As I mentioned in my last entry, I have had a lot of things to work on lately. General research papers, my thesis, various daily life concerns have taken up a lot of my time lately, and I fear that this adversely effecting my reading of the Bible. I tend to get easily distracted and when a lot of things are happening, I might lose track of my thoughts and miss important themes in my reading. I am in the midst of Judges, but I only get maybe a few pages a day and in a book as large and complex as the Bible, I believe I am missing many things. Judges, for instance has a tendency to seem too similar to Joshua in themes, though I have noticed a few mentions of the word “evil,” mostly used for those who do things against God’s will (and it appears that it does not take much for even God’s chosen people to forget about the warnings and go back to “playing harlot” with that pesky Baal again). Again, a chosen one arises to force his less obedient neighbors to remember how they wiped out the last group of people who lived there; this time, Gideon. Soon, God was showing off his power by allowing Gideon to slaughter another rival nation (though this time, it did appear that the Midians attacked first, at least). But I am not entirely certain about the details.
If I can’t concentrate on What am I hoping to accomplish in reading the Bible if I don’t absorb portions? I’m trying to learn about the contents of the Bible, but is this goal damaged by being one of a great many projects I’m working on? If I know little about it now, how much more will I know if I can only skim portions of it? Am I just reading it now for the sake of the project itself, not for my own edification? Well, I am still very excited about continuing my readings; I question things by nature, including my own thoughts and am admittedly distracted by other things on occasion. With the various religious holidays of December on the way (including Christmas, the main holiday of my childhood) the reasons that led me to start this project are becoming more evident. But I will talk more about that in the future.
Oh, and I apologize for the recurrent Book based puns I’ve been using recently…
Wow, I kind of put my project on the back burner for the last month or so, I just realized. The last few weeks have been a bit stressful with research, writing, and editing two twenty-page papers for my classes and I didn’t want to distract myself from my projects, or lose track of the Sacred Book Project as well. But now that my other studies have been finished for now, I can pause for a long overdue update. As it has been awhile since I was able to concentrate on the Bible, I’ll keep this entry short.
I’m still in the process of reading through the Book of Joshua and one thing that has struck me as I’m reading is a lack of the “good versus evil” theme that I was expecting. So far, in my reading there has been little that to me has evoked this idea that seems to inform much of modern Christianity. I haven’t really found much mention of good or evil, at least in a more modern sense, except perhaps in Genesis. This seems particularly true from my reading of Joshua. God and His people rampage across the Holy Land killing off various other peoples; they are not described as particularly evil, at least not like the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah. The impression I’m getting from the Book of Joshua is that human concepts of good and evil don’t really matter, as long as you’re on the side of God. Of course, to my modern sensibilities, all this bloodshed (genocide?) seems quite “evil,” but such warfare was probably a major part of life during this period and not held as unusual. Still, I’m surprised by the lack of emphasis on good and evil in the Old Testament, and the Book of Joshua really got me to notice it. Will this become a theme that is more evident later, or am I simply missing some important ideas? I shall continue to look for this as I read further.
As I continue reading the Old Testament, I’m definitely seeing certain trends in the books after Genesis and Exodus. Inter spaced with the stories of biblical history are the many rules and laws of life required by God of his chosen peoples. Relying upon Moses to transcribe these rules, which are much more than the oft discussed Ten Commandments many (from protocols of sacrifice and worship to what is appropriate to eat) are mentioned several times. Deuteronomy in particular appears to be a review of the rules, as well as the events of the previous books, as Moses prepares his people to venture to their homeland and dispossess the people who already live there. Including a summary of the last books may be a way of reinforcing the importance of these commandments without the distractions that occasionally were introduced through the narrative of the tribes’ desert wanderings in Leviticus and Numbers.
However, I also was shocked at just how harsh God’s commandments are. I came into the Bible expecting some godly atrocities to occur to the enemies of His chosen people and those who directly disobeyed Him, but it seems He is nearly always displeased with them as much as anyone else. He lists the blessings but puts special emphasis on the curses (including those that struck Egypt) upon those who disobey. In fact, according to Deuteronomy 31, the Lord doesn’t appear to have much faith in His people at all, telling Moses that after he’s dead, “This people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land and will forsake Me and break My covenant … then My anger will be kindled against them.” Gee, thanks God!
Finally, Deuteronomy is the last of the Five Books of Moses which makes up the Torah. I definitely seems a good place to stop, concluding the story of the creation of the World and the formation of God’s people with a summary of all the things God want’s people to do, making it a natural conclusion. I do wonder if there is any difference in content between this Christian document versus the Jewish Torah, but I’ll save that for the future.
I do have to say, though, I’ve always thought Deuteronomy to be one of the coolest book names in the Bible. I’ll have to do some research to find out what the title means.
Now that I have finished the book of Numbers, I think that it may be the, well, the oddest book I’ve read in the Bible so far. I’m not really sure how to respond to Numbers, which includes some of the most violent and strangest scenes so far as well as some of the dullest. At first, I was expecting a fairly boring read and the beginning of the book did not really provide evidence against my first impressions. As I mentioned in my blog earlier Numbers opens with Moses being commended by God to conduct a census to find out the populations of the various tribes of Israel that he had led from Egypt. This goes on for several chapters, with the book listing the various “numbers” each family could claim. This is important, apparently because God also wants Moses to arm these multitudes to slaughter all who stand in their way to the lands that He had “set aside for them.” It also may be important for God to know just how many people he can punish by sending the screaming down cracks that open up under their feet after they question Moses (oddly enough, this happens several times both in Numbers and Leviticus- you’d think they’d have wised up after those plagues) This is where Numbers starts to get a bit scary.
The Israelites slaughter the entire population of the Midianites, who had apparently been antagonizing the,m with God even condoning the killing of their children. This is definitely a bit disturbing for me, as I wonder how this is discussed in a contemporary light. Is it ignored?
On a much less sober note, Numbers also contains the story of Balaam, another interesting little tale I had never heard of before reading. Balaam, a seer who would try and fail to curse the Israelites had a conversation with an angel and his donkey. I had no idea that such a “fairy tale” like scene would take place in the Bible, and I think it shows some of the origin of parts of the Bible as oral tales told for entertainment as well as spiritual edification. Apparently, the only other talking animal in the Bible is the serpent in Genesis, and there appears to be some debate among Theologians as to whether this scene should be taken figuratively or literally. The story of Balaam may be a good microcosm for the entire Biblical infallibility debate; can God make a Donkey speak, was it a vision, or is a talking donkey simply a metaphor for guilt?
Today was the Autumnal Equinox, marking the official transition into my favorite season and the weather today was particularly fall like. Cool and breezy, half way between cloudy and sunny with the damp scent of dry leaves from yesterday’s rain heavy on the air, I found myself thinking about my project. I always wax reflective in the Autumn.
I was thinking about my last post about Leviticus; did it come off as harsh to people of Christian or Jewish faith? I hope not. I certainly do not want to judge the beliefs of others, even if I disagree with them. The criticisms I bring up is based only on my ignorant reading of the text; I am sure that many of religious belief have a great number of interpretations of these rules, ones that I have not heard of. As an Agnostic, I have no great religious belief in the truth of the Bible, but many very intelligent, normal people do (a fact that I think many agnostics/atheists ignore, painting the religious as irrational or insane). I do not want to be dismissive of people who regard the texts I am reading with faith, though I am look at them through my own personal views. I hope to keep this balance as I continue to read the world’s sacred texts, as I believe that the freedom of people to have any sort of beliefs is essential.
Hmm, I wonder if this might be a bit repetitive, I think I have written similar things before. Oh well, I still think it is important.
In the meantime, I am beginning on Numbers, which so far seems to live up to its name very well with a census. I am going to go for a goal of reading ten to fifteen pages a day so I can hopefully begin moving a bit more quickly in my reading.
Leviticus was a rather repetitive, dry portion of the Bible, probably the section I’ve had the most trouble getting through so far. It contains very little in the way of plot or story and indeed telling a story seems to be least of the concerns of this book. It appears to be devoted to going into deep detail on the rules, orders, and regulations that God demanded of His people, imparted through Moses. While not following any number (or really any specific order) many of the ideas of the Ten Commandments are further detailed, from procedure for sacrificing to show repentance to God or other things, rules for daily life such as food consumption and clothing, and punishments and other laws and ceremonies. I found much of this a bit boring, particularly all of the details for the various sacrificial ceremonies of bulls, sheep, turtle doves, and other methods to show one’s deference to God (though the origin of the scapegoat idea was interesting).
Despite this, Leviticus may be among the most important sections, particularly in a modern sense. The rules provided all provide a great view of what daily life might have been like at the time, showing some of the concerns of a Ancient semi-nomadic Near Eastern desert people and many of these rules were probably widely practiced long before they had to be written down. I think that it goes without saying that these rules would not work well in a 21st century society (to say the least) and in fact would be rightly considered terrible. In addition to the statutes against homosexuality put forth in Leviticus (an abomination, like incest or cannibalism mentioned nearby) the laws require that people with disfiguring injuries must now stay away from religious rights. “Lepers” and the diseased are particularly demonized as well. I don’t think many modern churches or religious groups would want to turn people away simply because they were missing a hand or an eye, but some continue to do so for people with differing sexualities. Justice also seemed harsh in Leviticus, being the very origin of the “eye for an eye” style of punishment, one that is frowned upon in today’s justice system.
I do find it interesting that so much of Leviticus seems seen as more of a curiosity (the mixing of foods or fabrics or a law against eating shellfish) that most modern Christians ignore, while one or two mentions of homosexuality are so concentrated on- barely mentioned in chapter 18 when Chapter 11 is devoted entirely to Those Animals You Shall Not Eat. While folklore or even practical existence in the desert might explain these laws, we live in a different culture.
A day or so ago, I was listening to NPR with my Dad and heard to a report on how after several more days of discussion, the measure to condone the ordination of gay and lesbian Lutheran ministers in (some) ELCA churches had passed by “a comfortable margin,” around sixty-five percent or so. While the decision would rest with the congregations of specific churches, the ELCA itself now decided it was comfortable with the idea of gay and lesbian ministry. Of course, not all Lutherans in the ELCA were happy with the decision, but appeared to be committed to staying with the church nonetheless.
I find this a hopeful sign, that such a large, mainstream, and traditional American religion has for the most part agreed that a large segment of the population is as deserving of equal treatment as any other group. It gives the impression among that not all Christians or religious people are intolerant, and in fact, a great many are progressive and sane members of society, and that religion can (and should) continue to have a place in the world. Well, those are my agnostic thoughts, at least.
Oh, and happy St. Bartholomew’s Day. I must admit, my project is partly about exploring the roots of various folklore and superstitious beliefs, and I’ve always loved looking up these little pieces of cultural knowledge, another facet of human thought common to all peoples and societies. In English lore, for instance, August 24th or St. Bartholomew’s Day has been known as a prophetic date forecasting the Autumn; “if the 24th of August be fair and clear then hope for a prosperous Autumn that year,” and if today’s perfect late summer day in Minnesota is to be judged, I’m looking forward to a very nice fall.
I have now finished the Book of Exodus and read some of the most famous and epic of Biblical stories starring one of the best known and influential Old Testament figures, Moses, the traditional author of the Torah. In addition to this famous stories, the various commandments issued by God to Moses also play a very important role in Western societies up to today. I definitely feel like I will have to study this important figure in further depth later in my project, but for now I wanted to write a little about something a little more popular in pop culture; the Ark of the Covenant (or Ark of the Testament, as it has been referred to so far).
I thought that Exodus ended fairly abruptly, in contradiction to its beginning with the Hebrews enslaved in Egypt and their final exodus from that country. We’ll see how the story continues in the next book, Leviticus. However, the last few chapters were devoted extensively to one thing; after God informs Moses of his wishes in how his people should behave, giving him the Tablets that contain his commandments, he spends a good while issue orders of the creation of an ark, or altar and all its accouterments. Beginning in Chapter 25, exhaustive details on its construction are listed, down to materials, measurements, colors and numbers of loops to be used. Finally, by around Chapter 35 Moses commissions craftsmen and the construction of the ark is Why all the details? Why devote so much time not only to its constructions, but to its orders as well? I think that all of the pieces and materials and numbers described must have some symbolic meaning in the culture. I did find it interesting, though, how God punished his followers for building a Golden Calf and then ordering them to build another gold plated object complete with representational cherubim.
I can definitely see how the Ark has captured the imagination of people in the modern world; a physical object of great apparent artistic and material value, commissioned by God Himself and crafted under the vision of one of the greatest figures of the Bible. By its description in Exodus, it is easy to see why later people might hold it capable of so many magical abilities, which has been the case for many pop cultural interpretations, the Ark’s appearance in “Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark” being most noteworthy. The exhaustive details make it easy to reconstruct and it makes a very impressive “MacGuffin” for any adventure or occult story. It continually ranks among the most popular of the “lost artifact of great importance” genre, with its final resting place being a matter of great historical debate, it being hidden in plain sight from Scotland to Ethiopia. In addition to purely fictional accounts, the Ark (like Noah’s arc) has been a common fixture of “Histories’ Mysteries” and other Discovery channel paranormal programming as well.
It’s easy to see that many people’s imaginations have been peaked by the exhaustive description of the gold inlaid, cherubim bedecked box in which the very tablets of God’s will rest. That Exodus devotes so much time to detailing its exact size, shape, construction, color, and all the little pieces that go along with it in addition to the ceremonies to celebrate it, it must have been very important to the writers of these sections. These details also make it very interesting to more literal minded Biblical scholars who wish to establish the ark’s physical reality; if such an artifact, matching all of the Biblical descriptions, were to be found somewhere in the world, what better proof could there be to the historical accuracy of the Bible and provide much strength behind the power of God to effect the world? In any case, like any good mystery story, the “lost ark” provides many people with a sense of adventure and wonder to the world, regardless of whether it exists.
Well, its been far too long since I wrote something, I’ve been very lax in my blogging lately. I just have too many books to read (for my thesis, my cataloging, and pleasure) and too little time in a day to read them. Now that the academic year is gearing up once more for the fall semester, I fear I will have even less time. But this is quite a happy problem, and I’m very glad to be working on things that interest me. Plus, I just can’t help adding more books to my reading list! My Bible reading goes slow, but steadily and perhaps I’ll start a schedule of an entry a week, or so for the rest of the year.
As for religion, a very interesting thing has been occurring in Minneapolis this week, as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ECLA) has been debating their stance on gay and lesbian pastors in the church at the annual assembly. As Lutherans, both sides are quick to point out their “non confrontational” nature but this is a debate that has been brewing for awhile among the ECLA, the most “liberal” branch of Lutheranism. This morning, it appears that gay clergy may be winning the debate, as stated in the “Star Tribune” here;
If this is so, churches and synods will have the option to vote in gay and lesbian pastors if they so choose, and churches with openly gay leaders will no longer be counted as “vacant” in the ECLA hierarchy.
This is another thing that is making me reconsider my previous opinion of Lutheranism as the bland, boring religion I took for granted growing up. In spite of participating in the Youth Ministry, I came to a belief that many in the church were just going through the motions simply because their parents had gone to church, and they disliked change. I had little interest in learning more, preferring to learn about other religious groups. However, as I began the Sacred Books Project this began to change as I looked back on the religion of my childhood, learning differences between synods such as the ECLA (of which my own childhood church is a part, though I did not know it at the time), the Missouri Synod, and others. Recently, I have been researching Scandinavian and German immigration for my thesis, I started to see how Lutheranism in America has changed drastically over the years, spawning dozens of different groups each with their own interpretations after shedding the rigid control of state churches in Norway and Sweden.
In part because of my project, I have been learning a lot more about my own childhood religious beliefs, and now these recent developments in Minneapolis have me feeling a lot more positive towards them, coupled with my increased knowledge of the history of Lutheranism in America. I can see that Lutherans, like other religious groups in America are part of a dynamic, changing culture made possible by the religious freedoms of the country.
The Ten Commandments are, I believe, among the most well know and influential of Judeo-Christian doctrines. A debate still rages in the US whether or not it is appropriate to display these rules on public property, many monuments having been constructed in 1956 to advertise the upcoming movie “The Ten Commandments.” Numbered from one to ten (though the order of the commandments differs according to various religions and sects) I always understood these rules as having been granted to Moses on Mount Sinai by God in one day, fully numbered and ready to be presented to the Hebrews. However, as I was reading Exodus, I found the story to be a little bit different from what I my previous conception was.
In between around Chapters 19 to 35 or so, God and Moses have a variety of conversations on Mount Sinai, including references to rules that seem similar to the “Ten Commandments” in Chapter 20 in addition to a variety of other laws that God wants used by his People and detailed instructions as to the construction of the Ark of the Covenant and other holy building projects. The term Ten Commandments is not used, however, until Chapter 34 when Moses unveils the second set of tablets detailing Gods will (the first were destroyed by the angry Moses when he discovered his people had created a idol of a golden calf). By the way, shouldn’t they have been cut a little slack since they had not actually received God’s orders of severe distaste in representational religious art, and which now lay in fragments on the ground at Moses’ feet? Oh well! All in all, a much more complex series of events than I had come to expect, and much more open to interpretation that something called the “Ten Commandments” might be thought to be.
In addition, the chapters deal with many other aspects as well, from God promising to quickly dispense with all the peoples currently living in the land Moses’ people will be settling to the very detailed instructions for building all of the necessary equipment for worshiping God. For today, though, I think I will concentrate upon the Ten Commandments, or other rules as they appear to be more important to religion in today’s world.
As for the rules themselves, in addition to the familiar ten or so in Chapter 20, the following chapters (21 to 23 or so) detail a variety of legal and ethical rules that would seem appropriate to an Ancient nomadic people but perhaps not so much for a modern urban one. There is much detailing the ordinances involving slavery, injuries purposeful and accidental, and what to do if someone’s ox tramples someone else (in fact, a lot have to do with livestock). I found these ordinances particularly interesting as they detail a lot of the daily life concerns that such nomadic people faced in their lives, from carelessly dug pits to borrowing cloaks. The punishments seem a bit harsh, though, usually death. Finally, I think it is interesting that while the traditionally numbered “Ten Commandments” are discussed several times, they are not specifically numbered and I am not sure if they actually appeared on the tablets specifically or are included with many of God’s other covenants and rules, ones more specific to a nomadic desert people. Perhaps they are discussed in further detail later in the Bible.
In the end, things like this make me question the appropriateness of such monuments in public places. While the United States is built on religious freedom, and people are free to worship in any way that they wish, and explain to others the basis of their faith, placing things such as the Ten Commandments in places such as, say, courthouses breaches the line between Church and State in my opinion. Aside from a few that parallel some of this countries secular laws such as theft, murder, and perjury, others are explicitly and exclusively religious in nature. In a courthouse, then the Ten Commandments would imply that if murder and theft are obviously illegal in American society, then what about worshiping another God? As a culture including a multitude of religious beliefs, from differing Christian sects to different faiths altogether, this would definitely be a worrisome thing to post in the halls of the country’s legal system.
