The format I inherited here, and followed for a very long time, waiting for participation to please rise above zero, has proved itself utterly deadly.
New plan:
If there is something in the Christian and/or Hebrew scriptures that puzzles you, or strongly speaks to you, or just plain feels like a rich source for group consideration, please comment here and say what that is.
You may find it in the archives, which are partially mine but include much more from previous members. You may want to comment on anything there; if your comment opens something fresh to consider, I'll repost the passage and we can go from there.
But let's take up something that moves somebody!
May 24, 2009
Genesis 9-9.17
God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the Earth.
"The awe and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the Earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps upon the ground, and on all fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life (that is, its blood.) For your own lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning; from every animal I will require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life.
"Whoever sheds the blood of someone,
by someone will that person's blood be shed;
for in his own image
God made humankind.
"And you, be fruitful and multiply;
abound on the Earth and multiply in it."
Then God said to Noah and his sons, "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the Earth."
God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth.
"When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between you and me and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature on the Earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all meat on the Earth."
"The awe and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the Earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps upon the ground, and on all fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life (that is, its blood.) For your own lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning; from every animal I will require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life.
"Whoever sheds the blood of someone,
by someone will that person's blood be shed;
for in his own image
God made humankind.
"And you, be fruitful and multiply;
abound on the Earth and multiply in it."
Then God said to Noah and his sons, "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the Earth."
God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth.
"When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between you and me and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature on the Earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all meat on the Earth."
May 21, 2009
Genesis 8.13->
In the 601st year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the Earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.
The God said to Noah, "Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons' wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh--birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth--so that they may abound on the Earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the Earth."
So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives. And every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the Earth, went out of the ark by families.
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the Lord smelled the pleasing odor, tha Lord said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.
"As long as the Earth endures
seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night
shall not cease."
The God said to Noah, "Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons' wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh--birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth--so that they may abound on the Earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the Earth."
So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives. And every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the Earth, went out of the ark by families.
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the Lord smelled the pleasing odor, tha Lord said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.
"As long as the Earth endures
seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night
shall not cease."
April 22, 2009
Genesis 8.6-12
At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made and sent out the raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the Earth.
Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground; but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole Earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him.
He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the Earth.
Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more.
Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground; but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole Earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him.
He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the Earth.
Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more.
April 15, 2009
What Do You Mean, "Faith"?
I just read an intriguing comment; this story is about faith! Of course it is; it isn't only about faith but that is an element, one I hadn't considered!
I mean, here's this guy building a huge ship on dry land, and putting everything he has into the job, filling it up with a menagerie of animal squatters, domesticated and otherwise. Either he's got a large tribe of hired help, not mentioned here, or he's had to employ his neighbors for the occasion; aren't they going to talk?!
So far as we know, there has been no person, book, weather report or any external source telling him he needs to do this! It isn't telling him to go smite his Wicked Neighbors, or sacrifice his son to Chluthu, or to do anything antisocial, but he is taking a big step out of Consensus Reality here!
Now we typically hear the word "faith" from some person trying to tell us we need to do what he wants us to do, out of blind-faith in the Bible and in his understanding of what it all means.
But I think "faith" is a lot more about taking a step where we don't see the ground, but only know it's there!
"Belief" is another, related word. I recently read a Borg book where he pointed out something new to me. (Okay, Tony Priete (if I'm spelling him right) had said something similar about Hebrew... Their word for "true" was not about the factuality of a statement, as in Greek logic. It meant something more like "trustworthy, dependable.") Borg says that until recently, we did not say that we "believed in" some statement or other. We "believed" a person; we trusted him. To "believe in God" implied that we agreed God exists, but the essence was, to trust God. It meant that we "beloved" God--which is the expression Borg says came first here.
What else?
I mean, here's this guy building a huge ship on dry land, and putting everything he has into the job, filling it up with a menagerie of animal squatters, domesticated and otherwise. Either he's got a large tribe of hired help, not mentioned here, or he's had to employ his neighbors for the occasion; aren't they going to talk?!
So far as we know, there has been no person, book, weather report or any external source telling him he needs to do this! It isn't telling him to go smite his Wicked Neighbors, or sacrifice his son to Chluthu, or to do anything antisocial, but he is taking a big step out of Consensus Reality here!
Now we typically hear the word "faith" from some person trying to tell us we need to do what he wants us to do, out of blind-faith in the Bible and in his understanding of what it all means.
But I think "faith" is a lot more about taking a step where we don't see the ground, but only know it's there!
"Belief" is another, related word. I recently read a Borg book where he pointed out something new to me. (Okay, Tony Priete (if I'm spelling him right) had said something similar about Hebrew... Their word for "true" was not about the factuality of a statement, as in Greek logic. It meant something more like "trustworthy, dependable.") Borg says that until recently, we did not say that we "believed in" some statement or other. We "believed" a person; we trusted him. To "believe in God" implied that we agreed God exists, but the essence was, to trust God. It meant that we "beloved" God--which is the expression Borg says came first here.
What else?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)