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On the readings for September 28

“Moses … during the Battle of Rephidim, assisted by Hur and Aaron…”

The readings for Sunday September 28 are Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16, Philippians 2:1-13, and Matthew 21:23-32. For Psalm 78, see On the psalms up to September 28. The full readings are at Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost Proper 21, but here are some highlights.

Exodus 17:1-7 tells about the Children of Israel, complaining in the “wilderness of Sin,” which is a lot like last week’s OT, on the “Children of Israel moaning and complaining in the Wilderness, despite God’s miraculously rescuing them from their slavery in Egypt.”

In this reading they “camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.” Moses told God, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

(BTW: That’s why – in telling the Story of Creation – Moses had to use “language and concepts that his relatively-pea-brained contemporary audience could understand.” See On the readings for June 15 – Part I. That is, if Moses had said something like “the earth revolves around the sun,” he would have been stoned to death, or at least tarred and feathered.)

So anyway, here’s what Wikipedia said about the encampment at Rephidim and what happened after Moses provided water by “striking a rock,” the subject of today’s reading:

[T]he Amalekites attacked the Israelites while encamped at Rephidim, but were defeated (Exodus 17:8-16)… The Israelites were led by Joshua in the battle. Moses, Aaron and Hur watched the battle from a hill. Moses noticed that when his arms were raised the Israelites gained the upper hand, but when they were down the Amalekites struck back. Moses sat with his hands held up by Aaron and Hur until sunset, securing the Israelite victory.

(Empasis added.) And by the way, the emphasized portions sound a lot like a modern-day football fan, watching his favorite team on TV; moving around the room, sometimes standing, sometimes sitting, but always trying to “help his team win.” (See Rephidim – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and also On “God’s Favorite Team” – Part I.)

Which makes this Bible reading very timely for the 2014 pro and college football season.

Anyway, in Philippians 2:1-13 Paul wrote what the International Bible Commentary (IBC) calls the famous “early Christian hymn on the humility and exaltation of Christ.” The Complete Jewish Bible translates Philippians 5 as, “Let your attitude toward one another be governed by your being in union with the Messiah,” then goes to Philippians 6-11:

Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God
something to be possessed by force. On the contrary, he emptied himself,
in that he took the form of a slave by becoming like human beings are…

Therefore God raised him to the highest place and gave him the name above every name;that in honor of the name given Yeshua [Jesus], every knee will bow — in heaven, on earth and under the earth — and every tongue will acknowledge that Yeshua [Jesus] the Messiah is Adonai [Lord] — to the glory of God the Father.

(And a BTW: In Philippians 2:11, Paul quoted Isaiah 45:23: “In the name of myself I have sworn, from my mouth has rightly gone out, a word that will not return — that to me every knee will bow and every tongue will swear.” And in Philippians 2:12, Paul quoted Psalm 2:11, “Serve the Lord with fear and trembling.”)

And finally, in Matthew 21:23-32, Jesus again distinguished the religious “powers that be” who challenged his authority,* with the simple “sinners” who did believe in Him and welcomed His message of redemption, telling those distinguished persons:

“Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.”

Apostle Matthew - Getty Images

The upper image is courtesy of Rephidim – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, with the full caption: “Moses holding up his arms during the Battle of Rephidim, assisted by Hur and Aaron, in John Everett Millais‘ Victory O Lord! (1871).”

The lower image is courtesy of Matthew in the Bible – Tax Collector and Apostle – Christianity, with the full caption: “Jesus calling Matthew, a taxman, to follow him and become a disciple.” The web article noted that “Matthew was a dishonest tax collector driven by greed, until Jesus Christ chose him as a disciple… Tax collectors were notoriously corrupt because they extorted far and above what was owed, to ensure their personal profit. Because their decisions were enforced by Roman soldiers, no one dared object.” The article further noted this unique take on Matthew:

Despite his sinful past, Matthew was uniquely qualified to be a disciple. He was an accurate record keeper and keen observer of people. He captured the smallest details. Those traits served him well when he wrote the Gospel of Matthew some 20 years later.

(Sometime the Lord does indeed “work in mysterious ways.”)

As to the location of Rephidim, see wilderness of Sin, which noted that it was “a geographic area mentioned by the Bible as lying between Elim and Mount Sinai. Sin does not refer to sinfulness [at least not literally], but is an untranslated word that would translate as the moon,” and/or as referring or alluding to the “semitic moon-deity Sin.”

* As to Jesus’ thoughts on “the religious ‘powers that be,'” see also Atlanta Bishop Robert Wright’s recent take on the readings for Sunday, September 28:

Institutional authorities often become obsessed with order and institutional maintenance to the detriment of innovation and adaptation. It becomes precedent over people; ritual over reflection; structure over Spirit… God’s spirit does come through the church but refuses to be limited by the church or the clergy.

(“The Scribe” couldn’t have said it better himself.) See The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, Georgia (GA), under “For Faith,” for September 26, 2014.

On the psalms up to September 28

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“A woman playing a psalterion,” an instrument used to accompany psalms…

This feature focuses on the psalm for the upcoming Sunday and on highlights from the psalms in the Daily Office (DORs) in the week leading up to that upcoming Sunday. The general idea is to review the next Sunday’s readings on the prior Wednesday, and review the psalms from the Daily Office Readings for the week ending on the Tuesday just before that “prior Wednesday.”

For example, The Lectionary Page psalm for Sunday, September 28 is Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16. In turn, the DOR psalms highlighted in this post will be from the readings for Wednesday, September 18 (“more or less”), up to the readings for Tuesday, September 23.

Psalm 78 will be discussed below, but first here are some highlights from last week’s DORs.

Going back to Thursday, September 18, the DORs for that day included Psalm 71:18:

And now that I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not forsake me, *
till I make known your strength to this generation
and your power to all who are to come.

Which pretty much sums up how this blog got started. (Incidentally, some translations label this psalm “The Prayer of an Elderly Person,” but I wouldn’t go that far…)

Which is being interpreted: If the person who wrote Psalm 78 – or any other psalm – were alive today, he’d probably “get the word out” through a blog like this.

The DORs for Friday, September 19, included Psalm 69, verses 10 and 23. Psalm 69:10 reads, “Zeal for your house has eaten me up…” That passage was quoted by the Gospel writer in John 2:17, in the King James Version (the one God uses), “And his disciples remembered that it was written, ‘The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.'” This was right after the Wedding at Cana, when Jesus went into the Temple in Jerusalem, and proceeded to clean out the place with a whip of cords, driving out money-changers, publicans and the like. (See also Romans 15:3.)

Psalm 69:23 reads, “They gave me gall to eat, and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink,” which foreshadowed Jesus on the cross. See Matthew 27:34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed …, and also Sour Wine and Gall: Was it a Merciful Gesture or Mockery? – …, which noted in part, “Offering sour wine combined with gall … may have been a medicinal and merciful gesture to dull the intense pain; but St. Luke in his Holy Gospel implies that the drink offered to our Lord Jesus at His crucifixion was part of the torture.”

The DORs for Sunday, September 21 included Psalm 96:1, “Sing to the Lord a new song,” about which much has been written herein. For examples, type “sing Lord new song” in the search box above right and you’ll get links like On “what a drag it is. . .” (alluding to the Rolling Stones song, Mother’s Little Helper). That post noted in part, “now that I’m ‘old and full of years’ – I [was] 62 – I can clearly see that ‘getting o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ld’ beats the heck out of the alternative.” (Which could also qualify as the “prayer of an elderly person.”)

And finally, the DORs for Tuesday, September 23, included Psalm 78:2, “I will open my mouth in a parable; I will declare the mysteries of ancient times.” On that note, Jesus specialized in the parabolic method of teaching – of teaching through the use of parables – a method discussed in On three suitors (a parable). That included a discussion of the problems inherent in trying to “strictly” or “conservatively” interpret a parable, as some try to do.

Turning to the psalm for Sunday, September 28, Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16, the first part – including Psalm 78:2, noted above – begins with a note of praise, and of our duty to future generations:

We will recount to generations to come
the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the LORD, *
and the wonderful works he has done.

Which means of course that it is in God’s best interest to have His followers succeed in life, but oh does God love His drama, as noted in Psalm 50:15, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall honor me.” (The “honor” seems to be the flip side of the “trouble.”)

The International Bible Commentary (IBC) said that Psalm 78 was about “the lessons of history,” and despite how short this Sunday’s reading is, “78” is one of those psalms that is so long that it got divided in two. It has 72 verses, and verses 12 through 16 are about “Grace abounding,” according to the IBC. Specifically, these five verses recite “the plagues in Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, guidance through the wilderness by cloud and fire, and the provision of water at Rephidim (Exod. 17:6) and Kadesh (Num. 2010 f.).”

Which leads to the valuable lesson: There’s a big difference between “arguing with God” – see On arguing with God – and “deliberately challenging God,” or defying Him, or being too skeptical about His ability to “deliver us from evil,” as detailed in Psalm 78.

The upper image is courtesy of Psaltery – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, with the full caption: “A woman playing a psalterion. Ancient Greek red-figured pelike from Anzi, Apulia, circa 320–310 BCE.”

The lower image is courtesy of Psalms – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, with the full caption: “David Playing the Harp by Jan de Bray, 1670.”

As to David playing the harp, see David – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, which noted the account of First Samuel, Chapter 16, which told of Saul, the first-ever king of Israel, being tormented by an evil spirit. In turn it was suggested that “he send for David, a young warrior famed for bravery and his lyre playing. Saul did so, and made David one of his armor-bearers. From then on, whenever ‘the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him,’” as illustrated above.

My way or the highway – Wiktionary defined the term as “suggesting an ultimatum which indicates the listener(s) will either conform to the desires of the speaker or else be excluded.”

As to “get the word out,” see Get the word out – Idiom Definition – UsingEnglish.com, “If you get the word out, you inform or let people or the public know about something.”

As to deliver us from evil: The Lord’s Prayer “concludes with ‘deliver us from evil‘ in Matthew, and with ‘lead us not into temptation’ in Luke.” See Lord’s Prayer – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

* * * *

As to Book of Psalms generally, it is “commonly referred to simply as Psalms or ‘the Psalms’ … the first book of the Ketuvim (‘Writings’), the third section of the Hebrew Bible. The English title is from the Greek [word] meaning ‘instrumental music’ and, by extension, ‘the words accompanying the music.’ There are 150 psalms in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition.” Psalms – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia… The book is “divided into five sections, each closing with a doxology (i.e., a benediction) … probably introduced by the final editors to imitate the five-fold division of the Torah.”

Wikipedia added that the “version of the Psalter in the American Book of Common Prayer prior to the 1979 edition is a sixteenth-century Coverdale Psalter. The Psalter in the American Book of Common Prayer of 1979 is a new translation, with some attempt to keep the rhythms of the Coverdale Psalter.”

For another take on the psalms in general, type “Thomas Merton” in the Search Box above right.

On St. Matthew

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“St. Matthew by Frans Hals…”

September 22 is the Feast Day for “St Matthew, Evangelist (transferred),” as in “transferred from September 21, which this year fell on a Sunday.” According to the Bible, he was “one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and, according to Christian tradition, one of the four Evangelists.” See Matthew the Apostle – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, which added:

Matthew was a 1st-century Galilean (presumably born in Galilee[,] the son of Alpheus. As a tax collector he would have been literate in Aramaic and Greek. After his call, Matthew invited Jesus home for a feast. On seeing this, the Scribes and the Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners. This prompted Jesus to answer, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

The Old Testament reading for the day is Proverbs 3:1-6, which begins, “My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments.” (As aptly illustrated by the Frans Hals painting above.) The psalm for the Feast Day is Psalm 119:33-40, which begins in like manner, “Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end.” And as author of the first of four Gospels, Matthew “fit the bill” as a preeminent teacher.

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

That’s from Second Timothy 3:14-17, the New Testament reading for the day, which gives a pithy summary of the benefits of reading “all scripture,” and especially the four Gospels, and more especially the first of the four Gospels, the one by Matthew. And not surprisingly, the Gospel reading for the day is Matthew 9:9-13, which gave the following account:

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples.

It was at this point that the Pharisees got all bent out of shape – metaphorically speaking – mostly because in the Bible times of Jesus, tax collectors worked for the Roman forces of occupation and so were viewed as collaborators, “Quislings,” and/or traitors to their country:

Tax collectors, also known as publicans, are mentioned many times in the Bible (mainly in the New Testament). They were reviled by the Jews of Jesus’ day because of their greed and collaboration with the Roman occupiers. Tax collectors amassed personal wealth by demanding tax payments in excess of what Rome levied and keeping the difference. They worked for tax farmers. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus sympathizes with the tax collector Zacchaeus, causing outrage from the crowds that Jesus would rather be the guest of a sinner than of a more respectable or “righteous” person. Saint Matthew in the New Testament was a tax collector.

See Tax collector – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and the Wikipedia article on tax farmers.

Isaac Asimov offered another view of why such persons were held in such low esteem:

No tax collector … is actually going to be loved, but a “publican” of the Roman sort was sure to be hated above all men as a merciless leech who would take the shirt off a dying child. It is not to be wondered at, then, that the word “publican” is used as representing an extreme of wickedness in the Sermon on the Mount.

(Asimov, 829-31) The “Beatitude” referred to is Matthew 5:46, in the Complete Jewish Bible: “What reward do you get if you love only those who love you? Why, even tax-collectors do that!” As Asimov noted, “The publicans here are held up as an extreme. If even the publicans can do this, anyone can,” the point being that according to the Gospel of Jesus, “those who wish ethical perfection must do more.”

The other point being, that by the grace of God, Matthew the hated tax-collecting collaborator was “magically” transformed into a Gospel writer of the first magnitude, and that “if he can be so greatly transformed, so can we!” Or as a biographer wrote of another prophet, he was an ordinary man with more than a fair share of human faults, but it was just such “base metal which, in the marvelous alchemy of the spiritual journey, became transmuted into gold.”

The upper and lower images are courtesy of Matthew the Apostle – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. As to the lower image, Wikipedia added the caption, “St. Matthew and the Angel by Rembrandt.” An alternate title is “The Evangelist Matthew Inspired by an Angel.”

The Isaac Asimov quotes are from Asimov’s Guide to the Bible (Two Volumes in One), Avenel Books (1981), at pages 829-31.

A quisling is one “who collaborates with an enemy occupying force. The word originates from the Norwegian war-time leader Vidkun Quisling who was the head of a domestic Nazi collaborationist regime during the Second World War.” See Quisling – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, which added, “in a 1966 Peanuts comic strip, Linus tries to hide in Snoopy‘s doghouse only to have the beagle rat him out. ‘Traitor! Quisling! Squealer!‘ Linus shouts at Snoopy as his sister Lucy drags him away.”

The “transmuted into gold” quote is from Monica Furlong’s Merton A Biography, Harper and Row (1980), at page xx. See also On Thomas Merton.

On the readings for September 21

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An image of “the eleventh hour,” referring to a point in time “nearly too late; the last minute…”

The readings for Sunday, September 21, are Exodus 16:2-15, Psalm 105, Philippians 1:21-30, and Matthew 20:1-16. For more on Psalm 105, see On the Psalms up to September 21. As always you can see the full readings at The Lectionary Page, but here are some highlights.

We start with Philippians 1:21-30, because up to now the New Testament readings have been from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, also known simply as Romans. But this week we begin hearing from Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, one of the first churches on the continent of Europe. See Epistle to the Philippians – Wikipedia:

The letter was written to the church at Philippi, one of the earliest churches to be founded in Europe. They were very attached to Paul, just as he was very fond of them. Of all the churches, their contributions (which Paul gratefully acknowledges) are among the only ones he accepts. (Acts 20:33–35; 2 Cor. 11:7–12; 2 Thess. 3:8). The generosity of the Philippians comes out very conspicuously [as noted in Philippians 4:15]…

Bible scholars generally agree this is one of several letters Paul wrote while in prison in Rome, and he began by saying, “living is Christ and dying is gain… I do not know which I prefer … my desire is to depart and be with Christ … but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.”

In other words, this is one of those passages that could easily misconstrued as promoting “early death” – especially considering Paul’s being in prison – or as the International Bible Commentary (IBC) paraphrased, “Death, for the Christian, is to be ‘away from the body and at home with the Lord.'” But the IBC also noted that Paul’s meaning is entirely different:

In [his] disembodied state, [Paul’s] condition is one of consciousness, of freedom from sin and of completeness in holiness, and moreover of the joy to which earth has no equal, that of beholding Christ directly and of dwelling in His presence.

Which is another way of saying that life can be a pain, but that we’re all here – each of us – with a job to do. Unfortunately, like all jobs there are peaks and valleys, in that God “has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well.”

On that note we return to the Old Testament reading, Exodus 16:2-15, filled with the Children of Israel moaning and complaining in the Wilderness, despite God’s miraculously rescuing them from their slavery in Egypt. But God heard their whining and provided them with food, though perhaps only in an effort to shut them up, even temporarily:

In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.”

This was literally “manna from heaven.” See Manna – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Manna is from Heaven, according to the Bible, but the various identifications of manna are naturalistic. In the Mishnah, manna is treated as a natural but unique substance, “created during the twilight of the sixth day of Creation,” and ensured to be clean, before it arrives, by the sweeping of the ground by a northern wind and subsequent rains.According to classical rabbinical literature, manna was ground in a heavenly mill for the use of the righteous, but some of it was allocated to the wicked and left for them to grind themselves.

And finally, in Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus told the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, in which the workers who started late in the day – literally, “at the eleventh hour” – got paid as much as those who had started early and worked throughout the heat of the day. That led to some more considerable complaining (which seems to be a theme for these readings).

Despite the complaining of the “early-comers,” the owner of the vineyard told them, “I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?'” And as one scholar wrote:

[T]he question inevitably arises: Who are the eleventh-hour workers in our day? We might want to name them, such as deathbed converts or persons who are typically despised by those who are longtime veterans and more fervent in their religious commitment. But it is best not to narrow the field too quickly. At a deeper level, we are all the eleventh-hour workers; to change the metaphor, we are all honored guests of God in the kingdom. It is not really necessary to decide who the eleventh-hour workers are. The point of the parable — both at the level of Jesus and the level of Matthew’s Gospel — is that God saves by grace, not by our worthiness. That applies to all of us.

Which is another way of saying that we all get “manna from heaven,” all of it both undeserved and a gift from God, to be received with thanks. Or as Paul said in First Corinthians 4:7:

What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all you have is from God, why act as though you are so great, and as though you have accomplished something on your own?

The upper image – along with the quote, Who are the eleventh-hour workers in our day? – are courtesy of Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard – Wikipedia, the free …. The full caption for the painting shown in the article reads: “Painting of the parable, by Jacob Willemszoon de Wet, mid 17th century.” The caption-definition of “eleventh hour” is courtesy of eleventh hour – Wiktionary.

See also, at the eleventh hour – Idioms by The Free Dictionary, which defined the term as “at the last possible moment. (Just before the last clock hour, 12),” with the examples, “She always turned her term papers in at the eleventh hour,” and “We don’t worry about death until the eleventh hour.”

The lower image is courtesy of Manna – Wikipedia, with caption: “The Gathering of the Manna by James Tissot.”

The quote from First Corinthians is from The Living Bible (TLB) translation.

On the Psalms up to September 21

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“A woman playing a psalterion,” an instrument used to accompany psalms…

This feature focuses on both the psalm for the Sunday coming up, and on highlights from the psalms in the Daily Office (DORs) leading up to that upcoming Sunday. The plan is to post the review of next Sunday’s readings on the prior Wednesday, and review the psalms from the Daily Office Readings for the week ending on the Tuesday just before that “prior Wednesday.”

For example, The Lectionary Page psalm for Sunday, September 21 is Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45. In turn, the DOR psalms highlighted in this post will be from the readings for Wednesday, September 10 (“MOL”), up to the readings for Tuesday, September 16.

Psalm 105 will be discussed further below, but first the highlights from last week’s DOR psalms.

Going back to the readings for Tuesday, September 9, in John 10:31-42, Jesus Himself quoted the Book of Psalms. This was after He’d used the “Good Shepherd” metaphor (and compared Himself to God), after which the Powers That Be got angry and set to stone Him to death:

Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” ³³The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.” ³⁴Jesus answered, “Is it not written in your law,^[d] ‘I said, you are gods’? ³⁵If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’—and the scripture cannot be annulled— ³⁶can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?

Jesus quoted Psalm 82:6, which adds in verse 7 (of the RSV), “I say, ‘You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like men, and fall like any prince.’” The point being that Jesus knew and quoted the psalms frequently (and so should we).

Wednesday, September 10, included Psalm 49:6-7,15, “We can never ransom ourselves, or deliver to God the price of our life; for the ransom of our life is so great, that we should never have enough to pay it… But God will ransom my life; he will snatch me from the grasp of death.” A nice reminder when things aren’t going well.

Thursday, September 11 included Psalm 50:5,15, which figures prominently in the Scribe’s new novel, God’s Favorite Team. (See On “God’s Favorite Team” – Part I.)

“Gather before me my loyal followers, those who have made a covenant with me and sealed it with sacrifice… Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall honor me.”

On a possibly-related note, Friday, September 12, included Psalm 51:14, ” I shall teach your ways to the wicked, and sinners shall return to you.” (Not that I’m comparing sports-fans to sinners, you understand.) Then Saturday, September 13, included Psalm 138:9, “The Lord will make good his purpose for me,” which in the case of Yours Truly arguably led up to the creation and implementation of the blog which even now “you” are reading.

And finally, skipping ahead to Tuesday, September 16, that day’s readings included Psalm 62:12, “though wealth increase, set not your heart upon it,” which is something I definitely don’t have to worry about “at this point in time.” (But I am doing what I love…)

Getting back to Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45, it starts off in verse 1 with an arguable foreshadowing of The Great Commission: “Give thanks to the LORD and call upon his Name; make known his deeds among the peoples.” (See Great Commission – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)

Then in verses 37-45 it offered a brief review of Israel’s history, from the beginning of the Exodus to the Children of Israel being brought into the Promised Land: God “led out his people with silver and gold,” in that “Egypt was glad of their going.” (See also Exodus 12:36, in the ASV, “And Jehovah gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. And they despoiled the Egyptians.“)

The psalm-review continued with an account including “the pillar of cloud,” of manna appearing from heaven, and of Moses “striking the rock at Meribah, ” as shown below.

The lower image – Moses Striking Water from the Rock – is courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tintoretto,_Jacopo_-_Moses_Str…. The artist was Jacopo Tintoretto, and the painting was finished in 1577. See also Moses Drawing Water from the Rock by TINTORETTO, which added:

In this painting … Moses, by his clothes and pose, recalls the figure of Christ and the water gushing from the rock symbolizes the blood that flows from the side of the Son of God. At the centre of the canvas, Moses strikes a rock and powerful streams of water erupt from it, filling plates, bowls, and jars held out eagerly by the parched Israelites… God the Father, borne aloft on a supernatural crystal globe, comes in haste to save his thirsty people.

* * * *

For another take on the psalms in general, type “Thomas Merton” in the Search Box above right.

And finally, see also Meribah – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, which indicated that despite his position as “God’s Favorite,” Moses often had to tread lightly:

The narrative in the Book of Exodus states that, on account of their thirst, the Israelites grumbled against Moses so Moses, in fear for his life, appeals to Yahweh; the narrative continues with Yahweh telling Moses to walk ahead of the others, and strike the rock at Horeb with his rod, and when Moses does this, it causes the rock to expel water.

Which is another reason that in writing up his history of the world, Moses had to “tell the story using language and concepts that his relatively-pea-brained contemporary audience could understand,” on pain of being tarred and feathered or stoned to death. (See On the readings for June 15 – Part I.)

On “God’s Favorite Team” – Part I

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“Osceola, the Black Drink, a Warrior of Great Distinction…”

With football season now in full swing – college and pro – it’s time to announce the publication of The Scribe’s new novel, God’s Favorite Team. The subtitle? (“A story of the 1996 college football season, and of ritual in sports and sport-fans.”) Here’s the sub-sub-title:

This book was originally written in the dark days after The Great FSU Loss to the Gators in the 1997 Sugar Bowl, and was intended to offer a message of hope…

In case you’ve forgotten, 1996 was the year the Florida State football team had to play a rematch against its hated arch-rival Florida Gators, despite beating them in the regular season finale. And that only happened because of a glitch in the system:

Third-ranked Florida was invited to the Bowl Alliance’s designated national championship game for the 1996-97 season [only] because the Pac-10 Conference was contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl… [T]he second-ranked Pac-10 champion, Arizona State, played the fourth-ranked Big Ten champion, Ohio State, in the Rose Bowl… Florida was assured of winning the consensus national championship [only] when Ohio State defeated second-ranked Arizona State in the Rose Bowl.

See 1997 Sugar Bowl – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, emphasis added. In other words, the end of the 1996 season not only saw FSU lose the championship game, it saw them lose in such a convoluted way that their hated archrivals won their first national title.

But we’re not hear to rehash the unfairness of the old college system. We’re here to explore the possibility that – by following pro or college football in the proper manner – the dedicated sports fan can achieve a theophany not unlike Moses had. (Though probably to a lesser degree. For more on such theophanies see On the readings for August 31 – Part I, and/or Theophany – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)

The hero of God’s Favorite Team got into offering a “ritual-exercise sacrifice” to help his team, but lest you think he’s alone in his delusions, consider this from Saturday, February 4, 2012. (A day before Super Bowl XLVI, where the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17):

Whether it’s leaving up the [Christmas] tree, eating a special meal or wearing a team jersey, many sports enthusiasts have something they do in attempt to increase their team’s odds of winning. It’s possible that these wacky fan behaviors are related to the superstitious actions some athletes take in attempt to improve their luck said Joshua Shuart, chairman of Sacred Heart University‘s department of marketing and sport management. He pointed out that many athletes do things like growing beards or eating certain foods because they think the behavior is lucky. Adopting their own rituals is a way that fans can feel like they’re part of a team that they’re not actually a member of. “It all comes down to fan identification,” Shuart said. “They really feel that they’re part of the team.”

But the hero of GFT didn’t just indulge in his own “wacky behavior,” he also added the spiritual discipline of reading the Bible on a daily basis, and it was all part of his own personal Mystic Quest. (The “daily basis” was the Daily Office, a set of readings designed to get the reader through the Bible in two years. For on the Office, see About the DOR Scribe, above.)

Unfortunately, while the hero’s team ended up winning three national titles (so far), he also had to endure a lot of heartache along with way. That’s another way of saying that no one yet has found The Perfect Ritual to guarantee your team will always win. That in turn is another way of saying good ritual sometimes does no more than help us “accept the rhythm of the seasons,” which includes losing, heartbreak and/or heartache. An example is this February 1, 2014 post, just before the last Super Bowl, titled “Broncos fans hope superstitions pay off big time:”

This morning Grant Hankins – like thousands of other superstitious fans – will do his game day ritual… Superstition is a large part of a fan’s repertoire these days, especially when the home team is in Super Bowl XLVIII today… Kenny Shisler has similar superstitions. The lifelong Broncos fan said he will wear Broncos gear all week long, but refuses to do so on game day… “Like the Bud Light commercials, ‘It’s only weird if it doesn’t work,’” Shisler said… The superstition factor is a part of the game. It’s the fan’s way of connection to their team. “Hopefully our fans have better rituals than the Seahawks fans,” Hankins said.

Broncos fans hope superstitions pay off big-time

See The Pueblo Chieftain | Broncos fans hope superstitions pay …. (The devoted football fan will of course recall that in Super Bowl XLVIII, the Seattle Seahawks beat the Broncos 43-8.)

Which is yet another way of saying that in the whole history of the world, no one has found The Perfect Ritual to either: 1) “keep winter at bay,” or 2) guarantee a win for his team, or 3) – like the arrogant King Canute – “keep back the tide,” as seen below.

But here’s a hint: That’s part of the process. More later…

Engraving of picture of King Canute

The upper image is courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Osceola,_George_Catlin,_1838.JPG. The description included with the image reads as follows:

George Catlin painted Osceola in the final month of the warrior’s life, following his infamous capture in October of 1837. Among the most memorable portraits in Catlin’s large body of work, the painting vividly captures the chief’s pride amid a terrible change of circumstances.

As soon as he heard of Osceola’s capture, Catlin closed his New York studio and headed south. At Fort Moultrie, he found several competitors engaged in the process of painting and drawing Osceola. The chief suffered the artists graciously, often sitting for two at once. Of the group, he particularly liked Catlin, who had traveled widely in American Indian territories. The two stayed up talking late into the night.

Of the many images of Osceola, Catlin’s is the most famous and justifiably so. The painter’s craftsmanship and respect for his subject shine through in many accurate personal details and in the chief’s nobility and calm grace.

For further information on the painter, see George Catlin – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For another view on such “wacky fan behavior,” see “Super”stitions: Fans engage in odd rituals – Connecticut Post, Faulty logic: Post hoc, ergo propter hoc « Gotham Skeptic, and/or Why Superstition Works: The Science of Superstition in Sports ….

The quotes about “keeping the winter at bay” and “accepting the rhythm of the seasons” were gleaned from the book Passages of the Soul[:] Ritual Today,” by James Roose-Evans, Element Books Ltd. (1994) Here are some further passages of interest: “All true ritual calls for discipline, patience, perseverance, leading to the discovery of the self within,” and this: “No rite has yet succeeded in keeping winter at bay … nor can rites of spring guarantee an abundant harvest. Such rituals [only] serve to help us to accept the rhythms of the seasons…”

The lower image is courtesy of BBC News – Is King Canute misunderstood? The article cited recent media misuse of the “Canute metaphor,” and added that in the examples, “the sentiment in the same, King Canute is being used as shorthand to describe trying and failing to hold back the tide.” But see also, King Canute and the waves, cited in Cnut the Great – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Proverbial reference to the legend in contemporary journalism or politics usually casts the story in terms of “Cnut’s arrogance” of “attempting to stop the tide.” It was cited, for example, by Stacy Head as typifying the New Orleans city council’s response to Hurricane Katrina (2005), or by Mark Stephens in reference to Ryan Giggs as “the King Canute of football” for his attempts of stopping “the unstoppable tide of information ” on the internet in the 2011 British privacy injunctions controversy. This is a misrepresentation of Huntingdon’s account, whose Cnut uses the tide to demonstrate his inability to control the elements and deferring to the greater authority of God.

(Emphasis added.) The foregoing may well be of interest to those engaging in Bible study, as an example of how past events and/or accounts can be twisted, manipulated and/or “spun.” See Spin (public relations) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

On the readings for September 14

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“The Israelites Passing through the Wilderness Preceded by the Pillar of Light…”

Welcome to DORScribe, a blog on reading the Bible with an open mind.

In other words, this Bible-blog is different.

It says not only that the Bible should be read with an open mind, but also that it was designed to liberate the human spirit, not shackle it. That runs contrary to a prevailing perception these days, that way too many Christians are way too negative, close-minded, or both. For more on that, see About this Blog, which also talks about how we can live fuller, richer lives of great spiritual abundance, and do greater miracles than even Jesus did, if only we open our minds…

In the meantime:

The Bible readings for Sunday, September 14, are: Exodus 14:19-31, Psalm 114, Romans 14:1-12, and Matthew 18:21-35. For more on Psalm 114, see On the psalms up to September 14. See the full readings at The Lectionary Page, but here are some highlights.

Exodus 14:19-31 begins with an account of the pillar of cloud: (or of light, as seen above):

The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

For more, see sites including What did the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by …, which said that in “addition to guidance for the Hebrews, the pillar was a testimony to other nations concerning God’s involvement with and protection His people Israel.”

That passage is followed by the account of Moses “parting the Red Sea,” an account that has caused considerable debate, “even to this day.” Note too that this account “is also mentioned in the Qur’an in Surah 26: Al-Shu’ara’ (The Poets) in verses 60-67.” See Crossing the Red Sea – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

According to the Exodus account, Moses held out his staff and the Red Sea was parted by God. The Israelites walked on dry ground and crossed the sea, followed by the Egyptian army. Moses again moved his staff once the Israelites had crossed and the sea closed again, drowning the whole of the Egyptian army.

Isaac Asimov – among others – suggested that the actual crossing took place at the “sea of reeds,” and/or marshes at the upper end of the Gulf of Suez, “two shallow bodies of brackish water called the Bitter Lakes … no longer on the map because they were filled in at the time the Suez Canal was built.” See also the Wikipedia article:

General scholarly opinion is that the Exodus story combines a number of traditions, one of them at the “Reed Sea” (Lake Timsah, with the Egyptians defeated when the wheels of their chariots become clogged) and another at the far deeper Red Sea, allowing the more dramatic telling of events.

Be that as it may, the Israelites escaped their Egyptian overlords and not unnaturally viewed the escape as miraculous: “Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great work that the LORD did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the LORD and believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.” (For more on Moses telling his story in “language and concepts that his relatively-pea-brained contemporary audience could understand,” see On the readings for June 15 – Part I.)

Of Romans 14:1-12, the International Bible Commentary (IBC) said, “Nowhere is [Paul’s] level-headed insight into problems of personal relationships displayed more than here,” then added:

Every individual carries with him a set of convictions born of past experience and the influence of other personalities upon his own. He is apt to consider his opinions sacrosanct and rationalize principles out of them. A desire for self-justification may prompt him to regard with scorn those who do not conform to his views, and write them off as unreasonable and intolerable. (E.A.)

In the end Paul asked, “Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister?” He then noted, “we will all stand before the judgment seat of God” and that “each of us will be accountable to God,” and thus counsels – according to the IBC – “let the other man be… It is nothing less than usurping Christ’s sovereign authority over a fellow-Christian for one to criticize him over a difference of opinion.” (On the other hand, see also Marketplace of ideas – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, discussing the idea that “the truth will emerge from the competition of ideas in free, transparent public discourse.”)

So: The competition of ideas good, judgment-passing criticism bad…

And finally, Matthew 18:21-35, tells the story of the Parable of the unforgiving servant – Wikipedia, the free …, right after Jesus told Peter that he was to forgive his erring neighbor not seven times, but “seventy times seven.”

Wikipedia noted that the parable has been interpreted in a number of ways, including that: 1) God’s forgiveness of sin is of enormous magnitude, like the 10,000 talents, 2) This enormous degree of forgiveness should be the model for the way that Christians forgive others, 3) An unforgiving nature is offensive to God, 4) Forgiveness must be genuine, and finally 5) that “It is like the C.S. Lewis quote, ‘To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.'” (Emphasis added.)

The upper image is courtesy of The Israelites Passing through the Wilderness, Preceded by …. The painting is by William West, and dated 1845. The site added that “West painted a dramatic night scene, with the light streaming down on tiny figures of Moses and the Israelites. By 1845, such an epic treatment of a biblical subject was old-fashioned and it is the last of the Bristol School’s imaginary, Romantic landscapes. It would be twentieth-century film-makers who were to reinvent the epic dramatisation of history with casts of thousands.” (Emphasis added.)

The lower image is courtesy of the Wikipedia article, with the caption: “This depiction by Domenico Fetti (c. 1620) shows the unforgiving servant choking the other debtor.”

For more on Jesus telling Peter about forgiveness, see Where do you find Forgive seventy times seven in the Bible.

On the psalms up to September 14

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“A woman playing a psalterion,” an instrument used to accompany psalms…

Welcome to DORScribe, a blog on reading the Bible with an open mind.

In other words, this Bible-blog is different.

In the meantime:

This is the second installment of a new feature. The focus here is both on the psalm for the Sunday coming up, and also on highlights from the psalms in the Daily Office Readings (DORs) leading up to that upcoming Sunday. The plan here is to review upcoming Sunday-readings on the prior Wednesday, and to review the psalms from the Daily Office Readings for the week ending on the Tuesday just before that “prior Wednesday.”

For example, The Lectionary Page psalm for Sunday, September 14 is Psalm 114. In turn, the DOR psalms highlighted in this post will be from the readings for Wednesday, September 3, up to the readings for Tuesday, September 9. As an example, the DORs for Sunday, September 7 included Psalm 63, sometimes referred to as Patton’s psalm, that is, the psalm – both “humble and defiant” – that General Patton turned to for comfort when he was on the verge of being sent home in disgrace during World War II. (See On “Patton,” Sunday School teacher.)

The International Bible Commentary (IBC) said of Psalm 114 that it was the second of the so-called “Hallel psalms;” psalms, hymns and/or songs “sung regularly at all the great Israelite festivals.” See Hallel – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, which noted:

Hallel consists of six Psalms (113–118), which are recited as a unit, on joyous occasions… Hallel (Hebrew: הלל‎, “Praise”) is a Jewish prayer – a verbatim recitation from Psalms 113-118, which is used for praise and thanksgiving that is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays.

See also Hallel – Jewish Virtual Library, which added, “These psalms are essentially expressions of thanksgiving and joy for divine redemption.”

Note also that the English word “Hallelujah” derives from the Hebrew word “Hallel,” with the word added for God – “Yah” (or “Jah”). See Hallelujah – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, defining the term as an exhortation to praise God, deriving from “two Hebrew words, generally rendered as ‘Praise (ye)’ + ‘the LORD,’ [with] the second word is given as ‘Yah.'” See also Yahweh – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, describing “the national god of the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah,” but we digress… (Or do we?)

Indeed, Psalm 114 begins like this: “Hallelujah! When Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange speech, Judah became God’s sanctuary and Israel his dominion.” Then too, the IBC describes the psalm as “Exodus set to music:”

Israel hought of herself as essentially a liberated, redeemed people. They recalled with gratitude the time when the burden of foreign oppression rolled away and they became free – not free in the anarchical sense, but free to enter God’s service. By the Exodus they became a holy people who worshipped Yahweh as their God and a vassal people who owned Him as their King.

On the other hand, the IBC noted that in Psalm 114, the writer handled this “sacred theme unusually, with a whimsical sense of humor.” (A reference I need to keep in mind for possible future defense of the “delightfully quirky” vision I’m pursuing in this blog…)

Among other events, the psalm celebrates the crossing of the Red Sea, but with a sense that You Are There; “By faith the years roll away and the worshippers feel themselves at the very scene as if it had all just happened.” (Which is also pretty much what this blog tries to do.)

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Turning to the psalms from the Daily Office readings; the DORs for Thursday, September 4 included Psalm 37:14, “The Lord laughs at the wicked, because he sees that their day will come.” Also 37:17, “The little that the righteous has is better than the great riches of the wicked.”

The Daily Office readings for Friday, September 5 included Psalm 31:5, “Into your hands I commend my spirit, for you have redeemed me, O Lord, O God of truth.” (See also Acts 7:59.)

The Daily Office readings for Saturday, September 6, included Acts 13:26-43, where the Apostle Paul quoted extensively from the Book of Psalms. He was in the synagogue in Antioch during his first missionary journey, arguing that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah:

“Barnabas and I are here to bring you this Good News … that God brought Jesus back to life again. This is what the second Psalm is talking about when it says concerning Jesus, ‘Today I have honored you as my Son…’ In another Psalm [16:10] he explained more fully, saying, ‘God will not let his Holy One decay.’ ³⁶This was not a reference to David, for after David had served his generation according to the will of God, he died and was buried, and his body decayed. ³⁷No, it was a reference to another – someone God brought back to life, whose body was not touched at all by the ravages of death.”

The Daily Office readings for Sunday, September 7, included “Patton’s psalm,” discussed above, and Psalm 98:1, one of many exhortations to “Sing to the Lord a new song,” that is, a song unique to your personal pilgrimage. (And not to devote your life to “singing” a mere rehash of what other people have done in the past, as some seem to imply).

And finally, the DORs for Monday, September 8, included a reminder from Psalm 41:1, “Happy are they who consider the poor and needy; the Lord will deliver them in the time of trouble.”

– The Scribe

The lower image is courtesy of Psalms – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, with the full caption: “David Playing the Harp by Jan de Bray, 1670.”

Another note: You Are There was an “American historical educational television and radio series broadcast over the CBS Radio and CBS Television networks.” The series began on radio on July 7, 1947, then made the transition to television on February 1, 1953, after a three-year hiatus and/or “retooling.” The final TV broadcast came on October 13, 1957. The series “blended history with modern technology, taking an entire network newsroom on a figurative time warp each week reporting the great events of the past.” See You Are There (series) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

As to Paul’s “missionary journeys,” see e.g. Chronology of Apostle Paul’s Journeys and Epistles.

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For another take on the psalms in general, type “Thomas Merton” in the Search Box above right.

On snake-handling, Fundamentalism and suicide – Part II

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Stott’s “Understanding the Bible…”

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About that “reading the Bible with an open mind.” In a word – or six – this Bible-reading blog is different. It says not only that the Bible should be read with an open mind, but also that it was specifically designed to help liberate the human mind and spirit, not shackle them.

That runs contrary to a prevailing perception these days, that way too many Christians are way too negative and/or close-minded. For more on those ideas see About this Blog, which also talks at length about how we as a people can live fuller, richer lives of great spiritual abundance, and do greater miracles than even Jesus did, if only we open our minds…

In the meantime:

As noted in Part I, John R. W. Stott was an Anglican cleric whom Time magazine ranked among the 100 most influential people in the world. He wrote a book, Understanding the Bible, and on pages 140-143, he made three key points.

Stott’s first point was that the process of Bible inspiration “was not a mechanical one. God did not treat the human authors of Scripture as dictating machines or tape recorders.”

He said God spoke to the authors in different ways, sometimes through dreams and visions, “sometimes by audible voice, sometimes by angels.” He said however God spoke to them, the writers’ “literary style and vocabulary were [still] their own… God made full use of the personality, temperament, background and experience of the biblical authors.” Thus there was a “dual authorship.” The Bible was equally the word of God, and the word of men and women; “This is, indeed, how it describes itself,” with citations. (Id, at 140-41.)

Stott next disputed the notion that “every word of the Bible is literally true.”

He said instead that the words of the Bible were true “only in context,” and cited the book of Job as an example. He said the first 37 chapters of Job consisted of dialogue, usually between Job and his ostensible comforters, while the truth of the book was contained only in the last five chapters. “The book as a whole is God’s word, but the first thirty-seven chapters can be understood only in the light of the last five.” (Id, at 141, emphasis added.)

Thus a key principle for Stott is that Scripture is without error “in all that it affirms.”

That principle (he said) was not always apparent “in the so-called ‘inerrancy debate.’” Stott said (for example) that much of the Bible is written in a figurative manner, including many “‘anthropomorphic’ descriptions of God.” He said the Bible often described God in human terms, as for example His having eyes and ears, or an “outstretched arm” or a “mighty hand.” (On the other hand, Jesus Himself said that “God is spirit,” in John 4:24.)

Thus when we read of people hiding under God’s wings, we understand the Bible writer was passing on the truth that God “protects those who take refuge in him.” (Id, 141-42, emphasis added. For more on the “inerrancy debate,” see Biblical inerrancy – Wikipedia, of which more in later posts. See also Fundamentalism – Wikipedia, which noted that the first of the Five Fundamentals set out at the Niagara Bible Conference 1910 was “the doctrine that the Bible ‘is without error or fault in all its teaching.’”)

Then too, this business of “requiring every word of the Bible to be inerrant” brings to mind what Jesus said in Matthew 23:4, as He chastised the Scribes and Pharisees. In the “Easy-to-Read” translation, Jesus said in pertinent part that such Scribes and Pharisees “make strict rules that are hard for people to obey. They try to force others to obey all their rules. But they themselves will not try to follow any of those rules.”

Of course the choice is yours. As Jesus said in John 6:37, He would never turn away anyone who comes to Him, and if “coming to Him” means – to you – having boatloads of kids or handling snakes, He may well end up accepting you as He promised, stumpy-arm and all. On the other hand, don’t take the words of the first 37 chapters of Job too literally, or you might end up committing suicide. See On Job, the not-so-patient, which included this complaint:

Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth… “Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb..? For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest… Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure, who are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave?”

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Job and His Friends - Ilya Repin

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The upper image is courtesy of Understanding the Bible by John R.W. Stott — Reviews, …. See also John Stott – Wikipedia, which added – as noted – that Stott was an Anglican cleric whom Time magazine ranked among the 100 most influential people in the world.

The lower image is courtesy of Job and His Friends – Ilya Repin – WikiArt.org.

On snake-handling, Fundamentalism and suicide – Part I

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A snake-handler – who may answer to the name “Stumpy” – ostensibly following Mark 16…

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A small minority of rural Christians practice “snake handling” as part of their religious ritual. They do this based on a passage from Mark 16:16-18, part of Jesus’ “Great Commission:”

And [Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation… And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (E.A.)

On the other hand, see for example Snake-Handling Pentecostal Pastor Dies From Snake Bite – ABC …, which arguably shows that such a practice may not be such a good idea.

Then there are the Christians who seek to have “quiverfulls” of children, based on another, more obscure Bible passage, to wit: Psalm 127:3-5:

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them…

All of which comes under the heading of taking the Bible too literally, not to mention “out of context.” That can be a definite problem if you think the way to get into heaven is either handling snakes (“Stumpy”), or having quiverfulls of children. On the other hand, if you’re focusing solely on the end result and not the instructive “journey,” you may have “already missed the point.” See for example On three suitors (a parable), which included this prayer:

O God, if I worship Thee in fear of hell, burn me in hell; if I worship Thee in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise; but if I worship Thee for Thine own sake, withhold not Thine everlasting beauty.

So the point – in case I’m being too subtle – is not to focus on getting into heaven as the “be-all and end-all.” The point of your Christian life is to focus on the journey, and all the valuable lessons you can learn while you’re in your present incarnation, but we digress…

But that does bring up the difference between focusing too exclusively on the “plain meaning” of the Bible – treating it as a set of definite statutes or rules to be followed, on pain of being excluded from heaven – as opposed to treating it as a Book of Wisdom, from which valuable life lessons might be gleaned (and the pathway to heaven paved, metaphorically).

In other words, you could say that the Bible message is both simple enough for a child to understand, yet so full of subtle mysteries that a lifetime can be spent on its study, yet still leave myriads of lessons yet to be learned. (See 1st Corinthians 4:1, “This is how you should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”)

But there is both another way, and an inherent danger in taking its “plain meaning” too literally.

For example, John R. W. Stott was an Anglican cleric whom Time magazine ranked among the 100 most influential people in the world. He wrote a book, Understanding the Bible, and on pages 140-143, he made three key points, as discussed in Part II.

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The upper image is courtesy of Snake handling – Wikipedia. The caption reads, “Snake handling at Pentecostal Church of God, Lejunior, Harlan County, Kentucky September 15, 1946 (National Archives and Records Administration). Photo by Russell Lee.”

As to the validity of such practices as a method of proving one’s faith, see Does MARK 16:17-18 mean that Christians should handle deadly …:

This passage can be understood two ways. One way is to assume that Jesus followers are expected to handle deadly snakes… Another way to understand this passage is to be reassured that when Christians accidentally come in contact with poisonous snakes, God will miraculously protect them… Such an experience happened to the apostle Paul. After being shipwrecked and escaping to the island of Malta, Paul was bitten by a deadly snake. [Acts:28:1-6]. Additionally, the Bible tells us that we should not tempt God by deliberately placing ourselves in potential danger [Matthew 4:5-7]. (E.A.)

Further information on the “Quiverfull Movement” can be found at sites including Quiverfull – Wikipedia; What Is Quiverfull? – Patheos, part of “No longer quivering,” an ostensible “gathering place for women escaping and healing from spiritual abuse;” 5 Insane Lessons from My Christian Fundamentalist Childhood …; and/or QuiverFull .com :: Psalm 127:3-5.

(Please note that these were the first four entries listed under the “Google search,” and are not intended to be interpreted as any sort of personal “ranking” by the Scribe.”)

The lower image is courtesy of Understanding the Bible by John R.W. Stott — Reviews. See also John Stott – Wikipedia.