Today's chapters weren't that exciting, really, although it did introduce one of the great characters of Jewish/Christian faiths: Abraham (known as Abram at first). There was a lot of geneology and there was the Tower of Babel story...aka how come, if everyone came from one family, people speak different languages?
There's a lot of jumping around and a lot of assumptions made which are a little hard to follow. But, that is to be expected, I guess. The introduction of Abraham is definitely the biggest development here, so there really isn't a lot to discuss. Not everything is going to be that exciting, I guess. This is the Bible, not a Dan Brown novel, after all.
This suits me quite well though, because I am indeed quite tired. Sorry for the short and no doubt disappointing post. See you tomorrow.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
January 2nd- Genesis 5-9
Once upon a time sometime last year, I was in the Classics Department on Campus sitting with some friends. One, who had to recite a passage from Homer, asked what the most boring passage was that he could read (he was a dredfully sarcastic soul who took pleasure it torturing his professors in this manner). Another friend pointed him to a catalog of ships in the first parts of the Iliad. The first friend became quite excited.
Today's section reminded me a lot of that moment- for reading through the geneology from Adam to Noah must be somewhat comparable to reading a catalog of ships (actually, I have read the passage in The Iliad they were referring to, and I can say for sure that it is). While it must have been important to someone at some point in time to know that Adam lived 900+ years (and it certainly has been the point of much controversy concerning the age of the planet), it is not the most fascinating thing to read through. I guess listing the geneology gives some validation/ context for the characters later down the line...in this case, Noah.
Noah's a great character. Somehow, through his good life, he has convinced God that this whole "mankind" thing wasn't just a complete waste of time. God spares him, then commands him to do the impossible- gather up all the animals and put them on a big ark. I believe this is what happened (or rather, didn't happen) to the unicorns and dinosaurs.
But in all seriousness, these chapters included a lot of very interesting connections, no doubt altered through time to create a sense of consistency, but here is where we start seeing numbers that will come up again and again later, especially in the Gospels. Numbers like 40 and 7. God decides that "after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights..." (Gen. 7:4), etc.
The story of Noah and the Flood has always bothered me in some regard. I mean no disrespect to God (Again, I am a Catholic and I fully believe in Him), but it really makes me wonder about God's nature. No one would disagree that the God of the OT is much more, shall I say, vengeful, than the God of the NT, but this passage suggests something beyond anger- it shows regret. God, in all His perfection, regrets making man. Regret. Regret suggests that a mistake was made, and if God is truely to be considered a perfect entity, then He cannot make mistakes, or at least does not make mistakes. But based on the fact that he regrets his decision to create man, one can assume that, in that moment, he thought it was a mistake. Gen 6:6 reads: "The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain." (NIV). I doubt many people would today consider the creation of mankind a mistake, but in God's eyes, were we? And if we were a mistake, because he made us, does that mean that he, essentially, made a mistake? Sure, God made up for his errors in a way, though we have to wait until the New Testament for that to happen, but even then, is that damage control for his error? errare humanus est, but even still...
Before this post angers any more people out there, I want to again reitterate that I do believe in God, but I also believe that a healthy questioning is good because God gave us free will so that we could think for ourselves. Part of thinking for ourselves is asking questions. Perhaps I will get an answer as I continue reading.
Today's section reminded me a lot of that moment- for reading through the geneology from Adam to Noah must be somewhat comparable to reading a catalog of ships (actually, I have read the passage in The Iliad they were referring to, and I can say for sure that it is). While it must have been important to someone at some point in time to know that Adam lived 900+ years (and it certainly has been the point of much controversy concerning the age of the planet), it is not the most fascinating thing to read through. I guess listing the geneology gives some validation/ context for the characters later down the line...in this case, Noah.
Noah's a great character. Somehow, through his good life, he has convinced God that this whole "mankind" thing wasn't just a complete waste of time. God spares him, then commands him to do the impossible- gather up all the animals and put them on a big ark. I believe this is what happened (or rather, didn't happen) to the unicorns and dinosaurs.
But in all seriousness, these chapters included a lot of very interesting connections, no doubt altered through time to create a sense of consistency, but here is where we start seeing numbers that will come up again and again later, especially in the Gospels. Numbers like 40 and 7. God decides that "after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights..." (Gen. 7:4), etc.
The story of Noah and the Flood has always bothered me in some regard. I mean no disrespect to God (Again, I am a Catholic and I fully believe in Him), but it really makes me wonder about God's nature. No one would disagree that the God of the OT is much more, shall I say, vengeful, than the God of the NT, but this passage suggests something beyond anger- it shows regret. God, in all His perfection, regrets making man. Regret. Regret suggests that a mistake was made, and if God is truely to be considered a perfect entity, then He cannot make mistakes, or at least does not make mistakes. But based on the fact that he regrets his decision to create man, one can assume that, in that moment, he thought it was a mistake. Gen 6:6 reads: "The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain." (NIV). I doubt many people would today consider the creation of mankind a mistake, but in God's eyes, were we? And if we were a mistake, because he made us, does that mean that he, essentially, made a mistake? Sure, God made up for his errors in a way, though we have to wait until the New Testament for that to happen, but even then, is that damage control for his error? errare humanus est, but even still...
Before this post angers any more people out there, I want to again reitterate that I do believe in God, but I also believe that a healthy questioning is good because God gave us free will so that we could think for ourselves. Part of thinking for ourselves is asking questions. Perhaps I will get an answer as I continue reading.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year! Genesis 1-4
Happy New Year Everyone! The Resoultion is off an kicking as I made my way through the first four chapters of Genesis. I know my original plan had me go until the 3rd chapter, but then I realized that the reading plan was for a KJV translation and thus did not have the Bonus Books of a Catholic Bible (which I am going to use*). I'll post the updated reading schedule below in case you want to follow along (which you totally should!)
Anyways, a lot happens in the first four chapters of Genesis- mainly, the earth was made in six days (remember, God rested on the seventh) and then made Adam and Eve, who screwed things up by eating forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve get kicked out of Eden, have a few kids (Cain and Abel), and then Cain kills Abel and is banished, but somehow finds a wife (Ummmmm where did she come from?). Really, it's more of a soap opera than a Bible story, but that's okay. One passage I did find interesting was after Eve ate the fruit, God punished her by making child birth much more painful. Thanks, Eve.
I wonder if this is only coincidence, but the story of Adam and Eve/ Eve eating the forbidden fruit sounds a whole lot like the story of Pandora's Box. I'm sure somewhere, early Jewish writers got their hands on some sort of mythology text from the Ancients, but it just seems interesting. Case for Faith or Case against Faith? I guess it depends on which side you stand on, really.
Case Against Faith: Looking at the similarities of the stories might suggest that really, Adam and Eve is just a copycat and therefore in no way, shape, or form, correct.
Case For Faith: Could this possibly be the same incident told through different points of view? Hmm...I'm not a religious scholar and don't pretend to be, so maybe someone has done a great deal of research on this and if you know of any, please let me know! It does facinate me. If not, well, maybe I've found my undergrad research topic.
Alright, well, as promised, the correct January Reading Schedule:
1. Genesis 1:1 to 4:26
2. Genesis 5:1 to 9:29
3. Genesis 10:1 to 16:16
4. Genesis 17:1 to 20:18
5. Genesis 21:1 to 24:67
6. Genesis 25:1 to 27:46
7. Genesis 28:1 to 30:43
8. Genesis 31:1 to 35:29
9. Genesis 36:1 to 39:23
10. Genesis 40:1 to 42:38
11. Genesis 43:1 to 46:34
12. Genesis 47:1 to 50:26
13. Exodus 1:1 to 5:23
14. Exodus 6:1 to 9:35
15. Exodus 10:1 to 13:22
16. Exodus 14:1 to 17:16
17. Exodus 18:1 to 22:32
18. Exodus 23:1 to 26:37
19. Exodus 27:1 to 29:46
20. Exodus 30:1 to 33:23
21. Exodus 34:1 to 37:29
22. Exodus 38:1 to 40:38
23. Leviticus 1:1 to 6:30
24. Leviticus 7:1 to 10:20
25. Leviticus 11:1 to 13:59
26. Leviticus 14:1 to 17:16
27. Leviticus 18:1 to 21:24
28. Leviticus 22:1 to 24:23
29. Leviticus 25:1 to 27:34
30. Numbers 1:1 to 3:51
31. Numbers 4:1 to 6:27
Anyways, a lot happens in the first four chapters of Genesis- mainly, the earth was made in six days (remember, God rested on the seventh) and then made Adam and Eve, who screwed things up by eating forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve get kicked out of Eden, have a few kids (Cain and Abel), and then Cain kills Abel and is banished, but somehow finds a wife (Ummmmm where did she come from?). Really, it's more of a soap opera than a Bible story, but that's okay. One passage I did find interesting was after Eve ate the fruit, God punished her by making child birth much more painful. Thanks, Eve.
I wonder if this is only coincidence, but the story of Adam and Eve/ Eve eating the forbidden fruit sounds a whole lot like the story of Pandora's Box. I'm sure somewhere, early Jewish writers got their hands on some sort of mythology text from the Ancients, but it just seems interesting. Case for Faith or Case against Faith? I guess it depends on which side you stand on, really.
Case Against Faith: Looking at the similarities of the stories might suggest that really, Adam and Eve is just a copycat and therefore in no way, shape, or form, correct.
Case For Faith: Could this possibly be the same incident told through different points of view? Hmm...I'm not a religious scholar and don't pretend to be, so maybe someone has done a great deal of research on this and if you know of any, please let me know! It does facinate me. If not, well, maybe I've found my undergrad research topic.
Alright, well, as promised, the correct January Reading Schedule:
1. Genesis 1:1 to 4:26
2. Genesis 5:1 to 9:29
3. Genesis 10:1 to 16:16
4. Genesis 17:1 to 20:18
5. Genesis 21:1 to 24:67
6. Genesis 25:1 to 27:46
7. Genesis 28:1 to 30:43
8. Genesis 31:1 to 35:29
9. Genesis 36:1 to 39:23
10. Genesis 40:1 to 42:38
11. Genesis 43:1 to 46:34
12. Genesis 47:1 to 50:26
13. Exodus 1:1 to 5:23
14. Exodus 6:1 to 9:35
15. Exodus 10:1 to 13:22
16. Exodus 14:1 to 17:16
17. Exodus 18:1 to 22:32
18. Exodus 23:1 to 26:37
19. Exodus 27:1 to 29:46
20. Exodus 30:1 to 33:23
21. Exodus 34:1 to 37:29
22. Exodus 38:1 to 40:38
23. Leviticus 1:1 to 6:30
24. Leviticus 7:1 to 10:20
25. Leviticus 11:1 to 13:59
26. Leviticus 14:1 to 17:16
27. Leviticus 18:1 to 21:24
28. Leviticus 22:1 to 24:23
29. Leviticus 25:1 to 27:34
30. Numbers 1:1 to 3:51
31. Numbers 4:1 to 6:27
Monday, December 28, 2009
A New Year's Resolution...
...that I've been meaning to accomplish for a while is to read through the entire Bible, front to back, cover to cover, Genesis all the way to Revelations. But I've always gotten side-tracked and run out of time or simply forgot to make room for Bible-time in my day.
I've decided to do a blog about my Bible-reading adventures, which will include my thoughts about what I've read, etc. But before you hear my thoughts on the Bible, you might want to know a bit of my background:
As the title implies, I am a Roman Catholic convert (formerly non-denominational Protestant) who became Catholic a few years ago (March 22nd, 2008, to be precise). I am also a college student who has had my fair share of vices and temptations thrown at me. I'm not going to go into specifics of what I have or have not done, but rest assured it's bad enough to make a priest go into hard-core judge mode during one Reconciliation. While I am a fiscal conservative, I tend to be pretty liberal on the social issues (with the exception of things like abortion, which I stand firmly agains). We will have to see what I have to say about things when I get to Lev 18:22...
Anyways, if you would like to read along with me, please do because I think there can be a lot of awesome discussions stem from this, and I hope they do. In any case, here is my schedule (for January):
I'm using the American Standard Version of the Bible (the Catholic one with all the extra books)
Jan 1: Gen 1-3
Jan 2: Gen 4-7
Jan 3: Gen 8-11
Jan 4: Gen 12-15
Jan 5: Gen 16-18
Jan 6: Gen 19-21
Jan 7: Gen 22-24
Jan 8: Gen 25-26
Jan 9: Gen 27-29
Jan 10: Gen 30-31
Jan 11: Gen 32-34
Jan 12: Gen 35-37
Jan 13: Gen 38-40
Jan 14: Gen 41-42
Jan 15: Gen 43-45
Jan 16: Gen 46-47
Jan 17: Gen 48-50
Jan 18: Ex 1-3
Jan 19: Ex 4-6
Jan 20: Ex 7-9
Jan 21: Ex 10-12
Jan 22: Ex 13-15
Jan 23: Ex 16-18
Jan 24: Ex 19-21
Jan 25: Ex 22-24
Jan 26: Ex 25-27
Jan 27: Ex 28-29
Jan 28: Ex 30-32
Jan 29: Ex 33-35
Jan 30: Ex 36-38
Jan 31: Ex 39-40
Happy New Year and I'll see everyone Jan. 1st!
-The Roamin' Catholic
I've decided to do a blog about my Bible-reading adventures, which will include my thoughts about what I've read, etc. But before you hear my thoughts on the Bible, you might want to know a bit of my background:
As the title implies, I am a Roman Catholic convert (formerly non-denominational Protestant) who became Catholic a few years ago (March 22nd, 2008, to be precise). I am also a college student who has had my fair share of vices and temptations thrown at me. I'm not going to go into specifics of what I have or have not done, but rest assured it's bad enough to make a priest go into hard-core judge mode during one Reconciliation. While I am a fiscal conservative, I tend to be pretty liberal on the social issues (with the exception of things like abortion, which I stand firmly agains). We will have to see what I have to say about things when I get to Lev 18:22...
Anyways, if you would like to read along with me, please do because I think there can be a lot of awesome discussions stem from this, and I hope they do. In any case, here is my schedule (for January):
I'm using the American Standard Version of the Bible (the Catholic one with all the extra books)
Jan 1: Gen 1-3
Jan 2: Gen 4-7
Jan 3: Gen 8-11
Jan 4: Gen 12-15
Jan 5: Gen 16-18
Jan 6: Gen 19-21
Jan 7: Gen 22-24
Jan 8: Gen 25-26
Jan 9: Gen 27-29
Jan 10: Gen 30-31
Jan 11: Gen 32-34
Jan 12: Gen 35-37
Jan 13: Gen 38-40
Jan 14: Gen 41-42
Jan 15: Gen 43-45
Jan 16: Gen 46-47
Jan 17: Gen 48-50
Jan 18: Ex 1-3
Jan 19: Ex 4-6
Jan 20: Ex 7-9
Jan 21: Ex 10-12
Jan 22: Ex 13-15
Jan 23: Ex 16-18
Jan 24: Ex 19-21
Jan 25: Ex 22-24
Jan 26: Ex 25-27
Jan 27: Ex 28-29
Jan 28: Ex 30-32
Jan 29: Ex 33-35
Jan 30: Ex 36-38
Jan 31: Ex 39-40
Happy New Year and I'll see everyone Jan. 1st!
-The Roamin' Catholic
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