finale of sorts

I should have been blogging like mad to make it look like I was...decent at this but life got in the way. I've been working my tail off for the pass two weeks doing the writing, drafting, editing of over 30 pages worth of papers, several presentations, quizzes and so on and my printer seeing this incoming anthology of my scholastic work up and died...yay >.>
It's been a hard year and has really made me wonder if a Literature/philosophy double major is a good plan.
Well I forget this blog often, i just don't think my thoughts are that important and don't really feel they warrant the bandwidth, memory, or anything that make up this post, still I would like to make up for that and tell all my feelings about this course, so sit back and enjoy.

I'll start back to front with today's discussion. A point which stuck out for me was that doubt isn't the opposite of faith, but goes along with it. I haven't hidden my beliefs here so I've found that a bit odd. I know that personally doubt is what caused me to leave the church, and after investigating some other denominations and even religions it didn't falter at all. The thing that sprang to my mind was an odd quote on a t-shirt "Philosophy gives you questions without answers. Religion gives answers without questions" and there are those in class that have admitted asking if the bible is real was just not done. It just doesn't seem to make sense since doubt leads to questioning one's faith.
Then i realized the answer came from the class all along. Mostly in terms of the bible. Jacob in the slave doubted God, and questioned his faith and he came out better for it I believe. I think many of the characters that did question at some point were by far the more faithful or at least the most literary compelling. Job comes to mind, even Jesus was uncertain about the crucifixion for a bit.

It's incredible to have spent so much time in class pushing through hte work and reading in order to come out the other end and...have an answer. Okay maybe not an answer. Dr. Sexson has mentioned how answers aren't great, but at least the knowledge to continue the thought process yourself beyond the question. It's a great feeling.

In terms of the group projects, I'm surprised. surprised in a good way. All the groups did really well and had a new way of looking at things. In terms of my group I'm just amazed at the level of work we did in a short amount of time. Not only that but we fit a huuuuuuge amount of text into a 15 minute presentation.
Some of the interesting parts of samuel, well the transition between judges and Kings for one.
Another interesting part is some of the possible redactionist history. It seems that Saul goes from being fantastic to some loser and it's possible that this was done with anti monoarchism in mind, Saul to be made out later to be less great than he was and Samuel was made out to be better cause he was the real chosen one of God. This may or may not be true, take it with a grain of salt.
I did like being able to spot some redaction activity in my section, particularly the scene part which happened twice.
There's also being able to see some of the works of David, though I must say there was a part where I felt the characterzation of God, or at least how to follow would be disjointed.
Some might think (especially after reading earlier violent parts of the bible) that safely entering the tent of a man that has been out to kill you for no reason would be a sign that God thinks you're cool and you should take advantage of the opportunity. makes sense right, but the literary reason that this is missed by David make sense. BY sparring Saul David shows he is far more devote, a humble man, all around awesome, and is just characterized in a few short passages as all around better than Saul.
I think the best part of our presentation was having B bathing. Sock puppets are dirty >.>;

I think i learned a lot from this course. I learned all about the writers after all, and some hilarious parts of the bible which are fantastic out of context. I am incredibly glad I took this course even if it was intimidating from the beginning. I'm not sure I really have time to go over everything I've learned...So let us assume everything I'm a new person now and that is what I like out of a class. To have my knowledge base built up so much that I am a new person with new insights and thoughts.

Good luck to the rest of you at the final, and after class. Now we can all go home for the holidays and make silly comments about passages in the bible. :P

script

Samuel 18-26 Script

Narrator: David followed Saul’s orders and was successful wherever he was sent. Saul gave david command of the army and David was successful, but problems arose when David returned from killing the philistines.

Generic girls: Saul has killed thousands, and David his ten thousands!

Saul: They ascribe to me thousands and to David ten thousands. What more could he have but the kingdom. I better keep an eye on david.

~The next day~

Saul: Now’s my chance, while David is playing his Lyre I’ll pin him to the wall. *throws spear at david twice, David dodges both times*
He dodged my spears! I’ll just send him out with the army, that will get rid of him!

Narrator: It seems strange in this passage that David would just continue on as normal after Saul has attacked him. This episode is not in the Septuagint and may have been added in anticipation of later events.

~Later~

Saul *Aside* I know how to get rid of david. I’ll have him marry my daughter and in return he’ll fight in the wars. That way the philistine’s can kill him. *to david* David! Have my elder Daughter Merab, in return you can fight the lord’s battles.

David: Oh that’s okay, I’m not important enough to be the son-in-law of the king.

Saul: *Aside* well maybe Michal will tempt him *to servant* Tell david you’re cool, everyone likes you, you should become the king’s son in law. *servant goes to david*

David: I don’t know. It seems like a big deal. I’m just a poor average guy. *servant goes back to Saul*

Saul: Tell him I don’t want any bride price except for 100 foreskins of the philistine’s *servant goes back to David*

David: That’s it? Awesome!

Narrator: So David went out and slayed 100 philistine’s and brought back their foreskins to Saul and married Michal. Saul realized The Lord was with David and became much more afraid. So he told Jonathan of his plans to kill David.
Jonathan: David hasn’t done anything wrong. He’s gone to war for you and done well, you’re just people paranoid.

Saul: oh alright, I won’t kill David.

Narrator: Again David went off to war and was successful and Saul was afraid, So again he waited when David was playing his Lyre and threw a spear at him. The spear missed and David fled.

David: Michal Saul is trying to kill me!

Michal: You go hide. I’ll put the idol in your bed and pretend it’s you

David: *leaves*

Servant: *enters* We’re here for David

Michal: he’s sick

Servant: Well we’ll bring the bed *they take the bed and it’s discovered it’s a fake.*

Saul: This isn’t david, it’s just an idol in his bed. Why have you tricked me?

Michal: David told me “let me go, why should I kill you”

~Later~

David* to jonathan* Why is your dad trying to kill me I haven’t done anything wrong!

Jonathan: No, he tells me everything, why would he hide this from me?

David: I’m serious he has it out for me

Jonathan: Alright I’ll talk to him.

David: There’s the feast tomorrow. I’ll hide here in the fields if he misses me say “David had to go to Bethlehem where there’s a yearly sacrifice for the family” If he says “good” then everything is great, but if he gets mad then he wants to kill me.

Jonathan: I’ll have a servant come into the field with me and I’ll shoot an arrow. If I tell the servant to collect the arrows to the side of you, you’re wanted. If I have the servant search behind you must flee.

~Later at Dinner~
Saul: Where is David, His place is empty

Jonathan: There’s a yearly sacrifice for the family in Bethlehem

Saul: that is not okay!

Narrator: so Jonathan told David what happened and David escaped. David travelled and gained followers through his good actions, in the meantime Saul was searching for David. He’d heard was nearby, and followed with his army, but David came across where Saul was sleeping and snuck in, cutting a piece of his robe.

Generic Male *to David*: Hey, we have him here, we should just kill him. That solves the problem right?

David: No, the Lord does not want me to kill him, it isn’t right to kill my master. *leave tent goes to the edge of camp* Hey Saul!

Saul: *wakes up* huh?

David: Why do you think I’m trying to kill you? Look, I got a piece of your robe, but I didn’t kill you. I didn’t do anything. The Lord will judge us and avenge me, but I won’t hurt you

Saul: Is that you David? You’re a better man than I. You’ve treated me well and I treated you badly. But promise you’re not going to kill me or my descendents.

David: I promise.

~later!

Narrator: Samuel died

Samuel: bleh *falls over*

What have I learned?

Another blog to go over what I've been doing in the radio silence of this blog. The Test went well. I'm glad I passed this time. I spelled their wrong in the essays...rather embarrassing really.

I've decided that the thing I have mostly been learning is that fact that I really ought to take a blog writing course. >.> I still just see them as a little random journal entry. Oh well. it's too late to make a fantastically amazing blog.

In terms of my paper thesis

I would like to write my term paper over the importance of mythology to understanding the bible. As we have all come to learn the bible is not something easily read, and even after reading remembering each rule is a daunting task. Remembering the mythos and stories of the bible help us to remember and understand these rules presented. This is seen prominently in The Slave with Jacob, as he deals with his slavery he recalls stories in association with the rules, particularly when he questions these rules.

The Slave II

More reading of the slave. I seemed to stop at a good place last time, and now I'm taking a break to write this after Jacob has rescued and brought back to his home town.

The story has really reminded me of Joseph so far. Jacob was a good jew just as Joseph was a good son. They were both sold into slavery and made good slaves, despite the fact jacob was a scholar and knew very little of being a cowherd he ended up with some of the best cows in the town and they both are tempted by a mistress. Then it seems to fall through a bit when the ransom is paid.
I didn't like this part as much. I suppose once he gives in to wanda a lot of the conflict is gone. I suppose I should have been worried for his life as well but I'm a bit of a Meta-reader and was well aware there was much more story to be told. So really I hope it does pick up. I just thought the similarity to joseph was very interesting. I've gotten to the part now where he has gotten back to town and his sister tells him of the tortures...I can be one sick puppy myself. I firmly believe that my study in literature has really desensitized me to some of this stuff, but some of those descriptions had me shocked, and I really needed a break before my imaginaton ran away with me. ew...just....ew.
I do find Jacob's questions to be very interesting. They seem to grow deeper and more troubling as the story continues, but maybe that is my meta reading. We're all okay with joseph being a slave, because in the end it has a purpose for a greater good which we can see, just as jacob's suffering may do that, but Job really bothers perople, me in particular, with the seemingly pointless suffering presented, just as the mass murder of the people of josefov is incredibly disturbing and doesn't seem to have much of a point.

I think I must stop now, those images are getting to me. I will note that the names of the girls tortured had me confused for a moment, for a brief moment I thought they were referencing the terrible things that happened to biblical Dinah and such for reference. I'm not sure if that is very important though, or if it's just to point out similar situations and such.

Also for some random filler. Wanda is a german name which means Kindred. And now you have a useless fact of the day

Another mediocre post

I feel the need to write something, it makes me feel better. Right now I think I'm having a mini panic attack, my chest feels tight and everything has gotten a bit surreal...I've written out the due dates for things in November and...I'm honestly scared. I suppose this happens every year, all the classes love to cram everything right before thanksgiving break, and by the time you get a glorious two day break you're worn out. Still the work ahead seems to have almost "biblical" proportions.

The large project looming now is the term paper. So I think I shall just write out my options and thoughts.

First, writing what I have learned. well there's certainly a lot there, I learned about the more metaphorical language the bible is written in. The P, J, E, D, and R writers and other scholastic type things. Honestly however that seems a bit vanilla to me. I'm sure someone else can write a fantastic paper on that, but I personally can't think of a way to write a good paper on it, mostly just tidbits, and if I could do that well this blog would be far more interesting to read.

So in terms of picking my own topic. I would greatly enjoy writing on folktales and mythologies.

One thought I had was comparing the creation stories with other creation stories in mythologies.

I also had the thought of looking at superstitions and seeing what parts of the bible they might have roots in, but the only thing that really comes to mind is the Lilith story, so I suppose that doesn't count.

Revelation is a book in new testament I like. The only one that I've read all the way through and actually tried to study (before this class)
Maybe comparing those visions with some other apocalypse type myths.

Another part I was interested in was the similarities of modern christian thoughts and images and older icons. for instance there is a theory i know of that satan is stylized after Pan in order to discredit Pan and get more people to turn from paganism to christianity. see similarities with Pan and Satan There's also the stuff like easter, halloween, so on...

Anyone else have ideas dealing with folktales or myths?

The Slave

I am so behind in my reading it is sad, but anyway I started reading the slave. It was a breathe of fresh air really. The bible is great and even poetic, plotz has an interesting take on it, and I'm certainly learning a lot from all those readings, but with "The slave" I've really got a story to sink my teeth into. Not a collection of stories but one, with an overall plot and message.
I certainly like the style of the book. I can see why so many people have been commenting on how they couldn't put it down.
The first thing that struck me was the way jacob is described in his enviornment. It reminds me of castaway stories, almost as if he is adrift in this ocean of foriegners. The contrast between his desperate clinging to faith, and their lack of faith is interesting. I say lack of faith because while the peasants of the village are described as christian, it seems only a word. It states how they still act like animalistic pagans, they worship old house gods, and they don't have any rituals that I would associate with the christian religion. Their world is full of faeries and superstition, and the christian term is just a word to add more gods and monsters.
Speaking of monsters, I must admit I love all the old folk lore references, particularly Baba Yaga, one of my favorite old story creatures. http://efimero.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/baba-yaga.jpg She's your standard wood witch type, but she's got a hut with chicken legs :D http://images.elfwood.com/art/r/e/reuben/reubencdodd_baba_yagas_hut.jpg

One line that struck me, on page 37 of my book, as Jacob is trying to resist temptation and at the same time think of a way for it to be okay for him to be with wanda, he thinks this "It was God who spoke in the simpler language while evil overflowed in learned quotations" First of all this threw up a red flag for me in terms of the preist, where he's described as having lost his knowledge except for the ability to speak in large words.

But it also struck me as a sort of lesson from simply taking this class. Just from reading the bible we've all had a moment where we've realized some highly quoted thing is misquoted. I'm sure we've all had a moment where we've seen someone mindlessly quoting the bible to further some sort of point, but without any real knowledge of what that means. Sometimes when I've asked they are unable to put it into summary and use simpler words.
This speaks to me because I personally see it as one of the larger problems with religions. It isn't really the message that's wrong, simply that people will use little quotes and such, without knowing the real meaning of something.

Anyway I shall carry on with my reading. I just needed to write this bit out before I forgot.

Group of Samuel *please read and comment*

Hey guys, could you guys maybe comment here so we can figure out where and when to meet. There's less than a month so just getting together to know each other and figure out stuff would be a good plan I think.

I don't have classes after 1 any day, so afternoon any day of the week is alright for me.