Daniel among the blogs

Reading Acts has taken up Daniel, writes Jim Davila of Paleojudaica. Where is C.P.Snow when I need him to describe all the emotional back stories about pseudipigrapha? These two writers Phil Long and Jim Davila are among whom I consider most important in the scholarly field. They are reliable in what they write and I consider them valuable.

Phil encourages comments and gets lots. I presume from his students. Jim has not enabled comments but his volume and focus is second to none when it comes to his reporting on "the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world". Phil too is a careful writer and prolific blogger. The sharpness of his teaching may not be felt among his students. But we students, whomsoever's we are, must grow up, or so we hope.

Does it challenge your faith that God might have deceived you about what the book of Daniel is? It is among the writings, not among the prophets.

Do you know of the fly that masquerades as a wasp? God uses deception to put you in your place, and perhaps to leave you there.

O Snoopy, I should have done more dancing.

Phil Long writes and teaches in a place where he gets many readers who are 'conservative' in their attitude to scripture. By conservative, I hear: belief in the 'inerrancy' of scripture. By inerrancy (this word always shows up as a spelling error), I mean that the reader imagines that he or she knows what God means when he or she reads the scripture. (If only he or she would actually read it.)

Inerrancy is a power trip and a fear trip. It will not hear what is contrary to its view. Its words are sewn up in a bag. It has absolutely nothing to do with faith in God. It is 'faith in what I think I am supposed to believe about God'. (This can happen in any field of study. One can become trapped in one's own thought system.)

Wake up. Grow up and take responsibility for the things you cannot know, or think you know that ain't so.

This is no small problem today when conservatives use their fear and self-interest to elect evil in the presence of God. Their God will not consider them innocent.

Real fear would be a beginning of wisdom.