Cain and Abel are the first offspring of Adam and Eve. Cain is a tiller of soil and Abel is a shepherd. They both make offerings to God of the fruits of their labors. God accepts Cain's offering of lamb, but rejects Cain's offering of fruit. God does not understand why Cain is upset at His rejection of Cain's offering, since God still accepts Cain. Commentary suggest this reflects tension between farmers and nomads.
Cain kills Abel and Abel's blood cries from the earth to God, reflecting perhaps that God considers blood to be sacred. God gives Cain a mark so that no one takes revenge on Cain to avenge Abel's murder. Cain goes east of Eden and founds a city.
Adam and Eve have a third son, Seth, whose son the Bible says is the first to worship the "Lord".
Reflecting on the expulsion from Eden, Asimov speculates it might reflect a nostalgia for nomadic times that are no more once agriculture is developed, which required settling in one place.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 4:10-12 - God doesn't come right out and say it, but it appears He has a problem with murder, particularly one borne of jealously, as appears to be the case here. Penalty is, interestingly at this point, not death but banishment. Cain is a fugitive and "wanderer of the earth". Further, he will not be able to grow from the earth any more.
Genesis 4:15 - Murdering Cain is strictly prohibited. God places a mark on Cain to give the heads up to any potential Cain murderer. The penalty is "sevenfold", but doesn't explain what that means. Killed seven times? Be made a fugitive seven times?
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Murdering my brother due to jealousy because God liked his sacrifice more than mine hasn't been a problem so far. First, I don't have a brother. Second, I don't do old school sacrifices. Spoiler alert, God doesn't want them, either.
As for murdering Cain, the Bible says he's been gone a long time. So, even if you wanted to murder him, it's impossible. So, what exactly this "sevenfold" punishment is will remain a mystery.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Genesis 3
The Serpent tempts woman by telling her show won't die if she eats the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, but instead become like God, know the difference between good and evil. She then gives the fruit to her husband, who also eats, and they see that they are naked and make aprons of fig leaves to cover themselves.
Gold walks through the garden and cannot find them. Again, God does not appear to be omnipotent and omniscient, as He walks instead of appearing where He wishes and is unable to find those that hide. Yet later, we are told he knows every thought of every person.
Upon finding man and woman and learning what they have done, God curses the Serpent to crawl upon its belly and eternal enmity between it and the offspring of the woman. He then curses the woman to increases pain in childbirth and gives her to her husband to rule over her.
He then curses the ground, interestingly not Adam (who is named in this chapter for the first time) to toil the ground. As Adam had already been laboring at tilling the garden in the last chapter, toil appears to be something different. One type of labor is divine, tilling, but another, toiling, is a curse. The notes and Asimov do not posit on the difference. Further, God curses Adam to no longer be able to eat of the Tree of Life, which eventual death and to return to the dust from which he came.
Finally, God gives Adam and Eve (who has also been named) clothes made of skins and banishes them from the garden. The gate of the garden is guarded by a "cherubin" and a flaming sword so that man may never return. There is another reference by God to Himself as "us", leading to the question of where the other gods are.
Asimov notes there is only one other talking animal in the Bible and there aren't many human like animals in other Jewish traditions. Perhaps the story of temptation is also borrowed?
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 3:6 - Since eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge will make Adam and Eve "wise" (meaning perhaps freedom from God), God has forbidden them from eating it. But a talking snake talks Eve into it, who talks Adam into it. The fact that Eve is talking to a snake that talks back indicates there are "magic" mushrooms in Eden. Interesting God does not forbid them from eating that.
In any event, they eat, Adam must toil the soil and Eve must endure pain in childbirth, and incidentally be sexually reduced to mush at the sight of Adam. The snake loses its legs.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Nobody knows where the Tree of Knowledge is or if its even still around, so pretty easy to comply.
It seems to me that God is playing a head game with his creations and eating of the Tree of Knowledge would be a way to refuse to play. As one wiser than I once said, if you know the game is fixed, you cannot lose if you refuse to play.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Still zero, don't worry, the big one is right around the corner. Spoiler alert, there's the drunk called Noah that God has plans for.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Gold walks through the garden and cannot find them. Again, God does not appear to be omnipotent and omniscient, as He walks instead of appearing where He wishes and is unable to find those that hide. Yet later, we are told he knows every thought of every person.
Upon finding man and woman and learning what they have done, God curses the Serpent to crawl upon its belly and eternal enmity between it and the offspring of the woman. He then curses the woman to increases pain in childbirth and gives her to her husband to rule over her.
He then curses the ground, interestingly not Adam (who is named in this chapter for the first time) to toil the ground. As Adam had already been laboring at tilling the garden in the last chapter, toil appears to be something different. One type of labor is divine, tilling, but another, toiling, is a curse. The notes and Asimov do not posit on the difference. Further, God curses Adam to no longer be able to eat of the Tree of Life, which eventual death and to return to the dust from which he came.
Finally, God gives Adam and Eve (who has also been named) clothes made of skins and banishes them from the garden. The gate of the garden is guarded by a "cherubin" and a flaming sword so that man may never return. There is another reference by God to Himself as "us", leading to the question of where the other gods are.
Asimov notes there is only one other talking animal in the Bible and there aren't many human like animals in other Jewish traditions. Perhaps the story of temptation is also borrowed?
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 3:6 - Since eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge will make Adam and Eve "wise" (meaning perhaps freedom from God), God has forbidden them from eating it. But a talking snake talks Eve into it, who talks Adam into it. The fact that Eve is talking to a snake that talks back indicates there are "magic" mushrooms in Eden. Interesting God does not forbid them from eating that.
In any event, they eat, Adam must toil the soil and Eve must endure pain in childbirth, and incidentally be sexually reduced to mush at the sight of Adam. The snake loses its legs.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Nobody knows where the Tree of Knowledge is or if its even still around, so pretty easy to comply.
It seems to me that God is playing a head game with his creations and eating of the Tree of Knowledge would be a way to refuse to play. As one wiser than I once said, if you know the game is fixed, you cannot lose if you refuse to play.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Still zero, don't worry, the big one is right around the corner. Spoiler alert, there's the drunk called Noah that God has plans for.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Genesis 2
God rests on the seventh day of creation from all of his work and blesses the day, creating the Sabbath, which is Saturday for Jews and Sunday for Christians. I assume the reason why Christians have a different holy day will be explained in the New Testament, but we are quite far from that. The biggest question that springs to my mind is, God needs rest? The omnipotent being that I was taught about in Sunday School did not seem to need rest.
The Bible then notes there was no rain in those days, but that a mist came up from the ground to water everything. The notes in this version say this may be a throwback to other creation myths in which the Earth was on top of primordial waters.
God creates man, and the order of creation is different than the one just outlined in the previous chapter. Man is created before vegetation, animals and woman. For those that believe every word of the Bible is literally true, one of the accounts of the order of creation must be wrong. Which is it and how do you reconcile that with the belief that every word is literally true?
God creates a garden from which a river flows, which become four rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates. Asimov has a long discussion about the four rivers in an attempt to place the garden. In short, the four rivers do not split from a common source today. Asimov says that is because we are working downstream and the author of Genesis 2 may have been working upstream, so that in ancient times, the four rivers may have converged at some point. He gets pretty inside baseball with this, but makes a good case that the delta between the Tigris and Euphrates was not as extensive then as it is now and they may have indeed converged in the area that we place Sumeria.
God then tells man to till the Garden of Eden, but to not eat of the Tree of Knowledge, as it will cause man's death. This is the first directive of God to man. He then thinks it is not good for man to be alone, so creates and gives man dominion over all beasts and birds and allows him to name them all.
God also sees that man needs a helper, so puts man to sleep and takes a rib and creates woman. In the previous chapter, both man and woman were created from dust at the same time, so why the rib? The notes say this probably reflects the importance of marriage in this tradition, the creation of a family becomes of one flesh. Man and woman are naked and unashamed, due to their guiltlessness.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 2:7 - Seventh day is "hallowed".
Genesis 2: 16-17 - Man may eat from every tree, except the Tree of Knowledge.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
God doesn't really lay out any rules at this point on how to respect the seventh day. So sure, probably an easy one.
There's lots of foods I've eaten once or had no interest in eating in the first place, so this is probably an easy one, too. That is, unless a smooth talking snake and naked lady get in my ear. Let's hope that doesn't happen!
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero.
The Bible then notes there was no rain in those days, but that a mist came up from the ground to water everything. The notes in this version say this may be a throwback to other creation myths in which the Earth was on top of primordial waters.
God creates man, and the order of creation is different than the one just outlined in the previous chapter. Man is created before vegetation, animals and woman. For those that believe every word of the Bible is literally true, one of the accounts of the order of creation must be wrong. Which is it and how do you reconcile that with the belief that every word is literally true?
God creates a garden from which a river flows, which become four rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates. Asimov has a long discussion about the four rivers in an attempt to place the garden. In short, the four rivers do not split from a common source today. Asimov says that is because we are working downstream and the author of Genesis 2 may have been working upstream, so that in ancient times, the four rivers may have converged at some point. He gets pretty inside baseball with this, but makes a good case that the delta between the Tigris and Euphrates was not as extensive then as it is now and they may have indeed converged in the area that we place Sumeria.
God then tells man to till the Garden of Eden, but to not eat of the Tree of Knowledge, as it will cause man's death. This is the first directive of God to man. He then thinks it is not good for man to be alone, so creates and gives man dominion over all beasts and birds and allows him to name them all.
God also sees that man needs a helper, so puts man to sleep and takes a rib and creates woman. In the previous chapter, both man and woman were created from dust at the same time, so why the rib? The notes say this probably reflects the importance of marriage in this tradition, the creation of a family becomes of one flesh. Man and woman are naked and unashamed, due to their guiltlessness.
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 2:7 - Seventh day is "hallowed".
Genesis 2: 16-17 - Man may eat from every tree, except the Tree of Knowledge.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
God doesn't really lay out any rules at this point on how to respect the seventh day. So sure, probably an easy one.
There's lots of foods I've eaten once or had no interest in eating in the first place, so this is probably an easy one, too. That is, unless a smooth talking snake and naked lady get in my ear. Let's hope that doesn't happen!
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero.
Genesis 1
Day one: God creates the heavens and earth and light. From the light he separates day and night, but no mention of dark being created. Hmmm, sounds like someone has an issue with night.
Day two: God separates the "firmament" (which the notes tell me is a solid dome) or Heaven from the upper and lower waters. So if I'm reading that right, Heaven is a physical place that divides water. Now the old story about the Tower of Babel makes a bit more sense, since it appears it is a place man can indeed travel to. They taught us in my Sunday School that Heaven was more of an ethereal concept, had no substance, but a kind of merging of our souls with God. That does not appear to be the case here, though. I don't see anything in this chapter about the waters above, but the waters below:
Day three: God gathers the waters under Heaven to one place and dry land appears. God calls forth vegetation.
Day four: God creates light in the firmament (like a lightbulb?). He separates day and night and the seasons and the years. He gives light to the earth. So does that mean the light created on day one had nothing to do with the lower waters and the earth until now? Or is the author reminding us that the light and day and night extended to the earth? The two lights in the firmament consist of a greater and a lesser, which rule the day and the night (like a dimmer switch?)
Day five: God creates the sea creatures and birds.
Day six: God creates land creatures and man "in our image" and "after our likeness". There's the polytheism Asimov identified that might be a remnant of a polytheistic past by the Hebrews. God gives man dominion over all creatures and creates male and female. God give the vegetation to man and the creatures for food, but does not give the creatures to man for food. Take note, PETA!
Asimov tackles the physical location of the Garden of Eden. This is another one that I remember from Sunday School was supposed to be a mystery. I recall seeing books and documentary programs about the actual location of it, some placing it in such odd spots as Atlantis or Mars. Asimov posits the radical theory that the Garden was exactly where the Bible says it was, Eden, which is the name for the Valley of the Euphrates River, which is how it was referred to at the time Genesis was believed to have been written. Coincidentally or not, this is the same area that one of the earliest civilizations came forth, the Sumerians. Perhaps the location of the beginning of man was the result of oral histories of the Sumerians that have since been lost?
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 1:29- God's first law/commandment: Eat all the plants you want, leave the animals alone, man. Well, He doesn't explicitly say man is to be vegetarian. Instead, he says man may eat all the plants without mentioning the animals. There's a concept in law similar to this, the name of which escapes me. In short, if a sign says "Parking Permitted from 7pm-6am", the implication is that parking is not allowed 6am-7pm. Anyway, it appears only eating plants gets God's permission at this point.
Spoiler alert, there's a certain tree man is not allowed to eat from. Let's just say, let's hope there aren't any talking serpents around.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Luckily for those of us that enjoy a rare rib eye, the notes say God gave us permission to eat animals in the time of Noah, so I think we're ok on this one.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
No deaths, yet.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
0
Tomorrow, the second telling of the story of Creation!
Day two: God separates the "firmament" (which the notes tell me is a solid dome) or Heaven from the upper and lower waters. So if I'm reading that right, Heaven is a physical place that divides water. Now the old story about the Tower of Babel makes a bit more sense, since it appears it is a place man can indeed travel to. They taught us in my Sunday School that Heaven was more of an ethereal concept, had no substance, but a kind of merging of our souls with God. That does not appear to be the case here, though. I don't see anything in this chapter about the waters above, but the waters below:
Day three: God gathers the waters under Heaven to one place and dry land appears. God calls forth vegetation.
Day four: God creates light in the firmament (like a lightbulb?). He separates day and night and the seasons and the years. He gives light to the earth. So does that mean the light created on day one had nothing to do with the lower waters and the earth until now? Or is the author reminding us that the light and day and night extended to the earth? The two lights in the firmament consist of a greater and a lesser, which rule the day and the night (like a dimmer switch?)
Day five: God creates the sea creatures and birds.
Day six: God creates land creatures and man "in our image" and "after our likeness". There's the polytheism Asimov identified that might be a remnant of a polytheistic past by the Hebrews. God gives man dominion over all creatures and creates male and female. God give the vegetation to man and the creatures for food, but does not give the creatures to man for food. Take note, PETA!
Asimov tackles the physical location of the Garden of Eden. This is another one that I remember from Sunday School was supposed to be a mystery. I recall seeing books and documentary programs about the actual location of it, some placing it in such odd spots as Atlantis or Mars. Asimov posits the radical theory that the Garden was exactly where the Bible says it was, Eden, which is the name for the Valley of the Euphrates River, which is how it was referred to at the time Genesis was believed to have been written. Coincidentally or not, this is the same area that one of the earliest civilizations came forth, the Sumerians. Perhaps the location of the beginning of man was the result of oral histories of the Sumerians that have since been lost?
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 1:29- God's first law/commandment: Eat all the plants you want, leave the animals alone, man. Well, He doesn't explicitly say man is to be vegetarian. Instead, he says man may eat all the plants without mentioning the animals. There's a concept in law similar to this, the name of which escapes me. In short, if a sign says "Parking Permitted from 7pm-6am", the implication is that parking is not allowed 6am-7pm. Anyway, it appears only eating plants gets God's permission at this point.
Spoiler alert, there's a certain tree man is not allowed to eat from. Let's just say, let's hope there aren't any talking serpents around.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Luckily for those of us that enjoy a rare rib eye, the notes say God gave us permission to eat animals in the time of Noah, so I think we're ok on this one.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
No deaths, yet.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
0
Tomorrow, the second telling of the story of Creation!
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Introduction to Genesis
The editors tell us the Book of Genesis' purpose is to narrate God's dealings with man in general and his special purpose with Israel in particular. Sounds interesting.
Like Asimov, the editors say the book is the work of an editor working from Judean, Ephraimite and Priestly traditions and documents. This frankly doesn't interest me that much, other than as a riposte to fundamentalists that believe every word of the Bible is the literal word of God. I'm sorry to keep bringing it up, but I just report the facts, ma'am. Further, the work of the editor also reflects centuries of oral tradition.
Asimov discusses "man". The creation of man as told in Genesis 2 is made of clay and not simply called into existence by spoken command, as in the Priestly tradition told in Genesis 1. He further says that "man" is a translation of the Hebrew "adam", which has the same meaning as the English "mankind". Now this is something I didn't already know, the first in this read through for me. So the creation story is that of Mankind (similar to the WWE wrestler?) and Eve. Hmmm. Adam only becomes a proper name only in the fifth chapter of Genesis, although the KJ uses it as a proper name in Genesis 2:19, "every beast...and brought them unto Adam."
Tomorrow, God creates the universe, stay tuned.
Like Asimov, the editors say the book is the work of an editor working from Judean, Ephraimite and Priestly traditions and documents. This frankly doesn't interest me that much, other than as a riposte to fundamentalists that believe every word of the Bible is the literal word of God. I'm sorry to keep bringing it up, but I just report the facts, ma'am. Further, the work of the editor also reflects centuries of oral tradition.
Asimov discusses "man". The creation of man as told in Genesis 2 is made of clay and not simply called into existence by spoken command, as in the Priestly tradition told in Genesis 1. He further says that "man" is a translation of the Hebrew "adam", which has the same meaning as the English "mankind". Now this is something I didn't already know, the first in this read through for me. So the creation story is that of Mankind (similar to the WWE wrestler?) and Eve. Hmmm. Adam only becomes a proper name only in the fifth chapter of Genesis, although the KJ uses it as a proper name in Genesis 2:19, "every beast...and brought them unto Adam."
Tomorrow, God creates the universe, stay tuned.
Introduction to the Old Testament
I know, I know, this seems like a lot of introductory material. Don't worry, Asimov has a little meat to chew on towards the end of this installment. In any event, when we last left you, we were still introducing this book, perhaps the most famous and influential one in the history of mankind, as if it were some obscure document you never heard of. This is more of the same.
This section is an overview of the contents of the OT: the history, law, lives of the rich and poor, poetry and prose literature. It's all in there. More discussion of the various versions of the OT over time and again, it bored me. Take a class if you would like more information.
Asimov talks about the term "Lord God", which first appears in Genesis 2, which is a second version of the creation. In there first version in Genesis 1, the Creator was referred to as "God", now why "Lord God"? The Creator in Genesis is "YHVH", which many pronounce as "Yahweh", who is the specific Deity name in Genesis 2. The ancients considered the ability to pronounce a name as giving one power over the one name, so the Jews may have avoided ever referringdirectly to the Creator as YHVH.
As Genesis appears to be an edited work from several sources, the difference in how the Creator is named in Genesis 1 and 2 may reflect how different groups of Jews may have referred to the Creator. Since the editor could have reasonably assumed that his reader would know to who he is referring to, he did not see a need to use one consistent term for YHVH when compiling Genesis. Sounds reasonable to me.
This section is an overview of the contents of the OT: the history, law, lives of the rich and poor, poetry and prose literature. It's all in there. More discussion of the various versions of the OT over time and again, it bored me. Take a class if you would like more information.
Asimov talks about the term "Lord God", which first appears in Genesis 2, which is a second version of the creation. In there first version in Genesis 1, the Creator was referred to as "God", now why "Lord God"? The Creator in Genesis is "YHVH", which many pronounce as "Yahweh", who is the specific Deity name in Genesis 2. The ancients considered the ability to pronounce a name as giving one power over the one name, so the Jews may have avoided ever referringdirectly to the Creator as YHVH.
As Genesis appears to be an edited work from several sources, the difference in how the Creator is named in Genesis 1 and 2 may reflect how different groups of Jews may have referred to the Creator. Since the editor could have reasonably assumed that his reader would know to who he is referring to, he did not see a need to use one consistent term for YHVH when compiling Genesis. Sounds reasonable to me.
Saturday, August 19, 2017
Preface to the Revised Standard Edition
This edition is a revision of the American Standard Edition of 1901, itself a revision of the King James Version (KJ) of 1611. A history of English translations of the Bible up to and after the KJ is given. Subsequent versions since KJ have been necessary to correct defects in the KJ that were not revealed until after it was published and also to reflect changes in English usage. In many cases, subsequent research and discoveries of other sources make a superior English translation possible due to those sources not being available to the committee King James assembled.
A discussion of the various words for God and how and why they are translated as they are ensues to explain why this text uses "God", "Lord", and "Jehovah" when it does, instead of using one consistent term throughout. I found it interesting, but beyond the scope of my purposes with this blog.
Asimov continues with an entry on the Seventh Day. I realize my discussion from Asimov is ahead of all the preface material in the actual book, but this is the way I decided to do it, one entry/chapter from each at a time. Don't worry, it all catches up. In any event, the creation has a seventh day and God declares it the Sabbath. Prior to the Babylonian exile of the Jews, the Sabbath's importance was quite small but gained great importance during and after it. Since Genesis was written after the exile, the Sabbath has great importance in the story of creation.
Interesting stuff, but I'm getting antsy to go ahead and get on with it.
A discussion of the various words for God and how and why they are translated as they are ensues to explain why this text uses "God", "Lord", and "Jehovah" when it does, instead of using one consistent term throughout. I found it interesting, but beyond the scope of my purposes with this blog.
Asimov continues with an entry on the Seventh Day. I realize my discussion from Asimov is ahead of all the preface material in the actual book, but this is the way I decided to do it, one entry/chapter from each at a time. Don't worry, it all catches up. In any event, the creation has a seventh day and God declares it the Sabbath. Prior to the Babylonian exile of the Jews, the Sabbath's importance was quite small but gained great importance during and after it. Since Genesis was written after the exile, the Sabbath has great importance in the story of creation.
Interesting stuff, but I'm getting antsy to go ahead and get on with it.
Friday, August 18, 2017
Duluth, Minnesota plus bonus Holiday Inn Review
I had to do quite a bit of travel on business a few years ago. After an assignment in Indiana, I got sent to Duluth, Minnesota for an assignment meant to be one day but turned into a week. Here's an oldie but goldie review I wrote back then:
Well, this is the third day of being trapped, er I mean "stay" in Duluth, Minnesota. As I have nothing better to do, I thought I would share my cultural observations of the denizens of the Far North.
This is a very white place - I was downtown the last two days and only saw a handful of black people and one Indian couple. That in of itself is not interesting. However, when compared to West Lafayette, Indiana, there are a couple of interesting differences. First of all, Indiana radio seemed to be dominated by country stations and conservative talk radio. Here, the radio is dominated by actual rock stations (not pop) and sports talk. I think this is positive. Don't get me wrong, this is a God forsaken Hellhole, but I'd rather drive around here with the radio on scan than Indiana.
Second, these people are serious sports fans. I was in a sports bar for game 6 of the Avalanche/Wild playoffs and these people were really freaking out. They also have a kind of fatalistic outlook on the prospects for their teams. The Twins got killed by the Yankees and the sportscaster's lead was hilarious: "The bad news is that Twins hitting got only one run against Yankees pitching. The worse news is that Twins pitching gave up 15 runs to Yankees hitting. The worst news is that the Twins are 0-13 against the Yankees over the past two seasons. The good news is that the Twins don't play the Yankees again until 2004!"
Third, I think they are boozers. I'm pretty sure that this town is smaller than Little Rock, but there is almost literally a bar on every block. I have not seen this many bars per capita outside of New Orleans. They have a Skywalk that connects a lot of the buildings downtown. Almost all of these buildings have bars in them. I checked into the downtown Holiday Inn, and they gave me drink coupons for, I'm not kidding, FIVE bars. Who is checking into this hotel??? If you ain't a member of AA before coming here, you will be when you leave!
Well, this is the third day of being trapped, er I mean "stay" in Duluth, Minnesota. As I have nothing better to do, I thought I would share my cultural observations of the denizens of the Far North.
This is a very white place - I was downtown the last two days and only saw a handful of black people and one Indian couple. That in of itself is not interesting. However, when compared to West Lafayette, Indiana, there are a couple of interesting differences. First of all, Indiana radio seemed to be dominated by country stations and conservative talk radio. Here, the radio is dominated by actual rock stations (not pop) and sports talk. I think this is positive. Don't get me wrong, this is a God forsaken Hellhole, but I'd rather drive around here with the radio on scan than Indiana.
Second, these people are serious sports fans. I was in a sports bar for game 6 of the Avalanche/Wild playoffs and these people were really freaking out. They also have a kind of fatalistic outlook on the prospects for their teams. The Twins got killed by the Yankees and the sportscaster's lead was hilarious: "The bad news is that Twins hitting got only one run against Yankees pitching. The worse news is that Twins pitching gave up 15 runs to Yankees hitting. The worst news is that the Twins are 0-13 against the Yankees over the past two seasons. The good news is that the Twins don't play the Yankees again until 2004!"
Third, I think they are boozers. I'm pretty sure that this town is smaller than Little Rock, but there is almost literally a bar on every block. I have not seen this many bars per capita outside of New Orleans. They have a Skywalk that connects a lot of the buildings downtown. Almost all of these buildings have bars in them. I checked into the downtown Holiday Inn, and they gave me drink coupons for, I'm not kidding, FIVE bars. Who is checking into this hotel??? If you ain't a member of AA before coming here, you will be when you leave!
God's Commandments and Kills: Genesis, Part the First: God Creates and Destroys
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Genesis 1:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 1:29- God's first law/commandment: Eat all the plants you want, leave the animals alone, man. Well, He doesn't explicitly say man is to be vegetarian. Instead, he says man may eat all the plants without mentioning the animals. There's a concept in law similar to this, the name of which escapes me. In short, if a sign says "Parking Permitted from 7pm-6am", the implication is that parking is not allowed 6am-7pm. Anyway, it appears only eating plants gets God's permission at this point.
Spoiler alert, there's a certain tree man is not allowed to eat from. Let's just say, let's hope there aren't any talking serpents around.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Luckily for those of us that enjoy a rare rib eye, the notes say God gave us permission to eat animals in the time of Noah, so I think we're ok on this one.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
No deaths, yet.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
0
Genesis 2:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 2:7 - Seventh day is "hallowed".
Genesis 2: 16-17 - Man may eat from every tree, except the Tree of Knowledge.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
God doesn't really lay out any rules at this point on how to respect the seventh day. So sure, probably an easy one.
There's lots of foods I've eaten once or had no interest in eating in the first place, so this is probably an easy one, too. That is, unless a smooth talking snake and naked lady get in my ear. Let's hope that doesn't happen!
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero.
Genesis 3:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 3:6 - Since eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge will make Adam and Eve "wise" (meaning perhaps freedom from God), God has forbidden them from eating it. But a talking snake talks Eve into it, who talks Adam into it. The fact that Eve is talking to a snake that talks back indicates there are "magic" mushrooms in Eden. Interesting God does not forbid them from eating that.
In any event, they eat, Adam must toil the soil and Eve must endure pain in childbirth, and incidentally be sexually reduced to mush at the sight of Adam. The snake loses its legs.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Nobody knows where the Tree of Knowledge is or if its even still around, so pretty easy to comply.
It seems to me that God is playing a head game with his creations and eating of the Tree of Knowledge would be a way to refuse to play. As one wiser than I once said, if you know the game is fixed, you cannot lose if you refuse to play.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Still zero, don't worry, the big one is right around the corner. Spoiler alert, there's the drunk called Noah that God has plans for.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Genesis 4:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 4:10-12 - God doesn't come right out and say it, but it appears He has a problem with murder, particularly one borne of jealously, as appears to be the case here. Penalty is, interestingly at this point, not death but banishment. Cain is a fugitive and "wanderer of the earth". Further, he will not be able to grow from the earth any more.
Genesis 4:15 - Murdering Cain is strictly prohibited. God places a mark on Cain to give the heads up to any potential Cain murderer. The penalty is "sevenfold", but doesn't explain what that means. Killed seven times? Be made a fugitive seven times?
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Murdering my brother due to jealousy because God liked his sacrifice more than mine hasn't been a problem so far. First, I don't have a brother. Second, I don't do old school sacrifices. Spoiler alert, God doesn't want them, either.
As for murdering Cain, the Bible says he's been gone a long time. So, even if you wanted to murder him, it's impossible. So, what exactly this "sevenfold" punishment is will remain a mystery.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Genesis 5:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Nope
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Nothing
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nada
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Not this time
Genesis 6:
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Don't know. I'm capable of whole minutes of time during the day when I don't have evil in my heart. Might be different for others. YMMV.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
No new laws, but God seems quite peeved at man's wickedness. Don't like where this is going.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero.
Genesis 7:
Genesis 8:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Uncounted
Genesis 9:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesi 9:4 - May not anything alive or its blood.
Genesis 9:6 - Requires a reckoning of the blood of every beast and man. Not sure really what this means. I think it may mean that every death must be accounted for, such as a murderer brought to justice or thanks given to God for meat. Not sure, though.
Genesis 9:6 - If man sheds blood, his blood shall be shed.
Genesis 9:7 - Go forth, be fruitful and multiply.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
A rib eye served anything but rare is a crime, so we've blown past the not eating blood thing for the most of us.
Verse 6 is the first mention of capital punishment for murder. Cain got off light with his mark and wandering. I support capital punishment, and vote for politicians that also support it, although I've never directly participated in an execution personally. I think I pass.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nobody, but Ham and his descendants are cursed to be slaves by Noah. Thanks, dad.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Still beyond count. Going to have to reset the running total for the next section.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Genesis 1:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 1:29- God's first law/commandment: Eat all the plants you want, leave the animals alone, man. Well, He doesn't explicitly say man is to be vegetarian. Instead, he says man may eat all the plants without mentioning the animals. There's a concept in law similar to this, the name of which escapes me. In short, if a sign says "Parking Permitted from 7pm-6am", the implication is that parking is not allowed 6am-7pm. Anyway, it appears only eating plants gets God's permission at this point.
Spoiler alert, there's a certain tree man is not allowed to eat from. Let's just say, let's hope there aren't any talking serpents around.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Luckily for those of us that enjoy a rare rib eye, the notes say God gave us permission to eat animals in the time of Noah, so I think we're ok on this one.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
No deaths, yet.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
0
Genesis 2:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 2:7 - Seventh day is "hallowed".
Genesis 2: 16-17 - Man may eat from every tree, except the Tree of Knowledge.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
God doesn't really lay out any rules at this point on how to respect the seventh day. So sure, probably an easy one.
There's lots of foods I've eaten once or had no interest in eating in the first place, so this is probably an easy one, too. That is, unless a smooth talking snake and naked lady get in my ear. Let's hope that doesn't happen!
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero.
Genesis 3:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 3:6 - Since eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge will make Adam and Eve "wise" (meaning perhaps freedom from God), God has forbidden them from eating it. But a talking snake talks Eve into it, who talks Adam into it. The fact that Eve is talking to a snake that talks back indicates there are "magic" mushrooms in Eden. Interesting God does not forbid them from eating that.
In any event, they eat, Adam must toil the soil and Eve must endure pain in childbirth, and incidentally be sexually reduced to mush at the sight of Adam. The snake loses its legs.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Nobody knows where the Tree of Knowledge is or if its even still around, so pretty easy to comply.
It seems to me that God is playing a head game with his creations and eating of the Tree of Knowledge would be a way to refuse to play. As one wiser than I once said, if you know the game is fixed, you cannot lose if you refuse to play.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Still zero, don't worry, the big one is right around the corner. Spoiler alert, there's the drunk called Noah that God has plans for.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Genesis 4:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesis 4:10-12 - God doesn't come right out and say it, but it appears He has a problem with murder, particularly one borne of jealously, as appears to be the case here. Penalty is, interestingly at this point, not death but banishment. Cain is a fugitive and "wanderer of the earth". Further, he will not be able to grow from the earth any more.
Genesis 4:15 - Murdering Cain is strictly prohibited. God places a mark on Cain to give the heads up to any potential Cain murderer. The penalty is "sevenfold", but doesn't explain what that means. Killed seven times? Be made a fugitive seven times?
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Murdering my brother due to jealousy because God liked his sacrifice more than mine hasn't been a problem so far. First, I don't have a brother. Second, I don't do old school sacrifices. Spoiler alert, God doesn't want them, either.
As for murdering Cain, the Bible says he's been gone a long time. So, even if you wanted to murder him, it's impossible. So, what exactly this "sevenfold" punishment is will remain a mystery.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Zero
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero
Genesis 5:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Nope
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Nothing
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nada
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Not this time
Genesis 6:
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
Don't know. I'm capable of whole minutes of time during the day when I don't have evil in my heart. Might be different for others. YMMV.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
No new laws, but God seems quite peeved at man's wickedness. Don't like where this is going.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Zero.
Genesis 7:
Genesis 8:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Uncounted
Genesis 9:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
Genesi 9:4 - May not anything alive or its blood.
Genesis 9:6 - Requires a reckoning of the blood of every beast and man. Not sure really what this means. I think it may mean that every death must be accounted for, such as a murderer brought to justice or thanks given to God for meat. Not sure, though.
Genesis 9:6 - If man sheds blood, his blood shall be shed.
Genesis 9:7 - Go forth, be fruitful and multiply.
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
A rib eye served anything but rare is a crime, so we've blown past the not eating blood thing for the most of us.
Verse 6 is the first mention of capital punishment for murder. Cain got off light with his mark and wandering. I support capital punishment, and vote for politicians that also support it, although I've never directly participated in an execution personally. I think I pass.
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
Nobody, but Ham and his descendants are cursed to be slaves by Noah. Thanks, dad.
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
Still beyond count. Going to have to reset the running total for the next section.
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Saw
This is an update of my first mini-review, first published in late 2004. I had just gotten back from what I was convinced at the time was the worst movie of all time. I was so excited I immediately emailed my fellow nerd the following:
"This is absolutely the worst movie I've ever paid money to see - and I've paid to see Jumpin' Jack Flash and Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion!
The first two acts are bad "Seven" rip off, which is fine, I was bored, but able to entertain myself by tolling up the shots ripped off from better movies. However, the third act is transcendant in how horrible it is. The only, and I mean only, skill the director displayed is that I figured out the killer in the first 30 seconds, then he had me thinking it was someone else for a while. In the end, my initial instincts were correct.
Go see this movie!!!!"
What a rave!
"This is absolutely the worst movie I've ever paid money to see - and I've paid to see Jumpin' Jack Flash and Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion!
The first two acts are bad "Seven" rip off, which is fine, I was bored, but able to entertain myself by tolling up the shots ripped off from better movies. However, the third act is transcendant in how horrible it is. The only, and I mean only, skill the director displayed is that I figured out the killer in the first 30 seconds, then he had me thinking it was someone else for a while. In the end, my initial instincts were correct.
Go see this movie!!!!"
What a rave!
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
The Editor's Preface to the New Edition
This is basically a rundown of what has been updated since the last edition and why. I have not read the previous edition and one more go through this time around will hold me for a while. Perhaps in another twenty-five years I'll be up for another read. If a newer edition to this one has been published, perhaps I'll go that way. Or if not, maybe I'll go back to the previous edition of this one and scoff at how badly in need of revision it is.
Asimov starts off with a discussion of the how "God" is translated in Genesis. The Hebrew word is "Elohim", which is plural. He notes other polytheistic references still in Genesis, such as Genesis 3:22, "the man is become as one of us", and Genesis 11:7, "let us go down". This probably reflects the unnamed editor of the previous sources not quite catching all the references to other Gods from the older documents, perhaps from a time before the Jews had become monotheistic or perhaps reflects some borrowing from other Mesopotamian texts. Asimov notes that more modern interpretations include that the reference to God as including more than one being may be a use of the "royal we" or a reference to the Trinity by Christians. In any event, there it is. I'll leave it to Believers and fervent non-Believers to argue which of those interpretations is correct.
Asimov starts off with a discussion of the how "God" is translated in Genesis. The Hebrew word is "Elohim", which is plural. He notes other polytheistic references still in Genesis, such as Genesis 3:22, "the man is become as one of us", and Genesis 11:7, "let us go down". This probably reflects the unnamed editor of the previous sources not quite catching all the references to other Gods from the older documents, perhaps from a time before the Jews had become monotheistic or perhaps reflects some borrowing from other Mesopotamian texts. Asimov notes that more modern interpretations include that the reference to God as including more than one being may be a use of the "royal we" or a reference to the Trinity by Christians. In any event, there it is. I'll leave it to Believers and fervent non-Believers to argue which of those interpretations is correct.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
The Number and Books of the Bible
The next introductory material is about the number and books of the Bible. In Hebrew tradition, the Old Testament (OT) was divided into twenty-four books, placed in three categories. The first was The Law, consisting of the first five books of Genesis through Deuteronomy, the Prophets, and the Writings. The Christians divided and rearranged the books into thirty-nine. Then the Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox and various Protestant sects did more rearranging, as they did for the books of the New Testament (NT). I didn't find it terribly interesting, so head to wikipedia if you want more of the whys and hows. The seven books of the Apocrypha round out both the Catholic and King James versions of the Bible.
The first entry in the Asimov annotations deals with Genesis. In Hebrew, the first volume of the OT is referred to as "bereshith", which literally means "in the beginning". Later Greek translators gave the volume the descriptive name of "Genesis", which means "coming into being". Moses is traditionally regarded as the author of Genesis, but Asimov says it was almost certainly the work of editors working from a number of sources long after Moses.
The first entry in the Asimov annotations deals with Genesis. In Hebrew, the first volume of the OT is referred to as "bereshith", which literally means "in the beginning". Later Greek translators gave the volume the descriptive name of "Genesis", which means "coming into being". Moses is traditionally regarded as the author of Genesis, but Asimov says it was almost certainly the work of editors working from a number of sources long after Moses.
Dry Cleaning Lady
Another repost from late 2004, despite the tag. I think my writing's a bit better now.
She's probably about 5'1", late 50's or early 60's. She's an immigrant from Korea and speaks with an accent. She speaks very deliberately and tends to draw out the last syllable of her sentences and lets them trail.
She's been trying to set me up with her niece ever since I moved next door to the cleaners in 2000. I've never followed up on it, because the situation is a little strange, even for me, and I figure anyone whose aunt is pimping so hard to complete strangers must have some problems. Anyway, I worked at a large corporate law firm and we had to wear suits every day. As such, I used to see her a lot. When we switched to business casual, I only got suits cleaned occasionally. On those times I do go now, she peppers me with questions. What follows is our conversation today when I went to pick up my suit:
Dry Cleaning Lady: "You still lawyer?"
Me: "Unfortunately."
DCL: "My niece need boyfriend. You like Korean girl?" As she says this, she shifts her face a little bit and looks at me up and with her head turned, so she's looking at me by looking up and to the left, like she's studying me.
Me: "I like pretty girls."
DCL: "Oh, she very pretty. She a good cook, too. You like Korean food?"
Me: "I like good food." For some reason, I'm a little nervous right now.
DCL: "She can make any kind of good food. She was born here."
Me: "How do you know she would like me?"
DCL: "She like white man!" That poor niece.
DCL: "Also, you have good job and nice car." I didn't bother to correct her about my "good" job.
Me: "Why doesn't she have a boyfriend?"
DCL: "She don't meet many men in medical school."
So, I'm thinking of giving her a call. I think it will go something like this:
"Hi, your aunt gave me your number because you need a boyfriend. I know you'll like me because I'm white and have what most would consider a good job. The last time I checked, I'm a man.
Also, I know it's tough to find a man in medical school because every doc I know is a headcase. I'm sure you're the exception, though. In any event, what that means to me is that in a few years you can take care of me in the way I've been accustomed.
Anyway, let's get together. Why don't you cook up some Korean food, which I'm told you do well. We'll go eat it in my car, which I know you'll like, because your aunt says you like late model Kraut sedans."
I'll report my success, or lack thereof.
She's probably about 5'1", late 50's or early 60's. She's an immigrant from Korea and speaks with an accent. She speaks very deliberately and tends to draw out the last syllable of her sentences and lets them trail.
She's been trying to set me up with her niece ever since I moved next door to the cleaners in 2000. I've never followed up on it, because the situation is a little strange, even for me, and I figure anyone whose aunt is pimping so hard to complete strangers must have some problems. Anyway, I worked at a large corporate law firm and we had to wear suits every day. As such, I used to see her a lot. When we switched to business casual, I only got suits cleaned occasionally. On those times I do go now, she peppers me with questions. What follows is our conversation today when I went to pick up my suit:
Dry Cleaning Lady: "You still lawyer?"
Me: "Unfortunately."
DCL: "My niece need boyfriend. You like Korean girl?" As she says this, she shifts her face a little bit and looks at me up and with her head turned, so she's looking at me by looking up and to the left, like she's studying me.
Me: "I like pretty girls."
DCL: "Oh, she very pretty. She a good cook, too. You like Korean food?"
Me: "I like good food." For some reason, I'm a little nervous right now.
DCL: "She can make any kind of good food. She was born here."
Me: "How do you know she would like me?"
DCL: "She like white man!" That poor niece.
DCL: "Also, you have good job and nice car." I didn't bother to correct her about my "good" job.
Me: "Why doesn't she have a boyfriend?"
DCL: "She don't meet many men in medical school."
So, I'm thinking of giving her a call. I think it will go something like this:
"Hi, your aunt gave me your number because you need a boyfriend. I know you'll like me because I'm white and have what most would consider a good job. The last time I checked, I'm a man.
Also, I know it's tough to find a man in medical school because every doc I know is a headcase. I'm sure you're the exception, though. In any event, what that means to me is that in a few years you can take care of me in the way I've been accustomed.
Anyway, let's get together. Why don't you cook up some Korean food, which I'm told you do well. We'll go eat it in my car, which I know you'll like, because your aunt says you like late model Kraut sedans."
I'll report my success, or lack thereof.
Friday, August 11, 2017
Introduction and Forward
I guess I've decided to read the Bible all the way through, again, and decided to include you on my journey. The Bible I'm going to use is one I bought undergrad for a class about Middle Eastern Apocalyptic literature. It's a good one, more readable than King James and plenty of annotations.
In addition, I'm going to use a separate comprehensive annotation written for the lay reader by Isaac Asimov. The two volumes are:
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Expanded Edition, Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press, New York, 1977.
Asimov's Guide to the Bible, Isaac Asimov, Weathervane, New York, 1981.
Today's entries are the first passages in both volumes. The Forward to the Bible states that this volume includes not only the Old and New Testaments, but also Old Testament Apocrypha volumes that some Christian sects accept and others don't. They are being included in the interests of completeness and because some of them offer insights to the development of prophecies of the Messiah.
The Asimov annotation's Introduction makes the case for putting the Bible in context and its influence, specifically giving the example that millions know who Nebuchadnezzer is than don't know Pericles, based solely on the fact that the former is mentioned in the Bible and the latter isn't. Yet the Athens governed in the time of Pericles was a cornerstone of Western Civilization.
Asimov also breaks up the eras of the Bible as follows:
* 4000 B.C. - 2000 B.C. Primeval period
* 2000 B.C. - 1700 B.C. Patriarchal period
* 1700 B.C. - 1200 B.C. Egyptian period
* 1200 B.C. - 1000 B.C. Tribal period
* 1000 B.C. - 900 B.C. Davidic period
* 900 B.C. - 600 B.C. Assyrian period
* 600 B.C. - 540 B.C. Babylonian period
* 540 B.C. - 330 B.C. Persian period
* 330 B.C. - 90 B.C. Greek period
* 90 B.C. - A.D. 100 Roman period
In addition, I intend to keep a running tally of each of God's and Jesus' commandments, my and our society in general's ability to keep them and a running death toll of those that run afoul of the Old Testament God. Each post will have:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
More introductory material tomorrow. There's quite a bit of it in this version, so we won't get around to creation for a few days. Hold tight, hopefully it will be worth it.
In addition, I'm going to use a separate comprehensive annotation written for the lay reader by Isaac Asimov. The two volumes are:
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Expanded Edition, Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press, New York, 1977.
Asimov's Guide to the Bible, Isaac Asimov, Weathervane, New York, 1981.
Today's entries are the first passages in both volumes. The Forward to the Bible states that this volume includes not only the Old and New Testaments, but also Old Testament Apocrypha volumes that some Christian sects accept and others don't. They are being included in the interests of completeness and because some of them offer insights to the development of prophecies of the Messiah.
The Asimov annotation's Introduction makes the case for putting the Bible in context and its influence, specifically giving the example that millions know who Nebuchadnezzer is than don't know Pericles, based solely on the fact that the former is mentioned in the Bible and the latter isn't. Yet the Athens governed in the time of Pericles was a cornerstone of Western Civilization.
Asimov also breaks up the eras of the Bible as follows:
* 4000 B.C. - 2000 B.C. Primeval period
* 2000 B.C. - 1700 B.C. Patriarchal period
* 1700 B.C. - 1200 B.C. Egyptian period
* 1200 B.C. - 1000 B.C. Tribal period
* 1000 B.C. - 900 B.C. Davidic period
* 900 B.C. - 600 B.C. Assyrian period
* 600 B.C. - 540 B.C. Babylonian period
* 540 B.C. - 330 B.C. Persian period
* 330 B.C. - 90 B.C. Greek period
* 90 B.C. - A.D. 100 Roman period
In addition, I intend to keep a running tally of each of God's and Jesus' commandments, my and our society in general's ability to keep them and a running death toll of those that run afoul of the Old Testament God. Each post will have:
GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:
More introductory material tomorrow. There's quite a bit of it in this version, so we won't get around to creation for a few days. Hold tight, hopefully it will be worth it.
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