The Bible

2005-12-11T07:49:00.000-08:00

The Argument: What is Sacred and Profane Time?
Biblical and Classical Literature
Brenna Kelleher
12/11/05
It would be far to difficult to sum up everything I have learned about Biblical and Classical Literature and the similarities between the two. I have never felt as enlightened on the material in the Bible and Classical literature then I do now. Instead of focusing on all I have learned, I would like to focus on a certain topic in class which both confused me and was a light bulb interest! One day we talked about sacred and profane time and well, I didn’t feel we spent enough time on the subject because the meaning of these two proved to be elusive. I wanted to know more about how these two different types of time and how they functioned in the Bible and Classical literature and I also wanted to know if there was meaning elsewhere in the world.
It was the simple definitions of profane and sacred time which confused me even more. Sacred time according to Mircea Eliade, is time which is a primordial mythical time made present, and by it’s very nature is made reversible. Profane time is the sense of reason. Now with these two simple definitions in mind one can feel like there is a veil blinding us and it needs to be removed, because these two subjects have clogged my mind with possibilities.
First, sacred time. It is this type of time which seems as if it would lead to the start of religions. The axis mundi perhaps? Because (many would argue) the center of religions are largely based on myth. In Nortrup Frye’s book Words with Power there are four levels of the axis mundi heaven, paradise, earth and hell. According to Frye sacred time exists in heaven and paradise where the gods and heroes also exist and profane time exists on earth and in hell where men and chaos reside. Now the Greeks could not agree on the two there was always an interaction between the gods and people. In the Bible the interaction is only to show power and teach a lesson rarely is God ever physically present. However, he also mentions the axis mundi in his Mountains chapter as being a ladder or mountain. These are ways of being closer to the divine.
The Greeks believed time to be cyclical, but in Christianity time is linear it is according to the events of Christ. I may be misunderstanding this concept, but if I am not then doesn’t it seem if Christian time is based on the events of Christ then how can one experience sacred time? Would sacred time according to a religious man, specifically a Christian be time lived through Christ? So what can be explained as sacred time?
As a kid one might associate sacred time with the phrase do-over. This was a term used when you were playing a game and something happened, but decided you didn’t want to happen, one could then pretend like it never happened and replay the game, it could be looked at as this time never passing. Sacred time is recoverable and repeatable sure it is a little more complicated then a do-over. The major difference being, instead of a kid yelling do-over, it is the gods who created sacred time. It is the time of festivals, it is reversible, a mythical time made present, it is time recoverable and repeatable, in a way it is time which has never passed.
It is profane time which is reasonable time. Man sees this time as the source of reason. Events happen during the day or throughout history and these events form the knowledge of man. A man of science is a man thought to only exist in profane time. There is a linear course of events and from these events life is explained. Although I do agree with Eliade in the sense that even a man who is nonreligious can be susceptible to sacred time. What I don’t agree with is the sense only a man who believes in the divine can experience sacred time.
Sacred time, is a type of time which is supposed to only happen to a religious person. By performing in festivals the religious man is suddenly no longer in the ordinary, but in sacred time. Eliade says sacred is the opposite of profane, but I would disagree for one reason; religion can not be defined. There is no way of saying what is a religion and what is not. What one man thinks of a religion another man could completely disagree, but would this mean this other man is incapable of experiencing sacred time? No, where one man may see a tree as a type of divine another will see God as the divine. What single moment may be considered a moment of sacred time could to another person be profane. It could also be said the most profound sacred moments exist in our dreams. If the divine is within one’s self then wouldn’t one be most susceptible to sacred time in slumber?
At what human level is a person a religious man? I believe Eliade does not touch as well on the nonreligious because he is religious, so he is basing all of his knowledge in a sacred sense, what he believes to be sacred. The problem then becomes credibility, how can Eliade know what it is to be a non-religious man when he isn’t, how can he know that a non-religious man can not experience sacred time? Maybe there is a different way the non- religious man experiences sacred time? I would argue that all men can experience sacred time and the reason is because every man is possesses imagination. Every man has a belief of some sort whether is be in Christianity, Sufism, Atheism or Buddhism. The reason for this is because as I understand sacred time, it is a time which has a powerful meaning. Whether this happens in one’s sleep, at a festival or an event in one’s life time may then be considered sacred.
So is the argument really over who can and cannot experience sacred and profane time or is the argument about what a religious man is and is not? I enjoy the concept of sacred and profane time I can see the Greeks experiencing sacred and profane time, but I can also see the Christians having this sense of time. What I can not see is how there becomes a division between what is considered a religion and what is not. This makes me wonder if there is a difference between a religion and a belief. If there is then what are the guide lines and what makes the division so important?
It is through sacred and profane time I have come to understand the purpose of this class best. I have been enlightened, to an understanding of many different beliefs, stories, myths and ideals. It is through these things I have discovered all people have a belief and they are all different even if people are all reading the Bible all will interpret it in a different way. Thus, there can be no definition given to sacred and profane time, people experience it in different ways and understand it in different senses. I don’t see how one can make a definition out of sacred and profane time when religions and beliefs vary so drastically. It is what people view as important which gives light to sacred time and profane time. An quote we all should aspire to regardless of our beliefs, by the Dalai Lama, “Human beings naturally possess different interests and inclinations. The more we understand each other’s ways, however, the more we can learn from each other. Our presentation of love and compassion may differ, but the concept of compassion remains the same. Once we realize this, and appreciate its deeper implications, it automatically brings genuine respect for other religions. And respect acts as a foundation for the development of harmony between different religious traditions.”

Individuals

2005-12-09T12:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I am not going to complain about having to do my presentation on Monday even though it was lucky I had my paper done. Oh well I think it went fine. Better then my test at least. Anyway I wanted to share my thoughts on the other people's papers...

I really like the one about wine, because if we are such a Christian society in America why do we condemn it so????? Anyone see the Sunday Morning show about the history of the planet through the different drinks, tea, gin, whisky, wine beer, coffee all came up it was great!

I also enjoyed the presentation on how to talk to your roommates or anyone for that matter who do not share the same beliefs. I think this is a very important topic especially in society today.

The first one was also very good, it was funny although I did not follow the meaning, as I am sure many did not follow mine as it was pretty neurotic...

Religion in Schools

2005-12-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

First Groups

2005-12-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

First groups were great, it was nice to have the connections made so obvious. It gives me a little more insight on the later parts of the Bible. However, I was recently in my wisdom class and we were talking about if it was possible to write something without bias to your own beliefs. I address this question to the Biblical and Classical class, but as a question of for those who do believe in Christianity was it harder to think in this class about Classical literature with less bias and judgment? I ask the same question for those who do not believe in Christianity.

I think it is important for me to answer my own question...

This class was perhaps the hardest class for me because I am so anti-organized religion. It is not because I don't like the people who go to church or those who are avid Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Mormon ect... I just feel people should make their own interpretations of their religions. In turn I would like to address the current debate about religions and God sayings in both the government and schools. All I have to say about this is if one religion's going to be taught in a school, then the school better plan on teaching every religion in the world! This America and because it is people are allowed to believe what they want. Sure people argue the constitution was built for a God fearing nation, but they mistake it for the constitution which was written free of religious persecution, gender, race and freedom of speech. Personally, I think it easier to keep religion out of schools and government and when people run for President they should never be promoting their religious beliefs, because if this is the case then America is no longer free and people will constantly be governed under a certain religion. However, people must not take my opinion out of context, I am not saying religion is bad I just don't think it should be part of a free society and in certain aspects of the government and public school systems of which all American tax payers pay for regardless of religion.

test, quiz, reading, finals, capstone

2005-12-01T09:35:00.000-08:00

Well, everything seems to be coming to a closing and let me just say that thank goodness, because my brain is about to explode. Looking back at the beginning of class I didn't think this class would be my hardest mainly because I am a senior I thought I would have an advantage, but that is not the case. The hardest part of this class is the over load of reading, so much that I found myself skipping books and skimming most of the reading I did do. Which is not exactly my choice in reading. I am also finding the large overload of work at the end of the semester very tiring. It is like all the work in this class comes at the very end! The very worst time of the year! Not only that, but the one class I want to spend a lot of time working on I can't seem to find the time. I feel like my capstone project is suffering as a result. But two more weeks and I am done with yet another semester, can't wait! This is not really an entree to bring light on a subject, just a chance for me to let out some of my stress.

Mark images

2005-11-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

Furies

2005-11-30T09:26:00.000-08:00

Review Part 2

2005-11-27T14:06:00.000-08:00

What is the Greek word for Justice? Dike

Why is Luke not part of the synoptic Gospels? He spiritualizes Jesus

Where is "remember your creator at the time of your death"? Ecclesiastes ch. 12

What is preferable to death or the second best thing? To have never been born

What were the two the prophets are most concerned with? Exclusive worship of Yhwh and social Justice

Why are Gospels not a source for historical fact? They are concerned with telling the good news in a kerygmatic way

Where does the testimony come from? Book of Genesis , story of Abraham a witness was called and the witness had to place his hand on another man's gentiles when swearing the oath

Message of the New testament= Love your enemy

What title did Jesus call the Old testament and who did he quote most often? Law and prophets and Isaiah

Two types of wisdom
-polonian conventional
-Hamletian, speculative

What is precedent behind every action, (Calasso)? myth

What is the Apocalypse? The unveiling of a new order of seeing the world

Hubris=arrogance against gods, revere gods, parents and strangers

Words to Know

2005-11-27T12:04:00.000-08:00

Greek word for justice= dike

hubris=arrogance against gods

kairos=the crucial moment of time when God is found within our realm

cryptic=key word to book of revelation

esoteric=just for insiders

parable=uses language to talk about something that is unnamable in language, or an attack on the structure of your expectations

eschatology=consideration or thinking of the end of times

heart tragedy=when things can't get any worse then they are
chthonic=of the earth often referring to gods of underworld

eplphany=sudden power, inspiration or view from another world

therapist=rapest

Note* Remember the Books!
Creation
Revolution
Law
Wisdom
prophecy
Gospel
Apocalypse

What does Wisdom Look Like?

2005-11-26T10:12:00.000-08:00

Old Man Wise? Is the old man a symbol of wisdom?

Is the Cross a symbol of wisdom? If so only to Christians or multiple religions? i.e. Swastika, Celtic, Buddhism, Hinduism...

How does this symbolize wisdom? The owl, flower, race, variety...

Allegory on wisdom and strength, I think she is having a light bulb moment...

Review Part 1

2005-11-24T08:55:00.000-08:00

Literal eschatology= another word for future eschatology

Earliest Gospel is gospel of Mark, however gospel of Thomas was discovered 1945 seems to be earlier then Mark

Esoteric=inside private mysterious

Earth has seasons because of the story of Persephone and Demeter

Fryes four levels of the axis mundi- heaven, paradise, earth, hell

According to Black Elk the center of the world is right where you are standing

Synoptic gospels are Matthew, Mark and John

Mark uses the word immediately 42 times

What were the Eumenidies before? Furies

Why do we suffer?
So the bards will sing about us=Homeric
Because we didn't go to class= English 212
So we can learn the truth=Orestia
Because we did something wrong=Job

Kairos=the crucial moment of time when God is found within our realm

Mark

2005-11-21T18:21:00.000-08:00

Massage of the New testament: Jesus says you should treat your neighbor the way you want to be treated. Love your enemy.

Sin for the Greeks is ignorance, one is unaware of their folly

Sin for Christians, for redemption there has to be a radical change in one's being.

Mark important pages: 13:14, 14:51, 1951 chapter 16

apocalypse- not a pessimistic text because people will go to heaven before the end. The catastrophic events are metaphors for alternate meanings. i.e. Need to remove the veil, we are looking thorough glass wall darkly, the apocalypse is the unveiling of something which was there, but we didn't see before.

cryptic is the keyword for the Book of revaluation.

Gospel Thomas Manuscript

2005-11-20T09:40:00.000-08:00

Lynda

2005-11-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

New testament made up of...
1) Gospels only four are canonized, they are the narrative of the life of Jesus and sayings attributed to Jesus and the meaning of Jesus written by the authors.
Mark
Matthew : these three are similar they see together
Luke

John- spiritulized Jesus latest gospel

20th Century gospel of Thomas- newly discovered, scholars say it is the earliest because unlike the other gospels it does not tell a story of Jesus, instead it is a collection of stories. Typically sayings of a person get around faster then story of that persons life.

2) Epistles are letters aimed to an entire community.

3) Apocalypse or the Book of Revelation, prophets interested in social justice and exclusive Yahweism.

Words-

Tanak- native word for three sections of the Hebrew Bible, Law, Prophets and writing

Esoteric- just for insiders
parable- uses language to talk about something that is un-namable in language
mashal=proverb
good smaritan=parable is that the good samaritan was good, this idea upsets our expectations
Jesus spoke in parables, we don't like this because we don't know what he is talking about.

My question for those who were in class:
It is said in the Bible "God can best be worshipped by the way we treat one another" is this meant to be towards only people of Christian belief or those who read the Bible or towards everyone? Because if it is towards everyone, then why have there been so many whose right and whose wrong wars, and conflicts?

Response to Sunny Rea's Opinion

2005-11-16T11:48:00.000-08:00

I agree, the Bible does not exactly provide me any literary inspiration either. I think it is really interesting how you call yourself a Christian, yet can say those kind of things and believe in them. It is great more Christians should be like you. Now for me, I was Baptized Catholic, but I do not follow it or any aspect of Christianity. I believe people should remain open minded to all ideas of religions. I have traveled and live in a number of different places, Nepal, Spain, France, Austria, New Zealand, Costa Rica, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Swaziland, Italy, Canada, oh and England and do you want to know what all of these places have in common? Individuality, it is beautiful. Yes, I also saw in every country Mormon missionaries and that bugged the hell out of me. Not because they were Mormon, but because I don't believe a belief system should be forced on anyone that way. I believe religion should come through experience and so too should wisdom. But like you I too am going to die one day and no one should car why I think what I do, I do however, think they should respect it, just as I respect any Christian who believes what they do.

Job Images

2005-11-15T15:53:00.000-08:00

Job

2005-11-14T19:30:00.000-08:00

Wisdom in Job deals with wisdom of experience and it presents confrontation, tends to be in derogatory, or questions.

Cliff Notes version-
Job feared God and turned away from evil he had 7 sons and 3 daughters. Then one day he suddenly looses everything. Three of his friends try to reason with him, but he can not see the 'light' so he asks for God to come and explain it to him. Finally, God shows up and well Job falls to his feet saying yes you are God. So in the end Job understands 'the lord givith and the lord taught'.

Question: Why is light given to those who can not see the way? (from Job)

Heart tragedy- is when things can't get any worse then they are.

Parable- Attack on the structure of your expectations

eschatolgy- consideration of; or thinking about the end of times.

Tid Bits

2005-11-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

Important Calasso Pages...
243, 273, 337, 359, 383, 387

383: Definition for displaced myth is the precedent behind every action. Myth is the story dimension of everything we do.

359: This deals with the question of pain and wisdom and why we suffer. Helen says the reason we suffer is so someone might sing about us some where down the line. (Note: if you want to read beautiful poetry read Rumi he also believed that through grief humans souls are bared and the most beautiful work emerges) The reason we suffer is because of the gods.

Deus ex machina- god from the machine

"The slanting rays of the setting sun is the most beautiful time of day."

vanity= fog, mist, wind this definition of vanity makes the connection that we as humans don't know anything in life.

Randoms

2005-11-10T09:37:00.000-08:00

According to William Blake...
urizenic- modern existence is killing us, the idea of going to organized church is the wrong way of looking at and understanding the true God, so urizen is the sky God organized churches worship.

Blake also believes in the beginning God was both male and female then they split.

My question of the Orestia:
What is its significance in today's culture? I know Sexson went over a few examples, but I would like to know how other people view this topic.

Ecclesiates

2005-11-05T15:47:00.000-08:00

Notes

2005-11-03T20:17:00.000-08:00

Chthonic- 'of the earth' often referring to the gods of the underworld

*note- typically women who come from the underworld we think of as witches. Classical lit. Medea comes from the underworld, name means 'cunning'. So the question is does this imply that women who are 'cunning' or smart witches? Is that why we call women who are powerful today bitches? i.e. Martha Stuart, Hillary Clinton, the most ironic part is the harshest critics of women are women.... Just a thought...

gorgons- Medusa and her sisters they have snakes in their hair, if you look at them you turn to stone. They are not ugly, it is the men who are looking at them the wrong way in the wrong light. Medusa is beautiful it is the looking which turned her ugly.

Orestia- one death leads to another and so forth
Eplphany- sudden power, and inspiration or view from another world
therapist- is a rapest, makes one wonder what that would mean in today's society considering therapy is so popular.
Electra complex- daughter loves her father in a sexual way

Difference between Proverbs and Ecclesiastes

2005-10-31T18:49:00.000-08:00

First what is Ecclesiates?
Ecclesiates or the Teacher who is the narrator says everything in life is endless and meaningless, especially since no matter how good a person is, the evil and good people still meet the same fate; death. The teacher tries many different pleasures, drinks, women, becomes wealthy and acquires power. It is through these experiences the teacher gains wisdom. It is through experiences the teacher realizes wisdom is an elusive pursuit and all one can do is honor God and fear God. So the main objective from Ecclesiates is follow the Bible.

That was a really cliff note version of this text, but it gives the general idea of what the text is about. I found this text to be contradictory though. It never really says what it means. One because I don't believe people should be made to fear the creator and I believe that experience is the best teacher, not just following rules and God's commandments. In the end the teacher does believe he never would have found God if he had not done what he had in his life, but does advise it would have been much easier to follow God.

What is a proverb?
Proverb is a short pity saying that usually draws a comparison between two forms of behavior in order to impart moral or religious wisdom to it's receiver.

Biblical proverbs are religious but focus on human experiences, addressed to young people who are in the process of becoming wise.

One very interesting thing about the book of Proverbs in the Bible is Wisdom is referred to as a SHE and Wisdom is supposed to be Gods partner in creating the world. If this is the case then shouldn't God and Wisdom be looked upon with the same respect? So then if God is referred to as a man and Wisdom as a she then how come there is such a separation between the two genders?

Proverbs are meant to teach wisdom but after reading a few there are some I do and don't agree with.

Do: 11:23 The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

Don't: 13:25 The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.

Arachne

2005-10-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

Spiders!!!!!!

2005-10-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

The Greek Story of the Spider...
There once was a young woman, named Arachne who could weave the most beautiful tapestries. Some people thought she was a patron to the goddess Athena, but Arachne scoffed at this idea saying even Athena herself could not weave as good as she. Well, Athena being a goddess and all heard this and well, lets just say she took it personally. So Athena thought she might test Arachne's honor towards the gods. She turned herself into a horribly ugly old lady and went to Arachne and challenged her to a weaving competing, however not before she issued a warning not to anger the gods. Arachne gladly said that even if Athena herself would challenge her she would happily accept. It was then the old lady revealed that she was in fact Athena, the competition began. Well, it was Arachne's depictions of Zeus which well pissed off Athena ultimately declaring Arachne the champion. Athena decided to punish the girl and turned her into a spider, however not before she beat her. Creating the spider who must forever weave from the belly.

Stories this reminds me of...
When I think of this story I make connections to other cultures or ideas in society, and since that seems to be the theme to this class here are two others..

I was driving the other day and a favorite song of mine came on over the radio and although it turned out just to be a horrible remake, it reminded me of the story of Arachne. I am sure many of you have heard this song, The Devil Went Down to Georgia. If you haven't it is about a boy Johnny who challenges the devil to a fiddle contest, claiming he is the best. Well, the devil takes him up on the offer and guess who wins Johnny. However, I can't recall the devils reaction, but I do believe Johnny got the golden fiddle.

Another myth or story this reminded me of was a Native America story about the big dipper. It is about a young girl who could weave the most beautiful bead patterns. However, she was given this gift by the Great Spirit for a specific reason she was meant to be in the sky with the Great Spirit. So she leaves her tribe and travels alone to find her family. Turns out her family is a lone group of 7 brothers who need clothing. S o she lives with them and makes them the most beautiful cloths ever. Well, the story goes that the buffalo spirit got jealous of the boys wealth in the girl so the buffalo stampeded through their tepee, but the boys and the girl were quick and climbed a tree which kept growing higher and higher into the sky. Until finally the great Buffalo knocked it over, but by the time he did that the brothers and girl were in the sky or other words the Big Dipper forever. (this is the cliff notes version and it may not all be correct, it is just from memory)

A Time When it Felt Like Hell

2005-10-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

A time where I thought I was in hell...
Well, I can only think of one of those times, because it is hard for me to think my life has been anything close to hell. So I guess mine would have been when I was fifteen and on the plane to South Africa. Yes, this was a 18 hour flight and well I have this problem sleeping in a plane. Everyone else around me was sleeping and I was wide awake. Not only was I wide awake, but I had taken Dramamine and it did not effect me one bit, in fact I would say it had the reverse on me. I was so hyper and it got to the point where I was well talking to myself after I have read two books, The Power of One (highly recommend) one of the best books ever and well I can't remember the second shows how significant it was, and I had watched a movie the 2nd Jurassic Park. Finally the wheels touched down in Johannesburg, the doors opened and the African heat freshened the plane. It was a hell to heaven trip and well worth it. So I have thought about that hell to heaven and for things to be heaven like do you have to go through hell first, like Isaac knowing he had to sacrifice his son to God, then was rewarded?

For my mountain group

2005-10-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

OKay I don't think the last post worked so here are the sites to the pictures, I can still not for the life of me figure out how to post a picture...

http://www.virtualoceania.net/newzealand/photos/mountains/mtcook/003g.shtml

http://www.virtualoceania.net/newzealand/photos/mountains/mtcook/049i.shtml

http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Oceania/New_Zealand/South_Island/Otago/Mt_Cook/photo244399.htm

http://www.mount-cook.com/main/Gallery/

for my group

2005-10-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

Group memebers: here is a interesting poem on the beliefs of the Maori also the photos of MT. Cook hope they work...

Reflections on Running

By: Ross Himona (Maori poem on the essence of being)

On a warm sunny day, I runthrough sun filled valley,bathed in the healing glow of Ranginui,ancestral Sky Father.
In a southerly storm I run the hills:gale rain lashed, Thunder growled,Lightning flash-warned;at play with Tawhirimatea, ancestral cousin,God of the Winds.
I run the sea shoreserene in calm stillness,powerful in mighty display;in all the moods of Tangaroa,Cousin God of the Oceans.
I run with all the childrenof Tane, procreator of humankindGod of the mighty forests,ancestral shelter, provider.
My feet caress the soft gentle skinof Papatuanuku, Earth Mother;and I am enfolded by Her,in love.
I run in an Inner World,led there by Tane-te-wananga;he who ascended the upper realmsto Tikitiki-o-rangi the Uppermost,gained there for all mankindthree baskets of knowledgefrom Io-Matua,Parent of all that there isin this and in every realm.
I run with Maui-tikitiki-a-Taranga,Trickster Shaman.We play, adventure, seek challenge;pit ourselves against ourselves,and all who would play with us.With Maui I laugh at the World.
I run the hills and valleys and shoreswhere once the Earthly ancestors ran,bathed in the spiritual firethat once bathed them;and still does.
I run from Te Korekore, Potential,Womb of all Creationwhence Universe birthed itself,through Te Po, long darkness of Unfolding,to Te Whai-ao, first glimmer of dawn,into Te Ao Marama, bright light of day;Universe revealed.
I discover the Universeof Io-Matua-Kore the ParentlessAnd I discover myself.

Random Notes

2005-10-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

Vocab-
decalogue- another term for the 10 commandments
synecdoche- using a part to represent a whole
sparagmos- ripping and tearing of live flesh
centripetal- the meaning of the word is found inside a text
centrifugal- the meaning of the word must be found from outside the text
theodicy- the actions of God which man don't understand
theocentric- God centered
archetype- story or image which gets repeated over and over again
lacunae- gaps or hole, the Greek story has none
documetary hypothesis- theory that the Torah was composed by many different people and across many different time periods.
pentateuch- 1st five books of the Hebrew Bible
misprision- a mistake, don't hear it in the correct way
dike- justice questioning the acts of God
In illo tempore- in the beginning
hieroglyphic- every stage is getting worse in the beginning we spoke the language of the gods now we are in the agae of chaos
ideology- literally meaning the study of ideas, certain ideas or values will be dominant, while other will be marginalized
paronomasia- word play
repetitive parallelism- verbal repetitions appear to display distinct patterns and help to discover recurring and leading ideas,
canonical- adj. From the word canon, the standard, generally accepted, part of the back story
iconocalstic- an attack on established beliefs
erudition- Latin for, "lead out from ignorance", the depth applied to education from further readings and understandings of literary works

Possible Lists to know...
*The three stages humans go through with the gods...
1) conviviality(fondness, festivity)
2) Rape
3) indifference

*Order of the Bible Books
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1&2 Samuel
1&2 Kings
1&2 chronicles

*1st Five catigories of the Hebrew Bible
1) Creation
2) Revolution
3) Law (Torah)
4) Wisdom
5) Prophecy

*The 4 levels of Vico
1) Gods
2) hero's
3) Men
4) Chaos

*Northrop Frye & Levels of Discourse
1) descriptive
2) conceptual
3) Ideological
4) Romantic

The Greek Creation Story "cliff notes version"
-Gaea (earth) married her brother or son Uranus
-Uranus imprisioned his children to avoid being over taken
-Gaea conspired with her son Cronus
-Cronus cuts his father's genital and throws into the sea
-The sea foamed, Aphrodite was born
-Cronus over threw his father, start of the Golden Age of man
-Cronus married his sister Rhea
-Cronus eats his children to avoid his father's fate
-Rhea wrapped a stone in a blanket for Cronus to swallow, she saves the baby Zeus
-Zeus over throws his father
-Zeus wants to end this cycle so she swallows his wife Metis or wisdom
-Metis is already pregnant
-Zeus gives birth to Athena out of his split head

Women in the Bible

2005-10-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

Women=trickster

Mythic Feminine: A concept which helps to show what women's role is in a social structure where the men and masculinity is valued.

Feminine: be able to distinguish between feminine symbols and characters, a female is a biological term for gender designation.

Marriage:
*patriarchal=the old way the husband goes to the father's house
*virilocal=the husband takes the woman away from the father's house and sort of fills the shoes of the father (takes on the responsibilities of the father)

*worship and social laws view women as property

I was glad to have this section of the class, I think it was very important for me to have my eyes opened to this aspect of the Bible. I now give it more credibility. However, Linda talked about laughter and how most of the laughter has been lost from the Bible, so there are stories in the Bible which we don't understand anymore. I agree with this because certainly over time language changes and with that change some of the meaning is lost. I think the real question is humans as time progresses are theoretically supposed to get smarter and more evolved, but I feel that as 21st century readers our language has digressed and the meaning of language become almost too simplistic.

The People of the Bible Thus Far

2005-10-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

Adam- "human being" was created from a rib
Eve- "So God created man in his own image in the image of God he created he him; male and female created he them." Genesis 2:22. Three sons Cain, Able, and Seth
Cain- tiller of the ground, killed his brother Able out of jealousy
Able- 2nd son of Adam and Eve keeper of the sheep was killed by brother Cain
Seth- 3rd son of Adam and Eve was to replace Able and became the father of enjoy

Noah- the famous son of Lamech and the father of three sons Shem, Ham, Japheth, he and his family were famously known for Noah's Ark. "The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah; and from these three the earth was peopled." Genesis 9:19

Abram, Abraham- same person, son of Terah and father of Ishmael and Isaac and many others, his first wife was Sarah (his 1/2 sister)
Sarah- late in life God told her she was gone to have a child and she didn't believe him, from this Isaac was born.
Ishmael- Son of Sarah's handmaid Hagar, Sarah was mad at this and drove him and his mother away. However, God promised Abraham his son Ishmael would be the founder of a great nation.
Isaac- Son of Sarah and married Rebekah had twin sons Esau and Jacob
Jacob- with help from his mother he managed to claim the right of the first born, through trickery. He then worked for seven years in order to marry Rachel, but at the alter was married to her older sister Leah. He worked more and was finally married to Rachel who bore him two sons Joseph and Benjermin (Jacobs 11th and 12th sons) Jacobs favorite because he was from Rachel so all the other brothers were jealous.

I hope this is right and if there is anymore Biblical characters I missed please let me know.

Other 212 Students

2005-09-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

Valerie http://thefirebird-fall05.blogspot.com
Emily Kuipers http://www.livejournal.com/users/emilykuipers/
Mick http://msuenglish212.blogspot.com
Kelby http://kelfisch212page.blogspot.com/
Sunny Rae http://online212msu.blogspot.com
Evelyn Malinowski http://www.livejournal.com/users/cm_lunete/
Abdualmajeed http://abdul212.blogspot.com
Maggie Edgars http://maggiedgar.blogspot.com
Ruth Wilgus http://rwilgus212.blogspot.com

2005-09-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

The Buddha and the Pope

2005-09-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

I wonder how many people know that the Buddha was made a Saint by the Pope?
The story of Gautama Siddhartha, founder of Buddhism spread from his homeland in Nepal to Europe where he became a Christian Saint. It is the story of Barlaam and Josaphat you can see this on www.catholic.org and read an exert from "The Gnostic Apostle Thomas" which can be found at http://memebers.aol.com/didymus5/ch21.html . There was never any written texts of Buddhism until the 1st century BCE. All of the Buddhist based cultures existed through oral traditions. As the story of the Buddha traveled west to Europe it was altered to fit the cultural aspects such as the religious values, language and culture to the time period and the area. November 27th was his saint day. However, no one made the connection that Buddha was a the true saint of the story until the early 19th century. When this was discovered he was desancitified. (I did not know this was possible, it is probly not even a word).

The reason I wrote this is to show how sometimes close minded organized religions can be. Even though the story of the Buddha was inspiring enough to introduce into saint hood, it was also from a belief which a single god did not exist. Where it is believed a single individual could make a better out come for one's self through his or her own efforts. I wonder what other reasons the Church would desancitify a saint? Wouldn't this be hypocritical of the church?

Some other interesting information I found and I think is relevant in this class is the origin of Religions...
Starting with the 1st known religion...Name of religion, time established location
Hinduism, 3000 BCE, Indus Valley
Judaism, 1200BCE, Palestine
Taoism, 6th century BCE, China
Buddhism, 480 BCE, Ganges Valley (Nepal)
Confucius, 5th Century BCE, China
Christianity(Othadox), 1st century AD, Palestine
Christianity Catholic, 4th century AD, Roman Empire
Islam, 7th century AD, Arabia
Sikhism, 16th century AD, Pujab (India)
Christianity (protestant), 17th century AD, Germany
Bahais, 19th century AD, Iran
*I found this information on the web site http://www.krysstal.com/wgods.html if you want to know more it has the basic concepts of these religions.

Another thing I wonder about; Is there a differnce between a belief and a religion? I would say yes, because as shown above the list did not include Greek mythology, old Irish Celtic beliefs, Native American beliefs, or for that matter any pagan beliefs.

I would also like to point out that most religions are based off of other religions and in all you can find similar stories. Although there are countless religions, each different from the other, they all serve the same purpose. Each answers questions humans seem to always ask: Where did we come from? Why are we here? What is our purpose? Religion is a universal tool of explaining why we are here. They all have relations to each other and for the most part similar ideas about human life and how people should act and treat other people. One of these similarities is the idea of "light". This is one aspect found in all religions some examples are enlightenment, devine light, heaven is depicted as being light and hell as being dark, seeing light is a sign of spiritual transmission, Satan was born from darkness stealing some of the light or goodness, ect... So this is just a small list of meanings of light there are many more, but we as humans put a huge significance in light maybe it is because we sleep in the dark, and things grow in the light and that is how we eat and survive. I wonder if this is why we are scared of the dark when there are scary movies, or as a child we need a night light. Is it that we are not used to the dark or because we have always associated it with evil?

Genesis Images

2005-09-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

Genesis 49:22-28

2005-09-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

repetitive paralyzing- synonymous paralyzing balancing of terms with one another, verbal repetitions that appear to display patterns and help to discover recurring and leading ideas.

Genesis 49:22-28 uses repetitive paralyzing to reiterate that God is the power and if you do what he says you will be rewarded. i.e the passage "The blessings of your father are stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains..." Do what God says because he is older then the mountains themselves and well he in fact created them, so he knows best. This is all I have to say about Genesis. Not a huge fan.

I have been reading the marriage Between Heaven and Hell by William Blake in one of my other classes and this is my first encounter with Blake. I must admit I have not herd the best things about him, but I was surprised at his work and rather intrigued. I also agree with Blake and his thoughts in this text about religion and the Bible. Blake believes that religion needs to be turned upside down because the Church and organized religions have taken the Bible the wrong way. His also believes that by attending church you are not interpreting the Bible in your own way, you are being told how to read it and he believes that is not right. Although Blake was a very religious man, he was not the sort who believed if he didn't go to church then he was going to hell. I like Blake and I think this entry even though it is not part of my reading was necessary because I couldn't get the two out of my head.

Seven categories (memorize for test)
1) Creation
2) Revolution
3) Law (Toarh)
4) Wisdom
5) Prophecy
6) Gospel (good news)
7) Apocalypse (the end)
*note: the first five are the Hebrew story

THE MARRIAGE OF CADMUS AND HARMONY

2005-09-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

I have really started to enjoy this reading, not only because I like the writing style, but also because it feels like a break from the Bible and Frye. In just thinking about the Greeks and the Romans before the Bible and their beliefs in multiple gods gives me the idea that humans during this time really valued everything about their surroundings. This I believe because they were living for the present and for the future. Where as I see the Bible as saying "everything you do in this lifetime you should do what GOD says so he will let you into heaven" I know that is a really general statement, but the whole basis of the Bible is to teach people what to do and not to do.

Another reason why I like the pagan thought in this book is because women aren't as degraded as they are in the Bible. Women are a goddess, huntress and men want women and see them as beautiful rather then as a hindrance.

I do have one question which continues to bother me though and maybe someone has an answer...
Why is it that people will take the Bible literally, but when it comes to Greek mythology and other pagan scriptures why do people not take it literally? Is it because people know it is a story? But isn't the Bible filled with stories too, the only way people know for sure any of what the Bible speaks is really true is because of their faith. Why is it humans used to believe in the gods and the stories and now don't? If the Bible isn't supposed to be taken literally then shouldn't the Greek scriptures not be taken literally either? (I hope this makes sense)

repetitive parallelism- verbal repetitions which appear to display distinct patterns and help to discover recurring and leading ideas.

pronounced- word play

documentary hypothesis- a theory about the texts of the first five books of the Bible, that states these books were assembled from multiple earlier sources.

Frye

2005-09-09T09:37:00.000-07:00

Ideology: literally means the study of ideas.
Frye addresses Ideology on pg 38 third paragraph through page 39. I had most of the text written down, but yes ironically enough I was typing and suddenly it all disappeared so if you want to understand my post look in the book! That is one reason why I prefer writing it by hand, I can never loose it! One of the main quotes I was focused around was "Christianity affirms.." And "If we say there is a God..." And "But as a rule..." And one more "The twentieth century..."
First, Frye, ideology as mostly close minded and by that I mean dominant religions and people in power are the ones who in a sense hide other ideologies from their "followers" or "believers". One good example of this is in Alabama. The study of evolution was outlawed by the state in public schools. By making the argument, if this type of creation is allowed to be taught then so should Christianity. Well, in my opinion if that is indeed the case then shouldn't there be a class which teaches about all different types of beliefs? Correct me if I am wrong, but if the bible teaches about how people should know how to decide what is right and what is wrong then aren't, (as a Christian society) as a whole ignoring one of the Bibles major principles? Humans as a whole are not being given enough credit. Religions and leaders are in a sense hiding the people from the wisdom of deciding what is right and what is wrong. Similar to the Saddartha or the Buddha. His father hid him from pain and suffering in the outside world, and when he experienced it, he became more wise and less naive. Wisdom is what the Bible teaches, but yet the best type of wisdom is through making decisions for one's self. My major debate with the religions and there followers is, how can one really know it is right if one does not know about the rest of the world?

Words With Power and the Bible

2005-09-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

Hi There-
My first post, and to be honest I am not to keen on the idea as I lack a computer. I figured since this is my first I thought would just write on my thoughts on the Bible.
I would like to start by saying the Bible is a beautiful work of literature, one of the best ever, though I am not an avid reader or believer in the text it is a remarkable work of literature. I would like to start of with a quote from our current reading which sums up my thoughts on the Bible, "There is no continuous or fully developed descriptive level of meaning in the Bible, and the Bible would be a grotesque anomaly if there were." This quote from Frye explains how people should read the Bible, however that is not the case. There are many different religious groups and most all large religions which view their interpretation of the Bible as the right way. A common trend thought history which has proved to be detrimental to the human race. Although the Bible is wonderful and the purpose of wisdom literature in the Bible is to teach what is right and wrong, that leaves only two ways of thinking, black and white. I hope one day people will learn to see the gray areas in between all of the right and wrong. Though it provides peace to millions of souls around the world it also causes just as much pain.