A boy can learn a lot from a dog:
obedience, loyalty and the
importance of turning around
three times before lying down
--Robert Benchley
The bottom line in a Christian life is obedience
And most people don't even like the word
--Charles Stanley
Obedience is detachment from the self.
This is the most radical detachment of all.
But what is the self? The self is the principle of reason
and responsibility in us, it is what makes us men
--Bede Griffiths
In part one of this essay I explored a theme which runs through the apocalyptic film genre, which often parallels the Old Testament. We looked at Greek mythology as a precursor to the Old Testament, canons in literature and cycles which are not always seen in a lifetime. I also explored what it means to be human.
What I have begun to notice in the Old Testament is how much of it parallels the societies we have built for ourselves, going along with our faith, never noticing what is being built around us that we eventually become trapped in. We know of no other life. We know of no other ways in which to do things. We have internalized the language of God never questioning how our systems of beliefs came to be.
What is a messenger? In the biblical sense it a person who has been deemed, (somehow), worthy to carry messages sent from God. But God is invisible so how do these messages get through? Hallucination? Visions? Or like a presidential meeting where things are discussed in private, which are eventually declared as beneficial to us. Our modern leaders often do not feel a need to say who was present at such meetings nor for the most part are we included in such gatherings. We are subjects imagined not capable of understanding the big picture.
Much of the remainder of the Old Testament is simply war, punishment and threats and by the end, in the book of Malachi, it seems even he has another tune to sing. The Old Testament ends ambiguously as though enough time has passed in its teachings that people are almost weary with the war, punishments and threats and have now decided to sing a new tune. To end with the old teachings and prophesize to a whole new generation about a whole new magical entity to come, who hopefully, will get things back in order. His name will be Christ. And long before his arrival we will be once again be mesmerized with stories about how it will all get better while the systems in place today continue to be built.
DEUTERONOMY
This a subtle and tricky chapter. Or perhaps it is just unclear to me. I think if I have read it correctly the fraction of the group that left for forty years has now returned to the fold. Moses greets them, happy of their return, but making it clear that there are laws to be followed, the previous ten commandments, and now some extra about divorce and such. He seems to also give his very own, unsaid, follow-up of the punishments in store for them if they fail to follow these laws. Are the punishments more plagues or a night in isolation? We don't know. Is Moses, like a good boss or landlord, allowing them to return because he has taken pity on them but at the same time warning them that if he lets them return they have to get with the program? Is he further making his point that should this group fail to follow rules there will be repercussions?
The other startling aspect of this chapter is that Moses encourages separation of this group, from others perceived to be unlike his group based upon religion and national identity. I find that horribly inspirational considering where we are today in 2017. I can't even imagine we might not be even close to the pinnacle of separation amongst ourselves as humans. In my life I have never seen so much animosity, hatred and intolerance for those that we perceive to be different from ourselves. This is a universal fault. We rage against those from different nations, different religions, those who hold different ideas than us and even those that are racially different. I would love to say that these traits are confined to one peoples and place, but they are not. Today, as I write this, one nation after another is building their walls taller, their laws stronger with the sole purpose of keeping others, who are deemed inferior, out. We have taken the ten commandments and added all sorts of lunacy to the list: travel bans, laws against homosexuality, (please read up on the history of homosexuality, at an academic level), slavery, privatization of prisons, taxes, what one can wear in public, apartheid, minimum wage, housing segregation, police forces and how the law is meted out. The list is practically endless with laws always benefiting one peoples over another be it racially, religiously or monetarily.
Who is Joshua? Moses, nearing retirement and death, appoints Joshua to take over his job of managing affairs. Is Joseph a messenger of God? Does he too get messages from God? Or is he a crony of Moses? This is way too vague in this chapter and I suspect he was simply someone whom Moses liked and trusted. But we humans know what that scenario has the potential for.
With the Prophet Mohammad we are able to clearly see what happens when prophets die and place another in charge. Unlike the Old or New Testament, the Qur'an, coming much later in the literary canon and when people had mastered documentation a bit better, actually had people go around town and interview people who had supposedly known Mohammad personally. They asked questions like: what side of his body did he sleep on, did he speak when using the bathroom, did he have ornamentation on his walls, how did he comb his hair, did he use henna, how long was his wife's covering, etc. The questions were asked in an attempt to preserve history, and to record as accurately as possible what the prophet was actually like. It was a brilliant move but as humans we all know that people fudge stuff when being interviewed about well known people. Tall tales are told, and sometimes stories are told with the sole purpose of the speaker looking more important than they actually are.
All of these answers were collected, placed in a book called Hadith and today it is used by devout Muslim to guide and conduct their own behaviour. I would have to say from my own experience with Muslims that Hadith is known and followed by Muslims much more closely than the Qur'an for it is perceived, consciously or not, as a document more believable than the Qur'an.
Abu Bakr , a man know and trusted my Mohammad, was appointed by Mohammad and within days the news spread and people began to grumble. An uproar about the choice was heard. Some wanted their guy to take over, others wanted a direct relative to have the job. And guess what happened? A split! Sunnis went one way and Shiites (a previously unheard of group), went the other way. That is what makes us human. The right to revolt and make decisions for ourselves, to choose what we feel is right for ourselves and our needs. To go with the group we believe to be more beneficial than another. It is our essence.
JOSHUA
So now Joshua is in charge. He's a warring man determined to get the land that others occupy but which he wants. He succeeds almost but not entirely. They settle in the promised land (promised by who? Does God know the coordinates too? Or is there something there that is needed? Separation from others? Water? Access to better provisions? War is conducted for specific reasons and these reasons have never, ever wavered over time. We war because we want something specific that is in the warred against place, (minerals and precious materials, a perceived threat from some entity, or greed: wanting more land, more this, that or the other).
Joshua gets his people settled and lords it over the people who refused to budge. That's referred to as strong-arming and to 'lord' it over someone is a euphemism for declaring oneself entitled in the name of the lord or embowering yourself with strength claiming it came from a higher power. They have to cross over the River Jordan and some miracles are performed one of which is quite funny but clearly shows how illiterate and gullible these followers are. An ax handle is thrown into the River Jordan and it floats and everyone goes, Ooh! and Ahh! not knowing that wood floats without any help from me. This is no miracle, this is a fact of life. A fact of science. But our group doesn't know that a miracle is really not a miracle but either a sleight of hand, a reliance upon an ignorant crowd, or dumb luck.
It is also interesting to note, that Israelites, not yet known as Jewish peoples, perform baptisms at the River Jordan, a term not used by Jewish peoples today when formally acknowledging new life.
Joshua dies with a parting declaration: Do what you want to do but I did it my way. I like these parting words. They tell me he was true to his very own beliefs (in God), but that he now understands, (wisdom through experience), and sees, why people should be left with the room to make their own decisions, (perhaps the seeds of democracy?). He doesn't leave the world with threats, he leaves as a human being, as a mensch would, with a declaration of the life he led and parting last words to those left behind. Good on him.
JUDGES
Just what a judge does today is what judges did then- judge. What we don't know is how judgment was handed down. In a room, at the village green, door to door? Who knows? What we do know is that it was a system put in place to judge people based upon their conduct. Who is with the program, (of God) and who is still running around doing their own thing ignoring God. Because Joshua wasn't able to completely control the inhabitants in his newly occupied land you had a lot of people grumbling again. The original occupants probably didn't like the rules of the invaders or that they were there in the first place and because Moses had the bright idea of nationalism and religious segregation people were probably quite nasty to one another. So a higher form of control needed to be set in place.
No one likes to be judged. This is a human trait. It's looked upon with disdain. Judges don't materialize out of thin air. They arrive with laws in place from which to judge from. The law says this, (no matter how ridiculous), and you didn't do it so I get to judge you. Remember that laws, all laws are a form of forced conformity. They are implemented by those that think they know better than you and they usually serve a particular group of people that you are probably not a part of. Yes, of course there are practical laws: everyone should drive to the left or right, but there are also laws designed to keep some people poor and working like slaves while others benefit from it. Look at how many mail order catalogues have their phones answered by prisoners who work for pennies a day or hour. Prisons are more and more private institutions which translates to the saved cost on wages going directly into the pockets of some private citizen, which is not you. This does not include how much money, from the mail order company itself, is received into those same pockets for the deal they are making.
These particular judges were simply a higher form of control. Threats of plagues, threats that God won't favour you any longer, fell on deaf ears. People were like: Whatever! Talk to the hand, 'cause I ain't listening. Who needs control at that level? Those that want order so that their needs can be met. Not everyone can be a Moses or a Joshua, someone has to work the land, do the laundry, build homes and run the bakery.
A cycle of sin-rescue-worship continued on and on. I get judged, punishment is received, I am admonished, I worship for a while and then I'm like: I need a break and I covet my neighbours wife again, and the same thing happens again and again. This is now referred to as recidivism.
The whole chapter is laid out in riddles and poetry. As anyone who has looked at poetry, a poem is more often than not, a thing that one can interpret in many ways. It speaks to the individual reader who finds a place for themselves in the poem, or doesn't. A riddle by its very nature is meant to be ambiguous and calls for ingenuity to solve its solution. A riddle, if unsolved, allows a person to ponder its potential many meanings and draw from their own experiences. I think the format of this chapter is the legacy of Joshua's parting words, and the beginning of people being given the opportunity to make their own decisions without God. That we are god. That within ourselves are all the tools we need to think things through and make the right decisions for ourselves. We don't need God because if it is true that were were created after him, then we are already with the tools necessary to live good lives. Happy lives.
Ruth is chucked in to remind us of love. Love is sex, love feels good, love is compassion, love is given to those close and to strangers. It manifests itself in endless ways. This food is made with love. I love my gift. I love you. I love nature. I love animals. I love my children. I love my experiences. I love the way you smile. I love my life. I love those less fortunate than me. Ruth also tells us what love can lead us to: Murder. I murdered in the name of love. what is life about other than the constant search for a supply of love. After all doesn't it make the world go around? Intimate love can create children and children go on creating another type of cycle.
SAMUEL l
This group of people are far from Genesis. Now they are looking for Kings and it seems everyone wants the position. If we look at the life and intrigue of Henry Vlll, we fully understand, and can relate to, just how devious people can be when going after power. In this chapter we meet people who are so determined to be king that when they are thwarted they kill themselves. The British Monarchy collected every bit of paper and intrigue one could wish for to research. It goes back hundreds of years their documentation, and in it we can see power at its worst. People killed their own children to be in power. With authority they knocked off wives, children, annoying officials, and anyone who didn't give in and say: OK. Mind you kings had religion too, (and queens), but they also had something known as divine right. So how do you get a first King? How do you select a mortal man to rule it over you? Or does the mortal man select himself because he has more money, more land and more servants whose livelihood depend upon him? And how do those attributes become symbols of knowledge or privilege over others? The book of Samuel shows us the seeds of government. Judges is a hold over from Greek mythology, the concept of one entity judging another but without the concept of sin. Sin comes later. Notions of burning flesh, hell, heaven, places you go to after death, have not been introduced to the psyche yet. Samuel it seems has no other purpose in this chapter other than to appoint a man named Saul as king. Saul must have been a friend, or someone with enough money to pay off Samuel. Who knows. What we are told however, is that Saul does a shite job and it is left to Samuel to give him the boot. Once booted, God steps in again and chooses his own king, David. Who got that message from God? Saul, angry, jealous and filled with rage that he was booted from his throne, (not very godly behaviour), stalks David and tries to regain his former power. When he fails he kills himself.
SAMUEL 2
It seems David has a penchant for the ladies. He's a ladies man. Fornicating left and right outside of marriage, including a child born outside of wedlock with a woman called Bathsheba. Is he the first man to do this? What do you think? He reads like Henry Vlll. He repents, and isn't it convenient that this child out of wedlock, dies. Monarchies can not have bastard children inheriting wealth. This kind of offspring is better off dead otherwise they grow up always knocking at the gate wondering why they too can't go to school or have a pony.
In this chapter, almost unnoticed, we see the construction of future cities. Capitals of regions are defined, (Jerusalem), and where we can also presume that seats of power rested. The judges, the wealthier, the census takers, the collection of books and information. We also begin to see the seeds of two political bodies. They do not have formal names yet, but the people, the lay, now have more of a voice in deciding who gets to rule.
KINGS l
Solomon, like his father before, had a penchant for the ladies too. We emulate what we see as children, this is human and it is another form of a cycle. Solomon was a busy man building all sorts of things rendering his capital big and powerful. He was blessed by God until his penis got in the way. They say he was subdued by his lust of women, which prior to the use of penicillin, might suggest he died of end stage syphilis. Who knows? But because he had multiple wives whatever he had surely got spread around. At the end of his life, a political split formed in his kingdom leaving a Northern Kingdom of Israel and a Southern Kingdom of Judah. Is this simply a religious split or a political split like democrats and republicans? We do not know. All we know is that one group believed this and the other believed that and they chose not to live together in the same place. Separation between us has begun in earnest.
I will end Part Two with a look towards Part Three. In Kings 2 we will begin to see life forming in much the way it looks today. The machines that will be set into place which form the societies and cultures we live in at present, including the use of the word God in our present day usage, a holdover from the past, and its eventual non-meaning and subsequent replacement with the term 'spiritual'.
This a subtle and tricky chapter. Or perhaps it is just unclear to me. I think if I have read it correctly the fraction of the group that left for forty years has now returned to the fold. Moses greets them, happy of their return, but making it clear that there are laws to be followed, the previous ten commandments, and now some extra about divorce and such. He seems to also give his very own, unsaid, follow-up of the punishments in store for them if they fail to follow these laws. Are the punishments more plagues or a night in isolation? We don't know. Is Moses, like a good boss or landlord, allowing them to return because he has taken pity on them but at the same time warning them that if he lets them return they have to get with the program? Is he further making his point that should this group fail to follow rules there will be repercussions?
The other startling aspect of this chapter is that Moses encourages separation of this group, from others perceived to be unlike his group based upon religion and national identity. I find that horribly inspirational considering where we are today in 2017. I can't even imagine we might not be even close to the pinnacle of separation amongst ourselves as humans. In my life I have never seen so much animosity, hatred and intolerance for those that we perceive to be different from ourselves. This is a universal fault. We rage against those from different nations, different religions, those who hold different ideas than us and even those that are racially different. I would love to say that these traits are confined to one peoples and place, but they are not. Today, as I write this, one nation after another is building their walls taller, their laws stronger with the sole purpose of keeping others, who are deemed inferior, out. We have taken the ten commandments and added all sorts of lunacy to the list: travel bans, laws against homosexuality, (please read up on the history of homosexuality, at an academic level), slavery, privatization of prisons, taxes, what one can wear in public, apartheid, minimum wage, housing segregation, police forces and how the law is meted out. The list is practically endless with laws always benefiting one peoples over another be it racially, religiously or monetarily.
Who is Joshua? Moses, nearing retirement and death, appoints Joshua to take over his job of managing affairs. Is Joseph a messenger of God? Does he too get messages from God? Or is he a crony of Moses? This is way too vague in this chapter and I suspect he was simply someone whom Moses liked and trusted. But we humans know what that scenario has the potential for.
With the Prophet Mohammad we are able to clearly see what happens when prophets die and place another in charge. Unlike the Old or New Testament, the Qur'an, coming much later in the literary canon and when people had mastered documentation a bit better, actually had people go around town and interview people who had supposedly known Mohammad personally. They asked questions like: what side of his body did he sleep on, did he speak when using the bathroom, did he have ornamentation on his walls, how did he comb his hair, did he use henna, how long was his wife's covering, etc. The questions were asked in an attempt to preserve history, and to record as accurately as possible what the prophet was actually like. It was a brilliant move but as humans we all know that people fudge stuff when being interviewed about well known people. Tall tales are told, and sometimes stories are told with the sole purpose of the speaker looking more important than they actually are.
All of these answers were collected, placed in a book called Hadith and today it is used by devout Muslim to guide and conduct their own behaviour. I would have to say from my own experience with Muslims that Hadith is known and followed by Muslims much more closely than the Qur'an for it is perceived, consciously or not, as a document more believable than the Qur'an.
Abu Bakr , a man know and trusted my Mohammad, was appointed by Mohammad and within days the news spread and people began to grumble. An uproar about the choice was heard. Some wanted their guy to take over, others wanted a direct relative to have the job. And guess what happened? A split! Sunnis went one way and Shiites (a previously unheard of group), went the other way. That is what makes us human. The right to revolt and make decisions for ourselves, to choose what we feel is right for ourselves and our needs. To go with the group we believe to be more beneficial than another. It is our essence.
JOSHUA
So now Joshua is in charge. He's a warring man determined to get the land that others occupy but which he wants. He succeeds almost but not entirely. They settle in the promised land (promised by who? Does God know the coordinates too? Or is there something there that is needed? Separation from others? Water? Access to better provisions? War is conducted for specific reasons and these reasons have never, ever wavered over time. We war because we want something specific that is in the warred against place, (minerals and precious materials, a perceived threat from some entity, or greed: wanting more land, more this, that or the other).
Joshua gets his people settled and lords it over the people who refused to budge. That's referred to as strong-arming and to 'lord' it over someone is a euphemism for declaring oneself entitled in the name of the lord or embowering yourself with strength claiming it came from a higher power. They have to cross over the River Jordan and some miracles are performed one of which is quite funny but clearly shows how illiterate and gullible these followers are. An ax handle is thrown into the River Jordan and it floats and everyone goes, Ooh! and Ahh! not knowing that wood floats without any help from me. This is no miracle, this is a fact of life. A fact of science. But our group doesn't know that a miracle is really not a miracle but either a sleight of hand, a reliance upon an ignorant crowd, or dumb luck.
It is also interesting to note, that Israelites, not yet known as Jewish peoples, perform baptisms at the River Jordan, a term not used by Jewish peoples today when formally acknowledging new life.
Joshua dies with a parting declaration: Do what you want to do but I did it my way. I like these parting words. They tell me he was true to his very own beliefs (in God), but that he now understands, (wisdom through experience), and sees, why people should be left with the room to make their own decisions, (perhaps the seeds of democracy?). He doesn't leave the world with threats, he leaves as a human being, as a mensch would, with a declaration of the life he led and parting last words to those left behind. Good on him.
JUDGES
Just what a judge does today is what judges did then- judge. What we don't know is how judgment was handed down. In a room, at the village green, door to door? Who knows? What we do know is that it was a system put in place to judge people based upon their conduct. Who is with the program, (of God) and who is still running around doing their own thing ignoring God. Because Joshua wasn't able to completely control the inhabitants in his newly occupied land you had a lot of people grumbling again. The original occupants probably didn't like the rules of the invaders or that they were there in the first place and because Moses had the bright idea of nationalism and religious segregation people were probably quite nasty to one another. So a higher form of control needed to be set in place.
No one likes to be judged. This is a human trait. It's looked upon with disdain. Judges don't materialize out of thin air. They arrive with laws in place from which to judge from. The law says this, (no matter how ridiculous), and you didn't do it so I get to judge you. Remember that laws, all laws are a form of forced conformity. They are implemented by those that think they know better than you and they usually serve a particular group of people that you are probably not a part of. Yes, of course there are practical laws: everyone should drive to the left or right, but there are also laws designed to keep some people poor and working like slaves while others benefit from it. Look at how many mail order catalogues have their phones answered by prisoners who work for pennies a day or hour. Prisons are more and more private institutions which translates to the saved cost on wages going directly into the pockets of some private citizen, which is not you. This does not include how much money, from the mail order company itself, is received into those same pockets for the deal they are making.
These particular judges were simply a higher form of control. Threats of plagues, threats that God won't favour you any longer, fell on deaf ears. People were like: Whatever! Talk to the hand, 'cause I ain't listening. Who needs control at that level? Those that want order so that their needs can be met. Not everyone can be a Moses or a Joshua, someone has to work the land, do the laundry, build homes and run the bakery.
A cycle of sin-rescue-worship continued on and on. I get judged, punishment is received, I am admonished, I worship for a while and then I'm like: I need a break and I covet my neighbours wife again, and the same thing happens again and again. This is now referred to as recidivism.
The whole chapter is laid out in riddles and poetry. As anyone who has looked at poetry, a poem is more often than not, a thing that one can interpret in many ways. It speaks to the individual reader who finds a place for themselves in the poem, or doesn't. A riddle by its very nature is meant to be ambiguous and calls for ingenuity to solve its solution. A riddle, if unsolved, allows a person to ponder its potential many meanings and draw from their own experiences. I think the format of this chapter is the legacy of Joshua's parting words, and the beginning of people being given the opportunity to make their own decisions without God. That we are god. That within ourselves are all the tools we need to think things through and make the right decisions for ourselves. We don't need God because if it is true that were were created after him, then we are already with the tools necessary to live good lives. Happy lives.
Ruth is chucked in to remind us of love. Love is sex, love feels good, love is compassion, love is given to those close and to strangers. It manifests itself in endless ways. This food is made with love. I love my gift. I love you. I love nature. I love animals. I love my children. I love my experiences. I love the way you smile. I love my life. I love those less fortunate than me. Ruth also tells us what love can lead us to: Murder. I murdered in the name of love. what is life about other than the constant search for a supply of love. After all doesn't it make the world go around? Intimate love can create children and children go on creating another type of cycle.
SAMUEL l
This group of people are far from Genesis. Now they are looking for Kings and it seems everyone wants the position. If we look at the life and intrigue of Henry Vlll, we fully understand, and can relate to, just how devious people can be when going after power. In this chapter we meet people who are so determined to be king that when they are thwarted they kill themselves. The British Monarchy collected every bit of paper and intrigue one could wish for to research. It goes back hundreds of years their documentation, and in it we can see power at its worst. People killed their own children to be in power. With authority they knocked off wives, children, annoying officials, and anyone who didn't give in and say: OK. Mind you kings had religion too, (and queens), but they also had something known as divine right. So how do you get a first King? How do you select a mortal man to rule it over you? Or does the mortal man select himself because he has more money, more land and more servants whose livelihood depend upon him? And how do those attributes become symbols of knowledge or privilege over others? The book of Samuel shows us the seeds of government. Judges is a hold over from Greek mythology, the concept of one entity judging another but without the concept of sin. Sin comes later. Notions of burning flesh, hell, heaven, places you go to after death, have not been introduced to the psyche yet. Samuel it seems has no other purpose in this chapter other than to appoint a man named Saul as king. Saul must have been a friend, or someone with enough money to pay off Samuel. Who knows. What we are told however, is that Saul does a shite job and it is left to Samuel to give him the boot. Once booted, God steps in again and chooses his own king, David. Who got that message from God? Saul, angry, jealous and filled with rage that he was booted from his throne, (not very godly behaviour), stalks David and tries to regain his former power. When he fails he kills himself.
SAMUEL 2
It seems David has a penchant for the ladies. He's a ladies man. Fornicating left and right outside of marriage, including a child born outside of wedlock with a woman called Bathsheba. Is he the first man to do this? What do you think? He reads like Henry Vlll. He repents, and isn't it convenient that this child out of wedlock, dies. Monarchies can not have bastard children inheriting wealth. This kind of offspring is better off dead otherwise they grow up always knocking at the gate wondering why they too can't go to school or have a pony.
In this chapter, almost unnoticed, we see the construction of future cities. Capitals of regions are defined, (Jerusalem), and where we can also presume that seats of power rested. The judges, the wealthier, the census takers, the collection of books and information. We also begin to see the seeds of two political bodies. They do not have formal names yet, but the people, the lay, now have more of a voice in deciding who gets to rule.
KINGS l
Solomon, like his father before, had a penchant for the ladies too. We emulate what we see as children, this is human and it is another form of a cycle. Solomon was a busy man building all sorts of things rendering his capital big and powerful. He was blessed by God until his penis got in the way. They say he was subdued by his lust of women, which prior to the use of penicillin, might suggest he died of end stage syphilis. Who knows? But because he had multiple wives whatever he had surely got spread around. At the end of his life, a political split formed in his kingdom leaving a Northern Kingdom of Israel and a Southern Kingdom of Judah. Is this simply a religious split or a political split like democrats and republicans? We do not know. All we know is that one group believed this and the other believed that and they chose not to live together in the same place. Separation between us has begun in earnest.
I will end Part Two with a look towards Part Three. In Kings 2 we will begin to see life forming in much the way it looks today. The machines that will be set into place which form the societies and cultures we live in at present, including the use of the word God in our present day usage, a holdover from the past, and its eventual non-meaning and subsequent replacement with the term 'spiritual'.
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