Scripture Reading, Goals, and Motivation: a photo
Part iv of the Hebrew series is coming. In the meantime, here’s a picture with commentary of my little desk where I try to do a good bit of my reading. Read more »
Jan
31
Jan
31
Creation in Genesis 1-3 (Part 2b–Literary Analysis)
In the last segment I discussed where certain literary and narrative divisions exist in Genesis 1-3. For instance, I previously noted that the narrative section which begins in Genesis 1.1 most likely ends at Genesis 2.4a. Additionally, I noted one crucial literary feature of this first creation account, namely that it is broken into seven one-day intervals (i.e., a one week period). Furthermore, I briefly noted that there is a further significant literary division between days one through six which describe God’s physical creative activities (each of which ends with the formulaic phrase “(And) there was evening and there was morning, day…”) and the seventh (and final) day which is the pinnacle of the account and which describes God’s sanctifying the seventh day. Having noted these literary markers and narrative boundaries, I shall now further explore other literary devices which structure the first creation account’s six creative days, and analyze their implications concerning Israelite beliefs about creation.
Jan
29
Creation in Genesis 1-3 (Part 2a-Literary Features)
In addition to analyzing specific grammatical forms (as was done with the preposition bereshit in part one of this series), it is also crucial when interpreting a text to properly identify its narrative boundaries and to examine the literary forms and techniques which structure it and give it meaning.[1] I thus intend to provide here a brief analysis regarding some of the literary features which indicate narrative boundaries and which provide structure and meaning for the creation narratives of Genesis 1-3. The implications of these literary features concerning Israelite beliefs about creation will be discussed further in the next segment. Read more »
Jan
27
Creation in Genesis 1-3 (Part 1-Introduction and Temporal Clause)
In this series of posts I intend to look at ancient Israelite concepts concerning creation by exploring two important biblical creation texts—Genesis 1.1-2.4a and Genesis 2.4b-3. Read more »
Jan
21
How to Teach Yourself Hebrew from Scratch: Part III
Vocabulary and Reference materials
Learning vocabulary- On the plus side, there’s only 8,446 distinct vocabulary words in the Hebrew Bible, and many of those come from shared roots, such as MeLeK “king,” MaLKah, “queen,” maMLeKah “kingdom,” MaLaK “to reign as royalty,” etc. (Roots are much more important and prominent in Semitic languages than in English.) By comparison, there are estimated to be “a quarter of a million distinct English words, excluding inflections, and words from technical and regional vocabulary not covered by the OED” according to this webpage. Read more »
Jan
19
An American Prophet
Mormons are not the only prophetic tradition in America. The African American spiritual community also has its own prophetic roots, and Martin Luther King, Jr. is the paradigmatic figure from that tradition. It is true that these two traditions define prophetic leadership differently. For Mormons, today even more so than in our past, the prophetic mantle is held by right of institutional authority. The prophetic responsibility is to testify to the world of Christ, and to teach the faithful. This vision of prophesy hearkens back to ancient prophetic schools which saw prophesy as a vocation, and moreso in recent times, as a tool for the preservation of traditional social values. In the African American tradition, the prophetic tradition takes the role of charismatic cultural critic, especially around issues of injustice. This tradition hearkens back to a biblical tradition of speaking out against authority in the hopes of transforming society.
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Jan
12
Apocaliterature and Historical Fiction
NB: This post compares and contrasts a set of books that I have never read (just like a true academic, or a true fundamentalist, er, a true ideologue of some sort ), so any feedback would be extremely helpful.
It is useful to compare the Left Behind series that has been so popular since 1995 in evangelical circles, with the Work and the Glory series since its release in 1990. Both are multi-volume epics that are aimed at the faithful as didactic literature that inculcates its audience into a theological and cultural insider status. Left Behind represents “apocaliterature” while the Work and the Glory takes part in the historical fiction genre. I am interested in the ways that these two series are expressions and producers of popular culture in each community represent different relationships to the presence of God.
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Jan
5
The Piety of Errant Scriptures
The errancy/innerrancy debate in biblical theology is often framed in terms of levels of “belief” in the Bible. The errancy position holds that the Bible is not a perfect document that represents the direct word of God in every minor (and even some major) instance. It admits human involvement in the production and transmission of the text. In inerrancy position holds that the Bible is the perfect word of God. Though there are many different subtlties in the various versions of these two positions, they actually rest on the same set of assumptions.
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Jan
3
The Great of ‘08
2008 was a good year for FPR. We gained three new permanent bloggers, Secco, David Clark, and The Yellow Dart, though we lost Chris H. to his own personal blog. We also had our 500th post on our three year anniversary. Below, I collected some of my personal favorite posts of 2008 for your rereading pleasure, or in case you missed them. Please feel free to add any others that I didn’t put on the list that you enjoyed at FPR this year. (For the sake of objectivity, I did not include any of my own!) In no particular order:
Tips on Applying Series, by SmallAxe
Nothing Wavering, by James bar Joseph
Catholics and Modernity series, by Mogget
Uzzah Killed for Blind Obedience, by Secco
BYU Religion Dean on Premortal Life series, by Jupiterschild
Why the Redistribution of Wealth, by Chris H.
The C-F-A and Non-Literal Adam and Eve, by lxxluthor
A Brief Apologia for Going to Teach in the Religious Education Department at BYU, by Nitsav
What is Biblical Criticism series, by David Clark
The Yoke of Biblical Fundamentalism-Meeting Higher Criticism, by The Yellow Dart