Thirsty Ground

Thank you Lisa - much appreciated.

2011-08-23T16:03:25.081+01:00

Thank you Lisa - much appreciated.

I appreciate your insights on this blog.

2011-08-15T11:30:13.175+01:00

I appreciate your insights on this blog.

I am in the transformation period of being 7 days ...

2011-06-22T13:19:21.832+01:00

I am in the transformation period of being 7 days from moving up the steps of purpose (retirement) so I am intrigued in how I can revise my day with prayer extended and scheduled through out the day.

Yeah, there are interesting things like "as f...

2011-06-07T21:27:28.333+01:00

Yeah, there are interesting things like "as far as Dan" in that passage that make me think it was written down much later.

I think that Abraham and Hebrew have the same root word.

Thanks Nick - and I don't blame you for feeli...

2011-05-03T19:33:01.275+01:00

Thanks Nick - and I don't blame you for feeling tired!

Hi Lucy - just stumbled across your blog. I'm ...

2011-05-03T19:16:33.627+01:00

Hi Lucy - just stumbled across your blog. I'm going through the Bible in a year, which feels like a pretty rapid train journey - mot a lot of time to stop and enjoy the view. I'm at http://uncoolchristian.blogspot.com
Getting tired now (if I'm honest)- I've been at it since January - your slower deeper progress is refreshing me. Thanks!

Thanks for the link! I appreciate it!

2011-04-19T05:11:43.454+01:00

Thanks for the link! I appreciate it!

Oooh....yes. I love making new connections!

2011-04-14T20:38:16.529+01:00

Oooh....yes. I love making new connections!

Hmm, murder is in direct opposition to the command...

2011-04-14T20:24:32.783+01:00

Hmm, murder is in direct opposition to the command to be fruitful and multiply. I never thought of that.

Thanks! I'm enjoying your posts, too.

2011-04-14T19:55:07.701+01:00

Thanks! I'm enjoying your posts, too.

I have been meaning to leave a comment on your sit...

2011-04-14T19:28:10.072+01:00

I have been meaning to leave a comment on your site for a while now, so let me just say that I love how you have kept noticing that God is the main character. I forget that sometimes. I also like the brevity of your posts. Sometimes doing a whole chapter ends up giving me WAY too much to think about.

I am really enjoying following along!

http://www.bibleprobe.com/nephilim.htm Good old G...

2011-04-03T14:32:24.865+01:00

http://www.bibleprobe.com/nephilim.htm

Good old Google.

Hi Anita - thanks! Slow and measured suits me nic...

2011-03-31T14:38:24.943+01:00

Hi Anita - thanks! Slow and measured suits me nicely, although occasionally I know this will mean I am unable to gloss over more tricky or perplexing passages - probably a good thing! I have resolved to be honest and when I am baffled, to say so quite clearly.

I don't know what I'll do when and if I reach the end of Genesis. Originally when I started up a few years back I began going through Luke (just as slowly) - I may pick that up again. Or, at the end of Lent, I may mix and match a little. We'll see! I'm not proposing to blog the whole bible - my pace is a little too gentle for that...but hopefully it will be a good way to record and share my thoughts in various ways, in my own time.

Hi Lucy, I like the slow measured pace at which yo...

2011-03-31T14:28:21.537+01:00

Hi Lucy, I like the slow measured pace at which you are proceeding. I attempted Genesis 2 chapters or so at a time, so it was a wild gallop which did not do justice to the text. I am attempting Matthew more slowly, episode by episode.
Thanks for the blogroll add. You're on mine too.
Are you going to proceed beyond Genesis?

Wow. To be like him- to go it alone. Never thought...

2011-03-26T14:00:30.604Z

Wow. To be like him- to go it alone. Never thought of our lack of dependence in that light.

We've been doing some of this with our youth g...

2011-03-22T20:13:06.345Z

We've been doing some of this with our youth group. One lad said 'excuse me, but duh, snakes don't talk.'

Well, duh!

Enough with the duhs, already.

Interesting how you describe your friend. I believe the bible is the inspired word of God, but I don't think it's all the same literature. There are different categories within its pages. And sometimes I think (ooh, tangent approaching) that we over-sterilize the bible, trying to fit it into modern categories, instead of letting it be dynamic, powerful story made up of many voices. Truth told in many different ways.

I don't think you necessarily have to believe that a real snake was talking - it could feasibly be seen as a way of portraying it. Some people would say that the devil was talking through the snake, of course.

And the snake isn't the only talking animal in the bible - check out Balaam's donkey, granted the gift of speech in order to stop his master in his tracks. One of my lecturers used to say (and probably still does) that if God could speak through an ass, he can speak through anyone!

Anyway.

The tree? Well, I don't feel equipped to answer that one either. Your questions are my questions. Some might say - was the tree a literal tree or is it symbolising something? (Again, literal and symbolic don't always have to be opposites.)
What does the tree really mean? Why is it there?

Ahhh, questions, questions. I've grown to take questions less as challenges and more interacting with the bible and what it means, enjoying the conversation.

I love 'em.

Doesn't mean I can answer them, however!!

However (nearly finished my ramble) we are all on different stages, all in different places. So I feel a responsibility to be sensitive to those who do find these questions unsettling, and have a less 'flexible' outlook.

Setting aside the question of 'Who told the au...

2011-03-21T20:42:55.188Z

Setting aside the question of 'Who told the author of Genesis what words were actually uttered?' [I have one friend who holds that all the Bible is the inspired word of God] Two things bother me.

[1] A talking snake?!! - What's that about?

[2] Why did God put the Tree there in the first place? Was it a test? Was it because he had given Adam and Eve free will and he hoped agaist hope that they would do the right thing?

Is the sinful nature of mankind simply the fact that, in any set of circumstances, we are predisposed to take the worst course of action? Is the serpent just an allegory for the wicked thoughts which spring into our minds?

(Ignore me and I might go away!)

Hmmm....!!

2011-03-19T15:49:08.281Z

Hmmm....!!

Can't help thinking of the joke I tell friends...

2011-03-18T21:22:03.481Z

Can't help thinking of the joke I tell friends of mine to include in their wedding speeches. (None have)
'Before a man is married he is incomplete; once he is married he is finished.'

Well, firstly I should say that here I am immersin...

2011-03-18T18:57:55.688Z

Well, firstly I should say that here I am immersing myself in the story, regardless of people's interpretations on what is literal and what is symbolic; I'm just reflecting on the words that are there and what they might mean and convey.

However, since you asked I will try and answer! My opinions on this are quite soft around the edges. I suppose I do lean towards the more symbolic, although this is a journey for me too, as I grapple with the various genres of the bible and how to interpret them.

Sometimes I think our modern divisions of 'fiction' and 'non-fiction' and even 'symbolic' and 'literal' can be a bit unhelpful here. Something can be literal and symbolic, likewise something that is not literal can still be a true account - using the available images of the culture to communicate what happened, if not text-book style. I've struggled with this mindset in the past, as if non-fiction and fiction are the same as true and false. It's taken me a while to grow out of these definitions and see things differently...

A slightly garbled response, but an honest one!

Are you taking this account literally or otherwise...

2011-03-17T21:44:04.260Z

Are you taking this account literally or otherwise? [Just so we know]

I won't!

2011-03-14T22:47:05.247Z

I won't!

Good response. Thanks. Big question - was anyone ...

2011-03-14T22:04:23.527Z

Good response. Thanks.

Big question - was anyone (e.g. the OT writer) present to hear these words being uttered? Don't answer that...

I've come across a few suggestions for this - ...

2011-03-14T09:41:19.513Z

I've come across a few suggestions for this -

- a kind of self summons, or summons to the spirit/wind of God who is hovering over the deep in verse 2

- plural of majesty i.e. the royal 'we'

- language reflecting the cultural idea of the 'celestial court', such as depicted in Job 1-2, the 'great assembly' mentioned in some of the Psalms, and mentions of 'sons of God' and 'heavenly beings' i.e. angels

- seen through a New Testament lens, God as community in himself i.e. Trinity (although unlikely to be original author's intent - but that's true of a lot of OT passages later understood to be talking at least in part about Jesus).

I'm undecided although I like to know my options! Some might say it is a reflection of a polytheistic culture - with many gods/goddesses, but since this passage is so strongly against that in other ways (e.g. the placing of sun and moon) I don't find that very convincing at all.

What it does do is announce something different - 'come let us make' is not spoken of any other parts of creation.

(In the tower of Babel story in Genesis 11 we hear the same sort of thing 'come let us go down' - although this mirrors the previous 'come let us build ourselves a city' uttered by the humans - no doubt I'll mention that in the relevant post!

See also Isaiah 6 - when Yahweh says 'whom shall I send, and who will go for us?')

Sorry for such a wordy response!!

"Let US make man..." Who/what is the &#...

2011-03-13T12:50:41.631Z

"Let US make man..."

Who/what is the 'us'?