Mr. Bloggers

Thank You Dr. Sexson

2005-12-13T12:19:00.003-08:00

This was one of my favorite classes that I have had the privelage of taking in college. I was never bored and always enjoyed class. Thanks for the knowledge Dr. Sexson.

Doctrine of Retributive Justice

2005-12-13T12:19:00.002-08:00

Divine Judgment
Catholic Encyclopedia on CD-ROM Contains 11,632 articles. Browse off-line, ad-free, printer-friendly.Get it here for only $29.95
This subject will be treated under two heads:
I. Divine Judgment Subjectively and Objectively Considered; II. Pre-Christian Beliefs Concerning Judgment after Death.
Particular Judgment and General Judgment will be treated in separate articles.
I. DIVINE JUDGMENT SUBJECTIVELY AND OBJECTIVELY CONSIDERED
Divine judgment (judicium divinum), as an immanent act of God, denotes the action of God's retributive justice by which the destiny of rational creatures is decided according to their merits and demerits. This includes:
God's knowledge of the moral worth of the acts of free creatures (scientia approbationis et reprobationis), and His decree determining the just consequences of such acts;
the Divine verdict upon a creature amenable to the moral law, and the execution of this sentence by way of reward and punishment.It is clear, of course, that the judgment, as it is in God, cannot be a process of distinct and successive acts; it is a single eternal act identical with the Divine Essence. But the effects of the judgment, since they take place in creatures, follow the sequence of time. The Divine judgment is manifested and fulfilled at the beginning, during the progress, and at the end of time. In the beginning, God pronounced judgment upon the whole race, as a consequence of the fall of its representatives, the first parents (Genesis 3). Death and the infirmities and miseries of this were the consequences of that original sentence. Besides this common judgment there have been special judgments on particular individuals and peoples. Such great catastrophes as the flood (Genesis 6:5), the destruction of Sodom (Genesis 28:20), the earthquake that swallowed up Core and his followers (Numbers 16:30), the plagues of Egypt (Exodus 6:6; 12:12), and the evil that came upon other oppressors of Israel (Ezekiel 25:11; 28:22) are represented in the Bible as Divine judgments. The fear of God is such a fundamental idea in the Old Testament that it insists mainly on the punitive aspect of the judgment (cf. Proverbs 11:31; Ezekiel 14:21). An erroneous view of these truths led many of the rabbis to teach that all the evil which befalls man is a special chastisement from on high, a doctrine which was declared false by Christ.
There is also a judgment of God in the world that is subjective. By his acts man adheres to or deviates from the law of God, and thereby places himself within the sphere of approval or condemnation. In a sense, then, each individual exercises judgment on himself. Hence it is declared that Christ came not to judge but to save (John 3:17; 8:15; 12:47). The internal judgment proceeds according to a man's attitude: towards Christ (John 3:18). Though all the happenings of life cannot be interpreted as the outcome of Divine judgment, whose external manifestation is therefore intermittent, the subjective judgment is coextensive with the life of the individual and of the race. The judgment at the end of time will complement the previous visitations of Divine retribution and will manifest the final result of the daily secret judgment. By its sentence the eternal destiny of creatures will be decided. As there is a twofold end of time, so there is likewise a twofold eternal judgment: the particular judgment, at the hour of death, which is the end of time for the individual, and the general judgment, at the final epoch of the world's existence, which is the end of time for the human race.
II. PRE-CHRISTIAN BELIEFS CONCERNING JUDGMENT AFTER DEATH
The idea of a final readjustment beyond the grave, which would rectify the sharp contrast so often observed between the conduct and the fortune of men, was prevalent among all nations in pre-Christian times. Such was the doctrine of metempsychosis or the transmigration of souls, as a justification of the ways of God to man, prevailing among the Hindus of all classes and sects, the Pythagoreans, the Orphic mystics, and the Druids. The doctrine of a forensic judgment in the unseen world, by which the eternal lot of departed souls is determined, was also widely prevalent in pre-Christian times.
The Egyptian idea of the judgment is set forth with great precision of detail in the "Book of the Dead", a collection of formulae designed to aid the dead in their passage through the underworld (EGYPT). The Babylonians and the Assyrians make no distinction between the good and the bad so far as the future habitation is concerned. In the Gilgames epic the hero is marked as judge of the dead, but whether his rule was the moral value of their actions is not clear. An unerring judgment and compensation in the future life was a cardinal point in the mythologies of the Persians, Greeks, and Romans. But, while these mythological schemes were credited as strict verities by the ignorant body of the people, the learned saw in them only the allegorical presentation of truth. There were always some who denied the doctrine of a future life, and this unbelief went on increasing till, in the last days of the Republic, skepticism regarding immortality prevailed among Greeks and Romans.
With the Jews. the judgment of the living was a far more prominent idea than the judgment of the dead. The Pentateuch contains no express mention of remuneration in the future life, and it was only at a comparatively late period, under the influence of a fuller revelation, that the belief in resurrection and judgment began to play a capital part in the faith of Judaism. The traces of this theological development are plainly visible in the Machabean era. Then arose the two great opposing parties, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, whose divergent interpretations of Scripture led to heated controversies, especially regarding the future life. The Sadducees denied all reward and penalty in the hereafter, while there opponents encumbered the truth with ludicrous details. Thus some of the rabbis asserted that the trumpet which would summon the world to judgment would be one of the horns of the ram which Abraham offered up instead of his son Isaac. Again they said: "When God judges the Israelites, He will stand, and make the judgment brief and mild; when He judges the Gentiles, he will sit and make it long and severe." Apart from such rabbinical fables, the current belief reflected in the writings of the rabbis and the pseudographs at the beginning of the Christian Era was that of a preliminary judgment and of a final judgment to occur at the consummation of the world, the former to be executed against the wicked by the personal prowess of the Messiah and of the saints of Israel, the latter to be pronounced as an eternal sentence by God or the Messiah. The particular judgment of the individual person is lost sight of in the universal judgment by which the Messiah vindicate the wrongs endured by Israel. With Alexandrian Judaism, on the contrary, with that at least of which Philo is the exponent, the dominant idea was that of an immediate retribution after death. The two dissenting sects of Israel, the Essenes and the Samaritans, were in agreement with the majority of Jews as to the existence of a discriminating retribution in the life to come. The Essenes believed in the preexistence of souls, but taught that the after-existence was an unchanging state of bliss or woe according to the deeds done in the body. The eschatological tenets of the Samaritans were at first few and vague. Their doctrine of the resurrection and of the day of vengeance and recompense was a theology patterned after the model of Judaism, and first formulated for the sect by its greatest theologian, Marka (A.D. fourth century)

I think that this doctrine is interesting and something that would be neat if it were true. If it was something that was absolutely true then it would keep people from doing things that were wrong. But no one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes so then bad things would be happening to people everywhere.

Words from 212

2005-12-13T12:19:00.001-08:00

in illo tempore- in the beginning

myth-mythos-story

centripetal- reader inside
centrifugal- gathering meaning of word outside of text

perfunctory-only what is required

theodicy- actions of god that don't make sense to mankind

theocentric- god centered views of the world

anthropomorphic- suggesting human characteristics for animals or inanimate things

hieroglyphic- gods language
hier-holy,sacred

canonical- sanctioned as the official book

metempsychosis- transmigration of souls
psyche-souls

misprision-mmistake, but grow up thinking it was right

prolix- abundant, get more than you need

paratactic- kind of speech that uses and frequently to put everything on the same level

etiology- how things came to be the way it is

lethia- forget
alethia- act of unforgetting

prometheus- thinks before he acts

mimesis- imitation

lacunae- a gap or a whole

concubine- refers to secondary wife/kind of marriage

patriarchy- rule by father/man

sparagmos-ripping or shredding of live flesh

metaphor- a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing but designates another

repetition- act of repeating

antithettical- to oppose

circumventing- to avoid or get around by artfull maneuvering

cannonized- to declare (a deceased person) to be a saint and entitled to be fully honored as such

adamah- breathed life into

Iphiginia- the sweetness of the light

amina- spirit

axis mundi- center of the world

hubris- over bearing pride, arrogance

chthonic- of or relating to the underworld

Deus ex machina- god from the machine

kerygmatic- language of proclamation

And a bonus feature- 7 stages of the Bible according to Frye; creation, revolution, law, wisdom, prophecy, gospel, apocolpyse.

My Sweet Paper

2005-12-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

Being Brought Down by the Bible

The main reason for the plight of the Judeo/Christian woman can be associated with the Bible and the sexist and deviant interpretations of it. Women are seen in many churches doing things that help keep the church going and succeed in its goal of spreading the word of god. However, despite this involvement in the church, the church, the bible, and the literal interpretations of it can arguably be one of the main reasons that keep’s women inferior to men. This paper will talk about passages against woman in the bible and how people interpreted them to put women at a lower level than men, the upcoming women’s movement and the bible from the beginning till now, and the present state of women in the Judeo/Christian world. It indulges into how the biblical traditions have shaped our culture and views of women.
The bible contains many passages that put women at a lower level than men and that perceive women as the family caretaker instead of one of the primary bread winners. I think one of the main reasons for this is the literal interpretation that people use/d during the reading of the bible. The following quote from the bible is a good example of women being subjected to a different treatment than men; "As in all the churches of the saints, women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church." (I Corinthians 14:34-35(1) This is a great example of the disease of superiority that has infected men and made them believe they are the greater of the two sexes. This treatment of women was set into the culture of these societies and has been past down over generations not changing to dramatically until closer to present time.
Two more quotes from Corinthians show a deeper cut into the start of women inferiority; “But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the husband is the head of his wife, and God is the head of Christ(Corinthians 11:3(1)…Indeed, man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man (Cor. 11:8-9(1).” The first quote plainly states that God is the head of everything and that man is the head of woman. There are many controversies over this passage referring to the translation of the word “head” and if Paul is referring to a head garment. Obviously somewhere down the line it was read literally and to the point which helped men believe they were the head of their wife. The second quote refers to the second book of Genesis by talking about how Eve was made from the rib of Adam and how Eve was created because Adam was lonely. This reassures the idea that women were created for the sole purpose of being a helper to there man.
The most concrete quote from the bible about women being ruled by men is in Genesis 3:16, “To the woman he said, ‘I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”(1) This passage uses the words “rule over you.” If these words are broken down it means that “you” will dominate by powerful influence over the selected person/s. God punishes Eve with all these things including rule by men, while he only punishes Adam with plowing the ground and eating the plants that come from it. It is easy to see why this Judeo/Christian society, if reading the bible literally, could interpret these words as to mean that men rule over women.
"All the religions on the face of the earth [including Christianity] degrade women; and so long as woman accepts the position that they assign her, her emancipation is impossible." Elizabeth Stanton, (The Woman's Bible, I:12). There was a large gap between the people and the word of God (Bible). Early bibles were usually written in Latin or Greek, hard to understand, and inaccessible to the general public (Huntington). This tells us that a lot of the interpretations that were sent to the people may have been only by literate, high ranking people such as ones that are involved in the church. Also, the gap was made even larger by problems in production, distribution, and the churches negative views against translating it into other languages (Huntington). The largest factor in the situation of women during these times, I believe, is the bible being read literally. By looking at all these factors of this time, it is possible to believe that the word of God was getting to the people by only a few interpretations of it. This will affect the process of free thought and will further hinder any progress trying to be made towards women equality in a Judeo/Christian society. The bible is not the one to blame for women’s lot in life but the sexist and deviant interpretations of it.
In 1853, Antoinette Blackwell was the first woman minister in a recognized denomination (factmonster). It has taken thousands of years to breach the barrier of only men in ranking positions in the church. National Organization for Women (NOW) and Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) are two examples of groups that are trying to get the bible changed into a non-sexist text or to at least realize that the bible should not be read literally (NOW, CBE). These two groups are just a couple of examples of the wide spread movement towards women equality everywhere. Women receive less pay in many places among other things in present society when compared to most men. If one was to look at the unequal factors that plague the battle between men and women during present time you could say a part of that is from the messages the bible has taught us.
The main reason for the plight of the Judeo/Christian woman can be associated with the Bible and its messages. From the start of the Judeo/Christian faith and the bible women have been held at a lower level than men. Women are starting to gain there own thoughts and ideas towards these atrocities in the bible and are doing something about it. I for one, applaud there efforts and hope that they succeed.

It would be longer, but I thought 3 pages was max. If anyone would like the rest of the paper you can email me or drop me a message.

Bibliography
1.)Society of Biblical Literarture. The Harper Collins Study Bible. New York: Harpers Collins, 1993.
2.)"The Bible and the People." 6 Aug 2004. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. 09 Dec. 2005 .
3.)"Women in American Religion." 2005. Fact Monster/Information Please® Database. 09 Dec. 2005 .
4.)Christians for Biblical Equality. "Men, Women and Biblical Equality". Lkd. CBE on the Web at "Biblical Equality." 1989, http://www.cbeinternational.org/new/about/biblical_equality.html
5.)Rivers, Caryl . "Commentary: Tax Dollars Could Fund Preaching of Male Dominance." 7 Mar 2001. National Organization for Women. 09 Dec. 2005 .

2005-12-12T22:25:00.000-08:00

The top image is of the apocolypse and the rest refer to the revelation. The First one is just a painting called revelation that I thought was interesting. The next three are stained glass in churches and such that depict the revelation.

Grapes of Wrath

2005-12-12T13:42:00.000-08:00

"Then another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has power over fire, and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Put in your sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe." So the angel swung his sickle on the earth and gathered the vintage of the earth, and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God." (Revelation 14:18-19 RSV)

"And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If any one worships the beast [see The Antichrist and The Great False Prophet] and its image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also shall drink the wine of God's wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of His anger, and he shall be tormented with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name." (Revelation 14:6-12 RSV)

I found this site the other day and I thought it was intense. I don't really want to drink from the wine of God's wrath, it sounds horrible :). The grapes of wrath, I think, is an offshoot of the stomping of grapes in a large tub to get them ready for wine.

Isaiah 63

2005-12-12T13:21:00.000-08:00

1
1 Who is this that comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments, from Bozrah- This one arrayed in majesty, marching in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, I who announce vindication, I who am mighty to save."
2
Why is your apparel red, and your garments like those of the wine presser?
3
"The wine press I have trodden alone, and of my people there was no one with me. I trod them in my anger, and trampled them down in my wrath; Their blood spurted on my garments; all my apparel I stained.
4
For the day of vengeance was in my heart, my year for redeeming was at hand.
5
I looked about, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that there was no one to lend support; So my own arm brought about the victory and my own wrath lent me its support.
6
I trampled down the peoples in my anger, I crushed them in my wrath, and I let their blood run out upon the ground."
7
2 The favors of the LORD I will recall, the glorious deeds of the LORD, Because of all he has done for us; for he is good to the house of Israel, He has favored us according to his mercy and his great kindness.
8
He said: They are indeed my people, children who are not disloyal; So he became their savior
9
in their every affliction. It was not a messenger or an angel, but he himself who saved them. Because of his love and pity he redeemed them himself, Lifting them and carrying them all the days of old.
10
But they rebelled, and grieved his holy spirit; So he turned on them like an enemy, and fought against them.
11
Then they remembered the days of old and Moses, his servant; Where is he who brought up out of the sea the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who put his holy spirit in their midst;
12
Whose glorious arm was the guide at Moses' right; Who divided the waters before them, winning for himself eternal renown;
13
Who led them without stumbling through the depths like horses in the open country,
14
Like cattle going down into the plain, the spirit of the LORD guiding them? Thus you led your people, bringing glory to your name.
15
Look down from heaven and regard us from your holy and glorious palace! Where is your zealous care and your might, your surge of pity and your mercy? O Lord, hold not back,
16
for you are our father. Were Abraham not to know us, nor Israel to acknowledge us, You, LORD, are our father, our redeemer you are named forever.
17
Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage.
18
Why have the wicked invaded your holy place, why have our enemies trampled your sanctuary?
19
Too long have we been like those you do not rule, who do not bear your name. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you,

english 101

2005-12-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

HANGED vs. HUNG
-Things are hung, people, when executed, are hanged.
~The mistletoe was hung over the doorway.
~The picture was hung on the wall.
~The prisoner was hanged at dawn.

biblical literism

2005-12-08T10:52:00.000-08:00

I found this post when I was googling biblical literism and it seemed kind of intersting.

Posted by Kieran Healy
Eugene Volokh posts a table from a poll showing that about 60 percent of Americans say they believe Biblical stories like the 7-day creation, Noah’s flood and Moses’ parting of the Red Sea to be literally true. This is rather higher than other estimates I’ve seen of Biblical Literalism. Based on GSS data (the GSS is the best available public opinion survey in the U.S. with a long time-series), we know that in 1998 about 30 percent of Americans agreed with the statement “The Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word”. This was down from about 40 percent in 1988. (Most of the decline seems to have happened in the late 1980s, however.) About half of Americans agree that “The Bible is the inspired word of God but not everything in it should be taken literally, word for word.” And a steady 15 to 17 percent agree that it’s “an ancient book of fables, legends, history, and moral precepts recorded by men.” Here’s a graph, I put together of these trends, in pdf format.

Why are the results Eugene cites so much higher than the trend data? Unfortunately, the GSS hasn’t been asking this question recently, so it’s hard to say. There are two main possibilities: First, there really has been a very sharp rise in Biblical Literalism since 1998. Second, reponse patterns may be sensitive to the specificity of the question. People might be more likely to accept the literal truth of the best-known Bible events than to believe the whole thing. This is consistent with the way the GSS frames their question, as the “Inspired word” answer allows for the possibility that some things in the Bible are literally true. So we should expect more believers to switch over to literalism for the really big, important events (e.g., the creation of the Universe).
The second theory explains the very large gap in professed literalism between the specific questions about Bible stories and the general question about the whole book. But there’s also evidence for the first interpretation. In a different poll, conducted in September 2003 and also cited on the Polling Report page about religion, respondents were asked a variant of the GSS question. 42 percent said “the actual word of God”, 37 percent said “Not all to be taken literally”, 14 percent said “Written by Men” and 6 percent said they didn’t know. Data for this poll go back to 2001 and have a roughly similar 42/36 split between literalists and inspirationalists. If there’s no response bias from the wording, and this poll is comparable with the GSS data, then literalism seems to have had a resurgence since 1998 and is back to—and perhaps beyond—levels last reported in 1987. The overall proportion of Americans who don’t doubt the Bible has something to do with God has remained steady across the period at about 80 percent.
It’s hard to say more with just this data. On the face of it, the commitment to literal belief in the Bible is a big step up from saying that it’s not all to be taken as, um, Gospel. So it’s surprising to see people heading back up the hill of belief, if you like. But we should be wary about interpreting survey questions about religion in a purely propositional manner—i.e. simply as belief statements or theses in the philosophical sense. Such statements can also be tags used to express affiliation to social and political groups and might be sensitive to the political and cultural climate.But the apparent upward trend is interesting nevertheless.
posted on Tuesday, June 15th, 2004 at 11:59 am

According to this, the interpretation of the bible is becoming more literal. That might be trouble!

selflessness vs. selfishness

2005-12-07T22:29:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about what this world needs more of and I came up with one idea. We need more people that are selfless and not selfish. By putting the needs of something or someone else before your own helps you achieve a sense of happiness. At some times you may have to be selfish, but we should all try to be selfless more often.

Words of the Day

2005-12-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

Words of the day is Logorrhea. Logorrhea means excessive talkativeness or wordiness.
Used in a sentence-When people reach a state of intoxication they suffer from a severe case of logorrhea.
Panache-1. Dash or flamboyance in manner or style.2. A plume or bunch of feathers, especially such a bunch worn on the helmet; any military plume, or ornamental group of feathers. Used in a sentence-(1)The male peacock was being extremely panache towards the hen peacock. (2)The spartan warrior was wearing bronze armor with a silver plated helmet ornamented with a large panache.

Pictures of the Furies

2005-12-06T15:54:00.000-08:00

Orestes pursued by the Furies.

Kindness

2005-12-06T15:34:00.000-08:00

I was driving back from the bank today and I noticed there were quite a few pedestrians out, even though it was only 3 degrees out. The first pedestrian I stopped for waved and gave a nodding gesture probably signifying thank you. After several very kind pedestrians, I finally ran into the "Mr./Ms. Attitude" pedestrian. I stopped with plenty of room between myself and this certain pedestrian. She gave me an odd look, so I waved him/her across giving him/her reassurance that I wasn't going to hit him/her. I received no wave or even the slightest hint of a scurry across the street. Maybe this isn't a topic everyone is interested about but it just baffles my mind sometimes. This moment made me think about reasons for people not waving or at least hurrying up across the street. Whenever I am crossing a road and a car stops I wave and put a little hop in my step because he/she was courteous to me so why not return the favor. I wonder if there have ever been any studies on vehicles stopping for pedestrians and receiving a wave or not?

Noah's ark and life lessons learned

2005-12-06T15:09:00.000-08:00

In case you can't read what is below the picture, I wrote down what it says below.
Everything I need to know about life, I learned from Noah’s Ark… One: Don’t miss the boat. Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat. Three: Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark. Four: Stay fit. When you’re 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. Five: Don’t listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done. Six: Build your future on high ground. Seven: For safety’s sake, travel in pairs. Eight: Speed isn’t always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs. Nine: When you’re stressed, float a while. Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there’s always a rainbow waiting.

Funny pictures of the bible

2005-12-06T14:42:00.000-08:00

I thought these were kind of funny.

Women portrayed in the bible

2005-12-05T19:34:00.000-08:00

I found this website surfing on the internet. It is kind of interesting. It contains quotes from the bible that are mainly negative towards women. So if you feel severly offended by those kinds of things you might not want to read it. I thought it was interesting because my mother is agnostic and a huge feminist. As luck would have it, growing up in that kind of environment has molded me into a feminist. If you aren't sure of what a feminist is, which I find highly unlikely, it is of or relating to or advocating equal rights for women. (I have been reading over some of the quotes on this page and it makes you realize how many different translations there are of the bible.) It seems unfathomable to me to consider women unequal to men. Anything a man can do a woman can do and vice versa, except for reproductive differences. Last year in a class we were in a debate about feminism and a point was brought up by someone that women wouldn't make good leaders in the army because of the toughness factor. That might be true for some women but also true for some men. I am positive that there are women out there perfectly capable of doing an amazing job as a leader. This example will work for a lot of questions about men vs. women. There are women leading countries all over the world right now; the Queen of Denmark, Queen of The Netherlands, Queen of the United Kingdom, President of Finland, President of Ireland, President of Latvia, President of The Philippines, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister of Mozambique, Prime Minister of Sao Tome e Principe, and Chancellor of Federal Republic of Germany.(http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/) Corinthians 11.3-"Christ is the head of every man, and a husband the head of his wife, and the head of Christ is God." This statement coming from Corinthians should be looked at differently I believe. Christ is the head of every household. This statement seems to fit better into the gender equality. Where do men get on the power trip of being better than women? Sorry if this offends anyone. I have to run, but I will continue this later.

Book of Ruth summary

2005-12-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

The Book of Ruth is traditionally read on Shavuot. This is a brief summary of it.
Chapter 1
In the days before the kings of Israel, during a famine, a man from Bethlehem in Judah, took his wife and his sons to Moab. The man, Elimelech, died, and the woman, Naomi, was left with her two sons. Both sons married Moabite women. One was named Orpah, and the other was named Ruth. In time, both of the sons died, and Naomi was left with her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. Naomi heard that the famine was over in Bethlehem, so she started to return to Judah. She told her daughters-in-law to go back to their own families. They had done enough for her. Orpah and Naomi both said, "No, we will return with you."
Then Naomi said:
Naomi:
Turn back, my daughters! Why should you go with me? Do I have any more sons in my body who might be husbands for you?
In those days, the law was that if a woman's husband died and she was childless, the husband's brother married the woman so that the dead husband would have an heir and the woman would have security.
Naomi:
Even if I were to get married tonight and bore sons, would you wait for them to grow up? Should you keep yourself from marriage? Oh no! My lot is far more bitter than yours, for the hand of the Lord has struck out against me.
So they cried, and they hugged, and Orpah went back to her family, but Ruth stayed with Naomi.
Naomi:
See, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and her gods. Go follow your sister-in-law.
Ruth:
Do not urge me to leave you, or to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die and be buried.
So Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem together at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Chapter 2
It turned out that Naomi had a relative on her late husband's side. He was a wealthy man named Boaz. One day, Ruth told Naomi that she wanted to go glean in fields behind the people harvesting the barley crop. The Torah tells us that when we reap, we are not to pick up the stalks that fall, that we must leave them for the poor. So that's what Ruth was doing gleaning in the fields. It turned out that the field she chose to glean in was one that belonged to Boaz. Soon enough, Boaz comes around to see what's going on, and he asks about the woman gleaning in his fields. His workers tell him that she's the Moabite girl who came back with Naomi. Boaz goes to Ruth and says:
Boaz:
Listen to me. Don't go glean in another field. Stay here close to my girls. Keep your eyes on where they're reaping, and follow them. I have ordered the men not to bother you. And when you're thirsty, go drink from the jars of water that the men have drawn.
Ruth:
Why are you so kind to single me out when I am a foreigner?
Boaz:
I have been told all that you did for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband, how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth and came to a people you had not known before. May the Lord reward your deeds. May you have a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have sought refuge.
Boaz makes sure she gets enough to eat, and tells his workers to make sure that they leave some extra stalks for her to glean. When Ruth gets home, Naomi notices that she gleaned quite a bit of barley. Ruth tells her about Boaz, and Naomi says:
Naomi:
Blessed be he of the Lord who has not failed in His kindness to the living or to the dead! For this man is related to us. He is one of our redeeming kinsmen.
That meant that Boaz could serve to provide an heir for Ruth's late husband and, of course, provide security for Ruth.
Chapter 3
Naomi has an idea.
Naomi:
Daughter, I must find a home for you where you will be happy. And there is our cousin Boaz, whose girls you were close to. He will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor tonight. So bathe, anoint yourself, dress up, and go down to the threshing floor. When he lies down, go over and uncover his feet, and lie down.
So Ruth agrees, maybe a bit reluctantly, but maybe Naomi knows what she's doing. So after Boaz has eaten and lies down on the threshing floor, she goes over and uncovers his feet.
Boaz:
Who are you?
Ruth:
I am your handmaid Ruth. Spread your robe over your handmaid, for you are a redeeming kinsman.
My commentaries say that this robe-spreading is an "act of espousal."
Boaz:
Be blessed of the Lord! Your latest deed of loyalty is greater than the first, in that you have not turned to younger men whether poor or rich. Have no fear. I will do whatever you ask, for all the elders of my town know what a fine woman you are. But while it's true that I am a redeeming kinsman, there is another who is closer than I. Stay the night. In the morning, if he will act as redeemer, good! let him. But if he does not, I will be a redeemer for you.
Ruth got up early in the morning, so no one would see her, because even though nothing happened, neither she nor Boaz wanted to damage her reputation. Ruth went back to Naomi's house and told her how things went.
Chapter 4
Boaz went to the gate of the city and found the man who was the closer relative to Ruth's late husband. And he got the elders to stand as witnesses. Boaz explains to this relative (whose name is given as Ploni Almoni, which means, roughly, Joe Schmo) about the land that belongs to the late son of Naomi's late husband, and that Ploni Almoni has right of first refusal in purchasing the land.
Boaz:
So, if you are willing to redeem the land, redeem it. But if you are not, then tell me. For there is no one to redeem it but you, and I come next in line after you.
Ploni:
I am willing to redeem the land.
Boaz:
When you acquire the property from Naomi, you also must marry Ruth, the widow, so that her late husband's name will be perpetuated.
Ploni:
Then I cannot redeem it for myself. You take over my right of redemption, for I am unable to exercise it.
So Boaz acquired the land that belonged to Naomi's late husband, and agrees to marry Ruth.
Elders:
May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the House of Israel.
And Ruth and Boaz had a son whose name was Obed, who was the father Jesse, who was the father of David, who became king over all of Israel.

Copyright © 1999 RJCA

pictures of the book of Ruth

2005-12-04T19:17:00.000-08:00

And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.
Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn. Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been showed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.

This is a picture of Ruth hugging Naomi. I think she is pleading with her mother-in-law to let her go with her to Bethlehem.

This is a picture of Orpah going back home while Ruth goes to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law, Naomi. Bethlehem is where Ruth meets Boaz.

Picture

2005-11-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

Agamemnon and part of his family: little Orestes 2 is seen close to his sister Iphigenia, who pleads for her life, while Clytaemnestra stands beside her husband.

God bless you

2005-10-31T12:20:00.000-08:00

A week ago I happened to hear someone sneeze which was quickly followed by a "God bless you" from another person. I started to think why would someone be blessed by God after they sneeze. After someone coughs no one jumps at the notion to start saying God bless you to her/him. Well I did some looking up and found a couple different reasons why people say God bless you. My favorite is where it was thought that when a person sneezed they were being overtaken by evil spirits. Sneezing was a sign of becoming sick and it was thought in ancient times that sickness was caused by evil spirits. Therefore saying "God bless you" was a way of trying to remove the evil spirits. I am glad that I didn't live in ancient times. I have moderately bad allergies in the spring to dust and other common everyday things which means I would have been getting blessed around every corner.

Procrastination

2005-10-31T11:11:00.000-08:00

"Procrastination is the fear of success... Because success is heavy, it carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the 'someday I'll' philosophy."- Denis Waitley

"Better to remain silent and appear a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."-Abraham Lincoln

According to dictionary.com procrastination is defined as putting of something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness.
This topic came to mind today when I was sitting in the library wanting to read the Orestia but failed to remember to bring the book with me to school today. So I I thought to myself why not go post an article on my e-journal. Well as luck would have it my day got better when I realized that I only had one other blog post. That means I am averaging a blog post about once a month. That is when I realized I am a procrastinator. I think I was in procrastinator denial before. Hi my name is Johnny and I am a procrastinator. PA-Procrastinator's Anonymous. I am going to try and change that and make myself a better human being! Peace.

Modern Theory

2005-09-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

The modern theory
The theory proposes that the Torah was composed from four earlier source texts, which were combined by a redactor (referred to as R)
J - the Jahwist. J describes a human-like God called Yahweh and has its main interest reflecting Judah and the Aaronid priesthood. J has an extremely eloquent style. J uses an earlier form of the Hebrew language than P.

E - the Elohist. E describes a human-like God initially called El (which is sometimes Elohim according to the rules of Hebrew grammar), and called Yahweh after the burning bush, and has its main interest reflecting biblical Israel and the Shiloh priesthood. E has a moderately eloquent style. E uses an earlier form of the Hebrew language than P.

P - the Priestly source. P describes a distant and unmerciful (but just) God sometimes referred to as Elohim and El Shaddai. P partly duplicates J and E, but altering details to suit P's opinion, and also consists of most of Leviticus. P has its main interest in an Aaronid priesthood and King Hezekiah. P has a low level of literary style, and has an interest in lists and dates.

D - the Deuteronomist. D consists entirely of most of Deuteronomy. D probably also wrote the Deteronomistic history (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings). D has its interest reflecting the Shiloh priesthood and King Josiah. D uses a form of Hebrew similar to P, but in a different literary style.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_hypothesis

I hope it works

2005-09-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

test run