Cheeky Monkeys

Oh, that's a BBC prog -- we use it all the time. (I first came across it when a client needed footage of monkeys drinking out of cups for a beer commercial.) t /Jess' job likes monkeys

Andy's blog is my new favorite thing for sure. His recent response to the lady who wrote in with random quote marks "complaining" about the gay "content" on "Bravo" was "hilarious."

I'm watching PR right now, AIFG.

ita, did you watch last night's Hustle yet?

Skipping ahead a few posts to say, after all that Old Testament stuff--have any of you been reading "Blogging the Bible" on slate.com? It's fascinating stuff...

Instead of working this morning I followed meara's suggestion and read this series at Slate. It is an interesting, and often funny, attempt to read the Bible as text, stripped of Hellenistic retcons other nonscriptural aplogetics.

So far it supports the view of God as a psychopathic warlord, but of course the story isn't over yet. Perhaps he will redeem himself in the end.

I hope that wasn't a spoiler.

As amusing and even informative as it is to read the Bible simply as text, as a story, that doesn't provide an accurate understanding of it. It can't be understood outside of its cultural parameters. Which is true of any literary work, even, I argue, a divinely inspired one.

The story of Abraham and Issac made more sense to me when I realized that child sacrifice was common in the pagan religions the Hebrews were used to, and for a god to say, "No, you don't actually have to do that," was incredible. A god who didn't deman your children's lives - that had to be a big draw. So after realizing that, I saw that story as showing God to be merciful and loving, rather than capricious and abusive. And I did understand what someone else pointed out before, that it wasn't enough to tell Abraham that he didn't have to do that anymore. You ahve to demonstrate things to people, in very solid form, before they really believe them. That's true of humans everywhere and everywhen. If I were a god and my people thought they had to kill their babies for me, I'd demonstrate otherwise in much the same manner.

That said, I still fume about Jephthah's poor daughter. I don't remember if that was before or after Abraham, but it doesn't really matter.

Then there was an Old Testament prophet (I forget who) - a bunch of kids made fun of him, so God sent some she-bears to kill the kids....

Then there was an Old Testament prophet (I forget who) - a bunch of kids made fun of him, so God sent some she-bears to kill the kids....

Elisha, IIRC.

Rick, I'm curious. What is it *textually* in the OT that makes you see God, as described, as a psychopathic warlord?

Then there was an Old Testament prophet (I forget who) - a bunch of kids made fun of him, so God sent some she-bears to kill the kids.

Elisha, I believe. The kids mocked him for being bald. And, really, life would have brought an ironic punishment to most of the male kids eventually, at least. Bears seem like overkill.

A bunch of kids made fun of Elisha because he was bald, and he cursed them, and God sent two she-bears who "tare 42 of them".

From memory. IIRC.

I don't belive that really happened; even if two bears really did kill a bunch of kids once, it wasn't because of a curse. But if it's read as truth, as something a god did? Seriously? That's a little psychopathic.