Dominus Vobiscum

“The time has come to renew that spirit which inspired the Church at the moment when the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium was promulgated. The seed was sown … the seed has sprouted…” In a word, the acceptance of the new Missal is “a moment to sink our roots deeper into the soil of tradition handed on in the Roman Rite” ~ Pope John Paul II, Vicesimus Quintus Annus, #23

I had a lot of sympathy for those who joined the 'Why don't we just say wait' movement about the upcoming change in translation philosophy affecting English-speaking  Catholics. I think that I even signed the petition, since in a time when the Church here in the U.S.A. is so fragmented, the very LAST thing that we need is something new to fight about!  One thing that is absolutely driving me batty is charges that the current mass propers are 'wrong' somehow, that they were not translated properly or that the devil hijacked the translation or some other such nonsense.  The following video does an excellent job of dispelling these rumors being spread in some circles.

A New Translation: Why and How?

In this video, Monsignor James P. Moroney explains the whys and the hows of the new missal. He is a faculty member of Saint John's Seminary and serves as Executive Secretary to the Vox Clara Commission. A consultant to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Monsignor Moroney is a Priest of the Diocese of Worcester and Rector of Saint Paul’s Cathedral.

 


http://www.catholictv.com/shows/default.aspx?seriesID=114&videoID=1511

Consistency, sincerity, and honesty are very important to me.  I will find it very difficult to let the words they bid me to say flow from my lips:  so difficult, in fact, that I am seriously considering switching to a Spanish-language mass on Sundays during Advent this year.  My main problem is that the way that we modern speakers of English now use only one 'you' instead of the two forms that the Romance languages use.  Further, what we hear today when someone uses the intimate, familiar 'you' has exactly the opposite connotation of the original prayers.  The words "Thee" and "Thou" are rarely heard, and then usually only addressed to heaven.  The connotation of the archaic language is that of a great gulf between us and those we address.  That's not what the meaning is at all in the Missal.  The relationship we hear is that of a country peon on his knees prostrate as the emperor's procession passes, and that has absolutely NOTHING to do with our relationship to the Christ. Our union with Our Lord isn't one of bowing and scraping, but that of the most intimate embrace between Bride and Bridegroom; through Jesus, we share in His intimate relationship with Our Father and the Holy Spirit.

My opinion is that the long clauses, flowery phrases, and use of words never heard at all in daily discourse in the new translation will bring us FARTHER from the sense of the Roman missal, not closer.  In the long run, the change will most probably decrease mass attendance and result in even more disaffected youth than we have today.  If it is true, as many believe, that our catechesis has been deficient over the past twenty years when the Ordinary has been intelligible, when even more schooling will be required for active participation at mass, is it reasonable to expect a better outcome?

One change that I think might be fruitful would be to leave the traditional greeting "Dominus vobiscum" between the priest and the congregation untranslated in the latin rite, and to also revert to the original Greek in the Kyrie.  Requiring the Latin the Agnus Dei during Advent and Lent also would preserve the echoes from the past that are important in handing on our faith traditions and inspiring feelings of continuity with the whole communion of saints.  Only a tiny minority within our ranks have any family tradition of praying in the Latin language, however, so most of the suggestions I've heard seem very counter-productive.

Latin scholars are very rare.  Many of our worldwide vernacular translations of the Roman Missal are no longer made directly, but through an intermediate language.  In most cases, that language is English. While I recognize this need of the universal Church to have an "authoritative English translation" from which the mass propers can be faithfully translated, the Pope and his bishops ask too great a sacrifice of everyone in the English-speaking world in adopting that translation as the words we pray at mass.  Those who speak English as a native language in Nigeria, the Philippines, Australia, Canada, etc. shouldn't be treated as if they share only one cultural heritage, and enforcing only one language translation for the propers has that effect.

Prayer for acceptance

This nonsense about the media picking on us for the sex abuse cases within the Catholic Church really has to stop. Of course we're being persecuted. That's part of the job, so stop muttering already!

We are the one Church of Jesus Christ.

Like the flock of Israel before us, we are meant to be a sign to the nations. What is happening is supposed to be happening, because we are called to lead by example and the abuse of children by their fathers kills their souls as surely as an abortion by their mothers kills their bodies.

Martyrdom for the sake of Christ is a duty, a privilege, and a blessing.

Let it be done to us according to His will so that we may lead the rest of the world closer to him. This I ask through Our Lord, Jesus Christ, through who and with whom and in whom we all find our life and our true salvation. Amen.

To: Joseph.Carpenter@gmail.com

A little something in a lighter vein to start out your Christmas Eve. Here is one of the most imaginative Christmas videos this year... The Nativity told by email, Twitter, Facebook...with access to GPS and Mapquest tools. ENJOY!


The Digital Story of the Nativity

O Antiphons (Octave before Christmas)

O Come....
O Come....
Emmanuel

The well known carol Veni, Veni Emmanuel is a synthesis of the great "O Antiphons" that are used for Vespers during the octave before Christmas (Dec. 17-23). These antiphons are of ancient origin, dating back to at least the ninth century.

Here is Veni Veni Emmanuel (O Come O Come Emmanuel) sung by Ensemble vocal Fribourg

Each “O Antiphon” highlights a title for the Messiah & a prophecy of Isaiah of his coming. Here is my album that has pictures and verses for each antiphon.

The titles, read from last to first, form an acrostic:

                        E   mmanuel,
                      R   ex Gentium,
                      O   riens,

                        C   lavis,
                      R   adix,
                      A   donai,
                      S    apientia =

The first letters
spell out "ERO CRAS" (Latin for “I'll be there.”)

Here are each of the antiphons & the dudes from Oxford singing the vesper for you:

December 17 - O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
O Wisdom, you came forth from the mouth of the Most High and,
reaching from beginning to end, you ordered all things mightily and sweetly.
Come, and teach us the way of prudence.

O Sapientia, quæ ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem,
fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiæ.

(Isaiah 11:2-3)“The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom
and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge
and fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.”

or (Isaiah 28:29) “Wonderful is His counsel and great is His wisdom.”

---------------------

December 18 - O Adonai (O Lord)
O Adonai and Ruler of the House of Israel,
you appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush
and on Mount Sinai gave him your law.
Come, and with outstretched arm redeem us.

O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammæ rubi apparuisti,
et ei in Sina legem dedisti:
veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

(Isaiah 11:4-5)“But He shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.” 

or (Isaiah 33:22) “Indeed the Lord will be there with us, majestic;
yes the Lord our judge, the Lord our lawgiver, the Lord our king,
he it is who will save us.”

--------------------------------

December 19 - O Radix Jesse
O Root of Jesse’s stem,
sign of God’s love for all his people:
come to save us without delay!

O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt rege
s os suum, quem Gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

(Isaiah 11:1) “But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.”
or
(Isaiah 11:10) "On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations,
the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.”

--------------------------------

December 20 - O Clavis David (O Key of David)
O Key of David and Scepter of the House of Israel,
opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom:
come and free the prisoners of darkness!

O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem Gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

(Isaiah 22:22) "I will place the Key of the House of David on His shoulder;
when he opens, no one will shut, when he shuts, no one will open.”
or
(Isaiah 9:6) “His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, from David’s throne,
and over His kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice,
both now and forever.”

--------------------------------
December 21 - O Oriens (O Rising Sun)
O Radiant Dawn,
splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:
come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the
shadow of death.

O Oriens, splendor lucis æternæ, et sol justitiæ:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

(Isaiah 9:1) “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown.”

--------------------------------

December 22 - O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)
O King of all nations and keystone of the Church:
come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!

O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis,
qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti.

(Isaiah 9:5)  “For a child is born to us, a son is given us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor,
God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.”
or
(Isaiah 2:4) “He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks;
one nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.”

--------------------------------

December 23 -  O Emmanuel (O God who dwells with us)
O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our God!

O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos Domine Deus noster.

(Isaiah 7:14)  “The Lord himself will give you this sign:
the Virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.”

--------------------------------

Lecture against Christian Dominionalists

*** WARNING: THIS GUY IS A 'LIBERAL', SO DON'T WATCH IF THAT 'OFFENDS' YOU ***

The Great Awakening in the U.S.A. brought us all sorts of wild theological ideas: hellfire and damnation preaching, 'personal' salvation, extreme Bible literalism, the Rapture... but by far the most dangerous was then and is now that curious blend of Christian extremism twisted to political ideology known as Dominion theology:



Chris Hedges explores the rise of the Christian right in America in a lecture 3 years ago at Boston College. He's a 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, son of a preacher, and student of theology schooled by many of those who similar times elsewhere.

I'm re-posting this, as the video I originally linked to apparently no longer exists. This is a much longer version that includes the clip on dominion theology.

What is Truth?

(these are notes from my summer Scripture class that I hadn't published)

Rather, 'Who is Truth'? An ancient Catholic idea related to ideas of Bible inerrancy is the idea that Truth is the very person of Jesus Christ as he declares in the gospel. For truth to be a living person, i.e. the Risen Lord, implies that Christian understanding encompasses a dynamic rather than static view.

"...Christian faith immerses human beings in the order of grace, which enables them to share in the mystery of Christ, which in turn offers them a true and coherent knowledge of the Triune God. In Jesus Christ, who is the Truth, faith recognizes the ultimate appeal to humanity, an appeal made in order that what we experience as desire and nostalgia may come to its fulfilment." ~ John Paul II encylical Fides et ratio (1998)

St Augustine "On Christian Doctrine, in Four Books"
' There are two things on which all interpretation of Scripture depends: the mode of ascertaining the proper meaning, and the mode of making known the meaning when it is ascertained.'


Leo XIII - Apostolic Letter Hierosolymae coenobio in 1892 established the Ecole Biblique & encyclical PROVIDENTISSIMUS DEUS ON THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE followed in (1893)
Preamble "...This supernatural revelation, according to the belief of the universal Church,is contained both in unwritten Tradition, and in written Books, which are therefore called sacred and canonical because, "being written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, they have God for their author and as such have been delivered to the Church."
4. And it is this peculiar and singular power of Holy Scripture, arising from the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, which gives authority to the sacred orator, fills him with apostolic liberty of speech, and communicates force and power to his eloquence.
18. "...There can never, indeed, be any real discrepancy between the theologian and the physicist, as long as each confines himself within his own lines, and both are careful, as St. Augustine warns us, "not to make rash assertions, or to assert what is not known as known."(51) If dissension should arise between them, here is the rule also laid down by St. Augustine, for the theologian: "Whatever they can really demonstrate to be true of physical nature, we must show to be capable of reconciliation with our Scriptures; and whatever they assert in their treatises which is contrary to these Scriptures of ours, that is to Catholic faith, we must either prove it as well as we can to be entirely false, or at all events we must, without the smallest hesitation, believe it to be so."(52) To understand how just is the rule here formulated we must remember, first, that the sacred writers, or to speak more accurately, the Holy Ghost "Who spoke by them, did not intend to teach men these things (that is to say, the essential nature of the things of the visible universe), things in no way profitable unto salvation."(53)
51. In Gen. op. imperf. ix., 30. 52. De Gen.ad litt. i. 21, 41. 53. St. Augustine, "De Genesi ad Litteram" 2, 9, 20
===========
DIVINO AFFLANTE SPIRITU - encyclical of Pius XII, 1943
(42)...For Catholic exegetes, by a right use of those same scientific arms, not infrequently abused by the adversaries, proposed such interpretations, which are in harmony with Catholic doctrine and the genuine current of tradition, and at the same time are seen to have proved equal to the difficulties, either raised by new explorations and discoveries, or bequeathed by antiquity for solution in our time.

43. Thus has it come about that confidence in the authority and historical value of the Bible, somewhat shaken in the case of some by so many attacks, today among Catholics is completely restored; moreover there are not wanting even non-Catholic writers, who by serious and calm inquiry have been led to abandon modern opinion and to return, at least in some points, to the more ancient ideas. ~

==============
Pius X's Lamentabili Sane Exitu ("with truly lamentable results") condemns 65 propositions in Bible exegesis, most of which were softened when less anti-intellectual and more learned heads defined proper methodology.

Pope Benedict XVI - speech to secular authorities at Regensburg, condemning literalism & fundamentalist fanatics, denying that 'People of the Book' is an apt description of Christians, and re-affirming the importance both of the Person of Jesus as the truth Himself, and the contribution the believing community's relationship to him makes to our Catholic Tradition:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060912_university-regensburg_en.html

Benedict XV. Encyclical Spiritus Paraclitus (September 15, 1920) anniversary of the death of St. Jerome - "Since the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, had bestowed the Scriptures on the human race for their instruction in Divine things, He also raised up in successive ages saintly and learned men whose task it should be to develop that treasure and so provide for the faithful plenteous "consolation from the Scriptures." (emphasis mine)

"Therefore the Catechism of the Catholic Church can rightly say that Christianity does not simply represent a religion of the book in the classical sense (cf. par. 108). It perceives in the words the Word, the Logos itself, which spreads its mystery through this multiplicity and the reality of a human history. This particular structure of the Bible issues a constantly new challenge to every generation. It excludes by its nature everything that today is known as fundamentalism. In effect, the word of God can never simply be equated with the letter of the text. To attain to it involves a transcending and a process of understanding, led by the inner movement of the whole and hence it also has to become a process of living. Only within the dynamic unity of the whole are the many books one book."
Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI at Collège des Bernardins, Paris, 12 Sept 2008

Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum
#9 - "There exists a close connection and communication between Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tend toward the same end"
#10 - "It is clear, therefore, that, in the supremely wise arrangement of God, sacred Tradition, sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls"
#11 - "the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation. "
#12. However, since God speaks in Sacred Scripture through men in human fashion, the interpreter of Sacred Scripture, in order to see clearly what God wanted to communicate to us, should carefully investigate what meaning the sacred writers really intended, and what God wanted to manifest by means of their words...(in addition to literary forms)... no less serious attention must be given to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture if the meaning of the sacred texts is to be correctly worked out. The living tradition of the whole Church must be taken into account along with the harmony which exists between elements of the faith.

Further study: Church Documents and Writings Related to Biblical Studies

http://catholic-resources.org/ChurchDocs/ - compiled by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.

http://www.hospeiron.com/mod/resource/view.php?id=3 FrPatrickBrady@hospeiron.com

Witherup, Ronald D. . "The Challenges of Biblical Translation."
In The Catholic Study Bible. Oxford Biblical Studies Online.

Catholic to Catholic: Islamophobia

The cover of Time magazine and the current flap about the Manhattan Muslim YMCA-like facility have upset many people. Some Catholics seem confused about how we should speak in public to and about adherents to the other great Abrahamic faith, Islam. The foundational document is Nostra Aetate, which reminds us:

"3. The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,(5) who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting."


I thought it might be helpful to post two models from our Holy Father. Both speeches are worth reading in full.



His speech in Amman Jordan in 2009:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2009/may/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20090509_capi-musulmani_en.html

"However, is it not also the case that often it is the ideological manipulation of religion, sometimes for political ends, that is the real catalyst for tension and division, and at times even violence in society? In the face of this situation, where the opponents of religion seek not simply to silence its voice but to replace it with their own, the need for believers to be true to their principles and beliefs is felt all the more keenly."



His speech in Cologne to Muslim Communities in 2005:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2005/august/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20050820_meeting-muslims_en.html

"If together we can succeed in eliminating from hearts any trace of rancour, in resisting every form of intolerance and in opposing every manifestation of violence, we will turn back the wave of cruel fanaticism that endangers the lives of so many people and hinders progress towards world peace."


I hope that, if we model our speech on his, that we will help to moderate the many emotions and corresponding dangers that this discussion is bringing to the surface.



Christ didn't save 'me': He saves us.

I got into a discussion over this past week on Facebook in the Catholic (Global) discussion group about Anne Rice's defection after recently reconciling herself to the Catholic Church. Before mass this morning, I was reading from the 1st volume of the Selected Works of Joseph Cardinal Bernadin, (Archdiocese of Chicago, 2000) and came across yet another reminder of the GROUP nature of my own salvation, and wonderful pastoral advice on how to treat those who create scandal within our churches:

Quote from "Christ Lives in Me: a pastoral reflection on Jesus and His Meaning for Christian Life" by Joseph Cardinal Bernadin, 1985:

"Jesus is also our way to the Father through the Church which he established to continue his saving mission. He made it clear from the very beginning that his mission had a communitarian dimension...

...it makes no sense to say, as some do, that one accepts Christ but rejects the Church.

Why then, do many people take this attitude? In some cases, I believe, because they wish to avoid the obligations which accepting Christ in his Church would entail. But others are sincere--they find it hard to see Christ in a community which in the past and also today has at times fallen tragically short of the high standards proclaimed by Christ.

The Church is not an impersonal institution; it is made up of people. Jesus himself warned that there would always be wicked and insensitive people among us. Even those who were privileged to be in Jesus' immediate company during his life on earth often bickered among themselves, misunderstood his message, fell short of the standards he set for them. One betrayed him, and their chief, Peter, denied him.

Today, too, all of us can recognize failings in ourselves which dim Christ's image in the Church. The presence of weakness and evil in the Church--in us who ARE the Church--is simply a reminder that we are all sinful and always in need of forgiveness and healing...

A clear pastoral imperative flows from all this. Not only have we been redeemed by Christ, we are to CONTINUE Christ's redemptive mission in the world, individually and together with the other members of Christ's Church. This requires striving to be absolutely faithful, as he was, to the Father's will and to overcome evil primarily through redemptive suffering..."

Many of my friends who come from Southern Baptist or other reformed traditions spend a lot of time talking about our personal commitments to Christ and our personal salvation. Well, 'person-ally' I don't see how Christian faith can be expressed in isolation like that. It's not 'me' that Our Lord came to save, but 'us': I'm saved because I'm in that 'us' to whom He deigns to extend His lifeline of grace and mercy. I'm not one to comment on which of the church communities around me are part of the same Body of Christ as me, since that is a judgment proper to Him alone: we all should do just what the Holy Spirit directs us to do in faith and good conscience. Just don't do it alone!

Transcript: video on Enuma Elis creation myth of Babylon

Transcript


heterodoxism — January 18, 2010 — 3-2 = part 13 of series
The Enûma Eliš is the Babylonian creation myth (named after its opening words).

List of uploads within playlist: http://berties-teapot.blogspot.com/20...

The Enûma Eliš has about a thousand lines and is recorded in Old Babylonian on seven clay tablets, each holding between 115 and 170 lines of text. Most of Tablet V has never been recovered, but aside from this lacuna the text is almost complete. A duplicate copy of Tablet V has been found in Sultantepe, ancient Huzirina, located near the modern town of Sanliurfa in Turkey.

This epic is one of the most important sources for understanding the Babylonian worldview, centered on the supremacy of Marduk and the creation of humankind for the service of the gods. Its primary original purpose, however, is not an exposition of theology or theogony, but the elevation of Marduk, the chief god of Babylon, above other Mesopotamian gods.

The Enûma Eliš exists in various copies from Babylonia and Assyria. The version from Ashurbanipal's library dates to the 7th century BC. The story itself probably dates to the 18th century BC, the time when the god Marduk seems to have achieved a prominent status.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En%C3%BB...
http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/enuma...
http://www.meta-religion.com/World_Re...

Genesis is the creation myth in the Hebrew Bible

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_...
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/e/et/et01...
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/e/et/et01...

The term Babylonian captivity, or Babylonian exile, typically refers to the deportation and exile of the Judeans of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Babylon by Nebuchadnezza II in 586 BC. The first deportation actually took place in 597 BC. The captivity and subsequent return to Israel and rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple are pivotal events in the history of the Jews and Judaism, and had far-reaching impacts on the development of modern Jewish culture and practice.

According to biblical dating the Kingdom of Judah (also known as the "Southern Kingdom") came into existence in c. 930 BC on the breakup of the United Monarchy. David was made king over the tribe of Judah as early as 1007 BC, and the Davidic line ruled over Judah for over 420 years, until the kingdom fell in 586 BC to the Babylonian Empire under Nebuzar-adan, captain of Nebuchadnezzar's body-guard.
Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list...

This is part of a series illustrating a Yale University course on the Hebrew Bible. The full course can be found here:
http://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies...
http://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies...

Christine Hayes is Professor of Religious Studies in Classical Judaica. Before joining the Yale faculty in 1996, she was Assistant Professor of Hebrew Studies in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University for three years. A specialist in talmudic-midrashic studies, Hayes offers undergraduate courses on the literature and history of the biblical and talmudic periods (including Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and Introduction to Judaism).

http://www.yale.edu/religiousstudies/...
http://academicearth.org/speakers/chr...

Diagrams illustrating the timeline and books of the HB/OT:
http://www.threetwoone.org/diagrams/h...
http://www.threetwoone.org/diagrams/H...
http://hodos.org/pentateuch/hebrew-bi...
http://hodos.org/pentateuch/four-pent...
http://hodos.org/pentateuch/genesis-1...
http://hodos.org/pentateuch/pentateuc...

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/i...
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/j...
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/j...

http://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Study-Bi...

Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
Category: Education
Tags:
Hebrew Bible Old Testament Enuma Elish Babylonian creation myth Marduk Bab-el Babylon mythology Genesis Nahum Sarna Yehezkel Kaufmann atheism
..
0:04
It [Enuma Elish] was the great national epic of the city of Babel or Babylon. It was recited
0:10
during the New Year festival, which was the most important festival on the cultic calendar,
0:15
and Nahum Sarna points out that it had four main functions. The first of those functions
0:19
is theogonic. It tells us the story of the birth of the gods, where they came from. Its
0:24
second function is cosmological. It's explaining cosmic phenomena: the land, the sky, the heavenly
0:32
bodies and so on, and their origins. It also serves a social and political function, because
0:39
the portrait or picture of the universe or the world and its structure corresponds to
0:44
and legitimates the structure of Babylonian society. The position and the function of
0:49
the humans in the scheme of creation corresponds [to] or parallels precisely the position of
0:54
slaves in Mesopotamian society. The position and function of Marduk at the top of the hierarchy
1:00
of authority parallels and legitimates the Babylonian King , with others arranged within
1:06
the pyramid that falls below. The epic also explains and mirrors the rise of Babel as
1:12
one of the great cities in the Ancient Near East. It explains its rise to power, and Marduk's
1:18
rise from being a city god to being at the head of the pantheon of a large empire. This
1:24
also had a cultic function as well. According to Sarna and some other scholars, the conflict,
1:32
that battle scene between Tiamat and Marduk which is described at some length, symbolizes
1:37
the conflict or the battle between the forces of chaos and the forces of cosmos or cosmic
1:43
order. And that's a perpetual conflict. Each year it's dramatized by the cycle of the seasons,
1:50
and at a certain time of the year it seems that the forces of darkness and chaos are
1:53
prevailing but each spring, once again, cosmic order and life return. So the epic served
1:59
as a kind of script for the re-enactment of the primeval battle in a cultic or temple
2:05
setting, and that re-enactment helped to ensure the victory of the forces of cosmos and life
2:10
each year over the forces of chaos and death. So if we recall now, some of the things we
2:17
were talking about last time and the theories of Kaufman, we might describe the worldview
2:23
that's expressed by Enuma Elish in the following way, and this is certainly what Sarna does.
2:28
We're going to consider first of all the view of the gods, the view of humans, and the view
2:33
of the world: three distinct categories. First of all the gods. The gods are clearly limited.
2:39
A god can make a plan and they're thwarted by another god who then murders that god.
2:44
They are amoral, some of them are nicer and better than others but they're not necessarily
2:50
morally good or righteous. They emerge from this indifferent primal realm, this mixture
2:56
of salt and sea waters, that is the source of all being and the source of ultimate power,
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but they age and they mature and they fight and they die. They're not wholly good, not
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wholly evil, and no one god's will is absolute. The portrait of humans that emerges is that
3:14
humans are unimportant menials. They are the slaves of the gods, the gods have little reciprocal
3:20
interest in or concern for them, and they create human beings to do the work of running
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the world. To some degree, they look upon them as slaves or pawns. The picture of the
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world that would seem to emerge from this story is that it is a morally neutral place.
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That means that for humans it can be a difficult and hostile place. The best bet perhaps is
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to serve the god of the day--whatever god might be ascendant--to earn his favor and
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perhaps his protection, but even that god will have limited powers and abilities and
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may in fact be defeated or may turn on his devotees. Now, if we turn to the creation
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story, the first of the two creation stories that are in the Bible, because in fact there
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are two creation stories with quite a few contradictions between them, but if we turn
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to the first creation story in Genesis 1 which concludes in Genesis 2:4. If we look now,
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we'll see a different picture emerging. The biblical god in this story, is presented as
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being supreme and unlimited. That's connected with the lack of mythology in Genesis 1 or
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rather the suppression of mythology. Mythology is used to describe stories that deal with
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the birth, the life events of gods and demi-gods, sometimes legendary heroes, but narrating
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a sequence of events. The biblical creation account is non-mythological because there
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is no biography of God in here. God simply is. There's no theogony, no account of his
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birth. There's no story by means of which he emerges from some other realm. In the Mesopotamian
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account, the gods themselves are created and they're not even created first, actually;
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the first generation of beings creates these odd demons and monsters, and gods only are
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created after several generations and the god of creation, Marduk, is actually kind
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of a latecomer in the picture. And this is also a good time for us to draw a distinction
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between mythology and myth. Kaufman and others have claimed that mythology is not in, certainly,
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this biblical story or if it's not there it's at least suppressed. But in contrast, myth
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is not mythology. Myth is a term we use to refer to a traditional story. It's often fanciful,
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it relates imaginatively events which it claims happened in historical time, not in a primordial
5:38
realm before time, and a myth is designed to explain some kind of practice or ritual
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or custom or natural phenomenon. " But myths are fanciful, imaginative tales that are trying
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to explain the existence of either a thing or a practice or even a belief…sometimes
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it's a story that's a veiled explanation of a truth, we think of parables, perhaps, or
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allegories. And so the claim that's often made is that the Bible doesn't have full-blown
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mythology. It doesn't focus on stories about the lives and deaths and interactions of gods,
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but it does certainly contain myths. It has traditional stories and legends, some quite
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fanciful, whose goal it is to explain how and why something is what it is. So returning
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to Genesis 1, we have an absence of theogony and mythology in the sense of a biography
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of God in this opening chapter and that means the absence of a metadivine realm. There is
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an absence of what Kaufman would call this metadivine realm, this primordial realm from
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which the gods emerge. We also, therefore, have no sense that God is immanent in nature
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or tied to natural substances or phenomena. So, the biblical god's powers and knowledge
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do not appear to be limited by the prior existence of any other substance or power. Nature also
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is not divine. It's demythologized, de-divinized, if that's a word; the created world is not
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divine, it is not the physical manifestation of various deities, an earth god, a water
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god and so on. The line of demarcation therefore between the divine and the natural and human
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worlds would appear to be clear. So, to summarize, in Genesis 1, the view of god is that there
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is one supreme god, who is creator and sovereign of the world, who simply exists, who appears
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to be incorporeal, and for whom the realm of nature is separate and subservient. He
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has no life story, no mythology, and his will is absolute. Indeed, creation takes place
7:39
through the simple expression of his will. "When God began to create heaven and earth,"
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and there's a parenthetical clause: "God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light."
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He expressed his will that there be light, and there was light and that's very different
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from many Ancient Near Eastern cosmogonies in which there's always a sexual principal
7:58
at work in creation. Creation is always the result of procreation in some way, male and
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female principles combining. There's a very similar Egyptian creation story actually in
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which the god Ptah just wills "let this be." It reads very much like Genesis 1 and yet
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even so there's still a sexual act that follows the expression of those wills, so it is still
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different.

Essays in biblical interpretation

In my class response on the Chicago Statement, I referenced Living Tradition by James D.G. Dunn, a Methodist, in What is it that the Scripture says?: essays in biblical interpretation ...By Philip McCosker, Henry Wansbrough, 2006, T&T Clark - New York.
The whole book is pretty good, so I'm posting the Google Book copy here. To read other articles in the book, hit the "contents" button.

The volume is a tribute to Dom Henry Wansbrough, the General Editor of the New Jerusalem Bible. I particularly like His Excellency Murphy-O'Connor's Foreward to the volume. Father Venard's essay in the book gives us some very nice background not only on the process of completing that particular Bible translation, but of the general issues involved.

What is it that the Scripture says?
Essays in biblical interpretation

Bible - Misconceptions

The video below is part 4 of series from a Yale University course on the Hebrew Bible presented by Professor Christine Hayes, Professor of Religious Studies in Classical Judaica. Before joining the Yale faculty in 1996, she was Assistant Professor of Hebrew Studies in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University for three years. A specialist in talmudic-midrashic studies, Hayes offers undergraduate courses on the literature and history of the biblical and talmudic periods (including Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and Introduction to Judaism). The course's complete playlist is at
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C47C268DDAF2B5AC


A Course on Hebrew Bible, part 4: Bible - Misconceptions

Psalm 23: Sheep aren't cows & other thoughts

A recent assignment involving Psalm 23 reminded me how my new pastor totally shocked me one morning at mass. One can by definition never measure what one doesn’t know.As I’m fairly well educated with a wide range of personal experiences, I am always shocked when a new vista opens on the great chasm of my own ignorance.My lack of humility is my own onion, and peeling away each layer my soul’s major job. Those with gifts of memory and knowledge frequently stumble in this way, and the more one learns, the greater the moral hazard!

I’d been around farms and herds from my youth, as my uncle and my great-uncles were all farmers. The livestock I know well are dairy cows, chickens, and pigs. My pastor, on the other hand, was once a shepherd for his father in England. Sheep aren’t cows. I didn’t know that, and I didn't know that I didn't know...

Ignorance is a fixable fault, so I set out to correct it by doing a Google on animal husbandry. Yes, I found. Sheep definitely aren't cows--see this little article on sheep behavior. The same site has this very interesting little article:

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The Lord is my Shepherd

• Sheep are mentioned in the Bible more than 500 times, more than any other animal. The prominence of sheep in the Bible grows out of two realities. Sheep were important to the nomads and agricultural life of the Hebrews and similiar peoples. Secondly, sheep are used throughout the Bible to symbolically refer to God's people.
  
  
  
• Biblical shepherds
  
  Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel also brought an offering -- fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. (Genesis 4:3-4)
  
  The very first shepherd was Abel. He was also humanity's first murder victim, slain by his brother Cain. Abraham and Moses were shepherds. King David was the best known shepherd of Bible history. He wrote the beloved Psalm 23. Shepherds were the first people to see the newborn Jesus Christ. The Prophet Mohammed worked as a shepherd when he was 8 years old.
  
  
  A close relationship
  
  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)
  
  The Bible describes close relationships between shepherds and their flocks. The sheep recognize the voice of the shepherd. They follow him (or her). The shepherd protects his flock and would give his life for them.
  
  It is known that animals can instantly recognize the voice of a familiar trusted person. Sheep have excellent memories for faces. They remember their handler. They also remember people who inflict abuse upon them.
  
  
  Break a leg?
  There is a commonly-held belief that shepherds in Bible times would break the legs of lambs that constantly wandered away. According to the "story," the shepherd would then set the broken leg and carry the lamb on his shoulders until the leg healed, after which time the lamb would remain by the shepherd's side for the rest of its life. There is no such story in the Bible. To do so would be cruel and impractical.
  
  
  
• Lamb of God
  Christians traditionally refer to Jesus as the "lamb of God." Many Christians serve lamb as part of their Easter dinner. In many homes, a lamb-shaped cake decorates the table. Many Eastern Orthdox Christians hang pictures of the Easter lamb in their homes.
  
  
  
• Sacrificial lamb
  
  Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. (Genesis 22:1-18)
  
  Abraham's sacrifice
  It is well-known to Muslims, Jews, and Christians that Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son. He was willing to do so, but God gave him a sheep to sacrifice instead of his son. Christians and Jews believe that the life of Isaac was saved, while Muslims believe that it was Ismael that was nearly sacrificed on the alter. Jews and Arabs trace their heritage to Isaac and Ismael, respectively.
  
  Festival of Sacrifice
  In commemoration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God, a religious festival is celebrated by Muslims worldwide. The festival is called Eid al-Adha. Its English translation is"Festival of Sacrifice." As a symbol of Abraham's sacrifice, Muslims (who are able) sacrifice a sheep (or other domestic animal). The sheep have to meet certain age requirements (at least one year of age) and quality standards (unblemished). The meat is shared with family and friends and distributed to the poor.
  
  Aqeeqah (aqiqah)
  The Muslim "equivalent" to Christian Baptism is aqeeqah, which occurs 7 days after the birth of a child. Aqeeqah includes shaving the baby's head and naming the baby. As a symbol of thanksgiving for the gift of a child from God, a sacrifice is performed. Two sheep which resemble each other, are to be sacrificed for a boy and one for a girl. The meat is shared with family, friends, and the poor.
  
  
  
• Spotted sheep
  
  So that very day, Laban went out and formed a flock for Jacob. He took from his herds all the male goats that were ringed and spotted. He also included the females that were speckled and spotted with any white patches, and all of the black sheep. (Genesis 30:35)
  
  Jacob sheep were named for the Biblical story of Jacob who selected spotted sheep for his flock. It tells how Jacob took every speckled and spotted sheep as his own from Laban's flock. Some claim that Jacobs of today descend directly from the sheep raised by Jacob, that traveled from Palestine to Egypt and to Spain via the coast of North Africa and Morocco.
  
  
  
• 
  

Separating the sheep from the goats

He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. (Matthew 25:33)

With regards to "judgement day," sheep and goats are used as metaphors in the Bible. Sheep are the followers of Christ, while goats chose not to follow Christ. The parable is based on the differences in behavior between sheep and goats. Sheep are gentle, quiet, innocent animals. They do not give their shepherds a lot of problems. They are easily led. Sheep are grazers, unlike the goat, which likes to browse. Goats are rebellious. In the Bible, goats are sometimes used to symbolize evil.

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The main things that shepherds and sheepdogs do is fend off predators. Sheep naturally flock, so herding them isn't much of an issue. In general, they move themselves from one grazing spot to another and don't really need to be led.

I also found this excellent article on the difference between sheep herding, being a shepherd, and the difference in styles between current practices in Montana and the description in the Gospel of John of the practices of the shepherd in biblical times http://www.pbc.org/files/messages/4261/3858.html.
In the East, shepherds brought their flocks into one central sheepfold every evening where half-a-dozen flocks gathered together and were guarded by a porter or gatekeeper behind locked doors. In the morning the shepherds returned and each called his own sheep. Although the flocks had been mingled together, each flock knew its own shepherd's voice, and each would follow its own shepherd and no other. This is the picture our Lord uses with regard to the encounter between the man who had been born blind and the false shepherds, the Pharisees.

H

I have not posted here in a very long time. Instead, I had begun several .doc papers.

I have three main insights that I think appropriate to explore: personal witness of the Communion of Saints, discussion of Hubris and The Commandment, and ecclesiology reflection that I've tentatively titled The Womb, The Tomb, and The Church.

Pray for me.