tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56767876777580439612023-06-20T06:00:12.863-07:00When Faith and Culture Collide (Hab. 2:4): וְצַדִּיק בֶּאֱמוּנָתוֹ יִחְיֶהHi, I’m Becca. I’m a theology and biblical language nerd continually learning and growing in her understanding of what “faith” is and what it might mean to her from an ex-evangelical perspective. Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-77989744839698402592021-01-07T14:42:00.007-08:002021-01-07T19:01:43.715-08:00Faith and the MAGA Assault on the US Capitol<br /><br /><p><a href="%7B%5Crtf1%5Cansi%5Cansicpg1252%5Ccocoartf2576%20%5Ccocoatextscaling1%5Ccocoaplatform1%7B%5Cfonttbl%5Cf0%5Cfroman%5Cfcharset0%20TimesNewRomanPSMT;%7D%20%7B%5Ccolortbl;%5Cred255%5Cgreen255%5Cblue255;%5Cred0%5Cgreen0%5Cblue0;%7D%20%7B%5C*%5Cexpandedcolortbl;;%5Ccssrgb%5Cc0%5Cc0%5Cc0;%7D%20%5Cdeftab720%20%5Cpard%5Cpardeftab720%5Cpartightenfactor0%20%20%5Cf0%5Cfs32%20%5Ccf0%20%5Cexpnd0%5Cexpndtw0%5Ckerning0%20%5Coutl0%5Cstrokewidth0%20%5Cstrokec2%20%7D"></a>It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything here.</p><p>But after what happened yesterday at the US Capitol, I’ve come back here to start writing posts again. There are thoughts I simply have to get out. </p><p>This blog has always been about the collision points between faith and cultures (plural, as there is more than one culture, despite how I have originally named this blog, which was back when I was still an evangelical). The last time I wrote something on it, it was 2013 during the Obama presidency. But a lot has changed since then. Not much with Franklin Graham (who was featured in the last post I wrote here, when I was discussing his persecution complex), but notably Graham and his fellow evangelicals have gravitated largely since at least 2016 (and some in 2015) to a bizarre political candidate in the person of Donald J. Trump.</p><p>Much ink has been spilled over the past five years about Donald Trump, his administration marked by incompetence and racism and cruelty, and the unwavering support of his evangelical fan club. People have expressed bewilderment over how they could have even supported an immoral, racist, casino-owning, thrice-divorced accused rapist like him in the first place when he first announced his candidacy in 2015, let alone after these last four horrific years of his administration. Nazis and other white supremacist groups have surged in emboldened activity on American soil since he was elected. There have been several incidents of mass chaos fueled by white supremacy, more than one synagogue shooting, intensified divisions, and barely any effort on Trump’s part to condemn the rise in violence he has incited (in the times where he has condemned the violence, it usually has required the insistence for him to do so from others). </p><p>What happened yesterday at the US Capitol was only the latest in a string of horrors spread out over four years, but it seems to be finally a turning point for at least some of Trump’s supporters in Republican leadership. I’m not yet sure if the tide is turning among evangelicals (though I hear that it is for some), but as welcome as their about-face is, I can’t help but say in response, “Too little, too late.” </p><p>I was crushed on Election Night in 2016. I stayed up late weeping, not only for fear of what would happen to me (I’m a trans woman), but also of what would happen to countless others who are even less marginalized than I am. And it turned out that even before the first year (2017) of Trump’s administration was over, the Charlottesville riots happened, spurred on by the countless Nazis and other white supremacists who shouted hateful slogans like “Jews will not replace us” and even killed a woman named Heather Heyer by running her over with a car. Anti-fascist protestors engaged the white supremacists, resulting in violent clashes, but the president’s response to that was, “There were very fine people on both sides.” </p><p>No. There are no “very fine” Nazis. The president had to be coerced into condemning Nazis and white supremacists explicitly, and that was days later. That shouldn’t be a hard thing to do. </p><p>And most evangelicals remained loyal to Trump and his followers through it all, even up to the last moment before what happened yesterday. </p><p>And what happened yesterday was something the US hasn’t seen in over a century. </p><p>At a rally yesterday morning, Trump urged his followers to go to the Capitol to protest the congressional certification and tallying of election results. Biden won, but Trump has been insisting otherwise without evidence and still has not officially conceded. After his rally, MAGA thugs stormed the Capitol and were able to get past the police inside the building, not too long after Ted Cruz’s speech arguing that Biden didn’t really win. Senators had to be evacuated, hidden in secure locations. Insurrectionists stormed the congressional floor and offices, where they were not legally permitted to be. </p><p>All of this was beyond abominable and amounts to nothing more than sedition and an assault on democracy. But what I want to focus in on about this event was a “Jesus saves” sign that was carried by one of the MAGA terrorists who stormed the Capitol. </p><p>This is where I want to talk about the verse I use for the headline of this blog. I’ve used this passage since this blog’s inception, when I was still an evangelical: “The righteous by their faith will live” (Habakkuk 2:4). The Hebrew word often translated as “faith” there is אֱמוּנָה (<i>’emûnah</i>), which can perhaps better be understood as “faithfulness” or even “steadfastness.” Its use through the Hebrew Bible (another name for “Old Testament”) is varied, but its most prominent meaning is “faithfulness.” Its verbal root, אמן (<i>’-m-n</i>), means to “be firm, faithful, trustworthy, safe,” and this is the same root for the Hebrew adverb אָמֵן (<i>’āmēn</i>), meaning “surely” or “truly” (it’s what we say at the end of prayers!). </p><p>In context, Habakkuk 2:4 is YHWH answering the questions of Habakkuk the prophet over how much longer judgment and violence will last. Habakkuk says in 1:2, “I cry to you, ‘Violence!,’ and you won’t save” (אֶזְעַק אֵלֶיךָ חָמָס וְלֹא תוֹשִׁיעַ). YHWH’s reply begins by contrasting the pride of the person being judged with the one who will live by their faith—or perhaps better, “faithfulness.” </p><p>Evangelicalism has long functioned on an easy-believism. It’s why, when reports came of Trump “accepting Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior” came to evangelicals’ ears back during his campaign, his evil deeds were more easily dismissed by “we’re all sinners” claims because they said he was forgiven of his sins, just as all those who are “justified by faith” are (I owe this insight largely to enlightening conversations with my friend Dr. Justin Tse, a geographer of religion). That is, they would say, “We’re all sinners saved by grace, but so is Trump now. So it doesn’t matter what he has done because he has now put his *faith* in what Jesus did for him on the cross.”</p><p>That brings me to the NT’s use of Habakkuk 2:4. Paul cites a Greek translation of it to bolster his arguments about what brings righteousness/justification in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11. Justification, Paul, says, only comes about by πίστις (<i>pistis</i>)—that is, “faith/faithfulness.” The Greek word πίστις in the New Testament also has a broad semantic range, just as the Hebrew word אֱמוּנָה does. There is even a phrase Paul likes to use in his letters— πίστις Χριστοῦ (<i>pistis Christou</i>)—which could be understood either as “faithfulness of Messiah” or “faith in Messiah,” depending on how one understands the “of”relationship between these two words. Or perhaps it’s <i>both </i>that is meant.</p><p>In any event, it doesn’t seem that faith ought to move one to violence. After all, Habakkuk asks YHWH to save him and others from violence (see Habakkuk 1:2). And if Jesus “saves,” must we see that salvation as an ethereal, “forensic” salvation from hell, as we were often taught? Perhaps it may be possible to say that Jesus “saves” one from devoting one’s life to violence, among other things, if one follows a responsible, non-oppressive interpretation his teachings and does not merely wear his name like a badge. We can get into the Hebrew and Greek verbs translated as “save” and their nuances in detail for our next post, but suffice it to say for now that “saving” in the Bible describes many situations and contexts, including deliverance from literal bondage and healing from disease. </p><p>If “Jesus saves,” may he save us from people like the person carrying that sign on the steps of the US Capitol yesterday. May he save us from oppression, from our own hatred of others, from our darkest motivations. May he save us from failing to recognize the humanity in all people. And may he save us from wicked actions—which the Bible refers to in many ways, but one of them is “sin.” </p><p>Be well. Be kind to one other. And love your neighbor. All easier said than done, but all super important for a healthy society. Anyway, those are my ramblings for today! Thanks for listening. :) </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><img src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1WSbjfG36NAQwJO1iaSuNG4Hc4AC4E-Hh" width="100%" />Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-27448301629178058802013-06-04T16:20:00.000-07:002016-04-25T19:56:57.227-07:00Franklin Graham and Tolerance: What's the Right Question to Ask Here?<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Recently, Frankin Graham wrote <a href="http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/39716-is-our-nation-intolerant-of-christianity">an article called “Is Our Nation Intolerant of Christianity?”</a> <br />
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The question Graham is asking has been asked many times before by many conservative American evangelicals in a land where they enjoy the freedom to ask this question (and others like it). They also have the freedom to have any opinion on this question or any other one.<br />
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I remember reading several books and articles and hearing opinions from my fellow evangelicals growing up that we are often persecuted in this country, whether by a liberal press or secular university professors or President Clinton or President Obama. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">People champion tolerance for everyone but conservative Christians, I was told.<br />
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Graham complains, “There is scandal after scandal, and yet our nation’s leaders seem even more belligerent toward Christians.”<br />
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But here’s the problem: As <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/06/04/america-is-intolerant-of-christians-says-christian-leader-at-meeting-with-the-vice-president/">Friendly Atheist blogger Hemant Mehta has already pointed out</a>, Franklin Graham begins his article with the following line (note especially the very first phrase, highlighted for you in red in case you miss it): </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Recently I was at a White House meeting with Vice President Joe Biden and had the opportunity to remind him</span><span style="color: #333233; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> that our main problem in America is that we have taken God out of our society and out of our government.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">Dear Mr. Graham: </span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">If you, a prominent conservative Christian leader, begin your article by saying you were invited to a meeting with the Vice President of the United States, you have already disproved the point you’re trying to make. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">You were invited by the <i>Vice President of the United States</i>. How is it that “our nation’s leaders seem even more belligerent toward Christians” again? <br />
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Also, if you read Graham’s article, he says that the “BGEA [Billy Graham Evangelistic Association] was audited last September, and many believe it was because we encouraged voters to take a strong stand on same-sex marriage issues and biblical values.” <br />
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Before making claims like this, you had better be able to come up with hard evidence for them. I understand that the IRS has been criticized recently for its recent act of targeting certain conservative groups that have displayed some resistance to some government policies (the Tea Party is known for not being very happy about taxes), but I seriously doubt that the audit is necessarily due to any stand on same-sex marriage (unless someone knows something I don’t). </span><br />
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This kind of thing begins to sound to many critics of Christianity like a persecution complex, not genuine persecution.<br />
<br />I want to be very careful about identifying something negative we experience (especially if it’s simply not getting our way sometimes) as persecution. <br />
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I would also challenge Mr. Graham on his claim that “our main problem in America is that we have taken God out of our society and out of our government.” <br />
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In what ways have we “taken God out of our society and out of our government”? That is, I’d like to know what he means by “taken God out of our society and out of our government.” Does he mean that our government used to champion God and does not anymore? Does he mean that our society as a whole used to champion God and does not anymore? <br />
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What does Franklin Graham think of the first amendment of the US Constitution? How does he understand that? <br />
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I would contend that though it’s possible for people to increasingly forget or ignore God, it’s actually impossible to take God out of anything. God is involved with our lives whether we like it or not. Madalyn Murray O’Hair did not take God out of public schools. Kids can still pray to God if they want—she only went after school-mandated prayers. <br />
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Also, America is not in covenant relationship with YHWH the way Israel was. It was not founded that way. Does either the Declaration of Independence or the US Constitution resemble any of the books of the Torah in any way whatsoever? Are they suzerainty treaties, as Deuteronomy is (a treaty between a vassal, such as Israel, and its lord, which, in Deuteronomy’s case, is YHWH)? <br />
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No. They’re not. The US Constitution and Declaration of Independence are not themselves amendments to the Torah.<br />
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It’s time that we stop treating them that way. <br />
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I think we need to think more carefully about how we should apply the laws in the Bible to ourselves today—should we implement the laws in Scripture into national law? How should we as Christian citizens in a secular country founded by eighteenth-century Enlightenment thinkers seek to engage in the political process and influence the laws of the land? <br />
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So the right question is not, “Is our nation intolerant of Christianity?” It evidently isn’t, especially if Vice President Joe Biden is willing to meet with Franklin Graham, a prominent Christian leader. <br />
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The better question is, “How do we live as Christians in our respective contexts, whether it is the US or elsewhere?” </span></div>
Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-62003759852250060462013-06-04T14:30:00.000-07:002013-06-04T14:30:52.579-07:00Mark 10:46-52 and Service<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Feeling moved by Mark 10:46-52. Something cool about it is that it is a demonstration of Jesus' point to his disciples earlier, particularly in verse 45.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Jesus' disciples, particularly the sons of Zebedee—Jacob (commonly known as "James") and John—were thinking about their power in relation to Jesus and whether they would be his main guys.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">But after explaining to them that it's not about lordin</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">g over others but about serving others, Jesus pays attention to a blind beggar a lot of people probably passed by daily and heals him.<br /><br />Today, whom do we think of as those who exist to "serve" us, and how might we repent of that attitude toward our fellow human beings?<br /><br />Is God calling you to serve anyone near you who needs to be "served" (not "served" as in "you just got served," but "served" as in "cared for") with a loving action? How might you love that person? It doesn't have to be a blind beggar. Perhaps this is someone whom you don't see as one of those who exist to serve you, but maybe this is someone who is often neglected, not seen as valuable or worthy of being served.<br /><br />Anyway, just wanted to share this. <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i class="_4-k1 img sp_8zb1sd sx_c6b1ca" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yk/r/t_j4FmHG-TR.png); background-position: 0px -719px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"></i></span></span></span>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-52945751120112917372013-02-16T14:32:00.001-08:002016-04-25T19:58:38.452-07:00John Piper, the Pope, and Justification<div class="p1">
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Hello, everyone! It has been a while since I have posted anything at all. We were doing posts on Genesis, but I thought that we would take a break from that for a while and talk about some other things during the season of Lent. Given the recent news about the announcement from the pope that he has decided to resign (something that has not happened in several hundred years!), we would talk about justification in Protestant (and specifically Reformed) theology and Roman Catholic theology.<br />
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A <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQvtAd7WEOY">video of John Piper</a> has been up on YouTube for a while now in which he is asked, “If you could spend two minutes with the pope, what would you say to him?”<br />
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John Piper’s response is as follows (pay special attention to the section I’ve highlighted in bold):<br />
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<span class="s1">I would say, “Could you just in one minute explain your view of justification?” And then on the basis of his one minute, I would give my view of justification. </span> </blockquote>
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<span class="s1"><br /></span><span class="s1">I think Rome and Protestantism are not yet ready [for something, which he does not quite spell out—he puts his hands together here, implying perhaps that they’re not yet ready to “come together”]. </span> </blockquote>
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<span class="s1"><br /></span><span class="s1">I don’t think the Reformation is over. I don’t think that enough changes have happened in Roman understanding of justification and a bunch of other things. I’m just picking justification because it’s so close to the center. You could pick papal authority, or the nature of the mass, or the role of sacraments, or the place of Mary, but those seem to be maybe a little marginal.<br /> </span><span class="s1"><br /></span><span class="s1"><b>Then [I would] go right to the heart of the issue of, “Do you teach...sir...that we should rely entirely on the righteousness of Christ imputed to us by faith alone as the ground of God being 100% for us after which necessary sanctification comes? Do you teach that?”</b> </span> </blockquote>
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<span class="s1"><br /></span><span class="s1"><b>And if he said, “No, we don’t,” then I’d say, “I think that right at the core of Roman Catholic theology is a heresy.”</b></span></blockquote>
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<span class="s1">That last sentence is more difficult to parse, as he is not precisely clear as what he means to say here (if you watch the video, you can see why an accurate transcription of this sentence might be difficult), but I’m assuming that he is saying two things: </span></div>
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<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><i>Not </i>teaching imputed righteousness as defined by John Piper above is <i>right at the core of Roman Catholic theology</i>.</span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><i>Not</i> teaching the doctrine of imputed righteousness as defined by John Piper above is <i>a heresy</i>. </span></li>
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<span class="s1">This brings me to my core issue with the video: What heresy did John Piper truly identify in Roman Catholic theology? Of course, now that the most recent pope has just announced his resignation, Piper can now wonder how the new pope (whoever he is) might answer his question. How Benedict might have answered it is not necessarily the same as how the next pope would formulate an answer to this. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Let’s go back to the beginning of Piper’s response and analyze it piece by piece (Piper’s comments are in italics): </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>I would say, “Could you just in one minute explain your view of justification?” And then on the basis of his one minute, I would give my view of justification. </i>If such a conversation took place, even if it were only two minutes, it would probably be a worthwhile one. Perhaps, though, they’d need a little more than two minutes to have a truly decent conversation on this issue, and it probably wouldn’t necessarily change either theologian’s mind, but given that Piper comes from a different theological trajectory than the pope does, the challenges each one gives to the other might at least give both participants pause for thought and reflection about how they read the biblical text. And perhaps they may find surprising areas of <i>agreement</i>!</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>I think Rome and Protestantism are not yet ready. </i>Piper doesn’t spell out what he means by “ready,” but as I said in my inserted bracketed comments in the quotation above, I think he means “ready to come together,” that is, “ready to come together <i>as fellow Christians</i>.” He puts his hands together in this video, suggesting that Rome and Protestantism are still too far apart in some way. And perhaps he is right that Roman Catholics and Protestants still have a way to go toward understanding each other, but as Piper goes on to say, he seems to think that it is the Catholics who need to do the theological adjustments, not Protestants:</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>I don’t think the Reformation is over. I don’t think that enough changes have happened in Roman understanding of justification and a bunch of other things. </i>It is not surprising in some ways that Piper believes that more changes need to happen in “Roman understanding of justification and a bunch of other things,” but he does not say that more changes need to happen in “Protestant understanding of justification and a bunch of other things.” That is, Piper does not challenge the prevailing Protestant “magisterium” (even though it is not “official” in the same way that the Catholic magisterium is), but he is happy to challenge Rome’s magisterium. I don’t find this to be surprising because Piper reads Scripture through the lens of the Reformation. The first questions for Piper are not, “What are the first-century categories for understanding Paul’s explanation of justification?” but “What are the sixteenth-century categories that the <i>Reformers </i>use for understanding Paul’s explanation of justification?” </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>I’m just picking justification because it’s so close to the center. You could pick papal authority, or the nature of the mass, or the role of sacraments, or the place of Mary, but those seem to be maybe a little marginal. </i>Notice that Piper says that justification is “so close to the center.” I would ask Brother Piper, “What do you mean that that?” The center of what? Biblical theology? If so, what is the center, and how is it that justification is “so close” to this center? I don’t disagree with Brother Piper’s obvious belief that justification is very important, but I’m not as sure as he is that it’s the <i>center</i>. And perhaps this relates to his contention with N.T. Wright on the issue of what constitutes “the gospel/good news.” Is the good news that we are justified by faith through grace? Surely, that must be part of it, as N.T. Wright says in <i>What Saint Paul Really Said</i>, but the good news is so much bigger than that! It’s the reign of God established on earth as it is in heaven. That’s the wonder of the gospel. You can’t reduce it to “It’s such good news that I’m saved by grace through faith.” The good news goes beyond this, even into the very fabric of the pangs of creation itself. God wants to reconcile <i>all things </i>to himself, which does, thankfully include us too.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Then [I would] go right to the heart of the issue of, “Do you teach...sir...that we should rely entirely on the righteousness of Christ imputed to us by faith alone as the ground of God being 100% for us after which necessary sanctification comes? Do you teach that?” </i>I can’t claim to speak for how any pope—past, present, or theoretically in the future—might respond to this (and I’m not Catholic myself, so I don’t want to speak for how a Catholic in general might answer this), but I do want to dissect this in particular, as it articulates some things I myself am not entirely sure about. For instance, when he says that “we should rely entirely on the righteousness of Christ imputed to us,” what does that mean? What is meant by <i>imputed</i>? What does that look like? Is Christ’s act of passing his righteousness to us another way of saying that he <i>declares </i>us righteous (in which case I would agree)? Can Brother Piper back up <i>impute </i>as being an appropriate translation of </span><span class="s2">λογιζομαι</span><span class="s1"> (“I reckon,” “I consider”) in Romans 4 and Galatians 3? Also, what does Brother Piper mean by “necessary sanctification”? If we have the “righteousness of Christ,” does “necessary sanctification” mean that we will automatically do right things (at least on a general level)? <br />
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I ask all these questions to point out that Brother Piper’s description of how he teaches justification<i> </i>is not as straightforward as he appears to think it is. If the pope were simply to say, “No, we do not teach that,” my guess is that he would probably have more to say than just that, and I’m sure Brother Piper is aware of this. <br />
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I suppose my main contention, as I said before, is that Brother Piper seems willing to call something a heresy for what is <i>not </i>said, rather than what <i>is </i>said.<br /><br />Of course, there are major differences between Catholics and Protestants, and we cannot ignore them. (And going over at least some of those differences may be the subject of a future post, but not this one.) But I do take issue with Brother Piper when he implies that it is Catholics who need to reform their teaching, yet he says nothing about a reformation <i>among Protestants with regard to Protestant teaching</i>. Can we who are Protestants really pretend that we are immune from the need to be reformed ourselves? </span><br />
<span class="s1"><br />Justification is certainly a massively important doctrine in Christian faith, and <i>because of this</i>, we must avoid the temptation of reducing justification to slogans. Our conversation should always be centered around a humble, careful reading of Scripture, always being willing to listen to what people in the church throughout its history have said about this topic (and <i>not just</i> the Reformers). </span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1">Surely Brother Piper would agree that Protestants are not above the temptation to forget to let themselves be corrected by Scripture. As many wise theologians have said, we should not ever try to be masters over Scripture, but we should let Scripture master us. </span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">What do you make of Brother Piper’s comments? Do you think he <i>was </i>clear and right on the money, and that perhaps I am simply not understanding him correctly? Or perhaps you disagree with my post? Please feel free to express any disagreements or thoughts in the comments section below. </span></div>
Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-43449969253964464622012-08-03T06:44:00.001-07:002012-08-03T06:47:31.659-07:00When Genesis 1:13 and Culture Collide<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We’ve reached day three! O</span>ur third closing refrain is in verse 13:<br />
<br />
<b>Genesis 1:13: </b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Day Three”</span></b><br />
<sup class="versenum" style="background-color: white; font-family: serif; font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;"><br /></sup><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><sup class="versenum" style="background-color: white; font-family: serif; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;"> </sup><span style="background-color: white; font-family: serif;"><span style="color: #76a5af;">וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר</span><span style="color: orange;"> יֹ֥ום שְׁלִישִֽׁי</span>׃</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“<span style="color: #45818e;">So
there was evening, and there was morning</span>. <span style="color: orange;">Day three</span>.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So it’s been three days so far in the creation
account, but no sun or moon (yet). Interesting. How can there be light without the sun? It’s not until the next blog
post (which will have to wait until Monday—I’m going on a retreat this weekend)
that we’ll see the creation of these two “lamps” in the dome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So far, here’s what’s been created:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Day (a.k.a. “light”), separated from night (a.k.a. “darkness”)</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
skies (a.k.a. the “dome”)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
earth (a.k.a. the “dry ground”) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Plants,
trees, and various fruits and vegetation (all without the sun!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lend
Me Your Thoughts<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What are your thoughts on days one, two, and three
so far?<o:p></o:p></span></div>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-8024972549862869262012-08-01T07:42:00.001-07:002012-08-03T05:54:05.953-07:00When Genesis 1:12 and Culture CollideHere is when Genesis 1:12 and culture really collide in an interesting way:<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Genesis 1:12: “So the
Land Brought Forth Greenery”</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">וַתֹּוצֵ֨א הָאָ֜רֶץ דֶּ֠שֶׁא עֵ֣שֶׂב מַזְרִ֤יעַ זֶ֙רַע֙ <span style="color: red;">לְמִינֵ֔הוּ</span> וְעֵ֧ץ עֹֽשֶׂה־פְּרִ֛י אֲשֶׁ֥ר זַרְעֹו־בֹ֖ו<span style="color: red;"> לְמִינֵ֑הוּ</span> וַיַּ֥רְא אֱלֹהִ֖ים כִּי־טֹֽוב׃</span></span>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“So
the land brought forth greenery, a plant bearing seed <span style="color: red;">after its kind</span> and a tree
bearing fruit with its seed in it <span style="color: red;">after its kind</span>. Then God saw that it was
good.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Creation obeys the word of God once again, and the
land brings forth greenery, complete with seed-bearing plants and trees bearing
fruit with their seed in them…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And each one is </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">לְמִינֵהוּ</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> (<i>l’miynehu</i>, “after
its kind”). Here the operative word is </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">מִין</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>
(<i>min</i>, “kind”). Many creationists who
reject evolution will appeal to this term to say something like, “See? ‘After
its kind.’ God created each creature ‘after its kind,’ suggesting that
evolution from a single-celled organism could never have happened.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In part 1 of this post, I’ll just present you with two
interesting perspectives on this view:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://biologos.org/blog/the-meaning-of-min-part-1">http://biologos.org/blog/the-meaning-of-min-part-1</a>
(check out part 2 as well)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v4/n1/meaning-min">http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v4/n1/meaning-min</a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<b>Lend Me Your Thoughts</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What are your responses to these articles? <o:p></o:p></span></div>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-25924540212854924612012-07-30T13:07:00.003-07:002012-08-03T06:47:51.500-07:00When Genesis 1:11 and Culture CollideI took a short walk outside for my break at work, and I took a moment to appreciate the greenery in the outdoors before publishing this post for today during my lunch break.<br />
<br />
And this is why:<br />
<strong>Genesis 1:11: <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">“Let
the Land Sprout Forth Greenery”</span></span></strong><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים תַּֽדְשֵׁ֤א הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ <span style="color: #38761d;">דֶּ֔שֶׁא</span> עֵ֚שֶׂב מַזְרִ֣יעַ זֶ֔רַע עֵ֣ץ פְּרִ֞י עֹ֤שֶׂה פְּרִי֙ לְמִינֹ֔ו אֲשֶׁ֥ר זַרְעֹו־בֹ֖ו עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<em>“And God said, ‘Let the land sprout forth <span style="color: #38761d;">greenery</span>: the plant bearing
seed, and the fruit tree bearing fruit after its kind, with its seed in it, on
the earth.’ And it was so.”<o:p></o:p></em><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest on the west side of the Cascades, and the
greenery here is really something to behold. We have the same kind of weather
our friends in the UK get to enjoy, so the scenery here is quite lush but in a
very temperate climate. I live in what you might call a “temperate rainforest,”
as a pastor at one of the churches I’ve attended in this area once said.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
God created a beautiful world for us to enjoy. But sometimes I forget that I
live in an area where it is <em>easy </em>to rejoice over the scenery God has
given us. And when I say “easy,” I mean that the scenery is obviously
beautiful, and we only need to take time to appreciate it. Yet in our busy
lives, we often forget that it’s there, or we mistreat it by being careless
with our waste or by neglecting to recycle. I suppose we can fail to appreciate
the magnificent gardens God has placed in this world in a number of ways.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Other people are not so lucky to live in such a naturally gorgeous and green
area. For instance, some people live parts of the world with minimal vegetation.
Scripture acknowledges that this ugly reality can fall on people (Genesis
47:19). We yearn for lush fields, watery lands filled with beauty. Even the
drier places, though, like the Grand Canyon, are certainly beautiful as well.
But there is something striking about plant life. It's plant <em>life.<o:p></o:p></em><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So here's my main observation about this passage. This is the first creation
of <em>life </em>in this story. The first creation of <em>any </em>kind of
life.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
God demonstrates that he is interesting in bringing life in the very first
pages of Scripture. In fact, the text sparkles with beautiful description here:
Not only does the text say that the land produces <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="mso-bidi-language: HE;">דֶּשֶׁא</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> (<em>deshe’</em>, “greenery”)—a general
term encompassing various types of green plants—it goes on to spell out what this
<span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="mso-bidi-language: HE;">דֶּשֶׁא</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> comprises: <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="mso-bidi-language: HE;">עֵשֶׂב</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> (<em>esev</em>, “lush vegetation,” used in other contexts, such as in Genesis
1:30 and 3:18, to refer to food for people or animals) that bears seeds and the
<span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="mso-bidi-language: HE;">עֵץ</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> (<em>‘etz</em>, “tree”) that bears fruit. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Notably, this mention of the creation of fruit-bearing trees—specifically,
the occurrence of two key terms, <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="mso-bidi-language: HE;">עֵץ</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="HE"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> </span>(<em>‘etz, </em>“tree”) and <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="mso-bidi-language: HE;">פְּרִי</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> (<em>p<sup>e</sup>ri</em>, “fruit”)—also
foreshadows something that is yet to take place in Genesis 2 and 3. Stay tuned.
We’re a long way off from that yet, but keep it in mind for now. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
For now, stay tuned tomorrow, when we’ll analyze a key word appealed to by
creationists when they reject evolutionary science on the basis of the Genesis
1 text: <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="mso-bidi-language: HE;">לְמִינוֺ</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="HE"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> </span>(<em>l<sup>e</sup>miynō</em>,
“after its kind”).<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">To be continued…</span></span>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-24648582819796896922012-07-27T07:37:00.006-07:002012-07-27T10:10:22.132-07:00When Genesis 1:10 and Culture Collide<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now the “dry ground” gets named:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Genesis 1:10: “Naming the Dry Ground”</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ לַיַּבָּשָׁה֙<span style="color: orange;"> אֶ֔רֶץ</span> וּלְמִקְוֵ֥ה הַמַּ֖יִם קָרָ֣א<span style="color: blue;"> יַמִּ֑ים</span> וַיַּ֥רְא אֱלֹהִ֖ים כִּי־טֹֽוב׃</span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“And God named the dry ground ‘<span style="color: orange;">land</span>,’ and the collection of the waters he named ‘<span style="color: blue;">seas</span>.’ And God saw that it was good.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">An observation linking this post to yesterday’s post: Just as he named the dome </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">שָׁמַיִם </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(<i>shamayim</i>, “sky” or “heavens”), he named the dry ground </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">אֶרֶץ </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(</span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">eretz</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, “land” or “earth”). First he names the heavens, and then he names the earth (in the same order as those same Hebrew words appear in Genesis 1:1)!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Cool, huh? Also, the seas were a scary place in the ancient world, but God not only made the seas—he named them and saw them as “good.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><b>Lend Me Your Thoughts</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Have you noticed any other vocabulary that recurs in Genesis 1? Any common refrains?</span></div>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-61639796449501749332012-07-26T07:08:00.003-07:002012-07-27T10:11:10.956-07:00When Genesis 1:9 and Culture Collide<b>Genesis 1:9: <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">“</span><span style="background-color: white;">Let the Waters Under the Skies Be Collected to One Place</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">”</span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים יִקָּו֨וּ הַמַּ֜יִם מִתַּ֤חַת <span style="color: #3d85c6;">הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙</span> אֶל־מָקֹ֣ום אֶחָ֔ד וְתֵרָאֶ֖ה <span style="color: orange;">הַיַּבָּשָׁ֑ה</span> וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃</span></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><br />
<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Then God said, ‘Let the waters under <span style="color: #4f81bd;">the skies</span> be collected to one place, and let <span style="color: #f79646;">the dry ground</span> be visible.’ And it was so.”</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Brief explanatory introductory note: You might have noticed that last time I translated </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">שָׁמָיִם</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="ltr"></span> (<i>shamayim</i>) as “sky,” but in Genesis 1:1 and here, I translated it as “skies.” The translation “skies” (or “heavens”) is because of the <i>–ayim</i> (dual) ending of this word. I translated the occurrence of this word in Genesis 1:8 as “sky” because it was occurring in a context in which a singular object was being named: the “dome.” I thought it would be strange to say in English, “And he named the dome ‘skies.’” But that would have been the <i>most </i>literal translation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I think it’s interesting that here we first encounter the term </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">יַבָּשָׁה</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="ltr"></span> (<i>yabashah</i>, “dry ground”). It shows up only 15 times in the entire Old Testament (and only twice in Genesis). We come across it again tomorrow, so keep this in mind. There is a reason this word is being used. (Hint: Just as the word “dome” was used only to be later defined as “sky,” so the word “dry ground” is being used to be later defined in verse 10 as ________. Don’t cheat. Look back at Genesis 1:1 and see if you can notice a pattern.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At this point in the creation account, we’ve finally come across the point at which God has created the part of the world on which all of life—including humanity—is eventually going to dwell.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><b>Lend Me Your Thoughts</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What do you make of the language of the waters being “collected to one place”?</span><br />
<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-28570033446067515792012-07-25T07:36:00.000-07:002012-07-26T07:09:22.838-07:00When Genesis 1:8 and Culture Collide<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now the “dome” gets named:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Genesis
1:8: “Naming the Dome”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">וַיִּקְרָ֧א אֱלֹהִ֛ים לָֽרָקִ֖יעַ <span style="color: #3d85c6;">שָׁמָ֑יִם </span><span style="color: purple;">וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר</span> יֹ֥ום שֵׁנִֽי׃</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“And
God named the dome ‘<span style="color: #0070c0;">sky</span>.’ <span style="color: #7030a0;">So there was evening, and there was morning.</span> Day
two.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The dome receives the name “sky” in this verse. The
word translated “sky” (</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">שָׁמָיִם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>, <i>shamayim</i>) is also
translated “heavens”—as in the traditional translation of Genesis 1:1 (“God
created the <i>heavens </i>[</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">שָׁמָיִם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>] and the earth”). This is only the second time that the word </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">שָׁמָיִם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> has occurred in the Genesis 1 text. So far, Genesis 1:1 is the
only other place we’ve seen it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I still remember conceiving of the sky as a “dome”
myself when I looked up at night in my backyard as a small child—and this was
even when I was well aware that the earth is spherical. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Obviously, because the earth is spherical, we now
know <i>why </i>the sky appears to be dome. But
the ancients only observed what little God had revealed to them. Perhaps there
was some ancient people who realized that the earth was actually spherical, but
that isn’t the point of this passage anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This is a poetic account of God creating and naming
all that exists, culminating in his creation of us (verses 26–30) to enjoy and
care for what he has created.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">That this account is poetry should already be
evident by now, especially with the refrain “and there was evening, and there
was morning,” which we’ve also seen in verse 5.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So to recap:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Day one: God creates light and separates the light
form the darkness, calling the light “day” and the darkness “night.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Day two: God creates a dome separating the waters
above from the waters below, calling it “sky.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Stay tuned for more!<br />
<br />
<b>Lend Me Your Thoughts</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Do you think this is a poetic account or a
scientific account? If you think it’s a scientific account, please point out
why you think so. If you agree that it’s a poetic account, please point out any
areas you might think I missed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Do you think it matters whether we see this account
as poetic or scientific? If so, why? <o:p></o:p></span></div>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-87953423202805582952012-07-22T14:01:00.002-07:002012-07-22T14:01:33.148-07:00When Genesis 1:7 and Culture Collide<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Do you remember the post I made about the “separation
between the waters”? See below for more!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b>Genesis 1:7: </b></span></span><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Between
the Waters That Are Below the Dome and the Waters That Are Above the Dome”</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">וַיַּ֣עַשׂ אֱלֹהִים֮ אֶת־הָרָקִיעַ֒ וַיַּבְדֵּ֗ל <span style="color: orange;">בֵּ֤ין הַמַּ֙יִם֙ אֲשֶׁר֙ מִתַּ֣חַת לָרָקִ֔יעַ</span><span style="color: red;"> וּבֵ֣ין הַמַּ֔יִם אֲשֶׁ֖ר מֵעַ֣ל</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> לָרָקִ֑יעַ</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃</span><br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“When
God made the dome, he made a separation <span style="color: #ffc000;">between the
waters that are below the dome</span> <span style="color: red;">and between the
waters that are above the dome</span>. And it was so.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This verse represents what happened after God and
spoke this dome into existence. We
briefly touched on the waters below the dome and the waters above the dome last
time, but I thought I’d spell it out a little more in today’s post. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Check out this helpful <a href="http://www.19thpsalm.org/Ch01/index_files/HebCosm.gif">chart</a> to see this more
visually. Notice the “windows” in the dome separating the waters above from everything
below. The “waters above” are released through these windows (or openings)
during the flood narrative as rain, and the fountains of the great deep burst
forth (see Genesis 6:11). <br />
<br />
<b>Lend Me Your Thoughts</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What do you make of this “ancient Hebrew cosmology”
stuff? I’m interested in hearing what you have to say. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-60398286510709188192012-07-19T07:29:00.005-07:002012-07-19T07:29:48.917-07:00When Genesis 1:6 and Culture Collide<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is where we get a taste of the cosmology of the
ancient world, which was certainly not the same as our own:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><sup class="versenum" style="font-family: serif; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;"> </sup><span style="font-family: serif;">וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים יְהִ֥י<span style="color: blue;"> רָקִ֖יעַ</span> בְּתֹ֣וךְ הַמָּ֑יִם וִיהִ֣י מַבְדִּ֔יל בֵּ֥ין מַ֖יִם לָמָֽיִם׃</span></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Now
God said, ‘Let a <span style="color: blue;">dome</span> be in the midst of the waters, and may it separate the
waters from the waters.’”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We’re not yet told what this “dome” is (we discover
that in verse 8, much the same way we discover that the “light” turned out to
be “day” in verse 5 yesterday). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The word </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">רָקִיעַ</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> (<i>raqiya</i>) is often
translated “expanse” (e.g., see the NASB and ESV). According to the <i>Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old
Testament </i>(HALOT), it’s more like a “beaten metal plate, or bow…the firm
vault of heaven.” <br />
<br />
When we look up at the sky from our vantage point here on earth, it does look
bow-shaped, almost like a dome encasing us in the earth’s atmosphere. The
ancients had no idea that we were on a ball-shaped planet, no matter what
popular Christian apologetics might tell you. (If you’re thinking of Isaiah
40:22, you might want to look up </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">חוּג</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> [<i>khūg</i>], the word for “circle” in that
passage. It doesn’t mean “sphere.” Check out the entry for this in HALOT. Also,
consider what the point of Isaiah 40 as a whole may be trying to make.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This dome was considered to separate waters that
were conceived to be above it (rain would be released through small “hatches”
or “floodgates” throughout this dome) and the seas would be below it (which is
why it speaks of waters being separated from each other).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God used language that people in the ancient world
understood. It was not important that he describe the earth in scientific terms—the
main point is to communicate the message that he did in fact create this earth
for us to inhabit. And if that requires “dome” language (which the ancients did
understand), then so be it.<br />
<br />
<b>Lend Me Your Thoughts<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What do <i>you </i>make
of the word </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">רָקִיעַ</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>? If you see anything I missed, please let me know. <o:p></o:p></span></div>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-89418382960514006692012-07-18T07:20:00.002-07:002012-07-18T07:20:23.608-07:00When Genesis 1:5 and Culture Collide<br />
<div style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; margin-top: 8px; min-width: 0px; width: 653px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now moving on to Genesis 1:5! After the separation of light from dark, we get a fuller explanation of what this separation entails:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: serif; font-size: large;"><sup class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;"> </sup></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: serif; font-size: large;">וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ לָאֹור֙ </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">יֹ֔ום</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: serif; font-size: large;"> וְלַחֹ֖שֶׁךְ קָ֣רָא </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">לָ֑יְלָה</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: serif; font-size: large;"> וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">יֹ֥ום</span> אֶחָֽד׃</span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“And
God named the light ‘<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">day</span>,’ and the darkness he named ‘<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">night</span>.’ And there was
evening, and there was morning: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">Day</span> one.”</span></i><i style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">This is the first time the word <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">יוֹם</span> (<i>y<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">ō</span></i>m</i>, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">“day”</span>) appears in this passage. Note the poetic feel to this passage. Not only is this word paralleled by <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">לָיְלָה</span> (<i>laylah</i>, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">“night”), but the second half of the verse refers to evening and morning.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><b>Lend Me Your Thoughts</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">What do you make of the fact that this is the first reference to </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">יוֹם</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"> in this account? What is this account doing with the word </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">יוֹם</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">?</span></span></div>
<br />Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-55821203773760493362012-07-17T07:22:00.001-07:002012-07-17T07:22:11.547-07:00When Genesis 1:4 and Culture Collide (Part Three)Okay, this is counting as the <i>real </i>Genesis 1:4 post:<br />
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<b>Why the Separation of the Light from the Darkness? </b><br />
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<span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">וַיַּרְא </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #0070c0; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">אֱלֹהִים</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;"> אֶת־הָאוֹר כִּי־</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #00b050; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">טוֹב</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;"> </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">וַיַּבְדֵּל</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;"> </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #0070c0; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">אֱלֹהִים</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;"> בֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחֹשֶׁךְ׃</span>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Now
<span style="color: #0070c0;">God</span> saw the light, that it was <span style="color: #00b050;">good</span>. <span style="color: red;">And</span> <span style="color: #0070c0;">God</span> <span style="color: red;">separated</span>
between the light and between the darkness.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Why is God separating between the light and the
darkness here?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to John H. Walton in the <i>Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds
Commentary</i>, this view of separation was common in the ancient world. The
Egyptians associated all existence with some kind of differentiation having
taken place. See John H. Walton, “Genesis,” in <i>Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary</i>, ed. John H.
Walton (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009), 16.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bruce Waltke offers an interesting perspective on
the literary theme of separation in Scripture more broadly in his commentary on
Genesis: “Just as God commands the light and dark as well as the land and sea
to separate, God calls Israel to separate from the pagan nations. Separation is
a fundamental concept both to creation and to Israel’s existence.” See Bruce Waltke, <i>Genesis: A Commentary </i>(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 69.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">More on this tomorrow! Stay tuned!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lend
Me Your Thoughts<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What do you make of the fact that the theme of
separation was understood elsewhere in the ancient Near East? Does this mean
the Bible is any less inspired, or is that an oversimplification?<o:p></o:p></span></div>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-23925749091400208962012-07-13T07:38:00.003-07:002012-07-13T07:38:53.134-07:00When Genesis 1:4 and Culture Collide (Part Two)Sorry! Don't mean to leave you hanging! This is "part 2," but I don't have time to flesh out a full discussion for you. So suffice to say that you should check out the <i>Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary</i> if you want to get a jump on what I'm going to say in part 3!Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-47771477879036807762012-07-12T07:41:00.000-07:002012-07-12T07:41:05.831-07:00When Genesis 1:4 and Culture Collide (Part One)<br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today we’re onto
Genesis 1:4! Here we go!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genesis 1:4: “Dividing
Between the Light and Darkness”</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">וַיַּרְא </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">אֱלֹהִים</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> אֶת־הָאוֹר
כִּי־</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">טוֹב</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">וַיַּבְדֵּל</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">אֱלֹהִים</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> בֵּין
הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחֹשֶׁךְ׃</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Then </span></i><i><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God</span></i><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> saw the light, that it was </span></i><i><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">good</span></i><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. </span></i><i><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And </span></i><i><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God</span></i><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><i><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">divided</span></i><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> between the light and between the darkness.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In this particular passage, I find two things curious:</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is here that we are
first told that God saw that what he had created was “good” (</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">טוֹב</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span dir="LTR"></span>,
<i>tōv</i>). This becomes a constant refrain
throughout Genesis 1. God speaks something into existence (which John 1,
mentioned in yesterday’s post, also picks up with </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: TekniaGreek; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">oJ lovgoV</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">) and sees that it is good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is some “separating”
going on here. What do you think the nature of this separating is?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SStay tuned for part 2 tomorrow...</span></div>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-7992451832860443642012-07-11T00:32:00.000-07:002012-07-11T20:33:47.610-07:00When Genesis 1:3 and Culture Collide (Finally)<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Okay, it appears that in order for me to keep up with my blog posts, I have to be free and clear of any grad school homework. I've decided to return to blogging, having just completed a big exegetical paper on Deuteronomy 27 for a class.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So in my last post, by "You will have to wait until tomorrow," I actually meant, "You will have to wait 5 months from now."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Not buying it? Good. That's how a good exegete operates. The word<i> tomorrow</i> in English NEVER means 5 months from now (it may mean "the future" generically in some sense, but not specifically "5 months from now"). What actually happened was that I really did mean to update things "tomorrow" (as in "the 24-hour day immediately following today"), but time got away from me, and grad school ate my life again. (Don't apply this to what I think about the Hebrew term <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">יוֹם [<i>y</i></span><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">ō</i><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>m</i>, the word for "day"]. In fact, I think "Is this a literal 24 hours or not?" is actually the wrong question to ask of this text. If you comment, I'll spell out more what I mean by that.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So now that I'm in a break from grad school, I can resume my posts. To hold myself accountable, I am going to post EVERY day, starting this morning (and continuing each consecutive morning thereafter). If I don't publish a post one day, I want someone to comment and say, "Anybody there?" (And I <i>am </i>serious about that.) I'm determined to nip this in the bud.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So this means you'll have to put up with all my sometimes nauseatingly lame jokes (well, you don't <i>have </i>to, but if you want to subject yourself to reading this blog, then you <i>do indeed</i> have to). Have I scared you away yet? (If so, I'm sorry. Please don't close your Internet browser. I'm done with this tangential rant now.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So back to Genesis. Here's where we've been:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We started with Genesis 1:1. We analyzed the grammar a bit, and we pondered what the most important theological thrust of this statement might be. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We moved on to Genesis 1:2 (looking at it in two separate posts), and we noticed some fascinating features of this text, notably the words that I translated as "formlessness" and "emptiness."</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And now we're on to Genesis 1:3, which brings me to why I mentioned last time (if you can remember that far back--see the previous blog post, the one one <i>before </i>my "oops, something came up so you'll have to wait until tomorrow" excuse post) that I had "highlighted the term <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">חֹשֶׁךְ</span><span dir="LTR" style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;"></span><span lang="HE" style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><span dir="LTR"></span> </span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">('darkness') for [a] reason." I said in that previous post that I would tell you in my next post (which happens to be TODAY's post!) what that reason is. So...</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">(Drum roll, please.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>Below is the reason! *Insert obnoxious, so-loud-it-hurts-your-eardrums fanfare here.*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The very next verse has the Hebrew word <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">אוֹר (</span><i>'</i><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">ō</i><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>r</i>),</span><span style="background-color: white;"> meaning "light"! So "darkness" (</span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">חֹשֶׁךְ</span><span style="background-color: white;">) in verse 2 is being contrasted with "light" (</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">אוֹר</span><span style="background-color: white;">)! See below:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Genesis 1:3: "Let Light Come About!"</span></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: lime;">וַ</span><span style="background-color: white; color: magenta;">יֹּ֥אמֶר</span> <span style="color: #8e7cc3;">אֱלֹהִ֖ים</span> <span style="color: red;">יְהִ֣י</span><span style="color: orange;"> אֹ֑ור</span> <span style="color: lime;">וַֽ</span><span style="color: red;">יְהִי</span>־<span style="color: orange;">אֹֽור</span>׃</span></span>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<i>"<span style="color: lime;">And</span> <span style="color: #b4a7d6;">God</span> <span style="color: magenta;">said</span>, '<span style="color: red;">Let </span><span style="color: orange;">light</span> <span style="color: red;">come about</span>!' <span style="color: lime;">So</span> <span style="color: orange;">light</span> <span style="color: red;">came about</span>." </i></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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It's here that you can see the contrast. In verse 2, we were told that <span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">חֹשֶׁךְ</span><span style="background-color: white;"> (</span><i style="background-color: white;">kh</i><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">ō</i><i style="background-color: white;">shekh</i><span style="background-color: white;">) was upon the surface of the watery depths in the beginning. But in verse 3, God initiates his first creative act, which is to make </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">אוֹר</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> ("light")</span><span style="background-color: white;">!<br /><br />This all the more poignant when we compare this text with John 1. The first chapter of John picks up this Genesis 1 language---not only with </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ἐν ἀρχῇ (<i>en arch</i></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>ē</i>, "in [the] beginning," echoing </span></span><span style="background-color: #f9fdff; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">בְּרֵאשִׁית</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">) in verse 1, but also with the frequent use of the word </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">φῶς (<i>ph</i></span><i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">ōs</i><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">, "light"), which John links to Jesus. :-)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">It's interesting that the first thing God creates is light---illumination, turning off the darkness. And the first thing the Gospel of John does is refer to Jesus using this language. When Jesus came, he was (and is) a light to shine forth into a world of darkness.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b>Lend Me Your Thoughts</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Did you ever notice the fact that verse 2 mentions "darkness" and therefore sets you up for verse 3, which mentions God creating "light" to deal with that darkness? Do you notice anything else here?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Read Genesis 1 and John 1 side by side. Do you see anything else that I missed?</span></span></li>
</ol>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-58930201472520732992012-02-25T18:26:00.000-08:002012-02-25T18:26:20.171-08:00Wait Until Tomorrow for Genesis 1:3Because some things came up today (and I lost my blog post file), you will have to wait until tomorrow for the Genesis 1:3 post. Stay tuned!Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-41094037180058148962012-02-24T19:36:00.002-08:002012-02-24T19:44:15.767-08:00When Genesis 1:2 and Culture Collide (Part Two)<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So yesterday I briefly mentioned that I had a bit more to say about Genesis 1:2. Today I have access to my computer (which supports Hebrew vowel points), so this time you’ll get to see the text according to the tradition which the Masoretes (a Jewish community living almost a thousand or so years after Jesus) preserved for us.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For those who don’t know Hebrew</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <i>but are nevertheless curious</i>: The Masoretes came up with the vowel-pointing system you see reproduced below. Yesterday, I showed you this text as it would have originally appeared—that is, written only with consonants (with the vowels “understood” between them). (In contemporary written Hebrew in modern-day Israel, the text would not have the vowel points either.) To get an idea of what I’m talking about, see if you can read the following English sentence, only with all its vowels removed (that is, supply the vowels as you read it aloud): “Sh kckd th bckt.” Even though the vowels are not there, you probably correctly read this aloud as “She kicked the bucket.” That’s similar to what it’s like to read the consonantal text of the Dead Sea Scrolls, for instance. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the text below does have “vowel points,” markings invented by the Masoretes in order to aid with reading the traditionally implied vowels between the consonants. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyway, enough of that—here’s the text of Genesis 1:2 again (this time with vowel points)!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Genesis 1:2: “Darkness on the Surface of the Watery Depths”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְ<span style="color: #7030a0;">חֹשֶׁךְ</span> עַל־פְּנֵי <span style="color: #002060;">תְהוֹם</span> וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם׃<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span dir="LTR"></span><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>“Now the land was a wasteland and emptiness, and <span style="color: #7030a0;">darkness</span> was upon the surface of the <span style="color: #002060;">watery depths</span>, and the breath of God was fluttering over the surface of the waters.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This time, I’ve color-coded different words: </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">חֹשֶׁךְ</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> (<i>khōshekh</i>), which means “darkness,” and </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">תְהוֹם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> (<i>te-hōm</i>), which most translations render simply as “deep.” I’ve translated the term </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">תְהוֹם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> as “watery depths” because I wanted to get across the fuller meaning of the word. When we think of “deep,” a <i>watery </i>deep doesn’t immediately come to mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The word </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">תְהוֹם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> refers to</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> subterranean waters. Later on in Genesis, we read that the great flood begins when not only the openings in the sky part (and let water out from above), but also when the fountains of the great </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">תְהוֹם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">open up as well (and let water out from below—see Genesis 7:11). So the ancient Hebrews believed that water comes from below the earth (from the “watery depths”) as well as from above. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I highlighted </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">חֹשֶׁךְ</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(“darkness”) for another reason. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow’s post to find out why…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Lend Me Your Insights<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What are your reactions to the information about </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">תְהוֹם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>? </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Is there anything else about this passage you’re curious about (or want to tell me about)? Let me know!</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-53124822212405199902012-02-23T18:04:00.000-08:002012-02-23T18:04:06.002-08:00When Genesis 1:2 and Culture Collide (Part One)<link href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CBCHAWK%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p></o:p></b>As per yesterday’s post, below is the Hebrew text and translation, color-coded for your enjoyment! (I’m going without vowel points today because I’m using a different computer tonight, and certain Hebrew fonts are not available to me right now. But that’s how the original text looked anyway, so consider this a treat!)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE">והארץ היתה <span style="color: #ff6600;">תהו</span> ו<span style="color: maroon;">בהו</span> ו<span style="color: purple;">חשך</span> על פני <span style="color: navy;">תהום</span> ו<span style="color: red;">רוח</span> אלהים מרחפת על פני ה<span style="color: #3366ff;">מים</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="hebrew"><i>“Now the land was a <span style="color: #ff6600;">shapelessness</span> and <span style="color: maroon;">emptiness</span>, and <span style="color: purple;">darkness</span> was on the surface of the <span style="color: navy;">watery depths</span>, and the <span style="color: red;">breath</span> of God was fluttering over the surface of the <span style="color: #3366ff;">waters</span>.” <o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="hebrew">Those of you who know Greek might recall that πνευμα (<i>pneuma</i>), which means “spirit,” can also mean “breath” or “wind.” Similarly, the Hebrew term </span><span class="hebrew"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE">רוח</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="HE"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> </span>(<i>ruakh</i>) can mean “spirit,” “breath,” or “wind.” Most translations stick with “spirit” here, but I find that “breath” suggests the concrete presence of God better. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="hebrew">It also highlights the contrast between the “shapelessness and emptiness” and the order that God is about to effect simply by speaking things into being. </span><span class="hebrew"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE">תהו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> (<i>tohu</i>), meaning “wasteland” or “formlessness,” and </span><span class="hebrew"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE">בהו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> (<i>bohu</i>), meaning “emptiness,” aside from the obvious fact that they rhyme, together highlight the lack of substance and order in the primeval universe before God gives things shape and fills things up.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="hebrew">There are more things to say about this verse, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Stay tuned!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="hebrew"><b>Lend Me Your Insights<o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="hebrew">Looking at this passage in the context of the rest of Genesis 1, do you think we can get away with describing God’s creation as <i>ex nihilo </i>(a fancy Latin theological term meaning “from nothing”)? If so, why? If not, why not?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><br />
</div><ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="hebrew">Is there anything in this passage that makes you feel uncomfortable? If so, why? If you don’t feel uncomfortable by anything this passage, note some things about it that you may not have noticed before. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-12764396115313459552012-02-22T10:21:00.002-08:002012-02-22T10:22:55.993-08:00When Genesis and Culture Collide (Genesis 1:1)<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Introduction to the New “When Genesis and Culture Collide” Series<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As I promised yesterday, here is my post on Genesis 1:1, the famous opening verse of the Bible.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For those of you who may know a bit of Hebrew, I will include the original Hebrew text in each post, as well as my own attempted translation of the verse. My renderings will be hyper-literal (and a tad unconventional) on purpose, as I think it’s important that we do our best to approach this text as freshly as we can. (Also, I’ll color-code the Hebrew text with my translation so that you can see which words go together.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Following each translation, I will include my own brief reflections on each verse. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Genesis 1:1: “In the Beginning”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 31px;"> </span><span style="background-color: #f9fdff; color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 27px; line-height: 31px;">בְּרֵאשִׁית</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 31px;"> </span><span style="background-color: #f9fdff; color: #365f91; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 27px; line-height: 31px;">בָּרָא </span><span style="background-color: #f9fdff; color: #e36c0a; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 27px; line-height: 31px;">אֱלֹהִים </span><span style="background-color: #f9fdff; color: #00b0f0; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 27px; line-height: 31px;">אֵת </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #00b0f0; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 31px;">הַשָּׁמַיִם</span><span style="background-color: #f9fdff; color: #984806; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 27px; line-height: 31px;"> </span><span style="background-color: #f9fdff; color: #984806; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 27px; line-height: 31px;">וְאֵת</span><span style="background-color: #f9fdff; color: #984806; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 27px; line-height: 31px;"> הׇאׇרֶץ׃</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #00b0f0; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 31px;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 31px;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #984806; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #984806; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 27px; line-height: 31px;"><span dir="LTR"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“</span></i><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the beginning, </span></i><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #e36c0a; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">God</span></i><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #365f91; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">created</span></i><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #00b0f0; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">the skies</span></i><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #984806; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">and the land.</span></i><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">” </span></i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This famous opening to the biblical story is hard to translate freshly, mostly because it’s so well-known (the NIV, NASB, ESV, and many other translations all stick with it). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve gone with the traditional translation of </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">בְּרֵאשִׁית<span style="color: #001320;"> (<i>be-re’-shit</i>)—“in the beginning,” suggesting that this is a self-contained sentence and that God was present “at the beginning,” presumably the beginning of time. But this is not the only way to translate this phrase. Note, for instance, the translation offered by the New Jewish Publication Society Version (NJPSV): “When God began to create the heaven and earth…” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #001320;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Commenting on the NJPSV’s translation, the late Jewish scholar Nahum Sarna makes this observation: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This rendering of the Hebrew looks to verse 3 for the completion of the sentence. It takes verse 2 to be parenthetical, describing the state of things at the time when God first spoke. Support for understanding the text in this way comes from 2:4 and 5:1, both of which refer to Creation and begin with “When.” The Mesopotamian creation epic known as <i>Enuma Elish </i>also commences the same way. In fact, <i>enuma </i>means “when.” Apparently, this was a conventional opening style for cosmological narratives. As to the peculiar syntax of the Hebrew sentence—a noun in the construct state (<i>be-re’shit</i>) with a finite verb (<i>bara’</i>)—analogies may be found in Leviticus 14:46, Isaiah 26:1, and Hosea 1:2.</span></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But Sarna goes on to point out the arguments in favor of the traditional rendering: “<i>Be-re’shit </i>does not have to be in the construct state and…the analogies of 2:4 and 5:1, as well as of <i>Enuma Elish</i>, are inexact. In each instance, the word translated “when” is literally “in the day,” which is not the case in this verse.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">See Nahum Sarna, <i>Genesis</i>, The JPS Torah Commentary Project (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Socitey, 1989), p. 5. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Also, the traditional “heavens” still captures well what underlies the Hebrew word </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">שׇׁמַיִם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> (<i>shamayim</i>) in this context. But </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">שׇׁמַיִם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> literally means “skies”—that is, what the ancient peoples would have perceived to be included in the vast space they saw above them. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Our English word <i>heavens </i>also means “skies,” but because “heavens” sounds like “heaven,” and because our culture often pictures heaven as an ethereal place of harps and clouds located in some kind of otherworldly dimension, “skies” more clearly highlights for us the actual meaning of the word. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Also, most translations render </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">הׇאׇרֶץ</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> (<i>ha’aretz</i>) as “the earth,” and this is a good translation, but when <i>we </i>think of “earth,” we picture a large spherical orb that spins on its axis and has seven continents. But that’s not what the Hebrew text literally says. The word </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">אֶרֶץ</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> (<i>’eretz</i>) means “land” in most contexts. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But essentially, the phrase “the skies and the land” (or, if you like, “the heavens and the earth”) is meant to evoke the idea that God made <i>all </i>that there is. This statement, then, is the summary statement of what follows. The rest of this poetic narrative, which lasts until Genesis 2:3 (and then a new narrative starts with 2:4), describes in beautiful language God’s creation of the cosmos, breaking up the events into seven days (with God resting on the seventh day). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But I think the most fascinating element of all of this is the use of the verb בָּרָא (<i>bara’</i>), “created,” an important theological term. In the Old Testament, the verb is used only with God as the subject, suggesting that this is an act that only God can do. Only God can bring something into existence that did not exist before. We can shape and mold things, but the Creator only needs to speak, and it is there.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">See also Sarna, p. 5 (cited earlier). For a layman-friendly, easy-to-understand (but also very scholarly) commentary on Genesis, check out John Goldingay, <i>Genesis for Everyone</i> (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010). This commentary comes in two parts, so make sure to check out Part One for what he has to say about this passage.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When Genesis 1:1 and Culture Collide: What Do You Think?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This passage often sparks debates about science and faith, especially in light of evolution. Creationist organizations such as Answers in Genesis contend that the assertion of Genesis 1:1 (and what follows) cannot be believed if one also believes that Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection actually took place. But others, such as Francis Collins, who has headed up the Human Genome Project and has founded the organization Biologos, thinks otherwise. What are your thoughts on this? Can one be faithful to the teachings of the Bible and believe that evolution happened?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">2.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In <i>Inspiration and Incarnation</i>, biblical scholar Peter Enns asks this question: “How does the study of Scripture in the contemporary world affect how we flesh out descriptions such as ‘word of God’ or ‘inspired’?” See Peter Enns, <i>Inspiration and Incarnation</i> (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), p. 17. How would you answer his question?<o:p></o:p></span></div>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-30012194430310622342012-02-21T18:03:00.003-08:002012-02-22T08:57:24.073-08:00Starting Tomorrow: When Genesis and Culture CollideI've decided recently to start blogging every day. Time often gets away from me, and I have a lot on my plate currently (I'm in grad school, so I think that's enough said), so I'll be careful as to how much time I spend on these per day.<br />
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Recently I decided to pick a book of the Bible and work through a verse or so a day, offering my own take on each chunk of text (and asking for your perspective on each text as well).<br />
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I'll conclude each post with 2 or 3 questions to provoke a discussion, just to get the input of readers.<br />
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I think this would be a fun way to engage the biblical text together. I'll include the original languages, but don't feel like you have to know the languages too in order to contribute.<br />
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I think every voice is valuable, and I want to hear what you think about any given text we talk about.<br />
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Tomorrow, we start with Genesis 1:1. In the meantime, think about how this text collides with culture then and today, in light of the title of this blog.Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-59747958600270694672011-12-10T16:32:00.000-08:002011-12-10T16:47:34.898-08:00Hanukkah Is On Its Way December 20–28<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Did you know that the Gospel of John mentions Hanukkah? </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: TekniaGreek; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">=Egevneto tovte <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">ta; ejgkaivnia</span> ejn toi:V +IerosoluvmoiV, ceimw;n h\n, kai; periepavtei oJ =Ihsou:V ejn tw/: iJerw/: ejn th/: stoa/: tou: Solomw:noV.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Now when it was <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;">Hanukkah</span> in Jerusalem, it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon” (John 10:22). </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The term </span><span style="font-family: TekniaGreek; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ta;</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: TekniaGreek; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ejvgkaivnia </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ta engkainia</i>)</span><span style="font-family: TekniaGreek; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">means “the renewal” (it comes from the verb </span><span style="font-family: TekniaGreek; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ejgkainivzei:n</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">engkainizein</i>], “to renew”)—it is otherwise known as the “festival of rededication” or “Hanukkah.” </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Our Anglicized <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hanukkah </i>comes from the Hebrew </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">חֲנֻכָּה</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">khanukkah</i>), meaning “dedication” (in contemporary Israel, it is usually spelled like this: </span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">חנוכ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ה</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">). Hanukkah starts on the twenty-fifth day of the Jewish month of Chislev, which this year falls on December 20, and it lasts for eight days. So this year, the feast will last until until December 28. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So what’s Hanukkah all about? </span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Long after Alexander the Great had conquered Judea and the surrounding lands, spreading Greek culture wherever he went in the 300s <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">b.c.e., </span>the area he conquered became split into four major kingdoms—Macedon, Pergamon, and the Ptolemaic and Seleucid kingdoms. Eventually, Judea became part of the Seleucid empire (after being under Ptolemaic control) when Antiochus III of Syria defeated King Ptolemy V in Egypt. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When Antiochus III was ruler over Judea, he was content to allow the Jewish people to live as they pleased according to their ancestral traditions, but his son, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, took the temple in Jerusalem, ordered a statue of Zeus to be built inside, banned circumcision, and sacrificed a pig on the altar!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Jewish people would not stand for this persecution against their religion, so a Jewish revolt was launched against the evil Antiochus, and it was successful by 165 <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">b.c.e. </span>under “Judah the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Makabi</i>,” meaning “Judah the Hammer.” (This is where we get the name “Maccabees.” If you’ve never read 1 Maccabees in the Apocrypha—the literature in between the Old and New Testaments—I highly recommend it.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jewish tradition has it that when Judah retook and “rededicated” the temple (replacing the unclean altar with a new one), they had to use some oil to keep the lamp (menorah) in the temple burning every night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Unfortunately, there was only enough for one night. Nevertheless, that oil was miraculously sufficient to allow the menorah to burn for eight days straight, which is the traditional reason behind the eight-day celebration. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So in light of that background, what’s the significance surrounding the context of Jesus in John 10:22 walking in the temple at the time of Hanukkah? </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hanukkah, a time celebrating the renewal of the temple, is also known as the “Festival of Lights.” In John’s Gospel, Jesus is presented as the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5), and he is said to have “tabernacled” (</span><span style="font-family: TekniaGreek; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ejskhvnwsen</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">eskēnōsen</i>) among us (John 1:14). The temple, functioning in Jesus’ day as the tabernacle did in the time of Moses, housed the very presence of God. Jesus, literally God come down to earth as a human, was right there in the temple, yet his opponents who came to question him in John 10 did not recognize his true identity, instead perturbed that he was not plainly telling them that he was the Messiah. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hanukkah took place over a hundred years before Jesus was walking around the temple. The victory there was a military one. But Jesus’ victory was much more powerful—his mission resulted in the redemption of all who put their faith in him. As God, he gives true victory and real life. The miracle of the Incarnation outshines the miracle of the menorah on Hanukkah. God himself became man so that we might have life and freedom from the bondage and destructive power of sin. <br />
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The miracle of Jesus renews all creation (Romans 8). That is a renewal worth celebrating. Something to reflect upon as Hanukkah and Christmas both draw near.</span></div>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-56617511718332948282011-11-14T13:46:00.000-08:002016-04-24T22:00:03.215-07:00Ever Been Told You're "Stupid" or "Don't Measure Up"?<span style="font-size: small;">I think that many of us end up marginalized and lost because we are told by some of our educators that we are "stupid" because we struggle with understanding the material they want us to learn (or perhaps we struggle with the methodology they use to teach us). </span><br />
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If this has ever been your experience, I hope this creative <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zDZFcDGpL4U#%21">video</a> of illustrations of a talk given by Sir Ken Robinson encourages you. I particularly like this line in the video: "Collaboration is the stuff of growth." We too often section ourselves off from each other and make ourselves the master of our own education, perhaps in part because the world keeps stressing our work as individuals against our work as groups.<br />
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Surely the individual is important, but we weren't created to be islands unto ourselves. Humans are social creatures, as God himself noted when he created us: "It is not good for the man to be alone" (Genesis 2:18). (Of course, women were not simply created just to keep men company. I fear that this verse is too often used to suggest this. God did not create women just to please men. I want to be emphatic about this. I think the larger point of this passage is that God recognized that humans are not meant to be alone, and Adam needed another person---someone different from/other than him---to be present as well. Feel free to disagree with me in the comments if you think I'm way off base here.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I think this corresponds to biblical truth, actually. Part of loving our neighbors involves giving everyone a voice (by providing conditions in which they are encouraged to speak and by subsequently listening to them when they speak). Just because someone does not have what we would call "academic" abilities, for instance, does not mean that they do not have something constructive to say. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I think the root of the problem is human pride. We are often so arrogant in the way that we refuse to let our paradigms be challenged, whether they are educational, business-oriented, intellectual, or economic in nature. If we can show that a particular paradigm has "worked" in some sense ("hey, my business model is keeping in my company in business, after all"), we then cite that as evidence for avoiding any kind of change, and we therefore continue to slide past the people who don't measure up to the way we do things. (That is, so what if your "business model" keeps your company in business if it squashes the "least" of your employees in the process?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Bottom line: No matter where you operate in life, never develop an attitude of "unteachability" or "personal inerrancy." Allow yourself to be challenged.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The truly stupid people are those who think they have nothing more to learn. </span></span>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5676787677758043961.post-27691685103358530172011-10-30T21:35:00.000-07:002011-10-30T21:55:51.586-07:00Is the God of the Old Testament an Evil or Loving God?<span style="font-size: small;">God as portrayed in the Old Testament has often been maligned as a villainous, genocidal character, a divine Hitler of sorts who orders cold mass executions and sanctions the mistreatment of women. And the Old Testament has often been seen as mostly unhistorical (people often say that the Exodus never happened historically). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">If you've ever struggled with this issue (is the God of the OT a good God?), I suggest listening to an excellent OT scholar's views on this topic <a href="http://publicchristianity.org/library/religion-violence-history-and-the-old-testament">here</a>. I happen to think that Iain Provan, the OT scholar interviewed here, does an outstanding job asnwering difficult questions about the Old Testament.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I think sometimes this question has been dealt with too hastily (or superficially) by Christian apologists, and I think that Dr. Provan treats the questions with the appropriate care that they require. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">But what do you think? Let me know in the comments.</span>Becca Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14361490130737926609noreply@blogger.com0