I am nearing the end of the book by Kugel and have come to some startling conclusions. This book, purchased by my wife at a book fair for a very low price, with the idea in her mind that it “might interest” me, captivated me like no other. I have gone over my background here several times, so I won’t go over that again. But for a long time I have wondered if my faith in the Scriptures would one day be exchanged for an intellectual set of “truths” in my own mind. As I absorb more, I actually find my faith increasing, but the source of my faith shifting.
As I begin to dig beyond and behind the texts that eventually became canon and then “Holy Scripture” to the followers of Christ, I begin to find that the scriptures had become for many a replacement for faith. The Bible has become holy and worthy of worship and praise instead of the one whom the Scriptures speak of. The Bible has become sacred and revered to the point of idolatry.
I can remember my mother, the most instrumental guide in my early training, counseling me to never sit anything on top of a Bible. She also encouraged me to not use the Bible as a filing cabinet or flower press. Dropping the Bible wasn’t a sin or a crime, but should be avoided at all times. I personally think dropping any book, or anything for that matter, should be avoided if possible. I find myself dropping more of about every thing as I get older and give up fingers in the process. The Bible itself took on an unwarranted fragility. One would never toss their Bible on the sofa or table. One would PLACE their Bible in a place out of harms way.
Beyond the Bible becoming an idol of sorts, the text contained in the Bible became living instructions defacto. We were always cautioned and admonished to consult the Bible before any decision. Decisions of consequence. You might choose a toothpaste without consulting the Bible, but you’d never choose a place to live or a vehicle, decisions of larger value, without much prayer and Bible consultation. Well, at least you shouldn’t.
Careers, partners, or anything that would consume major portions of your time or finances were to be prayed about and placed against the judgments of the Bible.
I am not against inviting divine direction into decision making, but I am against the implied council one can receive about decisions that would not have been possible when the ancient texts were written. I really doubt that God has any opinion as to the make of vehicle we drive. The only vehicle mentioned in the Bible as far as I know is the one Accord the disciples were in when Pentecost came. Sorry, it just somehow led up to that.
I am leading into quoting a lengthy section from Kugel’s book in the last chapter titled After Such Knowledge… In this quote Kugel is talking about Judaism. After reading the entire book I see this quote equally applied to Catholicism and Protestantism. Kugal makes that association in other places.
“In Judaism, scripture is ultimately valued not as history, nor as theology, nor even as the great, self-sufficient corpus of divine utterance-all that God had ever wished to say to man. Judaism is not fundamentalism, nor even Protestantism. What Scripture is, and always has been, in Judaism is the beginning of a manual entitled To Serve God, a manual whose trajectory has always led from the prophet to the interpreter and from the divine to the merely human. To put the matter in, I admit, rather shocking terms; since in Judaism it is not the words of Scripture themselves that are ultimately supreme, but the service of God (the “standing up close”) that they enjoin, then to suggest that everything hangs on Scripture might well be described as a form of fetishism or idolatry, that is, a mistaking of the message for its Sender and the turning of its words into idols of wood or stone. For Judaism, the crucial element in Scripture has always been the imperative that Scripture’s very existence embodies (and the changed apprehension that underlies that imperative) the basic divine commandment reflected in Deuteronomy’s exhortation “to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul” (Deuteronomy 10:12) and similar pronouncements. To flesh out this commandment was the purpose of all Scripture and all later interpretation. With such a purpose foremost, the Bible’s original component texts easily lent themselves to flexible reinterpretation. As a matter of fact, a fossilized, petrified meaning would, soon enough, end up betraying this purpose of Scripture by making it outmoded and obsolete.”
OK, I realize that is a lot to take in. Especially since you haven’t read the 695 pages of research and study prior to this paragraph. The essence of the paragraph can be boiled down to this, at least for me, that the Scriptures, or the Bible, is not about the words contained in the books, chapters and verses as much as it is about drawing close to God, or in the author’s words, “standing close to God.” Basically, everyone’s interpretation is derived from meanings assigned to events, characters, laws and precepts to them by interpreters who lived in the 3rd, 2nd and 1st century BCE. It was about that time that the interpreters begin to put into form meaning and connotation to the ancient texts that would in 325 CE at the Council of Nicaea become canon Scripture for the rising and spreading Christian community.
I know of no ministers or teachers who have in my lifetime had any original thoughts on Scripture interpretation. There may have been some, but I am not aware of any. Many ministers and teachers come up with new and innovative ways of illustrating or painting word pictures of Scriptural precepts, but the precepts remain unchanged. And if you understand the life of Christ that was the method he employed to plant the seeds of the gospel in the hearts of those who would give him audience.
I sit under a minister now that has a wonderful gift of clarity in story telling. Not fabricated stories or fairy tales, but personal stories from his own past and others he knows. And in telling these stories, he brings out lucid illustrations of Scriptural interpretation that is novel and quickening. He looks at principles from different angles and perspectives that are new to us the listeners so that the principles stick in our memories in new ways.
I am sure everyone understands that we learn so much in our time while on time’s side of eternity, (and forget as much as 90 percent of what we’ve learned) but relearning those lessons in new ways redraws the precepts in our memories. So new ways of presentation is always in order.
But the precepts and interpretation of Scripture has not changed significantly in over 2000 years. And the precepts and interpretations that have endured the test of time were, keep in mind, the result of men, humans like those we know in 2009, agreeing on what the meaning of the ancient text was then.
Anytime the human is involved, the ability for misinformation and flaws is rampant. To place our total trust in human interpretation of Scripture is to put ourselves at risk, and to elevate the human interpretation to a higher level than the creator of the Scriptures. That is idolatry. You can find it in the Book.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Evolution
It has been a little while since I posted here. But it looks like my posts here will be even more infrequent in the future. I sometimes believe that I am the weirdest person I know. There are a number of sayings and jokes and common conceptions that lead us to believe we learn less, or at a slower rate, or with more difficulty as we age. "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," for example. But I find myself learning each day, and it seems that I am learning things I wish I had known at a much younger age. And I also find that I am struck at the depth of the lessons I am learning.
With all of that said, my blogging is evolving again. I am moving back to concentrate on what I set out to concentrate on in the beginning. The tendencies of Christians to take the written words of what is called the "Word of God" as set in stone vs what is reality. The phrase "Word of God" is intended to mean the Bible, in all of it's various translations and versions. I grew up in a KJV onlyism environment, and I know many people have been taught a rigid adherence to other translations and versions. But in reading lately I have discovered a group of scholars who believe that God in His infinite wisdom would not entrust His Word to mere mortals. And I believe that. These same scholars contend that most translations and versions of the bible canon contain enough truth so that when coupled with a fully invested Holy Spirit one can live like God intended man to live. And again I agree.
So does it really matter which we use or trust? Well, I believe it matters less than many claim. But I also believe most don't know enough about any translation or version to fully engage the Holy Spirit, or, and this may be more accurate, are willing to fully engage the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is a part of the triune God, and given as a gift by Christ after a full surrender of oneself to Christ. All that we are or want to be must be given over to Christ so that Christ alone is in control of our lives. Then, the Holy Spirit comes in for guidance and instruction in holy living.
So this blog may fall victim to cyber cobwebs and electronic dust. I may come back periodically to tidy up, but not often.
Thanks for coming along, those of you who have. I trust we will have time in eternity to unravel the mysteries in greater detail.
With all of that said, my blogging is evolving again. I am moving back to concentrate on what I set out to concentrate on in the beginning. The tendencies of Christians to take the written words of what is called the "Word of God" as set in stone vs what is reality. The phrase "Word of God" is intended to mean the Bible, in all of it's various translations and versions. I grew up in a KJV onlyism environment, and I know many people have been taught a rigid adherence to other translations and versions. But in reading lately I have discovered a group of scholars who believe that God in His infinite wisdom would not entrust His Word to mere mortals. And I believe that. These same scholars contend that most translations and versions of the bible canon contain enough truth so that when coupled with a fully invested Holy Spirit one can live like God intended man to live. And again I agree.
So does it really matter which we use or trust? Well, I believe it matters less than many claim. But I also believe most don't know enough about any translation or version to fully engage the Holy Spirit, or, and this may be more accurate, are willing to fully engage the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is a part of the triune God, and given as a gift by Christ after a full surrender of oneself to Christ. All that we are or want to be must be given over to Christ so that Christ alone is in control of our lives. Then, the Holy Spirit comes in for guidance and instruction in holy living.
So this blog may fall victim to cyber cobwebs and electronic dust. I may come back periodically to tidy up, but not often.
Thanks for coming along, those of you who have. I trust we will have time in eternity to unravel the mysteries in greater detail.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Suspicion
Got this song running through my head. "Suspicion torments my heart, Suspicion keeps us apart, Suspicion why torture me..." I get the feeling I am being set up. Again. I don't have enough to link it all together yet, but I am watching over my shoulder more. There are shadows moving where there should be none. But it is OK. I am ready. I will not hesitate to engage this time.
On a more theological front, I have four books sitting on my desk in front of me. Fortunately I have read through two of them and about half of the third. The first one so clicked with me that I wonder if others have just somehow missed all books similar to it, or they won't go there because it would tear out their foundation. It is titled "Are Men Born Sinners." The obvious answer, is of course, no. I realize that flies in the face of those who hold to the inbred sin line of thinking. But that is OK. That line of thinking has so many faults it makes the Pacific Rim of Fire seem like an elementary science project.
The second is titled "Doctrines That Divide" and addresses the central doctrines that Christian churches have adopted that do not promote unity but rather divide Christians. The third book is the book I have been referring to for the last 6 months that looks behind the scriptures of canon to the most ancient writings titled "How to read the Bible." Perhaps the deepest examination of ancient writings I have had in my hands.
The last one, and the only one not looked at other than the Introduction is titled "Reasonable Enthusiast." It is subtitled "John Wesley and the Rise of Methodism." I am anxious to get into it.The back cover begins this way, "This is the best and most comprehensive scholarly biography of John Wesley currently available." I am drawn to it because Wesley, while regarded as the father of the Methodist church, is also the underpinning of a number of churches including but not limited to the Nazarenes, several different groups calling themselves Church of God, Pilgrim Holiness, the Wesleyan Church, Heritage Wesleyan, United Methodists, Free Methodist, Mennonite and many more.
Wesley was all about salvation and sanctification, the fundamentals of holiness teachings. Many churches that claim to be Christian have phased out various parts of Wesleyan theology and with those actions created lives without the power of living holy. Leviticus 20.11 For I am the Lord your God that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. And in one of Peter’s letters in 1 Peter 1.16 he quotes the writer of Leviticus with “Because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy.” If it is not possible to live holy, the scriptures are a fraud. And if it is possible, then it must be a requirement of Christ's. I don't have the time tonight to get into the supporting scriptures for that. You can do your own homework. It is my opinion that not only is holiness desirable for Christians, the very word is described by holiness and is a necessary prerequisite for eternity in what we call heaven.
Problems? Read my friend. Read.
On a more theological front, I have four books sitting on my desk in front of me. Fortunately I have read through two of them and about half of the third. The first one so clicked with me that I wonder if others have just somehow missed all books similar to it, or they won't go there because it would tear out their foundation. It is titled "Are Men Born Sinners." The obvious answer, is of course, no. I realize that flies in the face of those who hold to the inbred sin line of thinking. But that is OK. That line of thinking has so many faults it makes the Pacific Rim of Fire seem like an elementary science project.
The second is titled "Doctrines That Divide" and addresses the central doctrines that Christian churches have adopted that do not promote unity but rather divide Christians. The third book is the book I have been referring to for the last 6 months that looks behind the scriptures of canon to the most ancient writings titled "How to read the Bible." Perhaps the deepest examination of ancient writings I have had in my hands.
The last one, and the only one not looked at other than the Introduction is titled "Reasonable Enthusiast." It is subtitled "John Wesley and the Rise of Methodism." I am anxious to get into it.The back cover begins this way, "This is the best and most comprehensive scholarly biography of John Wesley currently available." I am drawn to it because Wesley, while regarded as the father of the Methodist church, is also the underpinning of a number of churches including but not limited to the Nazarenes, several different groups calling themselves Church of God, Pilgrim Holiness, the Wesleyan Church, Heritage Wesleyan, United Methodists, Free Methodist, Mennonite and many more.
Wesley was all about salvation and sanctification, the fundamentals of holiness teachings. Many churches that claim to be Christian have phased out various parts of Wesleyan theology and with those actions created lives without the power of living holy. Leviticus 20.11 For I am the Lord your God that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. And in one of Peter’s letters in 1 Peter 1.16 he quotes the writer of Leviticus with “Because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy.” If it is not possible to live holy, the scriptures are a fraud. And if it is possible, then it must be a requirement of Christ's. I don't have the time tonight to get into the supporting scriptures for that. You can do your own homework. It is my opinion that not only is holiness desirable for Christians, the very word is described by holiness and is a necessary prerequisite for eternity in what we call heaven.
Problems? Read my friend. Read.
Hunger with a side of thirst
Sometimes I am amazed at what triggers people's indignation. I see people who worry about the slightest signs of poor workmanship or damage in products they are purchasing, and my mind goes to the poorest of poor that I have lived among. Yes, my time among them was short, and I always knew I was not staying, but still it was not possible to miss how most of the very poor were at peace with the little that they had.
I have been thinking about the numerous times I have been reminded of how much we have living in a first world country. I have some friends that spent a year in South America on a mission and when they came back to the US they spent about 4 hours in the supermarket just getting used to the selection, the amazingly low prices, and the quantity.
People in this country who have home gardens of any size, for the most part, do not have them for the same reasons people in third world countries have them. In third world countries that little garden may mean either food on the table or going hungry. When people here talk about their gardens it is usually coupled with an explanation of how relaxing and peaceful gardening is to them. I doubt very many eat from gardens here because it is necessary or cost effective.
I think we in this country (again I am speaking in the general sense, I realize there are people starving in this country) don't have a good base for understanding hunger. I would say the biggest hunger that goes unsatiated would be the hunger for real care, true compassion and honest love. I don't find too many really hungry for food. Yes they are out there. But the real lack of hunger that I encounter on a continual basis is the hunger for understanding of who we are and why we are here. Most people don't look deep enough inside of themselves to ever question what life really means.
If you want to perform your own experiment, try asking people you meet this question, "What is it that you would not live without?"
If they answer anything but a right relationship with their creator, the answer indicates they don't have a hunger for the most important thing in life.
Because I am a Christian, further defined as a Wesleyan Christian with a divine evolutionary mindset, I live by the knowledge that everything we know about is the direct result of a divine creator. If someone created me, as I believe, then I would think that my greatest goal would be to understand as well as can be this creator and how my relationship should look to that Creator.
I know I have said it before, and pretty much wore it out, but again, for anyone who hasn't been with me since the outset, this blog is simply a place for me to put my thought processes down. It is not meant to influence anyone. If it does, I hope it only influences them to read beyond and behind the scriptures that have become Canon for all Christians world wide. I advocate the Wesleyan tradition because I believe it most closely follows what Jesus intended. Calvinist miss the point of grace and misconstrue soul security in my opinion. I won't judge another when they step outside my boundaries, but I can't step out of those boundaries and keep my salvation. And yes, I have grieved the Holy Spirit with things I have permitted in my life. There are others who have observed me at close range and know my flaws. And just because I no longer engage in those aberrations does not permit me to throw stones. I sometimes speak out about things I see as oppositional to Christian influence, but I will not label those so engaged as sinners. It is not my place.
The more I hunger, the hungrier I want to be.
I have been thinking about the numerous times I have been reminded of how much we have living in a first world country. I have some friends that spent a year in South America on a mission and when they came back to the US they spent about 4 hours in the supermarket just getting used to the selection, the amazingly low prices, and the quantity.
People in this country who have home gardens of any size, for the most part, do not have them for the same reasons people in third world countries have them. In third world countries that little garden may mean either food on the table or going hungry. When people here talk about their gardens it is usually coupled with an explanation of how relaxing and peaceful gardening is to them. I doubt very many eat from gardens here because it is necessary or cost effective.
I think we in this country (again I am speaking in the general sense, I realize there are people starving in this country) don't have a good base for understanding hunger. I would say the biggest hunger that goes unsatiated would be the hunger for real care, true compassion and honest love. I don't find too many really hungry for food. Yes they are out there. But the real lack of hunger that I encounter on a continual basis is the hunger for understanding of who we are and why we are here. Most people don't look deep enough inside of themselves to ever question what life really means.
If you want to perform your own experiment, try asking people you meet this question, "What is it that you would not live without?"
If they answer anything but a right relationship with their creator, the answer indicates they don't have a hunger for the most important thing in life.
Because I am a Christian, further defined as a Wesleyan Christian with a divine evolutionary mindset, I live by the knowledge that everything we know about is the direct result of a divine creator. If someone created me, as I believe, then I would think that my greatest goal would be to understand as well as can be this creator and how my relationship should look to that Creator.
I know I have said it before, and pretty much wore it out, but again, for anyone who hasn't been with me since the outset, this blog is simply a place for me to put my thought processes down. It is not meant to influence anyone. If it does, I hope it only influences them to read beyond and behind the scriptures that have become Canon for all Christians world wide. I advocate the Wesleyan tradition because I believe it most closely follows what Jesus intended. Calvinist miss the point of grace and misconstrue soul security in my opinion. I won't judge another when they step outside my boundaries, but I can't step out of those boundaries and keep my salvation. And yes, I have grieved the Holy Spirit with things I have permitted in my life. There are others who have observed me at close range and know my flaws. And just because I no longer engage in those aberrations does not permit me to throw stones. I sometimes speak out about things I see as oppositional to Christian influence, but I will not label those so engaged as sinners. It is not my place.
The more I hunger, the hungrier I want to be.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Hunger and thirst
In keeping with the current line of thought Paster Kerry has been preaching on, the worship team this morning sang this Praise and Worship song, Hunger and Thirst. Here are the words:
I hunger and thirst for You
I hunger and thirst for You
In the desert of my need
You're the fountain that I seek
You're the Living Water I keep running to
I hunger and thirst for You
I hunger and thirst for You
I hunger and thirst for You
I hunger and thirst for You
Heaven's Manna Bread of Life
Fill the emptiness inside
Nothing else can satisfy me like You do
I hunger and thirst for You
I hunger and thirst for You
I must acknowledge the writers, David Moffitt and Sue C. Smith.
I got some very disturbing news about my family last night and it has made me sadder than I have been. I have lost a number of close family and extended family members in my life. Some were great losses because they took part of my heart with them. But none of those losses hurt my like the news I just got about still living family members. Disturbing because I thought they would be above such attitudes. Just goes to show you can't tell the Christians from the lions without a program. They look an awful lot alike at times.
I hunger and thirst for You
I hunger and thirst for You
In the desert of my need
You're the fountain that I seek
You're the Living Water I keep running to
I hunger and thirst for You
I hunger and thirst for You
I hunger and thirst for You
I hunger and thirst for You
Heaven's Manna Bread of Life
Fill the emptiness inside
Nothing else can satisfy me like You do
I hunger and thirst for You
I hunger and thirst for You
I must acknowledge the writers, David Moffitt and Sue C. Smith.
I got some very disturbing news about my family last night and it has made me sadder than I have been. I have lost a number of close family and extended family members in my life. Some were great losses because they took part of my heart with them. But none of those losses hurt my like the news I just got about still living family members. Disturbing because I thought they would be above such attitudes. Just goes to show you can't tell the Christians from the lions without a program. They look an awful lot alike at times.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Aha
I have known for most of my life that I am an inquisitive person. I love finding out things. I love documentaries about how things work. I love to tour manufacturing facilities. I like to hear people explain what they do. And I love to take things apart to see how they work. I began doing that when I was quite young.
Along the way of my almost 60 years there have been a number of real aha moments. That point when the “light” comes on. That revelation of discovery. That “I get it” moment.
Tonight was one of those aha moments. And I am afraid I cannot even explain it to my own satisfaction. Before I attempt to put it into words I am almost sure it will not make sense in the way I would like for it make sense.
This blog was begun as a place to verbalize my journey of spirituality. It evolved into what I have been finding in some of my research into ancient scriptures. And I have tried to put into words my thoughts and impressions of what I have been discovering.
Along the way of my life I have sometimes wondered why I was repeatedly pulled back to reading, analyzing and yes, challenging the scriptures. Well, now I know. I had an aha moment that lasted most of an hour.
First, let me put in the scripture Kerry used tonight. Matthew 5.6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. KJV. This, from the Message, is closer to how someone might express it today. You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
Having been raised in the KJV I learned this scripture when I was quite young. Probably by the time I started school I had committed it to memory. And now, this evening, it has become my co-favorite verse. The favorite verse I have held dear for perhaps 10 years has been 1 John 4.19 We love Him because He first loved us.
I preached a message a number of years ago about the word first. I believe this scripture certainly can be read as Christ having loved us before we loved Him. But I also believe it can be read that Christ loved us before He drew us to Him, before He began to convict us of sin, before He began to teach us about righteousness, before He began to mold us into a person fit for the kingdom. In fact, all of those things came about because he first loved us. We love our children before we ever reach the stage of correcting them or teaching them or guiding them. I think it was the same with Jesus.
Now I have another favorite verse. But I like it in the Message format. You’re blessed when you have worked up a good appetite for God.
Now I understand why it seems like my greatest joy, my heart’s desire, is to be not just into the scriptures, but behind the scriptures as well. I want to know more than what they say. I want to know why they were said. God has never done anything without purpose. And writers of scripture did not write without purpose either.
An aha moment. An aha hour. An aha turning point in clarity. Thank you pastor. Thank you for adding an understanding of why to my understanding of what. I am compelled to search because I hunger.
Along the way of my almost 60 years there have been a number of real aha moments. That point when the “light” comes on. That revelation of discovery. That “I get it” moment.
Tonight was one of those aha moments. And I am afraid I cannot even explain it to my own satisfaction. Before I attempt to put it into words I am almost sure it will not make sense in the way I would like for it make sense.
This blog was begun as a place to verbalize my journey of spirituality. It evolved into what I have been finding in some of my research into ancient scriptures. And I have tried to put into words my thoughts and impressions of what I have been discovering.
Along the way of my life I have sometimes wondered why I was repeatedly pulled back to reading, analyzing and yes, challenging the scriptures. Well, now I know. I had an aha moment that lasted most of an hour.
First, let me put in the scripture Kerry used tonight. Matthew 5.6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. KJV. This, from the Message, is closer to how someone might express it today. You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
Having been raised in the KJV I learned this scripture when I was quite young. Probably by the time I started school I had committed it to memory. And now, this evening, it has become my co-favorite verse. The favorite verse I have held dear for perhaps 10 years has been 1 John 4.19 We love Him because He first loved us.
I preached a message a number of years ago about the word first. I believe this scripture certainly can be read as Christ having loved us before we loved Him. But I also believe it can be read that Christ loved us before He drew us to Him, before He began to convict us of sin, before He began to teach us about righteousness, before He began to mold us into a person fit for the kingdom. In fact, all of those things came about because he first loved us. We love our children before we ever reach the stage of correcting them or teaching them or guiding them. I think it was the same with Jesus.
Now I have another favorite verse. But I like it in the Message format. You’re blessed when you have worked up a good appetite for God.
Now I understand why it seems like my greatest joy, my heart’s desire, is to be not just into the scriptures, but behind the scriptures as well. I want to know more than what they say. I want to know why they were said. God has never done anything without purpose. And writers of scripture did not write without purpose either.
An aha moment. An aha hour. An aha turning point in clarity. Thank you pastor. Thank you for adding an understanding of why to my understanding of what. I am compelled to search because I hunger.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
So little time...
I apologize for so much time between posts. Not that what I am saying is earth shaking or worth noting. I am very aware of that. I also hope others aren't adopting my viewpoints on things. I'd hate to influence someone with the ramblings here. But I have made some statements that I should return to and clarify if I can. And I will attempt to do that, just not tonight.
I have changed my signature line on my outgoing emails to say "Rise above common rhetoric James 5.12 Bruce’s paraphrase." As you know James 5.12 KJV reads "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation."
I am on a campaign at work to clean up the language of the associates, especially the language of the management. Too many of the management have very base language skills and a narrow assortment of gutter vocabulary to choose from. Even the top of the management ladder who claims to be a Christian uses unbecoming language when excited or angry.
I have at time spoken out in defense of what I regard as "my space" but have recently began to speak out for all space. Company rules forbid consumption of alcohol on the property and all tobacco products within the store. Use of tobacco is permitted on the parking lot, although employees are strongly encouraged to not use tobacco anywhere on the property. That is also mostly ignored by the employees. But the bad language is carried into the building as well as the smutty and suggestive verbiage.
So I have decided that I do not want to pretend I am unaffected by bad language or talk, and at the risk of offending someone I am going on the offensive. I have already walked away from a number of customers who insisted on profanity. I have said, sharply, "Excuse me?" at times and actually been apologized to on occasion. And I appreciate the apology. Although I also think it is somewhat hypocritical to say something like, "Oh, that's OK." I am hoping to respond with a polite "Apology accepted." As a person I don't believe I have to put up with bad language. We'll see what the company thinks about it if someone ever takes offense and reports me, huh?
Work schedule is the principle reason for long periods of silence here. But not totally. I have continued to read but haven't been able in my head to formulate a succinct or lucid summary of what I am understanding. So I haven't been internally urged to write. Maybe soon.
Thanks for the feedback. It reminds me to be clearer and more careful.
I have changed my signature line on my outgoing emails to say "Rise above common rhetoric James 5.12 Bruce’s paraphrase." As you know James 5.12 KJV reads "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation."
I am on a campaign at work to clean up the language of the associates, especially the language of the management. Too many of the management have very base language skills and a narrow assortment of gutter vocabulary to choose from. Even the top of the management ladder who claims to be a Christian uses unbecoming language when excited or angry.
I have at time spoken out in defense of what I regard as "my space" but have recently began to speak out for all space. Company rules forbid consumption of alcohol on the property and all tobacco products within the store. Use of tobacco is permitted on the parking lot, although employees are strongly encouraged to not use tobacco anywhere on the property. That is also mostly ignored by the employees. But the bad language is carried into the building as well as the smutty and suggestive verbiage.
So I have decided that I do not want to pretend I am unaffected by bad language or talk, and at the risk of offending someone I am going on the offensive. I have already walked away from a number of customers who insisted on profanity. I have said, sharply, "Excuse me?" at times and actually been apologized to on occasion. And I appreciate the apology. Although I also think it is somewhat hypocritical to say something like, "Oh, that's OK." I am hoping to respond with a polite "Apology accepted." As a person I don't believe I have to put up with bad language. We'll see what the company thinks about it if someone ever takes offense and reports me, huh?
Work schedule is the principle reason for long periods of silence here. But not totally. I have continued to read but haven't been able in my head to formulate a succinct or lucid summary of what I am understanding. So I haven't been internally urged to write. Maybe soon.
Thanks for the feedback. It reminds me to be clearer and more careful.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Discontent
There are times when I have been writing this blog that I felt like I have been digging a grave for myself. I realize that some, or a lot, of my discoveries that I have been describing here go against the grain of nominal denominational beliefs. I often wish I my brother had lived longer and he and I could have found a way to be in closer communication so I could have had his viewpoint. I also know he had no theological background other than sitting at our mother’s knee and listening to ministers she approved of. So I probably would not have had any correlation for my discoveries. I often wonder what some of my dearest friends in the faith think. I don’t hear from them here. I realize I’ve been a little too clear about not hearing objections. Because what I write here are just processes, not faith decisions. I don’t want to estrange my friends in the faith, for sure.
An affirmation of sorts came my way at the end of yesterday’s sermon by our pastor, Kerry. I have known a number of ministers in my life, but only a few have touched me deeply. One is my uncle, Lum. I am pretty sure a more sincere minister of the gospel never lived. Uncle Lum is from my vantage point, an introvert. I imagine it took a large gift of grace to make a minister out of him. There are others, but currently I have to say our pastor now, Kerry Willis, has proved to be the most caring and insightful minister we have been privileged to know.
In Kerry’s benediction yesterday he quoted these words, “May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. “
In an email he sent to me with the benediction he said the prayer was from a Franciscan benediction.
Discomfort at easy answers. Discomfort at half truths. So that I may live deep within my heart. I need time with this. Time to think it through. Time to let it mature. Time to let it encompass my thinking so that it impacts my actions. I want to be more careful of what I read and believe. And I want to be careful to not let go of truth in order to grasp what seems to be truth.
Somehow in all of my thrashing around God sends me amazing truths by way of these men. And I understand I will be eternally grateful.
How can I but be disquieted and uncomfortable when on every side I see the lost? Why am I on this quest? It can’t be for me.
An affirmation of sorts came my way at the end of yesterday’s sermon by our pastor, Kerry. I have known a number of ministers in my life, but only a few have touched me deeply. One is my uncle, Lum. I am pretty sure a more sincere minister of the gospel never lived. Uncle Lum is from my vantage point, an introvert. I imagine it took a large gift of grace to make a minister out of him. There are others, but currently I have to say our pastor now, Kerry Willis, has proved to be the most caring and insightful minister we have been privileged to know.
In Kerry’s benediction yesterday he quoted these words, “May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. “
In an email he sent to me with the benediction he said the prayer was from a Franciscan benediction.
Discomfort at easy answers. Discomfort at half truths. So that I may live deep within my heart. I need time with this. Time to think it through. Time to let it mature. Time to let it encompass my thinking so that it impacts my actions. I want to be more careful of what I read and believe. And I want to be careful to not let go of truth in order to grasp what seems to be truth.
Somehow in all of my thrashing around God sends me amazing truths by way of these men. And I understand I will be eternally grateful.
How can I but be disquieted and uncomfortable when on every side I see the lost? Why am I on this quest? It can’t be for me.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Not for the Squeamish
A movie that I have yet to see is A Few Good Men. Yes, I know it has been out for nearly 17 years now. But I seldom get to the movies, and when I do it is for very special movies.
The reason I mention A Few Good Men is because of the familiar line by Colonel Jessep, “You can’t handle the truth!”
I just read through Kugel’s lengthy overview of the Psalms. I say overview because he references a number of biblical scholars dating back many centuries that have examined the Psalms in their original language and have reached conclusions that startle me. And I can tell that there is a lot more to their individual research than is presented by Kugel. The discoveries don’t surprise me. Not at this point anyway. But the fact that their discoveries don’t have wider acceptance really surprises me. Especially in the ranks of those in highly honored places of leadership in denominations. I hear ministers and lay people talk about men and women who are believed to be very informed on the scriptures but those persons don’t seem to be aware of the discoveries I am finding, Or, big word in this case, or they have decided the discoveries are either illegitimate or would cause too much chaos within the church body.
In a very condensed version, most scholars believe very firmly, that the Psalms were not written by David. There are a host of reasons, from titles to the Psalms to events referenced in the Psalms that happened hundreds of years after David lived. Most scholars believe that the Psalms were written to be used sort of like memorized prayers. The Catholic Church uses memorized prayers for just about anything mankind encounters. I am definitely not opposed to memorized prayers, unless it supplants true communion with God in prayer, especially private “in your closet” type prayer.
An examination of the Psalms yields the understanding that there is a Psalm for most of the events and situations modern man encounters. They are not so specific that they can’t be applied to many similar situations, but they are specific enough to get to the core of the intended reason for prayer and praise.
The most amazing thing I am learning from this Bible is that the human part of the authorship is not close to what we have been led to believe. It appears that Moses was not a historian or a writer. It appears that David had too much on his plate to have written more than a couple or few Psalms if any. On looking closely at the scriptures we find 3 separate accounts of Saul becoming king of Israel. Then following closely we find 3 totally different accounts of David’s ascension to the same throne.
There are 2 separate and different accounts of creation. And much of this information has been seamed together to be read as a continuous story. It looks more and more to me like stories from a host of authors from different viewpoints and with different agendas.
And this reminds me of Colonel Jessep. I wonder how much of the truth about our Bible Christians can handle? What if David was not the king described in the Bible? What if Moses didn’t really live but is a combination of a number of men of his time? Would those facts tear my faith apart? Is my faith the Bible or is my faith Christ? How much of real truth about ancient writings can my faith take? What if the world is as old as scientist believe it is? What if creation took a thousand million years? Does that take my faith away?
Well, for me, no. I am approaching a line of thinking that contends the Bible is a story about God's relationship with man, but only part of the Bible. I think, and this thinking is certainly in the preliminary stages, that part of what we call the Bible is about God and God's relationship with man, but there is a lot of extra baggage included. And it is the extra baggage that has caused us so much pain and division. Too much incongruent history and legends, too many writers included, and way too much too much meddling in what God expects of His people.
King James would have done the world a much bigger service by not tampering with the scriptures. Paul should have had his letters burned. And John the revelator should have kept his dreams to himself.
The reason I mention A Few Good Men is because of the familiar line by Colonel Jessep, “You can’t handle the truth!”
I just read through Kugel’s lengthy overview of the Psalms. I say overview because he references a number of biblical scholars dating back many centuries that have examined the Psalms in their original language and have reached conclusions that startle me. And I can tell that there is a lot more to their individual research than is presented by Kugel. The discoveries don’t surprise me. Not at this point anyway. But the fact that their discoveries don’t have wider acceptance really surprises me. Especially in the ranks of those in highly honored places of leadership in denominations. I hear ministers and lay people talk about men and women who are believed to be very informed on the scriptures but those persons don’t seem to be aware of the discoveries I am finding, Or, big word in this case, or they have decided the discoveries are either illegitimate or would cause too much chaos within the church body.
In a very condensed version, most scholars believe very firmly, that the Psalms were not written by David. There are a host of reasons, from titles to the Psalms to events referenced in the Psalms that happened hundreds of years after David lived. Most scholars believe that the Psalms were written to be used sort of like memorized prayers. The Catholic Church uses memorized prayers for just about anything mankind encounters. I am definitely not opposed to memorized prayers, unless it supplants true communion with God in prayer, especially private “in your closet” type prayer.
An examination of the Psalms yields the understanding that there is a Psalm for most of the events and situations modern man encounters. They are not so specific that they can’t be applied to many similar situations, but they are specific enough to get to the core of the intended reason for prayer and praise.
The most amazing thing I am learning from this Bible is that the human part of the authorship is not close to what we have been led to believe. It appears that Moses was not a historian or a writer. It appears that David had too much on his plate to have written more than a couple or few Psalms if any. On looking closely at the scriptures we find 3 separate accounts of Saul becoming king of Israel. Then following closely we find 3 totally different accounts of David’s ascension to the same throne.
There are 2 separate and different accounts of creation. And much of this information has been seamed together to be read as a continuous story. It looks more and more to me like stories from a host of authors from different viewpoints and with different agendas.
And this reminds me of Colonel Jessep. I wonder how much of the truth about our Bible Christians can handle? What if David was not the king described in the Bible? What if Moses didn’t really live but is a combination of a number of men of his time? Would those facts tear my faith apart? Is my faith the Bible or is my faith Christ? How much of real truth about ancient writings can my faith take? What if the world is as old as scientist believe it is? What if creation took a thousand million years? Does that take my faith away?
Well, for me, no. I am approaching a line of thinking that contends the Bible is a story about God's relationship with man, but only part of the Bible. I think, and this thinking is certainly in the preliminary stages, that part of what we call the Bible is about God and God's relationship with man, but there is a lot of extra baggage included. And it is the extra baggage that has caused us so much pain and division. Too much incongruent history and legends, too many writers included, and way too much too much meddling in what God expects of His people.
King James would have done the world a much bigger service by not tampering with the scriptures. Paul should have had his letters burned. And John the revelator should have kept his dreams to himself.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Comfy?
Several words need to be defined and put into setting so that I can more clearly use them to explain some of the things I have been discovering in my latest readings. Some of them will, no doubt, be familiar to most. Perhaps the two most familiar will be polytheistic and monotheistic. Poly, being of course, many and mono being singular. Theistic refers to a supreme being, i.e., God. To say one is monotheistic is to say they believe there is only one God.
Two words that might not be so familiar are syncretism and etiological. The first, syncretism, means to attempt reconciliation of differing, maybe even opposing, principles, practices or parties as in philosophy or religion. Etiological pertains to causes or origins.
In other words, syncretism is the process by which different accounts of previous events can be made to fit together complementary. In many such process proceedings both sides will have to give some ground, be willing to compromise, perhaps agree to disagree on points, but arrive at an agreement that allows the two sides to coexist without conflict. The case in point may be events or even the existence of peoples.
Etiologic is the reason behind the event or condition being observed. If you have a cold, most doctors will offer a possible scenario for your infection, but will not dwell too much on the possible means of infection. He or she will, instead, concentrate on either curing you or at least making you comfortable while your body heals itself. An epidemiologist, on the other hand, would not be so interested in effecting a cure as in resolving how you contacted the cold in the first place. An epidemiologist then is involved in seeking the etiology behind your cold. Many biblical scholars believe that writers of scripture that became canon were heavily involved in creating an etiological process to explain the current events, processes and procedures the peoples of faith were involved in on a daily basis.
For example, when one would question why the celebration of the Passover, the keepers of the holy books would explain why using very old stories, tales and possibly a bit of stretching of facts and details, leaving out complicating parts and perhaps even bolstering the story a bit with fabricated events and people that may in fact be bits and pieces of other real events and persons. Sort of a mixing of tales to produce a tale that was more in line with what the writer wished was the background to the then modern question.
Not lying, not pure fabrication, but a blending and bending of things. After all, it had all been passed down orally from generation to generation for many generations, who is to say that the exact story remained intact anyway?
With that being put forth, I want to share on this blog, and explore some of the thought processes that have been mine as I sort through Kugel’s mindset on reading the bible.
A number of things have come to my attention through this book that I am quite sure mainstream Christianity never encounters. Probably the biggest encounter was the belief by many biblical scholars that the early books of the Bible were written at a very late date, certainly not any time close to when the events were believed to have occurred. That means that the “patriarchs” of the earliest books may be understood and pictured very differently than they really were.
There are a number of biblical scholars who are convinced that many of these “patriarchs” are most likely inventions of later writers. It is for sure, for instance, that the Pentateuch was not written by one person, whether named Moses or not. Most biblical scholars believe that Moses had no hand in the writings at all, but that the first 5 books of the cannon of scriptures were written by at least 4 and possibly 5 different writers.
The second largest encounter was that many biblical scholars believe that the earliest peoples, who became known at a later time as Israelites, were not monotheistic, but polytheistic. Many scholars have taken the ten commandments apart in their original language and concluded that while YHWH God may have given the familiar rules to his people and said “Thou shall have no other gods before me” it did not mean they couldn’t have other gods. But it did mean the other gods would be secondary to the one God, YHWH.
In other words, if you want a god of harvest, a god of sowing, a god of plenty, a god of safety, etc, it was OK. Just remember that I am the chief god, the god who is jealous of your worship and praise.
Many biblical scholars believe that much of the Pentateuch is partly events of very early times that have been told and retold, massaged and adapted, elaborated upon and updated with changes in lifestyles and societal norms, and partly pure fabrication to provide “etiological” substantiation for situations, practices and observances of the current day in which those events were being told or discussed.
With my being raised in a fellowship of believers that take the Bible pretty much literally, you might wonder if these opinions of men and women known as scholars of scripture would adversely impact my personal beliefs. Some who have been following along are, I am sure, wondering. Especially those who have known me for some time.
Actually, an amazing quantity of what I am reading fits to some degree suspicions that I began to have as early as the eighth grade. I know I have referenced the eighth grade before, but in case you missed it, I’ll recap it.
Eighth grade for me began in September 1962. I turned 13 in July before school started. Thirteen is for a lot of young people right in the time of their lives when an awareness of a lot of things begin to change somewhat. Puberty is beginning to set in, if not already set. A sense of knowing when others are being truthful or not begins to be sharpened. The ability to “look through” a façade or “masks” that people put on is developing. A heightened sense of seeing what is happening around them, almost in slow motion, is becoming second nature. In fact, this sense seems to be with us at its peak for a short time in our lives.
Eighth grade in the school system I was raised in was the middle grade of what was then known as “Jr. High School.” We weren’t considered high school young adults, yet, but we were expected to act a little more mature, be a little more mature, and be ready to consider more mature material and exposure than elementary school children.
In the school system in which I was educated eighth grade was the time when upper level mathematics, literature and science were introduced. Eighth grade saw me in an English class that began to consider literature from a world perspective. Eighth grade was geometry, a new way to consider mathematically the shapes and designs not only in man made things, but within nature as well. And eighth grade was for those in this school system the first foray into natural science. Science that included exploring cell structure, cellular reproduction, cell mutation and cellular diversification to galactic properties including births, lives and deaths of stars. We dissected frogs, worms and cats. And we looked at an ever expanding universe and considered if it was now expanding, from where did it start, and how did it start?
The dichotomy of sitting in an almost enraptured state of amazement in these three subjects verses the rigid sameness of what I was being told in church was brain piercing. It began to divide my thought processes with a deep rooted fear that the people of faith around me may be right in their simplistic view of the world and the emerging greater fear that they were poisoned with a thought process killing agent of some kind. I began to see the process not only affecting the way they regarded new discoveries but in the way they perceived the very creator they regarded with a terrible apprehension of offending by questioning the creation.
Of course I could not, in the eighth grade, have verbalized this in any understandable way to others. I did try. Oh how I tried. But the knowledge and vocabulary were not mine then. I was looked upon as trouble and “lost. “
Lost, a very convenient word. It covers so many situations and circumstances. I was the lost one. The lost son. The lost brother. The sheep out of the fold. The 1 of the 90 and 9. The coin of great value lost in the house.
And it began in the eighth grade. It began to take on a life form of its own, this lostness. I evoked not only prayers in the closet, but prayers in public, some in the presence of the lost one. Heart wrenching, tear stained and voice distorting prayers. Time slowly added a form of shunning. Along with the constant prayers and whispered conversations was the resolve of many to not include this lost one until reconciliation was effected.
No reaching out for understanding of the lost one. No attempt at syncretism. No walking in the lost one’s shoes.
So do you want to rethink that question? The one about the opinions of men and women known as scholars of scripture adversely impacting my personal beliefs?
No. They haven’t. At three score years, not a lot impacts me.
Blessings. And thanks if you stayed with this until now. Would you like a cold drink?
Two words that might not be so familiar are syncretism and etiological. The first, syncretism, means to attempt reconciliation of differing, maybe even opposing, principles, practices or parties as in philosophy or religion. Etiological pertains to causes or origins.
In other words, syncretism is the process by which different accounts of previous events can be made to fit together complementary. In many such process proceedings both sides will have to give some ground, be willing to compromise, perhaps agree to disagree on points, but arrive at an agreement that allows the two sides to coexist without conflict. The case in point may be events or even the existence of peoples.
Etiologic is the reason behind the event or condition being observed. If you have a cold, most doctors will offer a possible scenario for your infection, but will not dwell too much on the possible means of infection. He or she will, instead, concentrate on either curing you or at least making you comfortable while your body heals itself. An epidemiologist, on the other hand, would not be so interested in effecting a cure as in resolving how you contacted the cold in the first place. An epidemiologist then is involved in seeking the etiology behind your cold. Many biblical scholars believe that writers of scripture that became canon were heavily involved in creating an etiological process to explain the current events, processes and procedures the peoples of faith were involved in on a daily basis.
For example, when one would question why the celebration of the Passover, the keepers of the holy books would explain why using very old stories, tales and possibly a bit of stretching of facts and details, leaving out complicating parts and perhaps even bolstering the story a bit with fabricated events and people that may in fact be bits and pieces of other real events and persons. Sort of a mixing of tales to produce a tale that was more in line with what the writer wished was the background to the then modern question.
Not lying, not pure fabrication, but a blending and bending of things. After all, it had all been passed down orally from generation to generation for many generations, who is to say that the exact story remained intact anyway?
With that being put forth, I want to share on this blog, and explore some of the thought processes that have been mine as I sort through Kugel’s mindset on reading the bible.
A number of things have come to my attention through this book that I am quite sure mainstream Christianity never encounters. Probably the biggest encounter was the belief by many biblical scholars that the early books of the Bible were written at a very late date, certainly not any time close to when the events were believed to have occurred. That means that the “patriarchs” of the earliest books may be understood and pictured very differently than they really were.
There are a number of biblical scholars who are convinced that many of these “patriarchs” are most likely inventions of later writers. It is for sure, for instance, that the Pentateuch was not written by one person, whether named Moses or not. Most biblical scholars believe that Moses had no hand in the writings at all, but that the first 5 books of the cannon of scriptures were written by at least 4 and possibly 5 different writers.
The second largest encounter was that many biblical scholars believe that the earliest peoples, who became known at a later time as Israelites, were not monotheistic, but polytheistic. Many scholars have taken the ten commandments apart in their original language and concluded that while YHWH God may have given the familiar rules to his people and said “Thou shall have no other gods before me” it did not mean they couldn’t have other gods. But it did mean the other gods would be secondary to the one God, YHWH.
In other words, if you want a god of harvest, a god of sowing, a god of plenty, a god of safety, etc, it was OK. Just remember that I am the chief god, the god who is jealous of your worship and praise.
Many biblical scholars believe that much of the Pentateuch is partly events of very early times that have been told and retold, massaged and adapted, elaborated upon and updated with changes in lifestyles and societal norms, and partly pure fabrication to provide “etiological” substantiation for situations, practices and observances of the current day in which those events were being told or discussed.
With my being raised in a fellowship of believers that take the Bible pretty much literally, you might wonder if these opinions of men and women known as scholars of scripture would adversely impact my personal beliefs. Some who have been following along are, I am sure, wondering. Especially those who have known me for some time.
Actually, an amazing quantity of what I am reading fits to some degree suspicions that I began to have as early as the eighth grade. I know I have referenced the eighth grade before, but in case you missed it, I’ll recap it.
Eighth grade for me began in September 1962. I turned 13 in July before school started. Thirteen is for a lot of young people right in the time of their lives when an awareness of a lot of things begin to change somewhat. Puberty is beginning to set in, if not already set. A sense of knowing when others are being truthful or not begins to be sharpened. The ability to “look through” a façade or “masks” that people put on is developing. A heightened sense of seeing what is happening around them, almost in slow motion, is becoming second nature. In fact, this sense seems to be with us at its peak for a short time in our lives.
Eighth grade in the school system I was raised in was the middle grade of what was then known as “Jr. High School.” We weren’t considered high school young adults, yet, but we were expected to act a little more mature, be a little more mature, and be ready to consider more mature material and exposure than elementary school children.
In the school system in which I was educated eighth grade was the time when upper level mathematics, literature and science were introduced. Eighth grade saw me in an English class that began to consider literature from a world perspective. Eighth grade was geometry, a new way to consider mathematically the shapes and designs not only in man made things, but within nature as well. And eighth grade was for those in this school system the first foray into natural science. Science that included exploring cell structure, cellular reproduction, cell mutation and cellular diversification to galactic properties including births, lives and deaths of stars. We dissected frogs, worms and cats. And we looked at an ever expanding universe and considered if it was now expanding, from where did it start, and how did it start?
The dichotomy of sitting in an almost enraptured state of amazement in these three subjects verses the rigid sameness of what I was being told in church was brain piercing. It began to divide my thought processes with a deep rooted fear that the people of faith around me may be right in their simplistic view of the world and the emerging greater fear that they were poisoned with a thought process killing agent of some kind. I began to see the process not only affecting the way they regarded new discoveries but in the way they perceived the very creator they regarded with a terrible apprehension of offending by questioning the creation.
Of course I could not, in the eighth grade, have verbalized this in any understandable way to others. I did try. Oh how I tried. But the knowledge and vocabulary were not mine then. I was looked upon as trouble and “lost. “
Lost, a very convenient word. It covers so many situations and circumstances. I was the lost one. The lost son. The lost brother. The sheep out of the fold. The 1 of the 90 and 9. The coin of great value lost in the house.
And it began in the eighth grade. It began to take on a life form of its own, this lostness. I evoked not only prayers in the closet, but prayers in public, some in the presence of the lost one. Heart wrenching, tear stained and voice distorting prayers. Time slowly added a form of shunning. Along with the constant prayers and whispered conversations was the resolve of many to not include this lost one until reconciliation was effected.
No reaching out for understanding of the lost one. No attempt at syncretism. No walking in the lost one’s shoes.
So do you want to rethink that question? The one about the opinions of men and women known as scholars of scripture adversely impacting my personal beliefs?
No. They haven’t. At three score years, not a lot impacts me.
Blessings. And thanks if you stayed with this until now. Would you like a cold drink?
Monday, February 2, 2009
Snow covering
The snow is coming down here in Mount Sidney just across the field from I-81 mile marker 233 or so. It began snowing here at about 4:44 this afternoon and has steadily increased in volume since then. It is now 7:20 and we may have an inch or inch and a half on the ground. Really pretty. When I see snow I am always reminded of scripture. KJV scripture, of course. What else would I know? Snow is mentioned 24 times scattered from Exodus to Revelation, but only in 14 books of the Bible. Snow was not generally a part of the normal every day vocabulary of the writers of text that became our bible. I'm sure most people living in biblical locations knew of snow, but many or most would not have experienced snow. I found the word snow stumped my interpreter in the Butere Church of God in Butere, Kenya. He had to be helped by the village chief. Funny.
Most biblical references to snow are in consideration of it's color of pure white. Only a few reference snow in consideration of its cold. And none reference snow in consideration of how it blankets everything and hides the imperfections in all it covers. And that is what always seems to set my mind in motion. How that something so gentle, so insignificant as a snow flake, so quietly, and yet so quickly can cover the landscape to the point where all of the shapes and colors begin to blend into one glistening, incredibly beautiful carpet of pure lack of color altogether and loss of individual shape. Earth's scars fade, man's work is swallowed up. Patterns and grids and boundaries and divides and ownership are blended in together until it all belongs to the eye. From horizon to horizon, white, nothingness, pathless, directionless. Individuality gone. Sameness takes charge of everything.
Scars covered. Limits disguised. Dark pits buried. Stains whitened. As snow. Soft, gentle, pure, weightless, perfect miracles of snow flakes, bound together and stuck together to the point that it takes tools of steel and machines of fire to clear it away.
Psalms 51.7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
We open presents in the morning. Hope you saved some. Or did you not dream of a white Christmas? Same on you, oh ye of little faith. We are only 40days behind. What is 40 days in biblical terms? Nothing. A whisper. A breeze. A snowflake.
Most biblical references to snow are in consideration of it's color of pure white. Only a few reference snow in consideration of its cold. And none reference snow in consideration of how it blankets everything and hides the imperfections in all it covers. And that is what always seems to set my mind in motion. How that something so gentle, so insignificant as a snow flake, so quietly, and yet so quickly can cover the landscape to the point where all of the shapes and colors begin to blend into one glistening, incredibly beautiful carpet of pure lack of color altogether and loss of individual shape. Earth's scars fade, man's work is swallowed up. Patterns and grids and boundaries and divides and ownership are blended in together until it all belongs to the eye. From horizon to horizon, white, nothingness, pathless, directionless. Individuality gone. Sameness takes charge of everything.
Scars covered. Limits disguised. Dark pits buried. Stains whitened. As snow. Soft, gentle, pure, weightless, perfect miracles of snow flakes, bound together and stuck together to the point that it takes tools of steel and machines of fire to clear it away.
Psalms 51.7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
We open presents in the morning. Hope you saved some. Or did you not dream of a white Christmas? Same on you, oh ye of little faith. We are only 40days behind. What is 40 days in biblical terms? Nothing. A whisper. A breeze. A snowflake.
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