Tag: Bible
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A Fresh Look at Genesis One
In the beginning, the Bible had no chapters and verses. The creation of biblical chapters took place around the year 1227; of verses in the Hebrew Bible around 1448; and of verses in the New Testament around 1555. In other words, these internal divisions are neither original nor ‘authoritative’, though now more or less universally…
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Michelangelo, the Pornographer !
Is there no end to this increasingly ludicrous and perverse, if not actually perverted, lunacy? If Michelangelo is a pornographer, who’s next, and who’s safe? If Beatrix Potter were still alive, she’d be checking through all these books about “Peter Rabbit”, just in case ! After all, rabbits are reputed to be a reproductively randy…
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The things that you’re liable to read in the Bible …
Apparently, there are still some people who believe that the Earth is flat and, presumably, at least some of them are not joking. Equally unreal (at least to me) is that there are also people who believe the entire Bible to be literally true and historically accurate, all without errors of any kind. It’s unquestionably…
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A Still Not Answered Question
After the Nativity stories, a bit of philosophy for a change. Socrates was loved by those who enjoyed seeing know-alls, in public, tied in infuriating knots by his probing questions. He wasn’t loved by those on the receiving end. One day, he met a young man, called Euthyphro, on his way to court to accuse…
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Samson, a Hero and a Half ! (ii)
At the beginning of Judges 14, Samson sees a Philistine woman, and tells his parents, “I want to marry her”. In 1 Kings 11:2 it’s placed on record that “Yahweh had told the Israelites, ‘You must not marry people of other nations’”. Samson’s parents point this out to him – “Those Philistines are pagans. Why…
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Samson, a Hero and a Half ! (i)
In the book in the Hebrew Bible called “Judges” (chapters 13 to 16) we’re entertained with the amazingly outrageous story of Samson. This makes a welcome contrast to, let’s say, the first dozen chapters of 1 Chronicles. When sleep doesn’t come easily, try these interminable genealogical and other assorted lists of eminently forgettable names. The…
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The Bible and Babylonian Myth
The scrolls of the Hebrew Bible most probably reached their final form after the Israelites’ 6th century BCE return from exile in Babylon. While there, they’d have encountered the ‘Enuma Elish’, the Babylonian myth of creation and the rise of the storm god Marduk to become the chief of their gods. In those days, the…
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Me and the Hebrew Bible
I’ve never regretted choosing to specialise in ‘Hebrew and Old Testament’ when I studied ‘Divinity’ over 50 years ago. My only regret is that I did so as a very ‘conservative’ Christian, with a correspondingly semi-closed mind, but it’s never too late to remedy such things. Currently I’m reading through the first 15 chapters of…
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Jonah – A Good-Fun Read (v)
Here are some final thoughts on the story of this unwilling, seemingly unrepentant, successful failure of a prophet. Putting this book into the “Prophets” section of the Bible, alongside the weightily serious Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, might seem itself to be a bit of a joke. Next but one from Jonah comes Nahum. Whereas in…
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