Category: One Year Skeptic

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Old Testament

Jeremiah is easier to read when read aloud. It makes the structure and the repetition clearer, at least for me.

Judah has failed in their commitment to the Lord. The people are like a prostitute. They try to come back to the Lord, but not sincerely. Even if they were sincere, the Lord would have every right in rejecting them. Jeremiah blames the impending doom of Judah on their lack of faithfulness. Because they will not turn to the Lord and accept his forgiveness, they will be crushed by the surrounding nations.

Jeremiah is making prophetic judgments about the future destruction of Judah and Jerusalem, but given the historical context, it seems as if he is just reading the signs of the time. If you consider further that it was not until much later that these words were committed to paper, Jeremiah starts to sound less like a prophet and more like those people who are writing books about the recent recession in the US (and how they knew it was coming).

When everyone makes predictions, some of them are bound to be right. Plus, recording predictions after the fact always leaves one open to hindsight bias:

Hindsight bias is the inclination to see events that have occurred as being more predictable than they were before they took place. … In psychological experiments of hindsight bias, subjects also tend to remember their predictions of future events as having been stronger than they actually were, in those cases where those predictions turn out correct.

New Testament

The problem with the letters traditionally attributed to Paul being arranged from longest to shortest is that it means I have to read background information more and more frequently as we go through them. (That, and it’s a stupid ordering. I mean really, you couldn’t do better than longest to shortest deciders of the canonical order?)

Which is to say, new book! We start the Epistle to the Colossians today. What does Harris have to say about it:

In Colossians, which may be the work of a Pauline disciple, the author emphasizes Jesus’ identity with the cosmic power and wisdom by and for which the universe was created. The divine secret is revealed as Christs Spirit dwelling in the believer. …

If Paul is the author of Colossians, as a large minority of scholar believe, he had not yet visited the town of Colossae when he wrote this theologically significant letter. … If genuine, Colossians was probably composed at about the same time as Philemon, to which it is closely related. … In the opinion of some analysts, both the complex nature of the false teachings, which may represent a form of Gnosticism, and the Christology of Colossians seem too “advanced” for the letter to have originated in Paul’s day. Other critics point out that if the letter was written late in Paul’s career to meet a situation significantly different from others he had encountered, it could well have stimulated the apostle to produce am ore fully developed expression of his views about Christ’s nature and functions.

On to the actual content! The first thing I notice is that this letter is claimed to be from Paul and Timothy and uses “we” throughout. Paul tends to switch over to using “I” fairly quickly in most of his letters. Perhaps the answer to the authorship question is that this letter sounds less like Paul because it really was written by Paul in conjunction with someone else. Timothy, perhaps, acted as more than just a secretary taking down Paul’s dictation; he may have been an actual co-author, leading to stylistic differences. That said, I just made that up (although I am sure it’s not an original idea), and I have no reason to think that other than that it kind of seems consistent with what we have seen so far.

After a greeting and wishes for the continuing growth and well being of the church at Colossae, we read what our references believe is a traditional hymn rather than the original words of the author. This hymn emphasizes the supremacy of Christ and his vital role in creation. Some lines near the end are interesting:

For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.

This reminds me of some strains of Jewish mystical thought I have read about. In those strains (and please forgive me if I butcher this), since God was everything, perfect and unchanging, the only way for creation to happen was for God to withdraw from himself; to leave a void which would be filled by creation. But because God had withdrawn from himself, there is all sorts of badness. Somehow, we get from there to mystical beliefs that everything contains divine sparks that must be liberated to enact a reconciliation between God and creation.

This type of idea common to both Jewish mysticism and gnosticism. If, as some scholars believe, Colossians is a response to gnostic beliefs, then the verses quoted above could be seen as a response to the idea that there are divine sparks in everything that need to be liberated. Instead, this hymn seems to reinforce the idea of separation but then claims that it is through Jesus that the reconciliation occurred.

Note also that this is a very different view of the purpose of Jesus’ death than the more standard idea that “Jesus died for the sins of human beings”.

On an unrelated note, I picked up The Chronological Study Bible: New King James Version from the library to help me understand the context of Jeremiah. While flipping through there, I was glancing at the chronological one year reading plan. Based on that plan, the reader would not be reaching the New Testament until later this week. That just emphasizes, to me, how little of the content of the Bible is from the New Testament.

Psalms and Proverbs

While reading Jeremiah, it’s obvious how today’s psalm is from a relatively narrow slice of Israel and Judah’s history. According to the psalmist, God is honored in both Israel and Judah. And now that we have read through the history and are reviewing some of it in Jeremiah, we know how small the window of time was when both kingdoms actually worshiped God.

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Old Testament

New book! We start Jeremiah today, and signs point to it being a confusing read. What does our normal reference have to say?

Proclaiming a message of submission to the Babylonian Empire, which he viewed as Yahweh’s punitive instrument against Judah for its covenant-breaking, Jeremiah suffered rejection and condemnation as a traitor. The book containing his oracles of warming and doom, considerably revised and expanded by later disciples and postexilic editors, can be divided into four parts: (1) poetic oracles uttered during the reigns of Judah’s last kings, particularly Jehoiakim and Zedekiah; (2) biographical narratives interspersed with prophetic material, such as the promise of a “new covenant”; (3) a collection of diatribes against pagan nations; and (4) a brief historical appendix closely resembling 2 Kings.

Harris also says,

In its present form, the Book of Jeremiah is a bewildering collection of poetic prophecies and prose narratives, intermixed with introspective monologues, lamentations, messianic oracles, declarations of imminent disaster, and intimation of future hope. 

In short, we will be reading the confusingly context lacking prophecies of a man who was considered a traitor to Judah. Hopefully we will be able to perceive the impact of Jeremiah’s counter cultural leanings without the surrounding context.

We start Jeremiah with a general introduction. Jeremiah is the son of Hilkiah from the town of Anathoth. He started to prophecy in the reign of Josiah and continued until the fall to Babylon.

Jeremiah declares that he was chosen from by the Lord to be a prophet before he was even conceived. Given the length of Jeremiah’s career and the wording in this chapter, a popular guess is that Jeremiah was called when he was young; although he may not have literally been a child, he was probably young an inexperienced when he felt his call.

The Lord calls Jeremiah and shows him two visions. One is a branch from an almond tree. This somehow symbolizes that the Lord is watching over Jeremiah. I am guessing the almond branch symbolized something specific, but I don’t know what it is. The second vision is that of a pot of boiling water spilling from the north. That is much more straightforward, and, and the Lord explains, symbolizes the destruction of Jerusalem by kingdoms from the north. I wish the Lord was also so forthcoming with explaining his symbolism.

After this, Jeremiah begins to state the Lord’s case against the people of Jerusalem. They have strayed from proper worship of the Lord and instead worship idols. They have also compromised their integrity and shown their lack of trust by forming alliances with Egypt and Assyria. Because of these things, Israel is like an unfaithful wife or an animal in heat, eagerly turning towards others than the Lord. Because of their unfaithfulness, they deserve punishment.

New Testament

We finish Philippians today. In addition to the normal closings and admonishments to live as they should in the Lord, Paul includes a couple interesting personal messages. First he appeals to two women to settle some dispute. As part of this, he implies that they worked, possibly as equals, with him and others when he was with the Philippians.

Paul also shares his thanks for the gifts of the Philippians. At least when he wrote this letter, they were the only church that has shared gifts with him. Whether this is the cause or the effect of his love for them, we cannot tell, but it certainly signifies that he has a relationship with them that is much more genial than, for example, his relationship with the Corinthian church.

Psalms and Proverbs

The first of today’s proverbs directly contradicts some of the vengeful sentiments we have seen elsewhere in the Bible (particularly in the psalms, but also elsewhere):

Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall;
don’t be happy when they stumble.
For the Lord will be displeased with you
and will turn his anger away from them.

That’s a much nicer sentiment than those passages that imply that it is good to rejoice at the suffering of your enemies.

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Old Testament

Today, I notice that the central point of this author’s narrative is Jerusalem and scattered Jews. Every other message comes back to those. Even the message at the beginning, which compares those who fear the Lord those who go their own way comes back to images of sacrifice, a temple image which clearly brings forth thoughts of Jerusalem.

The other point I notice is more violent, vengeful imagery, but, sadly, I think I am becoming somewhat desensitized to that.

And… that’s the end of Isaiah. Hmph. Rather a flat ending. Actually, to me, the flatness of the ending supports the “collection of prophecies” hypothesis about this book. Isaiah is a collection of prophecies (probably by 3 or more prophets). Because the point was to catalog the historical range of prophecy, there isn’t a clear end.

New Testament

Paul points how that he was more Jewish than the Jewest Jew, but now he considers all of those things completely worthless because of his relationship with Jesus. Paul then exhorts the Philippians to model their life after his. He has not achieved perfection, but he is focused on the goal and will get there.

Psalms and Proverbs

Don’t wait in ambush at the home of the godly,
and don’t raid the house where the godly live.
The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.
But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.

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Old Testament

There is a lot I could comment on, but for brevity I’ll focus on a few things that pop out at me. (Side note. One thing that has been interesting going though Isaiah is that it is often so jam packed with different topics that I and the other Bible blogger I read end up covering completely different topics. In other books, I have been suspicious that one of us is reading the mind of the other. 😉

I find the imagery of watchmen whose job is to pray to be interesting. Both because it seems kind of odd (watchmen on a wall just to pray?), but also because of the lines which follow:

Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord.
Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work,
until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.

It seems that Third Isaiah is implying that, at least at some level, the prayers of people of Jerusalem are necessary for its restoration. God, it is implied, must be exhorted to action. Throughout the Bible we see passages that imply that God needs to be reminded or otherwise driven to action.

This seems like a way of dealing with the fact that seemingly unconditional promises have gone unfulfilled. The same idea is reinforced when we get to today’s portion of Isaiah 65 where the Lord says,

I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.
I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’
to a nation that did not call on my name.

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Old Testament

Everyone in the world will someday declare Jerusalem to be awesome. Those who don’t will be punished. Reading these verses, it is certainly easy to see how people thought that God’s kingdom was near when Jews started settling the land that would later be made the state of Israel.

The reading also declares that those Jews who are currently suffering as captives and prisoners will be restored to prosperity.

The last section of today’s reading is a prayer declaring the author’s love for Jerusalem. It is clear how much passion the author shows for the restoration of the city. So passionate, in fact, that I can see how he may have come to truly believe that his visions of restoration and revenge were visions from God.

New Testament

Unity will be a sign that the Philippian church is saved. As I think I have mentioned before, if we apply that standard to the modern church, well, it doesn’t come out very well.

Most of the rest of today’s reading consists of various moral instructions (don’t be selfish, be humble, work hard, live cleanly). In the midst of that we have a bit of poetry that is interesting because it is thought to be a fragment of an early hymn.

Psalms and Proverbs

Save those who are unjustly condemned.

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Old Testament

The idea which runs throughout today’s reading is that the people are not living up to the standards set for them. They have the outer semblance of worship, but do not behave in ways that are truly righteous. They show no justice and plot evil. God will forgive those who turn to him, but the people do not seem to care.

Today’s reading also contains an interesting passage which reminds me of yesterday’s description of the armor of the faithful:

[The Lord] put on righteousness as his body armor
and placed the helmet of salvation on his head.
He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance
and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion.

New Testament

New book today, and we’re back in genuine Pauline territory. Before I get to the usual background, I want to say that the Wikipedia article for Philippians is not very good. It does not have the same level of detail and organization that most of the Wikipedia articles have had.

Note to self: someday, if I have time and remember, I should go back and make it so that all of the Wikipedia articles for Bibles have the same core organization (e.g., discussion of authorship should be in a consistently named section rather than sometimes being in one of “Authorship”, “Composition”, the general overview, or elsewhere).

So what does Understanding The Bible have to say by way of introduction,

Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, the first church established in Europe, contains important biographical information about the author and his imprisonment (at either Rome or Ephesus). An unusually warm and friendly missive, it includes Paul’s quotation of an early Christian hymn that depicts Jesus as the opposite of Adam — a humbly obedient son whose denial of self leads to his heavenly exaltation.

Pretty straightforward, which makes sense for a pretty short letter.

Paul praises his relationship with the Philippian church and prays for the continued growth of the members of that church. He then talks about the preaching of his fellow believers at the location of his imprisonment. Paul then expresses a death wish (so that he can be with Jesus) that is tempered by his desire to help others and spread the gospel.

Psalms and Proverbs

There are some Bible verses that people quote to each other for comfort. Public service announcement, this should not be one of them:

If you fail under pressure,
your strength is too small.

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Old Testament

We transition from Second Isaiah to third Isaiah today. I noticed a transition, but I actually put it nearly a chapter later than it appears I should have. It’s also worth noting the the transition in author was not nearly as noticeable as the transition between Isaiah and Second Isaiah (although the transition in tone most certainly was); I don’t know if I would have noticed it if I hadn’t known it was coming.

What does Understanding The Bible have to say about Third Isaiah:

But it fell to another anonymous prophet, Third Isaiah, to cope with the grim realities that returning exiles actually encountered. Instead of a gloriously renewed homeland, repatriated Judeans found only a war-devastated “wilderness” and the holy city “a desolation”. Assuming Second Isaiah’s role as prophetic comforter, this postexilic prophet offered both reassurance of Yahweh’s future plans for the covenant people and criticism for their failure to share limited resources with the poor.

Second Isaiah ends on a positive note. He tells of the restored glory of Jerusalem and of the profoundness of God.

Isaiah 56 changes tone a little, but there is a continuity in so far as both chapters 55 and 56 touch upon the relationship of the restored Israel to other nations. One thing that was interesting in the first part of chapter 56 is the introduction of the possibility for non-Israelites to be saved if they commit themselves to the Lord. It seems to me as if the Biblical authors are starting to realize that advocating true monotheism without advocating the possibility of salvation for all puts them into a situation where their God shows irrational favoritism. Instead, Second or Third Isaiah, whichever it is, seems to be leaning towards the solution that is often favored by people these days: God chose to give some people a special role, but he did not reserve his blessings for those people.

The place I noticed the transition was Isaiah 56:9:

Come, wild animals of the field!
Come, wild animals of the forest!
Come and devour my people!

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Old Testament

Today’s reading explores the normal themes of Second Isaiah: God is universal in power but not in favor. The author emphasizes punishment and redemption of the Israelites. All others exist relative to the Israelites and every other country’s fate is relative to the fate of Jerusalem.

This is followed by one of the “suffering servant” poems. This one will sound familiar to anyone familiar with the Christian mythos because the authors of the Christian gospels borrowed heavily from its imagery. This passage is unique amongst passages that could be read as messianic in that it implies that redemption can come through suffering. Obviously, such a theme would be important to those whose leader had died a shameful death.

New Testament

Exciting! The author of Ephesians uses a phrase that seems to be meant to invoke sacrifice in the Israelite Temple:

[he] offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

Then we have a bit about being moral. In the midst of the moral advice, we have this interesting little bit:

This is why it is said,

“Awake, O sleeper,
rise up from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”

The phrase “That is why it is said” points to some tradition that dates from before this letter. Was it an oral tradition? Or is it from some piece of writing that was considered to be scripture by the author of Ephesians but has since been lost?

After that, we get the famous passage about the relationship between husbands and wives. I think the whole thing is bunk, and, as a non-Christian, I don’t need to bother with it beyond that. Sometimes it’s great being an evil atheist who does not take the Bible seriously.

Psalms and Proverbs

Nothing of particular note.

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Old Testament

Today we have declarations that the God of Israel is the only God, declarations of Cyrus of Persia as the rescuer of Israel, passages that could be interpreted as foretelling a messiah, declarations of Israel’s disobedience, and promises of Israel’s restoration. Nothing new really, so I have nothing interesting to say.

New Testament

Today’s readings consist largely of a bunch of common sense moral commandments.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today’s proverbs are about the value of wisdom, especially in war.

Wow, I don’t have a lot to say today. I guess even I am sometimes concise.

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Old Testament

Almost all of today’s reading is Second Isaiah writing in God’s voice. The impression one gets of God from this reading is that he is a very annoyed individual, especially at idols, which he brings up several times. Other themes God emphasizes are his power and reliability and the fact that he is the only God. Also, Cyrus will save the people of Israel and Babylon will fall.

New Testament

Today, the author of Ephesians emphasizes unity and peace in the church. We also see that the imminent return of Jesus (as implied in the authentic Pauline letters and the gospels) has been replaced with a sense that Jesus will not return until a more distant future:

This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

The implication here is that Jesus will come once the church is good and ready for it, and not before. This is a rather brilliant way of putting it because it’s a standard that you can always push back. No matter how unified in faith and knowledge the church is, it can always be said that there is further to go, pushing Jesus’s return off further and further into the future (not that there has ever really been a time when the church could have lived up to even a weak version of this standard, but I digress).

One other point of note, the passage from the psalms cited in today’s reading is the last verse of yesterday’s reading from the psalms, and it is the psalm that is continued in today’s reading. I think this may be the closest we have come to having a reading and a citation of that reading align.

Psalms and Proverbs

I am working on building a house, so I liked today’s proverbs:

A house is built by wisdom
and becomes strong through good sense.
Through knowledge its rooms are filled
with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.