Well the professor didn't disappoint because she continued with the Adam and Eve story as well as the Cain and Abel story as well as the Noah/flood story. On top of that we were given information on the Mesopotamian story of Gilgamesh from which many parallels to the Biblical stories can be found.
I find the story of Adam and Eve so fascinating because this myth influenced the main religions of our time. Not only does it try to explain the existence of evil and the imperfections of humans but it also has set us on a quest for immortality, a quest that I am not so sure is worth the effort.
Death of course sucks. But what would a world be like if death did not occur. What if Adam and Eve had not eaten of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil and God had not punished them for this disobedience by denying them not only access to the Garden of Eden (and a life of toil and childbirth) but also access to the Tree of Life - of immortality. Apparently it was ok to remain ignorant and presumably eat of the tree of life but it was not ok to have knowledge. I am willing to accept the tradeoff.
As a side note, the quest for immortality after death is a difficult concept for me to accept as well. Perhaps my imagination is too simple but what are we supposed to do in this blissful afterlife? Will there be a need for teachers or doctors or engineers or writers, actors, artists, musicians or anybody with a "god-given" skill to help others? Will there be a need for inventors or explorers, in fact a need to challenge and overcome our limitations? Can we play sports (without ever losing) or run (without getting tired) or find comfort in cuddling with a loved one or experience the joy in the birth of children or by viewing their successes?
Yes death sucks. But the alternative doesn't seem much better.
The Cain and Abel story is equally fascinating. I am wondering at what point in our evolution did humans realize that killing our own species was wrong. The professor pointed out that there appear to be certain actions that have always been considered moral or immoral. Killing another person except in the rarest of cases is immoral. And in the story God tells Cain that he is capable of rejecting the decision to do something wrong, that he (we) can master sin. This occurs after God has shown more pleasure toward Abel's offering of some meat from his flock than he did for Cain's offering of fruits from his field (herder vs farmer). Who knows why God did that? Who knows why that made Cain not just upset but murderously so? But the story goes beyond fratricide. After Cain kills Abel and God asks Cain where his brother is, he replies, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Well, Cain, as a matter of fact, you are. We are all our brother's keepers and not just the one we are related to.
And the Noah story is also interesting. In the story of Gilgamesh, the gods destroy the world in a flood because they find humans annoying. So while the story is extremely similar in most of its details (the ark ends up on a mountain, a bird is sent to find land), the Biblical story has a moral reason behind it. The people are not behaving properly and Noah as the only righteous man is chosen to be the sole survivor (with his family and animals). What I found intriguing here is God's motivation. I can see him saying to himself that he made a mistake and that he should start over (although that would be unusual for a perfect god), but he doesn't start over completely. He is still using the flawed humans that caused the problems (in fact, Noah gets plastered which leads to more problems) and we are still doing bad things to each other. So what was God's point again?
The other idea I found interesting was the covenant that God made with Noah (humans) after the Flood. We are all familiar with the rainbow and the fact that God promised never to destroy the world again. (Where was this covenant when that lunatic predicted God's destruction of earth in 2011?) But on top of that, God hands over to humans all the animals of the land and the birds of the air. According to the professor, humans were supposed to be vegetarians in the Garden of Eden. Lions lying down with lambs etc. Now we can eat meat as long as there is an accounting of the blood spilled. The blood (life) was to be given to God. I wish I could be in one of the discussion seminars because my question would be why Abel's animal sacrifice was more pleasing to the Lord than Cain's plant sacrifice if prior to Noah we were supposed to be vegetarian?
This is why Bible study is so fascinating. Way more questions than answers.
Which leads to the last of the ideas in this lecture. The professor listed of couple of what she called doublets - retellings of the same events - as well as some contradictions, pointing out that multiple authors, revisionists etc. were involved in writing these earliest of Bible stories. In other words, it becomes extremely difficult to accept that the first five books were written by Moses or in fact that they were divinely inspired.
Not that that matters. The stories are still entertaining and enlightening.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Lecture Three - the Creation
This was very much a continuation of the previous lecture. She read parts of the Babylonian creation story and then the Genesis creation story to show the similarities but the more important differences between the two stories.
In the Enuma Elish, we are introduced to gods who are formed out of some primordial substance who create other gods often through some male/female union. These gods are limited in powers often stuck in some natural phenomenon like the water or the sky. These gods war against each other and some die showing that they are not immortal or timeless. At some point one god, in this case Marduk, becomes the main god. And when humans are created they are there to do the work of the gods.
As pointed out in the previous lecture, the Biblical monotheistic world view is quite different from the pagan religions of the people surrounding the ancient Hebrews. God is not formed or at least there is no mention of how he was formed. He was there and had always been there. He is completely powerful and creates everything in a very orderly way, taming the chaos at least to some degree. Nature is under his complete control; there is no god of the sun or moon or volcanoes.
And the creation of humans is something special. Humans are made in the likeness of god, whatever that means, and that gives us a special relationship with god.
At this point, the lecturer seemed to rush through the rest of the lesson. She does talk a little about Adam and Eve, but barely mentions Cain and Abel. I am not sure if she intends to continue in the next lecture as its summary refers to Genesis 5-11.No matter. I have a bunch of thoughts swirling through my head.
It is easy enough to pass on the story as just a made up tale about something that occurred long before the storytellers could make sense of their surroundings. But to do that, would be similar to passing on Homer or Shakespeare or any author for that matter who is telling a story that is not based on exact historical events. I don't believe for a minute that the events that are depicted in the beginning of Genesis happened as recorded. I am not even sure how the original storytellers felt. Most people at various times ask themselves where did I come from, why am I here, where am I going. There is no doubt that these storytellers faced the same questions.
It would be interesting if we were able to listen in on the seminars where questions could be discussed in more detail. For example, the lecturer refers to the verse where humans are created in God's image and says that a long list could be made of what that exactly means. She talks about humans having responsibility, language, free will, abstract thought, etc.
I have wondered if the power to create - artistically, technologically, philosophically - is the most "godlike" attribute we have. Why do humans create? I have no clue. But there is certainly a drive for us to do something more than to just find food and a place to sleep. God's first act (at least the one we are aware of) was to create. So what was he doing before he made this creation? How was he feeling? Was he bored? What triggered this desire to create a world with a bunch of flawed people with the free will to make stupid, harmful, cruel, pointless decisions (as well as good ones)?
And after he has accomplished this task, why did he care enough to continue paying attention? When Picasso painted a picture or Beethoven composed a symphony, or Milton wrote a poem, especially ones that did not turn out exactly how they hoped, did they continue to care or did they move on to the next project. Why isn't God doing the same? He has created something and he may or may not be proud of his efforts but what makes humans think that he cares that much about it (us) that he is still hanging around waiting to see how it turns out?
I suppose I am frustrated by this creation story (whether it is true or not but particularly if it is true) because it is set up for humans to fail. A tree was put in a perfect garden and we were told not to eat from this tree of the knowledge of good and evil, "lest we die". And I am not even sure what is meant by good and evil. While there are universal acts that are obviously good or evil, some acts are not so obvious. For example, is disobedience bad? Disobeying Hitler and hiding Jews during WW11 was obviously not an evil act. But being punished for disobeying God by eating something we weren't supposed to before we even realized that disobedience was wrong (had to eat from the tree to realize that) just seems too bizarre to get my head around.
Far better for me to just accept the fact that there there was no Fall, that people are flawed, that we will do dumb things. While the Biblical creation story makes us feel better because God is in control and there is some orderliness to our existence, I am willing to accept the fact that we are on our own. Random acts, chaotic acts will happen; flawed humans will do bad things often horrible things. The challenge is to learn to overcome as much of those difficulties as we can, to help others in distress, to find solutions to problems not because a god may want us to, but because it is just the right and proper thing to do.
In the Enuma Elish, we are introduced to gods who are formed out of some primordial substance who create other gods often through some male/female union. These gods are limited in powers often stuck in some natural phenomenon like the water or the sky. These gods war against each other and some die showing that they are not immortal or timeless. At some point one god, in this case Marduk, becomes the main god. And when humans are created they are there to do the work of the gods.
As pointed out in the previous lecture, the Biblical monotheistic world view is quite different from the pagan religions of the people surrounding the ancient Hebrews. God is not formed or at least there is no mention of how he was formed. He was there and had always been there. He is completely powerful and creates everything in a very orderly way, taming the chaos at least to some degree. Nature is under his complete control; there is no god of the sun or moon or volcanoes.
And the creation of humans is something special. Humans are made in the likeness of god, whatever that means, and that gives us a special relationship with god.
At this point, the lecturer seemed to rush through the rest of the lesson. She does talk a little about Adam and Eve, but barely mentions Cain and Abel. I am not sure if she intends to continue in the next lecture as its summary refers to Genesis 5-11.No matter. I have a bunch of thoughts swirling through my head.
It is easy enough to pass on the story as just a made up tale about something that occurred long before the storytellers could make sense of their surroundings. But to do that, would be similar to passing on Homer or Shakespeare or any author for that matter who is telling a story that is not based on exact historical events. I don't believe for a minute that the events that are depicted in the beginning of Genesis happened as recorded. I am not even sure how the original storytellers felt. Most people at various times ask themselves where did I come from, why am I here, where am I going. There is no doubt that these storytellers faced the same questions.
It would be interesting if we were able to listen in on the seminars where questions could be discussed in more detail. For example, the lecturer refers to the verse where humans are created in God's image and says that a long list could be made of what that exactly means. She talks about humans having responsibility, language, free will, abstract thought, etc.
I have wondered if the power to create - artistically, technologically, philosophically - is the most "godlike" attribute we have. Why do humans create? I have no clue. But there is certainly a drive for us to do something more than to just find food and a place to sleep. God's first act (at least the one we are aware of) was to create. So what was he doing before he made this creation? How was he feeling? Was he bored? What triggered this desire to create a world with a bunch of flawed people with the free will to make stupid, harmful, cruel, pointless decisions (as well as good ones)?
And after he has accomplished this task, why did he care enough to continue paying attention? When Picasso painted a picture or Beethoven composed a symphony, or Milton wrote a poem, especially ones that did not turn out exactly how they hoped, did they continue to care or did they move on to the next project. Why isn't God doing the same? He has created something and he may or may not be proud of his efforts but what makes humans think that he cares that much about it (us) that he is still hanging around waiting to see how it turns out?
I suppose I am frustrated by this creation story (whether it is true or not but particularly if it is true) because it is set up for humans to fail. A tree was put in a perfect garden and we were told not to eat from this tree of the knowledge of good and evil, "lest we die". And I am not even sure what is meant by good and evil. While there are universal acts that are obviously good or evil, some acts are not so obvious. For example, is disobedience bad? Disobeying Hitler and hiding Jews during WW11 was obviously not an evil act. But being punished for disobeying God by eating something we weren't supposed to before we even realized that disobedience was wrong (had to eat from the tree to realize that) just seems too bizarre to get my head around.
Far better for me to just accept the fact that there there was no Fall, that people are flawed, that we will do dumb things. While the Biblical creation story makes us feel better because God is in control and there is some orderliness to our existence, I am willing to accept the fact that we are on our own. Random acts, chaotic acts will happen; flawed humans will do bad things often horrible things. The challenge is to learn to overcome as much of those difficulties as we can, to help others in distress, to find solutions to problems not because a god may want us to, but because it is just the right and proper thing to do.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Lecture Two - Paganism vs Monotheism
This is interesting stuff and we are still not into the actual text of the Bible which she promises will happen next lecture.
This lecture dealt with the different world views presented by a pagan society and a monotheistic society, and whether the monotheism of the Bible was a an evolutionary change from the pagan practices of Israel's neighbours or a completely radical, revolutionary approach.
In pagan religions, gods are born and can even die. They are in conflict with each other and are limited by forces around them. Gods are often, in fact, forces of nature. The mythology of pagan societies deals with the lives of the gods and the fluidity between gods and humans where humans can become gods or mate with gods etc. Magic and divination are possible if humans can tap into the original source that formed the gods. Evil is explained by demons or even destructive gods who exist to cause trouble just as there are gods who exist to do good. It is an amoral world - not moral, not immoral, just neutral when it comes to good and evil.
Some people claim that the Biblical monotheism is a radical, revolutionary change because there was nothing before the existence of the Biblical God. He was not born out of some primordial existence. He has always existed, in fact, is timeless. He has no female companion nor male ones. He is free of all limits because he created everything. Magic therefore is impossible. And this god is good. Evil exists only when human will and desire conflict with the will of god. Therefore, in a monotheistic world, evil and morality are viewed quite differently than in a pagan world.
The lecturer pointed out that it is not easy to say if the monotheism of the Bible developed independently of paganism as there are still examples of pagan behaviour/stories in the Bible that might indicate a continuation of previous practices. Household idols still exist. (Just finished reading about Rachel stealing them from her father's house.) God does talk with other beings who appear to be a somewhat equal footing with God, at least more equal than the relationship with humans. And if there are no evil agents (only the clash of wills between God and human), then who/what is the serpent that tempts Eve?
While it is not necessarily a complete answer to my first question from last week, I can understand why this monotheistic world view and thus the creation story of the Bible would be more appealing and therefore more believable than other stories. If you are going to believe in a god, I can see why people would feel more secure in a world created by a benevolent god with the power to look out for us compared to a chaotic world where gods clash and there is no divine order or control.
This lecture dealt with the different world views presented by a pagan society and a monotheistic society, and whether the monotheism of the Bible was a an evolutionary change from the pagan practices of Israel's neighbours or a completely radical, revolutionary approach.
In pagan religions, gods are born and can even die. They are in conflict with each other and are limited by forces around them. Gods are often, in fact, forces of nature. The mythology of pagan societies deals with the lives of the gods and the fluidity between gods and humans where humans can become gods or mate with gods etc. Magic and divination are possible if humans can tap into the original source that formed the gods. Evil is explained by demons or even destructive gods who exist to cause trouble just as there are gods who exist to do good. It is an amoral world - not moral, not immoral, just neutral when it comes to good and evil.
Some people claim that the Biblical monotheism is a radical, revolutionary change because there was nothing before the existence of the Biblical God. He was not born out of some primordial existence. He has always existed, in fact, is timeless. He has no female companion nor male ones. He is free of all limits because he created everything. Magic therefore is impossible. And this god is good. Evil exists only when human will and desire conflict with the will of god. Therefore, in a monotheistic world, evil and morality are viewed quite differently than in a pagan world.
The lecturer pointed out that it is not easy to say if the monotheism of the Bible developed independently of paganism as there are still examples of pagan behaviour/stories in the Bible that might indicate a continuation of previous practices. Household idols still exist. (Just finished reading about Rachel stealing them from her father's house.) God does talk with other beings who appear to be a somewhat equal footing with God, at least more equal than the relationship with humans. And if there are no evil agents (only the clash of wills between God and human), then who/what is the serpent that tempts Eve?
While it is not necessarily a complete answer to my first question from last week, I can understand why this monotheistic world view and thus the creation story of the Bible would be more appealing and therefore more believable than other stories. If you are going to believe in a god, I can see why people would feel more secure in a world created by a benevolent god with the power to look out for us compared to a chaotic world where gods clash and there is no divine order or control.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Reading the Bible in a Year
There are free online courses from many respected universities. I found two courses from Yale University that cover first the Old Testament and then the New Testament.
http://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-145#sessions
http://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-152#sessions
As a "student" I will listen to 50 video taped lectures and read The Bible. What could be more fun than that? Well, maybe having some discussion about the lectures/readings which is the purpose of restarting this blog. I am hoping others will follow and comment as well.
Because the courses have 50 lectures and because I found this site for reading The Bible in one year,
http://www.ewordtoday.com/year/niv1984/bjan01.htm
I intend to watch a lecture a week and then comment on a Monday. That will take one year. For the first while, the daily Bible readings will keep me well ahead of the lectures.
The first lecture was just your basic introduction to the course giving an overview of the approach and content of future lessons so there isn't a whole lot to comment on but here goes.
The course is not for theology students. Religion (at least faith) will play only a small role in the course. The students are to approach the course as philosophers, literary critics, historians etc. That's fine with me. I am not a believer. But I am absolutely fascinated by all the stories in the Bible. The rules. The characters. The historical elements. The lessons. In the past I have read about half of the Bible (up to Kings in the Old Testament and the Gospels in the New) and I am amazed at the cleverness of the Bible storytellers. Like all great books, every time you pick it up, you will find something new or something to think about in a new way.
In seven days my daily Bible readings have taken me up to the marriage of Rebekah and Isaac (Genesis 24) and the third (not even the second) lecture will only discuss up to Cain and Abel (Genesis 4) Already, I have a bunch of questions but I will limit myself to the ones that may be answered in the next two weeks. (I will save my questions about Noah, and Lot, and Abraham and Sarah and Hagar and Ishmael and Isaac and Rebekkah for a later week, at least one closer to when a lecture will answer them.)
1. Why is the creation story in the Bible believed so fervently by so many people when every other creation story is treated as myth? When I read the first few chapters of Genesis, I can't help but say that this is a story, that it did not happen that way. And if I can't believe that original story then it becomes difficult to believe the ones that follow. This does not deny the fact that we can learn from those stories.
2. The same is true for the Adam and Eve and the Fall of Man story. It reads like myth. Myth isn't bad as myths are often explanations of the unexplainable with much to offer how we approach life or deal with confusing events, but why is it believed as fact by so many? I realize that there is a faith based answer to this, but I am wondering if there is some explanation beyond that.
3. I recall reading somewhere that the Cain and Abel story deals with the conflict between herders and farmers. I am assuming I will get some explanation for Cain's offering being rejected and his murder of his brother.
.
http://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-145#sessions
http://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-152#sessions
As a "student" I will listen to 50 video taped lectures and read The Bible. What could be more fun than that? Well, maybe having some discussion about the lectures/readings which is the purpose of restarting this blog. I am hoping others will follow and comment as well.
Because the courses have 50 lectures and because I found this site for reading The Bible in one year,
http://www.ewordtoday.com/year/niv1984/bjan01.htm
I intend to watch a lecture a week and then comment on a Monday. That will take one year. For the first while, the daily Bible readings will keep me well ahead of the lectures.
The first lecture was just your basic introduction to the course giving an overview of the approach and content of future lessons so there isn't a whole lot to comment on but here goes.
The course is not for theology students. Religion (at least faith) will play only a small role in the course. The students are to approach the course as philosophers, literary critics, historians etc. That's fine with me. I am not a believer. But I am absolutely fascinated by all the stories in the Bible. The rules. The characters. The historical elements. The lessons. In the past I have read about half of the Bible (up to Kings in the Old Testament and the Gospels in the New) and I am amazed at the cleverness of the Bible storytellers. Like all great books, every time you pick it up, you will find something new or something to think about in a new way.
In seven days my daily Bible readings have taken me up to the marriage of Rebekah and Isaac (Genesis 24) and the third (not even the second) lecture will only discuss up to Cain and Abel (Genesis 4) Already, I have a bunch of questions but I will limit myself to the ones that may be answered in the next two weeks. (I will save my questions about Noah, and Lot, and Abraham and Sarah and Hagar and Ishmael and Isaac and Rebekkah for a later week, at least one closer to when a lecture will answer them.)
1. Why is the creation story in the Bible believed so fervently by so many people when every other creation story is treated as myth? When I read the first few chapters of Genesis, I can't help but say that this is a story, that it did not happen that way. And if I can't believe that original story then it becomes difficult to believe the ones that follow. This does not deny the fact that we can learn from those stories.
2. The same is true for the Adam and Eve and the Fall of Man story. It reads like myth. Myth isn't bad as myths are often explanations of the unexplainable with much to offer how we approach life or deal with confusing events, but why is it believed as fact by so many? I realize that there is a faith based answer to this, but I am wondering if there is some explanation beyond that.
3. I recall reading somewhere that the Cain and Abel story deals with the conflict between herders and farmers. I am assuming I will get some explanation for Cain's offering being rejected and his murder of his brother.
.
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