Hey everybody, I'm still on vacation, and even though I've decided not to really do any blog stuff, it has apparently been sitting on the back of my mind a little. I have 2 thoughts about the way things are going with the old testament, and in a way they sort of pull in opposite directions.
First, I'm afraid I'm pushing things just a little too hard in the negative direction. Quite frankly, it's easy to do, as these stories are horrible. So far we have seen the creation stories, Cain and Abel, and the Noah story. I think these stories are terrible, and I find it bizarre that we tell them to kids. And yet, these stories have been told for thousands of years, there must be a good side to them somewhere, from some perspective. I want to try to find the good perspective on these stories and include them (If I recall correctly, Guzik has that at the front of his commentaries, so it should be easy for me to consider and include in my writeup). I'm not exactly sure where I want to put it, either out in front of the story, or at the end of the post, I'm not sure, I guess I'll do a little experimenting and see which format I like better. I was also thinking about doing it in another color, I like the black for regular and blue for commentary stuff, perhaps I'll put the good spin of the story in green or something. Again, I'll have to play with it a little bit to find something I like. Any thoughts or ideas on this stuff?
Second. In regards to some of the really bad stuff I've come across so far, the worst bit of it is how the Christian commentaries justify the horrible stuff. Given that they seem dead set on making the bible perfect, they have to justify everything, which is a problem as some of it is just awful. I think I would like to collect the really bad Christian justifications in one place for later reference. I was trying to figure out the best form for this, and realized that now that I am doing the verses of note post as I go, the overview posts at the end of each book are open. This seems like a good place for Christian justification summaries as well as a 1 or 2 sentence summary of each chapter.
Alright, back to soaking up some sun before I have to go back to the snow. See you in a few days.
When you are a writer with an agenda you usually can't leave it behind when you go on vacation...it's going to sit and stir in your head...but I believe that's what makes a good writer...mental edits....edits....edits!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou certainly have me curious as to how much "green" print you are going to be able to find to write about the "horrible" story's...:D
Thanks Anna :)
DeleteI don't really know how much green I'll be able to find either, it might just boil down to a moral of the story. Perhaps the cain and abel story is just "murder is bad" and the Noah story is about "cleansing the earth of evil".
...and then there are so many "morals" to consider. In the case of Cain and Abel, jealousy drove Cain to kill Abel...but I never could understand how "God" forgave him so easily when he didn't others...such as all those who he supposedly drowned in the Noah story. I read somewhere that Noah was an alcoholic albino outcast and that's why he distanced himself from others. Who knows? Good luck with the "green!"
DeleteYeah, I think it possible that on many days I might just say what the moral is supposed to be and then complain about that as well :) Often times I think the stories of the bible only work if you don't look outside of the intended scope at all. If you only think about Noah, the earth is being cleansed for him. Of course, if you think about anyone but him it is awful.
DeleteOn my old blog, I used to do "Bizarro posts" where I gave bad gambling advice (as opposed to my generally good (I hope) poker playing advice.) You could write a Bizarro part of your posts where you look on the brightside of every chapter, even if it's a stretch.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that will be what it boils down to for a lot of these stories, as they really do seem to be pretty terrible. I'm honestly hoping to find some stories in here that are genuinely good, it's kind of depressing that the book so many people claim is the source of good in the world is mostly bad. I also don't want to be unfairly critical, there are so many things to legitimately complain about, I don't want to be unfair to any redeeming parts. Perhaps spending a little time in this frame of mind will help that.
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