Reflections on the Torah

So, this first semester in Torrey we read through the Pentateuch. And to quickly summarize my thoughts.

1) My whole conception of the first five books of the bible before this trip through the actual books was dominated by the Creation account (2 Chapters) and the ten commandments as stated in Exodus 20. I didn't even know that Balaam was in Numbers! I always thought he was in Kings!

2) I often wondered how people survived on just the OT for so many hundreds and even thousands of years. After reading through the first five books, I guess I could summarized it by saying, "Wow! There's SOOO much stuff in here!"

3) God in the OT is often stereotyped as mean, vindictive, judgmental, and harsh. Reading through the Five, I'm pretty much pat convinced that this stereotype is pretty false. The God of the OT is the same as the one of the NT.

4) Which brings me to my fourth observation, the Israelites are IDIOTS, but I'm sooo much like them. Case in point:

This thanksgiving weekend I was visiting my old elementary school and I passed by a tree. It wasn't any old tree, there was a plaque under it "September 11, 2001 - We will never forget". Flashback to when I was 9, I remember watching my teachers and my principal (at the time) planting that tree. I remember where I was during that day. But to be totally honest, I've forgotten much. The event, though huge and traumatic, has truly been pushed to the back of my mind. Could it not be the same with the parting of the Red Sea, or the Wonders of the Wilderness?

(Cummins is in the room right now and for about 5 minutes he convinced me that his skin was like superman's and he's never bled in his life. Darn. I'm gullible. =P) (We ended up talking till 2:00 am about Loving God rightly, the commandments, the Sabbath, faces, authenticity, personhood in Christ)

All in all, the Scriptures are beautiful, and in them is life. Christ is, after all, the Word.

Steinways, Steiner, Esolen, Plato, Dante, and Phillipians

How are they all connected? Well they've all been in my day today!

Annabelle is getting a lovely tune up. =] Is exceptionally beautiful. And there was nothing wrong with the action, it was just that my bench was not at the right height and distance and I was killing my wrist trying to play with bad posture. James is getting tuned too. =]

It's funny how things connect because I'm going for my second time through Divine Commedy, this time with Esolen as my guide and translator. And his introduction starts right off with the Phaedrus!!! I was pretty much ecstatic for an hour before I could calm down enough to read on! =] What are the chances that Phaedrus was the Wheatstone text and that Esolen had it in mind when he wrote his intro back in 2001? God is good is he not? And the thing is that Esolen thinks Dante totally agrees with Plato's view of the goal of human life. You shall have to read the intro to Inferno or ask me about it in person, its too amazing for a post!!!

Okay and George Steiner who was this amazingly smart person. And I'm reading through his book Errata and I came across this amazing passage:

"I define a 'classic,' in literature, in music, in the arts, in philosophic argument, as a signifying form which 'reads' us. It reads us more than we read (listen to, perceive) it. There is nothing paradoxical, let alone mystical, in this definition. Each time we engage with it, the classic will question us. It will challenge our resources of consciousness and intellet, of mind and body (so much of primary aesthetic and even intellectual response is bodily). The classic will ask of us: 'have you understood?'; 'have you re-imagined responsibly?'; 'are you prepared to act upon the questions, upon the potentialities of transformed, enriched being which I have posed?'"

-George Steiner, Errata

And Phillipians is quickly becoming a favorite of mine because its just so Jolly. In fact, I was just telling a friend how it may be one of the most Jolly books, if not the Jolliest in the Bible. =]

Okay, stop reading bad grammarful ramble and go read something great!

Happy Summering!

Thanksgiving

A few months ago I read Ephesians 14 times (on the advice of Dr. Sanders in his post about synthetic readings of the Bible) and this evening I spent 2 hours reading it once with much prayer for wisdom and understanding. Praise God! He truly works! He cares about us! Even on the 15th reading, there is soooooo much more that I learned! I think Sayers says something about this, like the student will come to the wonderful realization that truism is true! To my shame I admit that I have not read my Bible at all for the past 3 months. (Really, truly read I mean, token scanning but never concentrated, focused, etc.) But in those 2 hours i feel like I've gained a world of Joy. I am very thankful. Thank you God. =]