Links - remembering the past

I was looking around the web and found an old article of mine on Patterns of Recurrence in the Poetry of the Psalms from December 2014, almost lost in history.

And a fine essay by Anthony Ledonne on Adele Reinhartz book Cast out of the Covenant and then another one on the perils of friendship.

On the Truth and Reconciliation Day (A new Canadian Holiday) we watched The Flight of the Hummingbird, Pacific Opera Victoria - still available on YouTube streaming for a few weeks.

The Biblical Studies Carnival is available for September. I will be doing the November Carnival next month, November, for delivery Dec 1. Three articles came my way this past 24 hours on Hebrew script and linguistics. The link in the carnival to a free e-book on the history of Hebrew Script, an article on aywh-lo yzr cngdo and one from the Hebrew Café - a warning on magical thinking about letters.

Old carnivals have some history too: Somewhat far back from 'on not being a sausage' is this on Bach's Magnificat, linked from a James McGrath rare mid-month Carnival 10 years ago. The next carnival at the same patheos site, Bibliobloggers Strike Back, has a very racy section. Some of its links (BW16) have gone private - but there is still much to read including a response with plain sense for those who can manage from BW3. (I am not at all convinced that this is the only possible righteous response. It seems to me that boiling the text down to meaning is more of a power than a love trip.) There had to be a third episode of course including a trip in a TARDIS.

Still in 2011, from the month earlier August carnival lampooning the carnie atmosphere, comes this definition of a Biblical Studies Blogger by John Hobbins, himself too busy these days to be in the blogging business any more. (And he might be horrified at what I have done to Hebrew!)

Backing up to 2009, this carnival from anti-bishop NT Wrong. No One knows the real name of that Biblical Studies blogger. But he/she/they impressively knew/knows/know all the classic bloggers - many of whom are still blogging - though some referenced sites have disappeared. In 2016 - surprise - another long carnival from the bishop of Durham (NC).

The earliest carnival #1 from March 2005 is still available. Some of its links require the way-back machine. Including one large jpeg on the chiastic structure of Mark and a note on how to address a business letter (Jacob to Esau). 

If you've never read a BS Carnival, these will give you some sort of intro. The links were gathered from Phil Long's master BS Carnival list, almost up to date... 

Can there be a message of unity when we do not imply uniformity

The other day I attended a lecture through the auspices of the Anglican Association of Biblical Scholars. I hope the site will eventually contain the lecture from Dr. Stephen Lim of Ming Hua Theological College in Hong Kong on Teaching in context.

It was an excellent lecture on the general subject of Dismantling whiteness. I noted several issues that he touched on that allow those with the 'power of discursive capacity' to avoid real change and even 'enable-and-ignore' the impetus to change.

He used the phrase 'spread the message'. My question was what message, what context and content? 

He noted that his work felt as if it was a 'lonely endeavour'. He has considerable background outside of theology, his third degree. He is also a cellist - I am so pleased that music informs him. He spoke of 'colonized space', 'punishment' - I wrote a note hoping that this is not a part of the message, but rather  'critique, correction, and consequences'. 

In the area of 'classroom as context', and 'systems and tradition', he spoke of the difficulty of allowing 'students to find their own voice'. He said 'we cannot change minds - but we can rearrange desires'. He spoke of the 'teacher as fellow-traveler'.

Just now, I had an insight based on Psalms 9, that we do have a message that can lead to unity and not imply uniformity. It is in the Tanach. And I think we need it. I won't repeat myself here because I am in conversation, I hope not 'lonely', here at the site beautifully named 'in a spacious place'.

Dark side of the moon

 My computer was struck by two power failures in succession and is in for repairs. So I am silent. Check out travels with HP where I am still commenting. Christopher Page is raising some good questions and has the sort of persistence without too much detail that we may not get bogged down in this study.

Immersed in an intellectual problem

I have been ignoring this blog and its ratings are dropping. Augh!

I have been blogging on a private blog in experimental mode, exploring the rules for converting Hebrew haser text to SimHebrew such that they agree with the result of converting malé text to SimHebrew.

Hunh! What does that mean. Well, I tell ya, it's complicated, and my logic is contorted, and my name for programmers including me is bugs-r-us.

I have also been listening to amazing music in virtual performances like this one from the sixteen,

or this one on Classical Cambridge from Sarah, my daughter, the proof of the 40 part version (about minute 33) of the same quarantine song from the Psalms below - astonishing (but listen to the video performance first and then the whole interview). The forty part version is like a congregation singing in tongues.

I have considered but not even begun the possibility that the music of the Psalms per Haïk-Vantoura could be imagined in a similar round.




I will post about the programming problem soon - it is another of the things that has occupied me during lockdown, but equally as interesting with respect to learning Hebrew as the music of the accents has been.

More to come...

THink Issue 5

This magazine may be worth a read. I have enjoyed them before. I was struck by C.S. Lewis's comment that they cite in the email notice:

In 1939, CS Lewis preached to a group of students in Oxford about the value of scholarship for a nation being tested: “The war creates no absolutely new situation,” he said, “it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice...

I have been busy with simulated Hebrew - processing the 'defective' WLC to see the 'rules' behind the modern 'full' spelling versions of Hebrew (without vowel points but with additional yods and vavs and for sim Hebrew the odd o and u). More to come...

COVID-19 a seventh snapshot

What's changed since yesterday? Italy has moved into 2nd place ahead of china and behind the USA. Netherlands has moved ahead of S. Korea. Belgium has gained one place over Austria. Turkey has jumped up 3 places past Portugal Canada and Norway. Sweden has dropped back to 21st, off the chart, and Brazil (22nd yesterday) has taken 19th place from Sweden.

We are in the 31st Day of Lent. We are stuck for words, like the poet George Herbert as outlined in this apt series of posts from Jim Gordon.

March 28, COVID-19 cases

Lent 19

Whoops - Herbert and Day 19 is a day late, and 20 was already posted directly to Facebook. But you can see them all at the link.

Lent 11, the soul in paraphrase

I have not missed Herbert but posted directly to Facebook this past week. Just to keep you going back if you get it on this blog, this one on prayer is a stunner.

Lent 4

These poems by Herbert are simply wonderful. This one is so accurate and timeless. Science is what reason has borrowed from nature.

Lent 3

Herbert does it againe. I wonder if Jim Gordon can keep this up for 40 days.

Lent 2

Another poem, this time by a modern liturgist, Doug Chaplin, based on Augustine. These last two posts are nice things that are not going into the carnival, due out March 1.

Lent

It is Lent and true to character, Living Wittily has posted a poem, Agonie, by George Herbert, that should be read by all. What a gift Herbert is.

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.

Videos of Diarmaid MacCulloch at UVIC

People may be interested in these lectures from Oxford history professor, Diarmaid MacCulloch from the last two weeks here in Victoria.

First, Christianity, Past, Present, and Future
Christianity - Past, Present, and Future. from CSRS on Vimeo.

and second, Christianity and Islam, Drawing the Right Lessons from History
Christianity and Islam Drawing the Right Lessons from History from CSRS on Vimeo.

Advent links - week 4

A lego camel
in front of a well-thumbed Jerusalem Bible

Via the Velveteen Rabbi, a nice play on becoming. Christians should think about this. Who is the one who is, who was, and who is to come in relation to the Hebrew parentage that we share?

It is the fourth Sunday of Advent today and I found myself shopping! But will soon go to a service of 9 lessons and carols at the cathedral. Here from Phil is a post on the original sign of Emmanuel.

We can end this short week with the O antiphons from the Liturgy site.

Prepared for the mythology of the composite pageant of Christmas, here critically reviewed (in past articles) by Paul Davidson.

The pageant and comedy here. In case you have forgotten the carnival, not only is the TNK political, but so is Christianity if it is to be true to its message of putting down the mighty from their seat and exalting the humble and meek.

Advent links - week 3

Jim Gordon - prayer at a locked door.
Rachel Barenblaat - on making oneself known.
James McGrath - reporting on John Polkinghorne re science vs religion.
Bruggemann's Jesse Tree project is very full - lots of possible work here for the dedicated.

Have a look at Shawna Slater's answer to telling your kids about Santa. The 'Yes, Virginia' story is there too.

This post I did from October is very relevant to Advent. Music is a weapon of war - against mental illness, against violence, against depression. It defines a time in which irrelevant arguments (like religion or faith vs science) have no place. Ignore the distractions. Take every precaution to discover them before they distract you. I had occasion to set a little of this chapter 2 Chronicles 20 as part of volume 7 of Bob's Bible - coming under a different title to an ebook publisher near you.

Jesus in Egypt reading Exodus with his mother, from Kurk Gayle.
Jim Gordon on the crib. This is a teacher who knows how to read poetry.

While dealing with gender difficulties would have distracted me from my reading project. (For the gender difficulty of language appears insoluble to me today). There is a real difficulty with gender bias and power. This article via blt is clear on the issues.

Ian Paul has his annual repeat post on the chronology of Luke. Recall the 20 year shift pointed out between Josephus and Luke in the Carnival posts from earlier this month.

Is Luke correcting Josephus? Is Luke disguising history for the sake of theology or just to keep his head down? Is our idea of 'historical' just another distraction to stop us from actually doing something good?

What's Jesus about these days? The Velveteen Rabbi has a poem on it.

Remind me to follow up on this one re the purification of women after childbirth.

Worried about the future, try this page. (Via Henry)

I managed to produce a full glossary this month. See the links in the Analysis page.

Jim Davila points to the star of Bethlehem as midrash on Numbers 24:17.

When exactly did the word become flesh.

Advent links - week 2

Grover Advent

Prepare him room. Here's a sweet cartoon my daughter sent me.

What else did I find this week?

Andrew posts on not having the answers until you have seen the data. It should be disarming. But the question I have been thinking of is how do I prepare for the spirit and presence with me? I must confess my anger at least to myself and then purge it from my dialogue. [I have done this with my intro to Bob's Bible - it is, I hope, purged of king Bob.] This is difficult for a number of reasons. But now that I have seen some of the data, I may be able to approach the New Testament again without letting the answers get in the way of my reading.

Bosco Peters always has resources for the next week. Here's his Advent 3 preparation with the history of a collect.

OUP has an article on international disability rights and how courts are interpreting them.

Henry is reading Brevard Childs.

Bosco Peters has an extra on disagreeing with the Bible. I can agree that there are internal contradictions. Does it matter? I don't think so. What then is the Bible good for? Why is it so revered, so reviled, so relevant, and so ignored all at the same time?

It is a serious concern given the text of Matthew that Phil Long is commenting on here.

Ancient board game, 58 Holes, 'spread like wildfire?'

Modern Internet analysis - the genesis of the torah.com site - much more recent than I thought.

Pete Enns on St Nick (from 2012)

Advent links - week 1

A detailed interaction between two scholars on the beginning of the separation of Christianity from Judaism - When Christians were Jews by Paula Fredriksen, review by Larry Hurtado.

Here is a meditation on Isaiah 9 from Jim Gordon (verse numbers differ from the Hebrew.) And my work on it from January '17. Jim's is seasonally timed. Mine was not. I heard Evelyn Glennie in New York at Carnegie Hall when the Winnipeg Symphony played there in May of 2014.

This article is too hard for me but fascinating if one were trained in the software of mtDNA. The concluding comment underlines Occam's razor: Science greedily seizes simplicity among complexities. Poetics among scientists.

Species are islands in sequence space.
COI barcode NJ tree and Klee diagram of American Robin
(Turdus migratorius) and closely related Turdus species.

This sentence gave me brief pause:

Therefore the biological classification is simultaneously a man-made system of pigeonholes devised for the pragmatic purpose of recording observations in a convenient manner and an acknowledgement of the fact of organic discontinuity.

Does this ask the question, what is 'in' the database? And does our database design preclude our seeing other possibilities?

OUP has another post on genetics these past few days.

Given that the family of Jesus was a refugee family, perhaps this art exhibit of the itinerary of recent refugees will be of interest. CRASSH is a very full and busy site with many RSS feeds on events and articles of interest. The copyright image of a refugee gripping razor wire reminds me of the picture I took in Israel in 2010 of the pomegranate in razor wire. (In the recent somewhat too serious carnival.)

Take note - a bit of internationalization for Prof J. Simon.

A detail or two on the redaction of Daniel, showing the similarities to the story of Joseph's dream interpretation.

Is there a definitive proof of the existence of God

Good for Gödel

Hebrews and the Psalms

This article is outstanding.