Lent started this week. This is the first year I haven't given up something (because my health and fitness goals are actually being accomplished); instead, I'm taking on increased study of the Bible and Christianity in general. So I'm reading the Bible straight through. Or, rather, picking up where I left off in the Bible last year.
As I was searching for my page, I came across an interesting law in Deuteronomy. The passage caught my eye because it raises a very relevant question when reading Deuteronomy: "WHO DECIDED THERE NEEDED TO BE A RULE FOR THIS?" Obviously, it was a problem, or nobody would bother writing it down, right?
The rule is from Deuteronomy 25:11-12:
"(11) If men get into a fight with one another, and the wife of one intervenes to rescue her husband from the grip of his opponent by reaching out and seizing his genitals, (12) you shall cut off her hand; show no pity."
This passage is interesting because it demonstrates the highly gendered society that existed in the Biblical era. Instead of addressing the reason the men are fighting, the law concerns cutting off the hand of the woman who tried to distract her husband's opponent. What problem are the Deuteronomy writers trying to solve with this? Who will be helped by this woman losing her hand? Instead of having two people with black eyes and one person with sore genitals, there is an ADDITIONAL injury in the woman who now has only one hand.
Obviously, there was something about this situation that people of the Biblical era had a problem with - most directly, the fact that a woman is touching anyone's crotch, and especially that she has to touch the crotch of a man who is not her husband. Is this some sort of rendition of coveting someone else's spouse?
It can't be - the text specifically says that the woman is reaching out "to rescue her husband from the grip of his opponent." To me, her tactic seems to be a clever idea. From what I understand, mens' genitals are very sensitive, so it would seem like a good idea to distract him by grabbing at his most sensitive area. The wife is not grabbing this man's crotch in any way EXCEPT to distract him from hurting her husband. And yet the woman is the one whose hand will be cut off. Why is this?
Does anyone know?
Showing posts with label Lent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lent. Show all posts
Friday, February 20, 2015
Monday, April 21, 2014
On Fun Stuff and also Lent
Sooo I went home over the weekend for Easter/ birthdays/ seeing family/ seeing boyfriend/ seeing Captain America 2. It was fun to go back and see my boyfriend and family again, even if it was only for a weekend. Even though my birthday was almost two weeks ago, the celebration was on Saturday because that was when everyone was home anyway. It's weird - I actually feel like I'm properly a year older now. I kept referring to myself as my former age before that, but now I feel like I'm solidly in this age now. I don't know why that is.
The other fun/ interesting/ whatever thing that I noticed this weekend is that I was finally able to complete a Lenten challenge for myself. I gave up flash games, and took on journaling every night, as well as reading a chapter of the Bible every night and to read the Lenten devotional booklet given out at the church I attend at school. This introduced me to my favorite prayer. Normally I try to stay religion-neutral here, but I feel like this is a good message for a lot of people, regardless of faith status.
THE PRAYER OF SAINT FRANCIS
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace
where there is hatred, let me sow love,
where there is is injury, pardon,
where there is error, truth,
where there is doubt, faith,
where there is despair, hope,
where there is darkness, light,
and where there is sadness, joy.
Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
On that note, I'll write again on Friday.
The other fun/ interesting/ whatever thing that I noticed this weekend is that I was finally able to complete a Lenten challenge for myself. I gave up flash games, and took on journaling every night, as well as reading a chapter of the Bible every night and to read the Lenten devotional booklet given out at the church I attend at school. This introduced me to my favorite prayer. Normally I try to stay religion-neutral here, but I feel like this is a good message for a lot of people, regardless of faith status.
THE PRAYER OF SAINT FRANCIS
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace
where there is hatred, let me sow love,
where there is is injury, pardon,
where there is error, truth,
where there is doubt, faith,
where there is despair, hope,
where there is darkness, light,
and where there is sadness, joy.
Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
On that note, I'll write again on Friday.
Friday, March 7, 2014
On Lent
So this is the first Friday of Lent. So far, it's going pretty well, I think. I've run into a roadblock, though. Fortunately, it's only today (hopefully).
So one of my resolutions is to read the Bible a bit every day. This has been going as well as can be expected, I think. I normally read before I go to bed, and last night was no different. I did my read-then-pray/meditate shindig, and I put my bible in this bag that hangs from a device I use as a coat rack/ place-to-hold-bags-that-hold-books-because-my-bed-is-lofted. Well, that bag is now missing. I'm not sure where it went, but I know that it is no longer hanging up on the coat-rack-thing. I haven't taken it out anywhere, because I'm putting some fraternity letters on it but it's not done yet. Hopefully it'll turn up, but this is going to put me back a few days on devotions if it keeps up. (also, I won't have a snazzy new bag, but that's not the point).
Other Lent-related things are going pretty well. So far, I have succeeded in avoiding mindless games - and, as I expected, I am suddenly finding myself with a whole bunch of free time. (I'm still procrastinating sometimes, but it's productive procrastination. I'm not staring blankly at a screen, I'm crocheting and knitting while watching YouTube). I'm frequently the sort of person who says 'only five more minutes...' and winds up taking an hour, and the lack of games to provoke that has helped me realize that.
I've also been writing a little bit more as well. Not a lot - I've only done one creative thing and two journal entries since Lent began - but I did write a really weird contextual back story for the lyrics of "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles. It involves serial killers with face fetishes and church-based bounty hunters. (I didn't say that it was good, I just said it happened).
Well, those are all the updates I have for this week. Will write again on Monday.
So one of my resolutions is to read the Bible a bit every day. This has been going as well as can be expected, I think. I normally read before I go to bed, and last night was no different. I did my read-then-pray/meditate shindig, and I put my bible in this bag that hangs from a device I use as a coat rack/ place-to-hold-bags-that-hold-books-because-my-bed-is-lofted. Well, that bag is now missing. I'm not sure where it went, but I know that it is no longer hanging up on the coat-rack-thing. I haven't taken it out anywhere, because I'm putting some fraternity letters on it but it's not done yet. Hopefully it'll turn up, but this is going to put me back a few days on devotions if it keeps up. (also, I won't have a snazzy new bag, but that's not the point).
Other Lent-related things are going pretty well. So far, I have succeeded in avoiding mindless games - and, as I expected, I am suddenly finding myself with a whole bunch of free time. (I'm still procrastinating sometimes, but it's productive procrastination. I'm not staring blankly at a screen, I'm crocheting and knitting while watching YouTube). I'm frequently the sort of person who says 'only five more minutes...' and winds up taking an hour, and the lack of games to provoke that has helped me realize that.
I've also been writing a little bit more as well. Not a lot - I've only done one creative thing and two journal entries since Lent began - but I did write a really weird contextual back story for the lyrics of "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles. It involves serial killers with face fetishes and church-based bounty hunters. (I didn't say that it was good, I just said it happened).
Well, those are all the updates I have for this week. Will write again on Monday.
Monday, March 3, 2014
On Mondays
I don't mind Mondays. I've got an afternoon of decent length, but it's definitively no longer the weekend. Also, when you have to do laundry on a Monday, it's not a good day. (even though we had a snow day today, it still wound up being kind of lousy, because my laundry hampers broke, and I wound up not drying my extra set of sheets because only 1 handle of the 4 total actually functions. Also, homework).
I do, however, like snow days. Well, not 'snow days,' necessarily. I like morning delays. I don't have my 8:00 or my 10:00 tomorrow (unfortunately, the latter is King Arthur, but I hadn't finished the reading... but all motivation for that finished when I learned it was canceled), so I'm definitely going to hang out with people after I finish this. I know that it's 10:15, almost, and, if I want to keep something of a regular sleep cycle, I should be going to bed sooner rather than later, but I'm still going to wake up before 8:00 tomorrow to finish my character sheet for D&D.
One thing I've noticed in college is that I've opened up more to the idea that joining friends after 10:00 PM is perfectly acceptable. I know that all the 'cool kids' in high school didn't actually show up to an 8:00 dance until 9:30, but this is more casual than that. I'm bringing some crafting stuff, for example, and hoping for the best. (I'm actually going to have to hope for the best, because, now that I think about it, it might not be the greatest idea I've ever had).
I know this is a post that is covering a lot of topics all at once (I may be trying to avoid last week's Lazy Post again), but Lent begins on Wednesday. I haven't figured out what I'm giving up for Lent yet (or taking on, for that matter), but I'm considering giving up dumb internet games and taking on writing and/ or Bible reading and/ or gym time. I think the first step is to give up the dumb flash games, though, because they're pretty much the source of all my procrastination time thus far in the semester. I think that, once I stop playing those dumb games, I'll actually be able to commit to other things in my life that demand greater importance. I think, at its heart, that's what Lent is about - as people on the Internet so rightly point out, giving up chocolate doesn't necessarily make you a better person. The point is not necessarily to become a better person - that's hopefully just a side effect. I think the point of Lent is to commit to doing something that will bring you closer to God (or an ideal that you hold dear). Is that really so bad?
I do, however, like snow days. Well, not 'snow days,' necessarily. I like morning delays. I don't have my 8:00 or my 10:00 tomorrow (unfortunately, the latter is King Arthur, but I hadn't finished the reading... but all motivation for that finished when I learned it was canceled), so I'm definitely going to hang out with people after I finish this. I know that it's 10:15, almost, and, if I want to keep something of a regular sleep cycle, I should be going to bed sooner rather than later, but I'm still going to wake up before 8:00 tomorrow to finish my character sheet for D&D.
One thing I've noticed in college is that I've opened up more to the idea that joining friends after 10:00 PM is perfectly acceptable. I know that all the 'cool kids' in high school didn't actually show up to an 8:00 dance until 9:30, but this is more casual than that. I'm bringing some crafting stuff, for example, and hoping for the best. (I'm actually going to have to hope for the best, because, now that I think about it, it might not be the greatest idea I've ever had).
I know this is a post that is covering a lot of topics all at once (I may be trying to avoid last week's Lazy Post again), but Lent begins on Wednesday. I haven't figured out what I'm giving up for Lent yet (or taking on, for that matter), but I'm considering giving up dumb internet games and taking on writing and/ or Bible reading and/ or gym time. I think the first step is to give up the dumb flash games, though, because they're pretty much the source of all my procrastination time thus far in the semester. I think that, once I stop playing those dumb games, I'll actually be able to commit to other things in my life that demand greater importance. I think, at its heart, that's what Lent is about - as people on the Internet so rightly point out, giving up chocolate doesn't necessarily make you a better person. The point is not necessarily to become a better person - that's hopefully just a side effect. I think the point of Lent is to commit to doing something that will bring you closer to God (or an ideal that you hold dear). Is that really so bad?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)