew for Satan isn't the Accuser--it is the Adversary. Due to the change in the Hebrew, is it fair then to refer to this devil as Satan? If he has a different name, should it be some other one, or even just a generic devil?
"Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you'" Zechariah 8:22-23. What I'm not sure and I can't figure out from the passage is if they're doing it out of fear and a clinging to life, or if these 'ten men' are sincere in their pursuit of God. Either way, there was something about the passage that struck me.
MLA citation information: Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Edition. American Bible Society: New York, 1989.
Sorry about the shortness of this post. Not to worry, however, the next one is going to be about a thousand years long, trust me on this. I'm not even finished with Matthew and already I've marked enough to make me worry for the binding. Can't say when that post will actually happen, I've got a few busy days coming up, and besides that, a few Ken Kesey-ish days thanks to the extraction of my wisdom teeth. So... Good times? Well, as long as I can't feel the terrible pain in my mouth...
Answer to last post's cryptic song lyrics: Interstate 8 by Modest Mouse
This post's cryptic song lyrics: There's no message in your bottle, emptiness, it's just hollow
The Bible: Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah
We're getting to the grind of the old testament, and I'm ready and raring to go. Unfortunately, things are starting to flounder in circles again despite the fact that the books now average about four pages each. Prophecies are pretty much all doom, doom, doom, but God will forgive us and save us, then doom, doom, doom again. And so on and so forth... Punctuated by a few stories reminiscent from those early Sunday school days (three guesses about who the book of Jonah is about!) here and there...
So, first we've got Lamentations. Considering how Jeremiah ended, it's pretty easy to guess what exactly is being lamented here.
The people, despite their backsliding, are acting as any people are apt to--they're indignant, and crying out for mercy, even though they've pretty much gotten their just deserts. Not that we should be surprised at all--this is how anyone acts in such a like (but probably not too like) situation. That's pretty much what my note on on Lamentations 2:20 is--the people are begging God for mercy because of how they've suffered by His hand. Just thought I'd bring it up because they're just like anybody. You know?
Ah--there's also this odd line: "he has made me sit in the darkness like the dead of long ago" Lamentations 2:6. Since Sheol is supposed to just be a deep, dark pit, I thought that perhaps around the time that this was written, perhaps visions of the afterlife would have evolved to something more, but Sheol is referenced by name in many of the following books, so... I guess not...
Ezekiel chronicles--you guessed it!--prophecies of Ezekiel and some of the events that occurred during his life. The Israelites are chided and false prophets and kings are denounced, and the measurements for a new temple is given.
Another note on this Bible's text and the differences between it and the included Hebrew text: "I passed by you, and saw you flailing about in your blood. As you lay in your blood I said to you, 'Live! and grow up to become like a plant of the field.' You grew up and became a tall and arrived at full womanhood" Ezekiel 6:6-7. The Hebrew version reads, as I understand it, as follows: "As you lay in your blood I said to you, 'Live! I made you a myriad". I like that a lot more. It's much more colourful. Just saying.
God also tells Ezekiel a thinly-veiled allegorical story about two whorish women named Oholah and Oholibah. Why bring this up, you might ask? Well, originally I brought it up because I thought it was the name of the really pious, pure-hearted girl from Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle. Because from what I remember of her is so good, I found it strange that L'Engle would have named her after an oft-backsliding prostitute (other than that she was fathered by a Nephilim, which... makes her prostitute-worthy....?)... Turns out her name was actually Ohalibamah, though. Fine!
To be brutally honest, I don't have any notes for any of the other books except for one in Daniel. I'm sure your heart has been wrenched, but here's a little for you:
In Daniel 12: The Resurrection of the Dead, Daniel writes a prophecy for--well, take a shot in the dark, there. The last chapter of Daniel 11 is "The Time of the End"--though it doesn't mention any horseman, destruction in the form of many wars and raping of the land are described in its paragraph. Daniel 12 starts off by saying Michael shall arise--Michael is pretty much number one archangel. And all those whose names are written in the book shall be delivered, a detail I didn't even notice until rereading this... Which means that all that I've just written is leading up to a musing that's kind of a moot point to muse upon, because this is clearly a prophecy of the Last Judgment. Well... Fine. This is where it comes from, then! (Well, 99% of the ideas of Judgment day, at least.) So there! Actually, I can at least mention that this is the first mention of a promise of an eternity after Sheol as a reward... So that's cool. I guess Sheol was kind of like a middleman that just eventually kind of got phased out (a middleman between death and heaven, I mean)... At least for Christians, at least... Or Sheol got demoted to being hell... It sounds suspiciously similar to some of the creepier descriptions of hell--a dark, dank, midnight black pit that's... Well, essentially it's purgatory. (Deja vu?) The creepier perception of hell is that and more--I'm not clear if you're being tortured in the usual hell ways, but you're being tortured in that you are aware that there are others around, but you cannot touch them or communicate with them, you can only hear them cry or scream or call out... You know, now that I think about it, how does the heaven/post-judgment thing work? Isn't heaven pretty much the same thing as post-judgment? So all the bad people would already be in hell and judged, right? Maybe? ...Uh... Help on this...?
MLA citation information: Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Edition. American Bible Society: New York, 1989.
Answer to last post's cryptic song lyrics: All You Need is Love by the Beatles
This post's cryptic song lyrics: I'm on a road shaped like a figure eight, I'm going nowhere but I'm guaranteed to be late
So, first we've got Lamentations. Considering how Jeremiah ended, it's pretty easy to guess what exactly is being lamented here.
The people, despite their backsliding, are acting as any people are apt to--they're indignant, and crying out for mercy, even though they've pretty much gotten their just deserts. Not that we should be surprised at all--this is how anyone acts in such a like (but probably not too like) situation. That's pretty much what my note on on Lamentations 2:20 is--the people are begging God for mercy because of how they've suffered by His hand. Just thought I'd bring it up because they're just like anybody. You know?
Ah--there's also this odd line: "he has made me sit in the darkness like the dead of long ago" Lamentations 2:6. Since Sheol is supposed to just be a deep, dark pit, I thought that perhaps around the time that this was written, perhaps visions of the afterlife would have evolved to something more, but Sheol is referenced by name in many of the following books, so... I guess not...
Ezekiel chronicles--you guessed it!--prophecies of Ezekiel and some of the events that occurred during his life. The Israelites are chided and false prophets and kings are denounced, and the measurements for a new temple is given.
Another note on this Bible's text and the differences between it and the included Hebrew text: "I passed by you, and saw you flailing about in your blood. As you lay in your blood I said to you, 'Live! and grow up to become like a plant of the field.' You grew up and became a tall and arrived at full womanhood" Ezekiel 6:6-7. The Hebrew version reads, as I understand it, as follows: "As you lay in your blood I said to you, 'Live! I made you a myriad". I like that a lot more. It's much more colourful. Just saying.
God also tells Ezekiel a thinly-veiled allegorical story about two whorish women named Oholah and Oholibah. Why bring this up, you might ask? Well, originally I brought it up because I thought it was the name of the really pious, pure-hearted girl from Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle. Because from what I remember of her is so good, I found it strange that L'Engle would have named her after an oft-backsliding prostitute (other than that she was fathered by a Nephilim, which... makes her prostitute-worthy....?)... Turns out her name was actually Ohalibamah, though. Fine!
To be brutally honest, I don't have any notes for any of the other books except for one in Daniel. I'm sure your heart has been wrenched, but here's a little for you:
In Daniel 12: The Resurrection of the Dead, Daniel writes a prophecy for--well, take a shot in the dark, there. The last chapter of Daniel 11 is "The Time of the End"--though it doesn't mention any horseman, destruction in the form of many wars and raping of the land are described in its paragraph. Daniel 12 starts off by saying Michael shall arise--Michael is pretty much number one archangel. And all those whose names are written in the book shall be delivered, a detail I didn't even notice until rereading this... Which means that all that I've just written is leading up to a musing that's kind of a moot point to muse upon, because this is clearly a prophecy of the Last Judgment. Well... Fine. This is where it comes from, then! (Well, 99% of the ideas of Judgment day, at least.) So there! Actually, I can at least mention that this is the first mention of a promise of an eternity after Sheol as a reward... So that's cool. I guess Sheol was kind of like a middleman that just eventually kind of got phased out (a middleman between death and heaven, I mean)... At least for Christians, at least... Or Sheol got demoted to being hell... It sounds suspiciously similar to some of the creepier descriptions of hell--a dark, dank, midnight black pit that's... Well, essentially it's purgatory. (Deja vu?) The creepier perception of hell is that and more--I'm not clear if you're being tortured in the usual hell ways, but you're being tortured in that you are aware that there are others around, but you cannot touch them or communicate with them, you can only hear them cry or scream or call out... You know, now that I think about it, how does the heaven/post-judgment thing work? Isn't heaven pretty much the same thing as post-judgment? So all the bad people would already be in hell and judged, right? Maybe? ...Uh... Help on this...?
MLA citation information: Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Edition. American Bible Society: New York, 1989.
Answer to last post's cryptic song lyrics: All You Need is Love by the Beatles
This post's cryptic song lyrics: I'm on a road shaped like a figure eight, I'm going nowhere but I'm guaranteed to be late
Monday, January 3, 2011
The Bible: Song of Solomon, Isaiah, and Jeremiah
Wow! After this, this there will only be two more posts and then we'll be done with the old testament! I didn't ever think I'd make it this far! And then... Steal This Book! And A Single Man! ...Well, once I finish the new testament too... But considering the new testament is hardly even 200 pages, that should be fairly easy... All right, okay. Let's get on with this.
The Song of Solomon is a love song, it goes from courtship to marriage. It's not overtly religious, but it's considered to be an allegory for God and Israel or God and the church/its people. I can see that allegory working, but at the same time, I like taking this book at face value. It's very sweet.
"Your love is better than wine" Song of Solomon 1:2.
"King Solomon made himself a palanquin from the wood of Lebanon. He made its posts of silver, its back of gold, its seat of purple; its interior was inlaid with love" Song of Solomon 3:10.
"Eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love" Song of Solomon 5.
Isaiah is a prediction of doom for Israel, because no-one's paying attention to God. Isaiah, as you may have gathered, was a prophet! Apparently he's a rather important figure in Muslim belief, as he is considered a "true Hebrew prophet".
My very first note has to do with Lilith! In Isaiah 34, she is mentioned for the first time in the Bible. The land of those who have suffered God's judgment will be laid to waste and be eternally barren and unlivable, and jackals and hyenas and other vicious creatures shall live there, along with Lilith. Lilith, according to folklore, was Adam's first wife who left him, because she would not bow to him. (She was supposedly made from the same clay as he, though, not from a rib, so there's the problem right there, eh?) And then she... had sex with an archangel named Samael? That I didn't know... But! She's your average soul-sucking sterility-causing female demon-woman-creature with roots all the way back to Mesopotamia. Again, she's a subject that I've done some research into and that anyone else reading this probably doesn't care about. Oh well--guess which one of us is writing this blog? Bam. But why did it take so long for her to appear, if that is her story (the bit with Adam and Samael)? Well, folklore regarding her didn't really spring up until the eighth century BC... And guess when the book of Isaiah have been dated at? You've got it! So... Yeah. That's cool...
"'There is no peace,' says the Lord, 'for the wicked'" Isaiah 48:22.
One thing that threw me is Isaiah 66:The Worship God Demands. "Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who kills a human being; whoever sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers swine's blood, whoever makes an offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol" Isaiah 66:3. This is curious, considering, well, these were the only acceptable ways to honour God (in sacrifice, at least). I am curious about this verse's origin--food shortage? Sacrifice become unpopular, considered unsightly or what have you? Swung out of favour? Who knows, actual words of God? Or perhaps I missed something and what Isaiah means is those who sacrifice those things to a false God or idol is one who is like a person who has committed those crimes...? That may be a little more likely, because the frankincense thing--well, Jesus was presented with Frankincense at the time of his birth by one of the three wise men. Which could be one of the reasons why he wasn't accepted by the Jewish/Islamic community as being the bona fide son of God?
The Book of Jeremiah has more prophecies, such as God's promise of restoration after Jerusalem's destruction (wait, wasn't it destroyed already? Or did it just take this long to get there!?) and then other various events that took place during Jeremiah's life. (Surprise, surprise?)
"But in the time of their trouble they say, 'Come and save us!' But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them come, if they can save you, in your time of trouble; for you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah" Jeremiah 2:27-28. Though this probably will not be looked upon positively by more religious types, I award this passage (up to the semicolon, at least) the "one of the most badass passages of the Bible" award. It seriously is awesome.
"In vain I have struck down your children; they accepted no correction. Your own swords have devoured your prophets like a ravening lion" Jeremiah 2:30. In which God realizes that his creations are stupid, stubborn and rarely if ever learn from their mistakes; rather, choose to learn from their mistakes.
"Yet you have the forehead of a whore" Jeremiah 3:3. ...I'm going to go with they mean 'mind'. You have the mind of a whore.
"Is there no balm in Gilead?" Jeremiah 8:22. I was going crazy trying to figure out where I'd heard this before, but apparently this exact line has lived on in Edgar Allan Poe's poem, The Raven. Thank you for staving off my insanity for yet one more day, Wikipedia! (Ken Kesey also used it in a book as a euphemism for alcohol. I think that's pretty cool.)
"You [God] show steadfast love to the thousandth generation, but repay the guilt of parents into the laps of their children after them" Jeremiah 32:18. Again, this bothers me a lot: "
"Therefore the time is surely coming, says the Lord, when I will punish her [Babylon's] idols, and through all her land the wounded shall groan. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strong height, from me destroyers would come upon her, says the Lord" Jeremiah 51:52-53. / "They broke their backs lifting Moloch to heaven! Pavements, trees, radios, tons! lifting the city to Heaven which exists and is everywhere about us! Visions! omens! hallucinations! miracles! ecstasies! gone down the American river!"--Allen Ginsberg, Howl.
MLA citation information: Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Edition. American Bible Society: New York, 1989.
Well, there we go... Next post will probably be seven books long, because, although there are a few exceptions, books pretty much dwindle down to 2-10 pages tops, until we get to the new testament. (And even then there are some two-page books happening.)
What else is up? Well, I'd like to point out that my output for this year is two posts more than my output for the year preceding that. 2011: The year of 62 posts? We'll see. (I'll have to keep on reading epics of these proportions to keep my numbers up!)
Answer to last post's cryptic song lyrics: The View by Modest Mouse
This post's cryptic song lyrics: All you need is love, all you need is love, all you need is love, love--love is all you need
PS. If you can't get the cryptic song lyrics, you lose. Just saying.
The Song of Solomon is a love song, it goes from courtship to marriage. It's not overtly religious, but it's considered to be an allegory for God and Israel or God and the church/its people. I can see that allegory working, but at the same time, I like taking this book at face value. It's very sweet.
"Your love is better than wine" Song of Solomon 1:2.
"King Solomon made himself a palanquin from the wood of Lebanon. He made its posts of silver, its back of gold, its seat of purple; its interior was inlaid with love" Song of Solomon 3:10.
"Eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love" Song of Solomon 5.
Isaiah is a prediction of doom for Israel, because no-one's paying attention to God. Isaiah, as you may have gathered, was a prophet! Apparently he's a rather important figure in Muslim belief, as he is considered a "true Hebrew prophet".
My very first note has to do with Lilith! In Isaiah 34, she is mentioned for the first time in the Bible. The land of those who have suffered God's judgment will be laid to waste and be eternally barren and unlivable, and jackals and hyenas and other vicious creatures shall live there, along with Lilith. Lilith, according to folklore, was Adam's first wife who left him, because she would not bow to him. (She was supposedly made from the same clay as he, though, not from a rib, so there's the problem right there, eh?) And then she... had sex with an archangel named Samael? That I didn't know... But! She's your average soul-sucking sterility-causing female demon-woman-creature with roots all the way back to Mesopotamia. Again, she's a subject that I've done some research into and that anyone else reading this probably doesn't care about. Oh well--guess which one of us is writing this blog? Bam. But why did it take so long for her to appear, if that is her story (the bit with Adam and Samael)? Well, folklore regarding her didn't really spring up until the eighth century BC... And guess when the book of Isaiah have been dated at? You've got it! So... Yeah. That's cool...
"'There is no peace,' says the Lord, 'for the wicked'" Isaiah 48:22.
One thing that threw me is Isaiah 66:The Worship God Demands. "Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who kills a human being; whoever sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers swine's blood, whoever makes an offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol" Isaiah 66:3. This is curious, considering, well, these were the only acceptable ways to honour God (in sacrifice, at least). I am curious about this verse's origin--food shortage? Sacrifice become unpopular, considered unsightly or what have you? Swung out of favour? Who knows, actual words of God? Or perhaps I missed something and what Isaiah means is those who sacrifice those things to a false God or idol is one who is like a person who has committed those crimes...? That may be a little more likely, because the frankincense thing--well, Jesus was presented with Frankincense at the time of his birth by one of the three wise men. Which could be one of the reasons why he wasn't accepted by the Jewish/Islamic community as being the bona fide son of God?
The Book of Jeremiah has more prophecies, such as God's promise of restoration after Jerusalem's destruction (wait, wasn't it destroyed already? Or did it just take this long to get there!?) and then other various events that took place during Jeremiah's life. (Surprise, surprise?)
"But in the time of their trouble they say, 'Come and save us!' But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them come, if they can save you, in your time of trouble; for you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah" Jeremiah 2:27-28. Though this probably will not be looked upon positively by more religious types, I award this passage (up to the semicolon, at least) the "one of the most badass passages of the Bible" award. It seriously is awesome.
"In vain I have struck down your children; they accepted no correction. Your own swords have devoured your prophets like a ravening lion" Jeremiah 2:30. In which God realizes that his creations are stupid, stubborn and rarely if ever learn from their mistakes; rather, choose to learn from their mistakes.
"Yet you have the forehead of a whore" Jeremiah 3:3. ...I'm going to go with they mean 'mind'. You have the mind of a whore.
"Is there no balm in Gilead?" Jeremiah 8:22. I was going crazy trying to figure out where I'd heard this before, but apparently this exact line has lived on in Edgar Allan Poe's poem, The Raven. Thank you for staving off my insanity for yet one more day, Wikipedia! (Ken Kesey also used it in a book as a euphemism for alcohol. I think that's pretty cool.)
"You [God] show steadfast love to the thousandth generation, but repay the guilt of parents into the laps of their children after them" Jeremiah 32:18. Again, this bothers me a lot: "
"Therefore the time is surely coming, says the Lord, when I will punish her [Babylon's] idols, and through all her land the wounded shall groan. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strong height, from me destroyers would come upon her, says the Lord" Jeremiah 51:52-53. / "They broke their backs lifting Moloch to heaven! Pavements, trees, radios, tons! lifting the city to Heaven which exists and is everywhere about us! Visions! omens! hallucinations! miracles! ecstasies! gone down the American river!"--Allen Ginsberg, Howl.
MLA citation information: Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Edition. American Bible Society: New York, 1989.
Well, there we go... Next post will probably be seven books long, because, although there are a few exceptions, books pretty much dwindle down to 2-10 pages tops, until we get to the new testament. (And even then there are some two-page books happening.)
What else is up? Well, I'd like to point out that my output for this year is two posts more than my output for the year preceding that. 2011: The year of 62 posts? We'll see. (I'll have to keep on reading epics of these proportions to keep my numbers up!)
Answer to last post's cryptic song lyrics: The View by Modest Mouse
This post's cryptic song lyrics: All you need is love, all you need is love, all you need is love, love--love is all you need
PS. If you can't get the cryptic song lyrics, you lose. Just saying.
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