Yes Finally the Last Post for Reading a Bible

These four songs that are dedicated to God indicate the QUESTions we discussed in class; is there unfairness in the world? If there is why?
At least, it answers one of the questions, “Is there unfairness in the world?” As you can see, all the three characters are talking to God, with the hope of salvation. However, only the character from chapter 23 gets to get the “goodness and mercy” from God. What about the others? They all seem to have absolute faith towards God. The one from Psalm chapter 137 asked about how to sing the song of LORD God. He one from 51 asked for the salvation of his soul. The one of 42 asked for the chance to see Him. What was the difference between them and the one that is receiving God’s mercy? Was there really a difference?
From the previous stories, I believe it is chosen by randomness or better said by God’s likeness. For example, in Job. He was chosen to be the one punished because God wanted to make a point with Satan. The reason why it was Job was because he was one of the (one of the) one who was “righteous”. Which was one of the conditions Satan mentioned.
As a conclusion, I would say that unfairness exists due to the random choosing.

David Has Such an Interesting Personality.

The character of David surprises me a lot. Specifically, his loyalty and faith towards God is so strong, it makes him strong in mentality, is what surprises me the most. The chapter that showed this aspect of him the most was in 15:26, “But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.” His faith is so absolute that he thinks God is the one who chooses his own destiny. Probably, this is one of the reasons why God loves David so much. Because David will do whatever thing God wants to do and will accept anything that will happen wrong.
Another characteristic of him that impressed me was his size of his heart. David not only welcomed back one of this sons that killed the other son, but he grieved for that same son that was trying to overthrow him. He was able to grief because he has accepted the fact that his son was trying to betray him. Now, drawing the line between accepting and giving up is a challenging thing to do. Or at least I think so. Let’s say, you have ‘accepted’ the fact that you don’t have the ability like Beethoven. Therefore, decided to play the piano as a hobby and not try as hard as before, when you believed you come become a great pianist. How can you say that that ‘acceptance’ was not an excuse for ‘giving up’? I often hear that humans’ abilities are limitless. But I also believe that the talents are distributed differently among us. Which means some of our potentials are limited. I guess I will conclude that the balance between accepting certain things and not giving up is one of the greatest challenges I would need to overcome some day.

David. It is all about David.

Here comes David, the perfect one. The one that has such an big heart that can mourn for the someone that was trying to kill him, as shown in The Second Book of Samuel 1: 12, “And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.” Moreover, he not only has such a big capacity in his heart, he is really loyal to God. David killed the so called alien, to show how much respect he has towards Him by killing the man that finished off the sufferance of Saul.
By making produce so many children of humans God has made a complex society. He is causing all the problems and fighting between people. Was this what God wanted? Or is this the consequence of wanting a creature that was made out of his likeness. I think God just lost control over humans since the day Adam and Eve ate the fruit of knowledge.

Humans Seek For Mystery.

Humans have always been attracted to those of who has a strength we don’t have. Whether the strength that person or creature has is used for good or bad. Why are we enticed by so many things that we don’t have and will never have? This aspect of humans is shown in Job 41:33, “Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.” Why is it that we always seek for the things we have never experienced? I believe this only happens to humans, which has made us be greedier, because animals such as zebras and lions make a perfect natural life-cycle. Maybe the reason why humans seek for things we can’t reach is because we have this tendency of wanting to explore. (I think we can see this in our human history of conquering.) And if we loose the “thing” to explore, we loose the energy of enthusiasm or the reason to ‘live’. (Because we tend to act from logic. Why were we born? For what? What is our mission? Etc.) So, maybe that is why we look for areas we will never reach, in order to let our fire keep on burning until we die.
Well, maybe my guess is right because I think the reason why many people believe in god is to have an explanation about the things we don’t know yet. Such as the born of life.

Elihu, Is a Master of Convincing People.

Picture from: http://oneyearbibleimages.com/elihu.jpg


For this reading response, let me try to analyze the roles of the characters in Job. All of them are organized in a way to persuade the readers about the absolute authority of God. First of all, Job. His character tells us that pretending to be “perfect and upright” (Job 1:1), is not enough to gain wisdom from God. Showing all the process of questioning, doubting and complaining towards God prepares the setting for one of the most important character, Elihu. The three friends of Job also help set up the stage for Elihu. By giving variation to the reaction towards the punishment of Job, the author succeeds to evoke many types of readers.
Finally, Elihu, the character that is so young but knows so much about God. He is the key character, I believe. By listing only the great things God has done to humans, like mentioned in Job 32:8, “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” Elihu proves how God is so different from us, humans, who are ignorant. (However, this line is not precisely correct. God didn’t give us the understanding. Humans have stolen it from God against his will.) Also Elihu only mentions the terrible consequences when one is “ignorant”. He also uses pathos, for example in Job 33:13, “Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.” He makes the actions of Job as the most terrible and mean thing you can do. He makes Job seem that he is the most annoying person who lacks the gracefulness towards God. Even if he was just punished because he was randomly chosen by Satan to prove his point.

Freewill doesn't exist. I believe.

One of the abilities that debate requires is public speech. In theory, we learned that a good speech requires flexibility, stability, volume, content and strategy. But it was a totally different experience to actually make it into action. By observing the people speak, I was able to learn some things for my next turn.

1. Eye contact
2. Not rush when speaking
3. Good volume is a when it doesn’t echo that much that makes your ear uncomfortable but it does expand so that the people in the back can hear you.
4. Be comfortable with what you are talking. Read as less as possible.
5. Even if you don’t believe what you are saying, say it with confidence.
6. When giving a example, it is convincing when you give a daily example that you know about.





Well, at the end of the debate about freewill, I was fully convinced that freewill doesn’t exist.

Job, the first one who questioned God.

Picture from: http://www.wga.hu/art/b/blake/09job.jpg


Job”, has introduced us one of the QUESTions that we learned at the beginning of the course, “why does injustice exist?” I saw this question from Job 7:20, “I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself.” According to the passage, Job was chosen to be tested, because GOD wanted to make sure that what Satan was saying was not true. In other words, injustice was born out of the doubtfulness of the GOD towards human beings. He wanted to test the humans and Job was chosen because that was who Satan mentioned to prove his point. But the direct cause of his sufferings is mostly because of the anxiety of God.

It was a long long long reading.

Picture from: http://www.seanet.com/~realistic/mosesten.jpg

One of the great differences in Exodus 3-20 and Genesis 1-34, is the attitude of GOD. In Exodus, God is trying to control His people with fear, by showing His supernatural powers and authorities through Moses and Aaron. The God himself makes the heart of Pharaoh hardened as mentioned in several chapters including 7. By making him disobey Him, LORD God is able to show examples to the people what happens when one goes against the God. All kind of disasters can come, such as mentioned in Exodus 8:2, “if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:”

There is also a difference in the punishments Gad has done from Genesis and Exodus. In Exodus, the pain comes in more gradually, and effectively, leaving some creepy sensations about the happening. In comparison, the punishments in Genesis are instant and scarcely noticed by the people who get punished. For example, the town that was vanished by God, they couldn’t even notice the pain since it happened so fast and so sudden. But in Exodus, the people who get chastised, they get to see the whole process slowly. A positive way of thinking at it, is that the people in Exodus, get a second chance after some more suffering.

It was a long, long, chapter.

Reading through 27- 34

After men and women ate the fruit of knowledge, and obtained the knowledge of good and evil, the world became more complex. The knowledge given to the humans is just like giving dynamite to a baby. They don’t know how to use it, but they have it. What it has produced is a world full of complex problems. For example in Genesis 27: 36, “And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?” Or in Genesis 29: 30-32:
“[30] And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.
[31] And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.
[32] And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.”
The complexity of the relationships between people, even caused the born of killers due to emotional reasons, as mentioned in Genesis 34: 25, “And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.”
Finally, due to the amount of mistakes and problems happening on Earth, the word “sin” has appeared in the bible for the first time in Chapter 31: 36, “And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?”

Genesis 25 and 26.

Picture from: http://identity33.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/genesis4.gif


In these two chapters, Chapter 25 and 26, we can see some of the lines that can indicate the beginning of the western culture. One is mentioned in Genesis 25: 10, “The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.” From this line, we can say that the custom of burying people near their beloved one has already developed. Not surprisingly, in Japan too, people prefer to be buried in the same place as their partner. This is probably because most people in Japan believe in after life and reincarnation. But in the bible, I believe it is the first time that it mentions about something that can indicate the thought about after life. I mean, if they believed that your spirit will just evaporate after you die, they wouldn’t endeavor to be buried in the same place. That means, they at least believe that there will be something after death.

Another thing I found is in Genesis 25: 23:
“And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”
This indicates, the necessity of difference. But why did the god wanted to make a difference? Not as diversity but as strong and weak? Is it to bring order in the society? To bring relationship of master and servant in the community? Later on in the Bible, it doesn’t say anything for me to be able to narrow down my answers. Also from Genesis 26: 3:
“Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;”
We can see that the tradition of inheritance has already been a tradition.

A different thing that I noticed, not about customs, is the tendency of humans. The tendency of repeating things. For example in Genesis 25: 27, “And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.” It’s like Cain and his brother, being agriculturist and hunter. Another example is in Genesis 26: 9 and 10:
“And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her. And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.”
Isaac is doing the same thing as his father, Abraham, did.

To Mr. Tangen

I have editted the blog entry with the title of "The list of names and their ages was odd."

Oh Lord God...

In these chapters, several different events have happened. The punishment to a town, the sacrifice of Abraham, and the born of nations. But they have one thing in common. It shows how LORD God, is becoming more human-like. The first one appears in chapter 17, “Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.” By making exceptions, by choosing favorites, he is being more near attachments. (and I also discovered that this was why priests in some church can’t get married. Not only to be pure, but because of the story of Abraham.) What he has produced out of his attachment is inequality. We can see that through chapter 18, “That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five?” He has also corrupted Abraham, “Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.” (ch.20) I mean, it actually says it in chapter 22, “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

I got quite sleepy while reading this.

After Chapter 10 in Genesis, LORD God is becoming more attached. We can see it from Chapter 13, “And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.” He acts based on his preferences, he is choosing out of likeness. What is it that it’s making him become more human like? First of all, why did he plant the tree of knowledge on earth, if he knew that the humans were greedy and unpredictable sometimes? Expectations for someone, is a sign for emotions, for feelings. By making his likeness into something real, or at least, physically real, did His feelings evoke? I would need to read more carefully in order to find out the answer.

Since now on humorous poem is my biggest enemy.

Inspiration vs Laziness



The elder god of inspiration is not with me
However the great god of laziness is with me.

The relationship between me and the lazy-god
is just like Adam from The Sistine Chapel and god

Strong but invisible like a mighty department
But it’s not good at all since it’s full of attachment

The list of names and their ages was odd.

For this reading response I would like to make some connections with other literature I have read or saw. Well, the first book it came up to my mind was Ishmael. I remember Daniel Quinn made some references with the story of Adams and Eve, and the sons of them. Now that I know who they are and what their role is, I understand what Ishmael was talking about better. So, Adams and Eve are more or less the parents of the human race. And the sons are our ancestors. Cain, the agriculturist, sounds more a like to us.

The story of Noah and his boat is so famous that many authors incorporate it now-a-days into their stories. In one of the Japanese anime, it used it as an analogy to say that the world is unfair. One of the characters who were a homosexual said that only couples of man and woman had the right to go on to the Noah’s boat and people like him couldn’t go. He said that the world is unfair just like that. As you can see in Genesis chapter 7 verse 2, “Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.” Which I think it’s a unique way of looking at the story of Noah. Well, it is not exactly unfair that only couples can go in because there is a reason to it, the purpose to be able to breed. But it is surely not equal, when talking about rights. Oh well, I enjoy unique thinking. Talking about unfairness, one of the ways to control people is by fear. In this case, the fear of being punished for the community you live. People will peer pressure the ones that will cause the punishment, and in that way, there will be organization in the society.

Questions, questions, questions. My mind has overflooded.

Among all the things mentioned in Genesis Chapter 1, there are two things that are odd from the others. The darkness and water which were first mentioned in line 2. These two are the only things that God hasn’t created by himself. They are the only subsistence that existed when God was still a “Spirit of God” as said in Gen. 1 line 2. Later on in the chapter, God is trying to conquer or rather control the darkness and water with his creations, “…and God divided the light from the darkness.” (Gen. 1 line 4), “And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness” (Gen 1. line 18), “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” (Gen.1 line 6) But I ended up asking myself, why was darkness and water the chosen ones to be the existence that God hasn’t created? Why didn’t the author of the bible say God also created darkness and water? The only possible answer I could come up with was because he feared it. Because men, or the humans, fear for the things we can’t see, for things we can’t even have the feeling that we are “controlling” them.

Now that we have a guess on why darkness and water have existed before God, one of our next questions is why were we, I mean by humans, created last? Is it because God wanted to prepare the perfect stage for our show time? Genesis Chapter 1 says we were the only creatures made out from God’s taste or likeness. It says that we were born to conquer the world God has made. However, LORD God doesn’t want Adams to gain the knowledge of good and evil. Does this mean he wants us to “subdue” the world he made without knowing what is good and evil? What is the purpose of doing so? Just to see a evolution? A unknown development? I think that there is not enough information to jump into conclusions, so I would wait and see what will come out in the next several chapters.