My apologies!

My Paper

‘Lifting of the Veil’
‘Good Book’ by David Plotz says ‘you don’t have to believe in the Bible, as long as you are willing to debate about it’ (304). Belief in the Bible has never been a strong suit of mine; rather, I have been spending much of my life avoiding the Bible and its contents because of specific occasions during childhood where Biblical tradition was thrown in my face and made me loathe the idea. The apocalypse, for example; I have been hearing about it since I was very young. In the Christian tradition, the word apocalypse refers to the Book of Revelations, the last book of the Bible. Every time I hear the word 'apocalypse', I used to think 'violent end of the world', like God is going to come down on horses of death, causing the sky to rain fire and the earth to start burning from the inside out. Very specific details about the Bible were engrained in my memory, especially the ‘rules’ and what was going to happen to my soul as the sinner I was undoubtedly going to be become. Missing for me were the stories, the lessons, and the depiction of love, family, and unity. Before this class, I had little want to explore the Bible any further and would often engage in debate about the topic when I really had never actually read the contents of the Bible for myself. I would like to say now I have come away with a greater form of enlightenment or very specific connections between the pieces of literature we have read, but I cannot. I can say I have come away with a new-found respect for the contents of the Bible, a more accurate definition for its contents, and a greater willingness to debate on the subject now that I have a foundation the arguments can stem from.
Three separate but interconnected experiences led me down my path of solitude separate from the Bible or anything concerning its contents. Each experience was at the hands of a woman called Donna, a family acquaintance and mother of my best childhood pal. She had moved with her family from ‘the big city’ to experience a simpler life in a quiet mountain town. She brought her family and their energy, but also strong Christian convictions that stood prevalent over everything the family participated in. Like many characters depicted in the Bible, Donna’s life and everything in her being was devoted to God. Lines from scripture littered their house, especially the line from Joshua; ‘As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord’ (24:14, 15). She was a formidable character to begin with.
The First: Donna’s middle daughter and I became fast friends and spent every waking hour together. I would usually opt for staying at their place because her parents bought all the good junk food and soda that my mother often refused to buy. We were constantly busy with something stimulating; video games, four-wheelers, and trampolines among our favorites. One eventful afternoon, my friend had dozed off for a nap and I was left with Donna watching figure skating on television. The skaters looked like graceful dancers to me and soon nothing else existed in from of me but the television. The mother had always been good at making off color comments, but this afternoon she was especially rowdy, madly pointing out a specific male figure skater and telling me he just ‘had to be gay’. There was no doubt in her mind and I was able to shrug off her comments, but she kept going with gusto. Soon, Donna was asking me about my experience with homosexuality, if I knew what it was, and if I knew anyone in my life practicing the ‘sin’. Immediately, I revealed to the mother I had a few female first cousins on my father’s side who were homosexual and never saw anything wrong with it. Citing Leviticus 18:22, Donna explained to me that ‘you shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination’. Basically, my cousins were already condemned to hell and their souls would not even be saved because of their vicious lifestyle. I was left terrified and sad for my cousins, in tears, and ready for the Bible lesson to be finished for the day.
The Second: In a blog I mentioned that I made the decision when I was young to give up the virtuous life and become a Sunday school dropout to explore other options, like Nintendo and literature outside the realm of the Bible. My second experience with Donna proved to be a lesson about the apocalypse, which at that point in my life was a complete mystery to me. Donna was a firm believer in the Bible as a literal piece of documentation; its contents meant to be taken seriously and practiced daily. I think the woman should take a lesson from David Plotz or A.J. Jacobs and realize what a difficult and daunting task that really is. If Donna was living her life that way, her children were certainly going to be living their lives that way, and they talked to me every day about my lack of connection with the Church and the Bible and my doomed soul. Judgment day, to that family, was the day of the ‘apocalypse’, which they explained to me was the time when God would come sweeping down from the sky and scoop all the faithful Christians up and take them to Heaven. The nonbelievers, like me, would be forced to reside on the earth and endure rains of fire and terrible injustice before finally dying, leaving our souls to wander the earth forever, lost and without hope of ever reaching heaven.
I started to wonder why I would ever want to hang out with the family in the first place and subject myself to these horrible stories, but more often than not, I found myself wondering if what they were saying was really true. These people were supposed to be my second family, my home away from home, and they were telling me my parents were doing something wrong raising me without the word of God in my life and also telling me I was probably going to wander the ashen earth a lost and lonely soul. First, my sweet cousins were going to hell and now I was doomed to a fate worse than death. I started to resent them and also the words of the Bible, but I thought I would give myself on last attempt at understanding the Bible and its words.
The Third: Usually, when I'm afraid of something or do not agree with it, I start to study it so I know just what I am up against. I decided to go with the same woman’s daughters to church camp that year and get myself back into the life of the virtuous. I didn't want to be a sinner and I definitely did not want to end up one of the sorry souls left to wander the earth while everyone else was scooped up in God's arms of love and taken to Heaven. Church camp proved to be even more horrifying than spending time with the Mother. I had never been exposed to 'speaking in tongues', and what I thought was evening mass turned into a circus for me. Everyone around me started raising their hands to the sky while a girl in front of us started speaking complete gibberish and then fell backward when the pastor touched her forehead with his fingertips. The girl fell on the floor and started shaking and convulsing back and forth and everyone jumped to their feet, waving their hands form side to side. I was the only one to stay seated in the entire room and remained that way, absolutely horrified. One of our group counselors took me aside later that night and asked me if I wanted to give my heart over to the Lord. At this point, I was not sure. I wanted to secure a spot in Heaven away from the burning damned left on Earth, but I also did not want to be part of the possessed. I gave my heart over to the Lord that night and promptly called my own mother the next day to retrieve me from church camp. I have not been to another camp since and have basically avoided everything about the Bible until ‘Biblical Foundations of Literature’ made me get over my prejudice and really examine the Bible differently.
For much of my life I have ignored the word 'apocalypse' and the phrase 'coming of the Lord' because I just have not wanted to think about it. Honestly, I have ignored everything about it and often been involved in arguments I could not win because I thought I had the correct information about the Bible. I definitely should have dismissed my fears and done a bit more research on the subject. Now I know that 'apocalypse' does not mean 'violent end of the world'. Rather, it means to 'take away the veil', so see the world as it really is beyond our own realm of sight and perception. The apocalypse does not refer to the end of the world, but to the end of an age, and the contents of Revelations can be interpreted in many different ways. I learned the Bible is mostly full of stories about families and people going through the ‘day to day’ process just like everyone else. Sure, there are wild metaphors and some pretty heavy material in the Bible, but it’s not all bad. I still do not and will never agree with Leviticus 18:22, but that is my own personal interpretation of the Bible and its contents.
Like Plotz, I know that ‘the Bible has brought me no closer to God, if God means either belief in a deity acting in the world, or an experience of the transcendent. But perhaps I’m closer to God in the sense that the Bible has put me on high alert’ (304). I never expected to become closer to God throughout the class, but I know now that the class has made a huge difference in the way I approach the Bible and my ability to view the Book as a collection of stories rather than a guideline for my life. If anything, I have gained respect for the Book I never thought I could gain and a foundation for debate on the subject should it ever arise again, and I am more than certain it will. Wonderful pieces of literature have been thrown my way this semester and I have been thankful for the opportunity to read all of them, but rather than talk about a discovery I made about the books, I wanted to talk about a discovery I made within myself. I hope I will be able to carry it forward as my life and education progress.

Reading Now

I feel like reading will never be the same for me now that I've taken this Biblical Foundations course. I have been reading 'What Looks Like Crazy On an Ordinary Day' by Pearl Cleage for another class (a book I am completely in love with), and couldn't help relating the Book to the stories and lessons in the Book of Job.

The book showcases a period of time in the lives of two women, Ava and Joyce, sister who lost their parents at a very young age and continue to face terrible hardships over the course of their lives. Ava contracts HIV unknowingly while Joyce loses both her children and her husband before she reaches menopause. The women find all they have is each other and their faith that they will be able to carry on to the next day and the next...

In one particular part of the novel, Ava is talking about Joyce's husband and how unfair it was for him to pass away. He was a very good man and had always lived his life virtuously, had to witness the loss of both of his children, and then died himself due to a freak accident. Ava says this:

'Mitch was the sweetest man I ever knew, and for a long time after he died, I kept thinking how unfair it was for him to die that way. I was still naive back then. I thought fairness had something to do with who gets to stay and who gots to go'(12).

Ava obviously felt at some point that good things were supposed to happen to good people and living mightily would prove to be a beneficial thing. Good things reserved for good people; bad things reserved for bad people (obviously the bad people would be the ones who 'gots to go'). Like Job, life began to take its course and she had no other option but to adopt a new idea about its proceedings. Sometimes very good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people and there really is no explanation for it. Strength is tested every day... some people survive it and are able to carry on and some people don't.

Before this class, I never would have associated this particular story with a Biblical story and wouldn't care to explore it. Now, I think I'm going to pick apart every piece of literature to see if it relates in some way to the stories told in the Bible.

RUTH

This is our revised script for our 'Ruth' presentation!

Ashley – Narrator

Chris – Audience Commentary

Jeanie – Naomi

Eric – David/Servant/Next-of-kin/Witnesses

Rian – Orpah/Boaz

Shelby – Ruth

Eric – My father was Jesse, his father was Obed, his father was Boaz, who was Ruth’s husband. This is her story.

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and Elimelech and his wife Naomi, both from Bethlehem, went to live in Moab with their sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Elimelech died…

Chris -- Horrible bus accident—they didn’t teach to look both ways back in the day.

Eric – …leaving Naomi with their two sons. The sons married Orpah and Ruth, Moabite women. After ten years, both men died…

Chris -- Didn’t learn from their father, I guess.

Eric – …leaving their mother and wives alone.

Ashley – Due to the famine, Naomi took her two daughters-in-law and left to return to Judah. Along the way, Naomi said to the girls,

Jeanie – Go back to your mother’s house. May you be blessed as the Lord has blessed me and dealt kindly with our dead loved ones.

Ashley – The young women began to cry and said to her,

Rian – ‘No, we will return with you to your people.’

Jeanie – Go home, children. Why would you go with me? I can have no more sons for you to marry.

Ashley – The girls cried again, but Orpah did as she was told.

Chris – Went to start a daytime talk show but was struck by a bus on her way there.

Ashley -- Ruth, on the other hand, refused to leave Naomi.

Jeanie – Orpah has gone back to her roots. You should do the same

Shelby – ‘Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die—there will I be buried.

Ashley – When Naomi saw that Ruth was not going to take no for an answer…

Chris – a.k.a. She was acting like a stubborn, whiny teenager.

Ashley -- …she allowed the girl to remain with her on their journey to Bethlehem. They arrived there at the beginning of the barley harvest. Naomi’s late husband, Elimelech, had a relative in Bethlehem by the name of Boaz, who was a rich and prosperous land owner.

Chris – Who made his millions off of a local bar and grill, as well as the local supermarket.

Ashley -- Ruth asked Naomi,

Shelby – May I go glean in the grain fields behind someone who may take kindly to me?

Jeanie – ‘Go my daughter.’

Ashley – So Ruth went to the grain fields and ended up in some fields belonging to Boaz. Not long after, Boaz arrived from town and said to his servant that was in charge of his workers…

Chris – Who does this lovely lady belong to?

Eric – She is Naomi’s daughter-in-law who returned with her from Moab. She wanted to glean the grain behind the workers today. She has not rested for even a moment since she began working early this morning.

Rian – In that case, do not go into any other fields to glean grain, my child. Stay close to my workers, who have been instructed to not bother you. Help yourself to the drinking water that is provided to my workers.

Shelby – Why do you show such care for me…

Chris – You don’t even know her! She could be an ax murderer!

Rian – I have been told how you remained loyal to your mother-in-law after the death of your husband, even though that meant leaving your family and coming to a foreign land. May the Lord bless you.

Shelby – May I continue to find favor in your sight, as you have treated me kindly, even though I am not one of your people.

Ashley – Some time elapsed, until it came time to sit down to a meal.

Rian – Come here and eat with us.

Ashley – So Ruth sat down to eat with Boaz and his workers. She had plenty to eat and even had some left over. After the meal, Boaz instructed his workers,

Rian – Let Ruth glean among the grain. Also, remove some grain from the harvest and leave it in the field for her to glean. You must do this without unkind words towards her.

Ashley – Ruth worked in Boaz’s field until evening. Then she took to Naomi what she had gathered that day. There was enough grain for both of them.

Jeanie – In whose field did you work today? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.

Shelby – I worked in the field owned by Boaz.

Jeanie – ‘Blessed be he by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken us.’ As a matter of fact, this man that you speak of is a relative of ours.

Shelby – Really? He even told me to stay near to his workers until the harvest is finished.

Jeanie – It is better that you stay with his workers, rather than risk being bothered in someone else’s field.

Ashley – So Ruth worked in Boaz’s field until the end of the harvest, and she lived with her mother-in-law.

Jeanie – I need to seek a secure place for you. Boaz may be one to offer this secure place, as he is a close relative of ours. He will be at the threshing floor tonight. Get cleaned up and go to where he is, but do not make yourself known until he has finished eating and drinking. After he lies down, go over to him and lie at his feet.

Chris – Just watch. It doesn’t take much to get a man once he’s drunk.

Ashley – Ruth did what Naomi told her to. In the middle of the night, Boaz woke up and was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet.

Chris – Oh, really! How often do you wake up and find someone lying at the foot of your bed?

Rian – ‘Who are you?’

Shelby – ‘I am Ruth. Give me your cloak to use as a blanket, as you are my next-of-kin.

Rian – May the Lord bless you. Not only were you loyal to your mother-in-law, you have been loyal to family in that you have not chased other young men. Do not be afraid. My people know that you are a worthy woman. It is true that I am a near kinsman, but there is one closer yet. Stay with me tonight. I will speak to this man in the morning. If he is willing to act as your next-of-kind, he shall. If he will not, then I will.

Ashley – Ruth stayed until the morning, when Boaz gave her a supply of barley to take back to Naomi.

Jeanie – ‘How did things go at the threshing floor?’

Shelby – He gave me a supply of barley so that I would not return to you empty-handed.

Chris – You had to smell his feet all night, and all you got was some wheat?! Isn’t this guy supposed to be rich?

Jeanie – Good. We shall wait here until the next-of-kin issue gets settled. Boaz will get it settled today.

Ashley – Boaz went to the city gates and waited, as he knew that the next-of-kin would be passing by soon enough.

Rian – ‘Come over, friend; sit down here.’

Ashley – Not long after, ten elders of the city passed by and came over to the gate to sit with Boaz and the next-of-kin.

Rian – Naomi is selling the land that belonged to her late husband Elimelech. I thought I would give you a chance to redeem this land, by buying it in the presence of the elders of the city. Please decide if you will be redeeming this land, as I am second in line to redeem it.

Eric – ‘I will redeem it.’

Rian – Okay. On the day you acquire the land, you will also be acquiring Ruth, Naomi’s daughter-in-law, so as to maintain Elimelech’s name on his inheritance.

Eric – On second thought, if I redeem this land, I will damage my own inheritance. You may redeem the land. I do not want it.

Ashley – The custom in Israel at the time was to take off a sandal to give to the other person when confirming a business transaction. The next-of-kin did this and the deal was sealed.

Rian – Elders, today you are witnesses that I have acquired Naomi’s land, along with Ruth.

Eric – ‘We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you produce children in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem; and, through the children that the Lord will give you by this young woman, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.’

Ashley – So Boaz and Ruth married and had a son. They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.

Eric – Now these are the descendants of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron of Ram, Ram of Amminadab, Amminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon, Salmon of Boaz, Boaz of Obed, Obed of Jesse, and Jesse of David.

______________________________________________________________________

The presentations today were great! However, after having seen what some of the other groups put together for their presentation, I definitely think we could have done more as far as preparation, props, line memorization, etc. I'm also still not exactly sure why we had the 'bus' clips in our presentation, though I do agree they added some humor to the whole thing.

Here is the information from the presentation about the book of Ruth:

Name meanings:

Ruth: “friend”

Naomi: “gracious one”

Mara: “bitter one” (although not included in our presentation, Naomi asks to be called Mara when she returns to her hometown after the death of her husband and sons)

Boaz: “strength is in him”

Orpah: “gazelle; from the root; back or nape of neck”

*More comments for the group as a whole can be seen in Ashley Wheeler's blog, our group lead!

A.J. Jacobs and The Year of Living Biblically

I have heard mention of this book in class quite a few times this semester. Curiosity got the best of me and I ran out and bought it, and so glad I did! I'm not that far into it, but it's a pretty hilarious take on living biblically and following the Bible's rules as closely as possible. The very opening of the novel gives the reader a quiet excitment that A.J. Jacobs will probably be pretty unsuccessful at following the Bible literally:

'It's the first day, and I already feel like the water is three feet over my head. I have chosen September 1 to start my project, and from the moment I wake up, the Bible consumes my life. I can't do anything without fearing I'm breaking a biblical law. Before I so much as inhale or exhale, I have to run through a long mental checklist of the rules' (15).

Getting around day to day proves difficult enough for me; I'm a space cadet 90% of the time. But having a strict set of rules to adhere to every day would be absolutely maddening, or at least I think it would be. Jacobs (nice last name) tries to follow the rules of the most famous book of all time. You would think he would get a little support, right? Or at least understanding? Most of the time, he gets neither, and many people cannot figure out why he is even troubling himself with such an impossible task. His own wife gets so fed up with his unwillingness to touch her or anything she's touched while menstruating that she touches everything in the house, and Jacobs is forced to reside in a tiny, untained corner. It puts into perspective some of the impossible aspects of the Bible, and makes me very thankful for my less structured life. I haven't finished the book yet, but I'm glad I bought it!

Errrmmm....

I performed horribly on that exam. Oh dear....

Test!

The exam outline!

1st Kings:17

• • Who is an early Christ figure?
    • Elijah
• 2nd Kings
  • Who was associated with early cosmetics?
    • Jezebel
• Isaiah
  
  • Which pairing doesn't belong?
    • The Lion and the Lamb
  • Who does Plotz compare God to?
    • Jack Nicholson, Santa
• Jeremiah
  • Why wouldn't you share a beach house with Jeremiah?
    • Morbidity
• Ezekiel:4
  • The ingredients and things you need to eat.
  • He compares Israel to his adulterous wife.
• Minor Prophets
  • Jonah, why does he get on a boat?
    • To run from God. (There is no whale)
• Psalms
  • Which characters does Plotz talk about most?
    • David
  • Common theme?
    • "Woe is me"
• Daniel
  • What other biblical story is Daniel closest to?
    • Joseph and his dreams
• Ezra/Nehemiah
  • Why does Ezra pull out his hair?
    • Intermarriage between Jews and gentiles.
• Chronicles
  • One sentence sums it up.
    • It retells the stories you've heard already.
• Should we read the bible?
  • Yes, the less you believe, the more you should read.

MORE QUESTIONS

• What does Ecclesia mean?
  • Gathering
• What is Eschatology?
  • The study of the end times.
• Logos?
  • The word.
• Jesus and Socrates, how are they similar?
  • Both were "crucified".
• Why is the Bible a comedy?
  • It has a happy ending.
• Where are we at in the "U"?
  • The bottom.
• What type of wisdom would your grandparents give you?
  • Prudential
• What does Jacob put on his head?
  • A fez, he believed in a false prophet for a while.
• The three great tragedies?
  • The Brothers Karamazov
  • Job
  • King Lear
• Why is God patriarchal?
  • It rationalizes the ethos!
• What is an epiphany?
  • Sudden manifestation of a supernatural or divine being.
• What is retributive justice, and an example of it?
  • Nothing bad happens unless we deserve it. Job's three "friends".
• Prudential wisdom?
  • Polonius
• Skeptical wisdom?
  • Hamlet
• Best example of narrative/image?
  • Job/Revelation
• Metenoia?
  • repentence
• What does Jacob do to make up for the absence of the Torah?
  • He scratches on a rock.
• Theodicy
  • The question of innocent suffering.
• What is a parable?
  • an attack on expectations.
• Apocalypse?
  • A lifting of the veil. (realized eschatology)