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)
    

Loved the Slave! Love in The Slave

The Slave was a refreshing piece of literature to read after trying to pick apart the Bible and I was most enamoured with the idea of love in Isaac Bashevis Singers novel. Jacob in the novel can be directly related to Job because of the hardships he is forced to face. He suffers the murder of his wife and two children, enslavement, and even the death of Sarah after she gives birth to their child. Jacob experiences more pain in a lifetime than many people have to experience, and still he was bound by his faith and strong ideals. This passage from the novel illustrates Jacob's love for his wife as she is on her deathbed:

'She is good, he thought, really a saint, a thousand times better than any of the others. Have they been to heaven and learned what God likes? Worry and fear, the isolation in which he found himself, had made him rebellious. he was even ready to struggle with God himself. Of course, God was the only God, awesome and all powerful, but it was only fair that his justice be universal. He should not be a tyrant like Gershon, fawning on the strong and spitting at the weak. Was it Sarah's fault who her parents were? Had she had the freedom to choose her mother's womb? If such she must burn in Gehenna, then there was even inequity in heaven' (140).

I was very touched by this passage, by Jacob's loyalty to Sarah even on her deathbed. He could have chosen a wealthy, Jewish wife after the death of his first, but he was willing to set aside everything he knew and push against the law of society to marry for love and only love. This passage explains Jacob was even willing to fight with God. He was the type of person who could not wrap his head around the notion of 'gentiles and jews', but rather put his energy and faith into the greater good of mankind. Even after all he had endured, he wasn't willing to just move with the masses; he was determined to make his own path even if it meant more heartbreak along the way. I admire Jacob in this novel, and I enjoyed reading the slave because of his outlook on life.

Nina Simone on the Brain!

First, I just have to comment on Dr. Sexson's musical selection this semester. Not only has he introduced me to a handful of artists I've never even heard of, he has brought Joni Mitchell and Nina Simone into the classroom. I love Nina Simone, obviously the song 'Feelin' Good' because I'm pretty sure everyone likes that song, but I was particularly impressed with 'Sinner Man' as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you Dr. Sexson for incorporating some modern (or not so modern) musicians into our classroom discussions.

Thomas Wells made the connection between 'Sinner Man' and the song 'Get By' by Talib Kwele, which is awesome. Kanye West sampled Simone's song for that particular track, and I think it's great someone in the class likes this music! I've been getting in to it more and more....especially Common... but like Wells said, enough about Hip Hop. That's not the reason for my blog either.

Here are the lyrics for SinnerMan:

Oh Sinnerman, where you gonna run to?
Sinnerman, where you gonna run to?
Where you gonna run to?
All on that day
Well I run to the rock, please hide me
I run to the rock,please hide me
I run to the rock, please hide me, Lord
All on that day
But the rock cried out, I can't hide you
The rock cried out, I can't hide you
The rock cried out, I ain't gonna hide you guy
All on that day
I said, Rock, what's a matter with you rock?
Don't you see I need you, rock?
Lord, Lord, Lord
All on that day
So I run to the river, it was bleedin'
I run to the sea, it was bleedin'
I run to the sea, it was bleedin'
All on that day
So I run to the river, it was boilin'
I run to the sea, it was boilin'
I run to the sea, it was boilin'
All on that day
So I run to the Lord, please hide me Lord
Don't you see me prayin'?
Don't you see me down here prayin'?
But the Lord said, go to the devil
The Lord said, go to the devil
He said, go to the devil
All on that day
So I ran to the devil, he was waitin'
I ran to the devil, he was waitin'
Ran to the devil, he was waitin'
All on that day
I cried -
POWER!!!!!!!
(Power to da Lord)
[8x]
Bring down,
(Power to da lord),
[4x]
POWER!!!
(power to da lord)
[12x]

(Instrumental)

Oh yeah, Woh yeah, Woh yeah
Well I run to the river, it was boilin'
I run to the sea, it was boilin'
I run to the sea, it was boilin'
All on that day
So I ran to the Lord
I said, Lord hide me, please hide me
please help me
All on that day
He said, child, where were you
when you oughta been prayin'?
I said,Lord, Lord, hear me prayin'
Lord, Lord, hear me prayin'
Lord, Lord, hear me prayin'
All on that day
Sinnerman you oughta be prayin'
Oughta be prayin', Sinnerman
Oughta be prayin',
All on that day
I cried -
POWER!!!!!!!
(Power to da Lord)
[12x]
Go down
(Power to da Lord)
[3x]
POWER!!!!!!!
(Power to da Lord)
[3x]
Power, Power, Lord
Don't you know I need you Lord
Don't you know that I need you
Don't you know that I need you
Power, Lord!

The song obviously depicts Revelations 16 where the bowls of wrath are poured out placing judgment on every human being. The people in Revelations turn away from God when they should have been praying, which the song shows in its lines. When the people face judgment they turn away from God when they should have looked to him, or at least I think that's what the song entails. The connection between this song and the Book of Revelations is obvious, I know, but I wanted to have a blog about it because I always love to make a musical connection with the Bible if I can. I have found, in my experience, it has helped me to understand the Bible more deeply, which is why I have been so thrilled that Dr. Sexson has been bringing music to class. :)

My Term Paper

I am going to use the prompt 'What I know now that I didn't know before and the difference it makes'. I was going to use the prompt in correlation with the story of Lot and the idea of 'never looking back', but I have changed my mind about this particular paper. I wrote a previous blog entry about the idea of the apocalypse and the notions swirling around the idea as far as the 'end of the world' and the 'coming of the Lord'. The word 'apocalypse' has always been closely associated with some sort of end of the world, but it only alludes to the end of the world as we know it. I would like the explore the 'lifting of the veil' and the end of a book or chapter as represented in the Bible.
The Bible, specifically the Book of Revelations, lends the word its definition and is the first thing I think about when discussing the idea of the apocalypse. However, the facts engrained in my brain are far different than what actually exists to be in the Bible and elsewhere, and I would like to write about how this idea has affected my life thus far, and the difference it makes knowing what I know now on the subject.

Grapes of Wrath

'Trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored'...

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

In Revelation 14 we see the 144,000, the saved people of God, protected by God. They are the redeemed, undefiled and blameless. For the rest of the people, the warning is given in Revelation 14:7, "Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come." The people must turn to God before the judgment comes upon them. Revelation 14:8 announces that Babylon the great has fallen because it made all the world commit sexual immorality. In verses 9-10, the third angel comes and warns against worshipping the beast, which is the Roman empire. Thus, Babylon the great is another description for the Roman empire. In Revelation 14:14-20 the judgments begin in attempts to get the peoples of the world to repent before it is too late and they are consumed. Chapter 15 shows the preparation of the bowls of wrath that are going to be poured out upon the earth (Rev. 16:1). In chapter 16 the bowls of wrath are poured out depicting judgment upon all the power, wealth, beauty of Rome. All of the empire would be brought down in God's judgments because they made the nations commit wickedness. Yet these powerful judgments do not turn the people to God, but away from God (Rev. 16:9,21). Now the details of the end of Rome and its power will be depicted.
www.westpalmbeachchurchofchrist.com/.../revelation/summary.html -

This is the short summary I got of the Book of Revelations from one of the many websites devoted a specific church on the Internet. I never made the connection of The Grapes of Wrath to a book in the Bible, perhaps because I have never read the Bible in it's entirety, and still haven't. I know Dr. Sexson was hoping for a full reading, but alas, I have failed at that miserably as well. The 'grapes of wrath' suggested are those prepared by God and poured out upon the Earth? Isn't this a representation of blood? The people have to drink the blood of Christ in order to be saved? Is this where the Catholic right of passage came from known as catechism? I do not have the answers right now, but I'm going to research the matter. Just thought I would throw all my big questions out there. I think, most of the semester, I have been interpreting the Bible the wrong way. But is there a wrong way to interpret the Bible? I think this question is worthy of a completely different blog session.

Tried My Hand At the Bible, Tried My Hand at the Prayer...

The apocalypse; I've been hearing about it since I was small. 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 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. In fact, when I was very little and at a neighboring girls house, her mother sat me down and told me just what would happen to me when the world came to an end. Needless to say, I ended up running to my friends room is tears. Hey, I was small. In my previous blog I mentioned that I have given up the virtuous life is Sunday school to explore other options, like nintendo and literature outside the realm of the Bible. This woman was telling me that not only was that a sin and I would ultimately be punished for not going to church, but that when God came down, I would not be among those saved from his wrath. Instead, I would be the one to burn up and never get to know the place she so lovingly referred to as Heaven. I really, literally, thought I was screwed.

Usually, when I'm afraid of something or don't agree with it, I start to study it so I know just what I'm up against. Well, I definitely tried. 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 jibberish 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 wasn't 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. Speaking in tongues was just not for me. I left camp early that year and never looked back.

For much of my life I have ignored the word 'apocalypse' and the phrase 'coming of the Lord' because I just haven't wanted to think about it. I especially didn't want to think about it after I entered college, because I knew my homosexual tendencies for sure secured my place as one of the burnt and banished. I should have done a bit more research on the subject. Now I know that 'apocolypse' 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 apocolypse does not refer to the end of the world, but to the end of an age. My fears about being impure and unclean and going to hell because of it are reflected in this song by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (one of my favorites, also):

NOTHING BUT THE WATER II BY GRACE POTTER AND THE NOCTURNALS

I have tried to find my way, to make it through to a better day
I have cried a mighty song, but in the morning everything was gone
So come on water sweet water, wash me down
So come on water sweet water, wash me down

I have tried so many times to put out the devils fire
But every time I sit down to pray, the devils charm pulls me away
So come on water sweet water, wash me down
So come on water sweet water, wash me down

Up in heaven, they know the rule, you've got to get down to the bathing pool
Everybody, you've got to get in line
Down at the river, we're doing fine with the water sweet water, wash me down
Come on water sweet water, wash me down

Now I'm ready and it's my time and if I give a nickel, I might get a dime
Only the water can help me now
I'll find glory somewhere, somehow with the water sweet water, wash me down
Come on water sweet water, wash me down

Tried my hand at the bible, tried my hand at the prayer, but now nothing but the water is gonna bring my soul to bare.
Tried my hand at the bible, tried my hand at the prayer, but now nothing but the water is gonna bring my soul to bare.
Tried my hand at the bible, tried my hand at the prayer, but now nothing but the water is gonna bring my soul to bare...

I think my soul can rest easier now when I hear words like 'apocalypse' and 'the coming of the Lord', as I don't really associate them anymore with something so terrible as burning up in flames or being a soul trapped to wander a burning earth for the rest of my days.