Chapter 5 response

Due Date: Friday November 20

For this week your task is to take two of the Bible verses Jacobs uses at the beginning of each day he writes about and analyze both the meaning behind the quote and how this applies to life / how it is interpreted by Jacobs. So for both: Write the quote, describe what it means and apply it to either Jacobs journey in literalism and/or what it means, metaphorically, in the modern world.

Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you - for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. - Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 (NIV)

This quote is telling us not to listen to everything people say about others and ourselves, specifically negative things, because they may lead to sinful action, also if you become angry about someone saying something about, you are being a hypocrite because you have said something against another person at one point too. Jacobs incorporates this into his life by deciding that he should stop trying to find out what other people are saying about him in book reviews and other things. He also decides that when he does read something, or hear something about him that is demeaning, that he should ignore it and not worry about it.

You shall write them on the doorposts of your house... - deuteronomy 6:9

This quote is talking about the 10 Commandments, and how you should put them on the threshold or doorway of your house. It says this, because when you spend that much time writing them down, you have time to think about what they are said for, and how to incorporate them into your life. Jacobs incorporates this into his life by following it directly. He writes the Ten Commandments around his door in pencil. He spends three hours on this and by doing this he would now be reminded every time he walked through his door to follow the Ten Commandments.

Of the three sections of the Bible, choose two to read.

Your choices are:

The Flood
The Book of Ruth
David vs. Goliath

For the two sections you choose to read you are assigned to answer three questions from the end of the reading. You can choose any of the questions to answer as long as each has clear connection to what we are studying. (In other words, try to avoid answering literary analysis questions.) In total you will answer 6 questions of your choice from two of the three readings.

The Food

1. What is the meaning of the statement, "Noah walked with God"? What does God's willingness o spare the earth because of Noah suggest?

The meaning of the statement suggests that Noah was probably praying while on a walk or something, and God began speaking to him. It could also mean that Noah was connected to God and therefore took him with him wherever he walked. God's willingness to spare the earth because of Noah shows that he did not want to give up on what he created. He did not want to destroy everything he had made and start over, so he took the people who were good of heart and loyal to him, and saved them. He also did this so they could repopulate the earth.

2. How does the Flood reduce the Earth to the early stages of creation? How might this fact make humans especially eager to have a covenant?

In the early stages of creation, there was nothing but the animals God had just recently created, and no people inhabiting the earth. After the flood, there were only the animals God had saved on Noah's arc, Noah, and his family. This shows how barren the earth must have been after the flood and how it would've seemed a lot like after he had just created it. also, God rose the ground from the seas in the creation of the earth so it seems like when the waters were lowering that it would've felt a lot the same. The power that God has to be able to do this to the entire earth scares humans, so it would influence them greatly to make a covenant with God to be sure he doesn't do it again.

3. How does God's giving of all creatures into human hands look back to Genesis 1:26? How do God's commandments to Noah look forward to the Ten Commandments?

God's giving of all creatures into human hands is like in Genesis when he allowed Adam to name every creature whatever he wanted. It also shows human dominance over all the animals of the world just like Genesis did. God's Commandments to Noah look forward to the Ten Commandment because God gives many of the same rules to Noah, in just a less refined way.

David and Goliath

1. It is fair to call the combat between David and Goliath a contest of good and evil? Explain.

It is fair to call the Combat a contest of good and evil. It is fair because God is on the side of David and the Israelites throughout the conflict. This makes it a contest of good and evil, because God takes sides. If it was a petty fight about land or something God would not take a side in the matter because it does not concern him, but in this conflict God guides and helps David to defeating Goliath who represents evil.

2. David describes to Saul his role as a shepherd. What does this description suggest about God's role in relation to the Hebrew people? How does the story of David and Goliath illustrate this role?

God's role, in relation to the Hebrews, is the same as David's to his flock. God must guide his flock and keep them safe from whatever danger he can. This is shown well in the story of David and Goliath, because under normal circumstances, a boy would not be able to take down a man who is over nine feet tall who is a trained warrior. But with God's guidance, David is able to slay Goliath and become victorious.

3. David refuses to use conventional weapons. How is this refusal a statement about the relationship between the Hebrew people and God?

David's refusal to use conventional weapons shows the relationship between the Hebrews greatly, because even though he is just a boy/young man he still has a ton of faith in God. He has enough faith to go up against a giant of a man with nothing but a sling and some rocks. This shows his incredible faith that God will aide him through the battle he is having with Goliath, which also shows how much faith the entirety of the Hebrew people have.

Chapters 3 & 4 responses

Here are your questions for Chapter 3. Choose three of the seven to answer. You choose which you want to address. Answer them via the blog or have a hard copy when you get to class.

1) Comment / summarize on why Jacobs has such a hard time speaking biblically or avoiding Lashon Hara - "The Evil Tongue"

Jacobs has an extremely hard time avoiding Lashron Hara, because it includes many things that are frequently the center of conversations, are completely forbidden in the Bible. These include not lying, not complaining, and not gossiping. Jacobs even goes to say that one should avoid negative conversation all together!

2) What did Jacobs mean when he stated: "It is exactly what I was always most afraid of with religion. To embrace religion, you have to surrender some control."

Jacobs likes to be in control all the time of himself and what is happening around him. In religion though, he must give up some of his control and have blind faith in God. He must truly believe what in the bible and what it is teaching him to be truly religious, which would make his experiment worthwhile.

7) What is meant by the term Chasid Shote or Righteous Idiot? What does this address about religious belief?

A Righteous Idiot is someone who takes the meanings of the teachings of a religion too far. They take the teachings as far as to where they cherish them over human life. This means that if someone is dying, but the "idiot" is too caught up with whether it would be ok from a religious standpoint to even touch them.

Chapter 4 comment

In Chapter Four Jacobs finally understood what the Sabbath is about. He gets locked in his bathroom for four hours with nothing to do. But, after being in there for couple hours he begins to realize that the world is rushing past him while he is just sitting there, he can do nothing about it, but he is ok with it. He realizes that this is what the Sabbath should feel like, serene and peaceful, without the strain of city life, or the strain of any kind of life for that matter, just relaxation. He also realizes to accept what he has and appreciate it in this time.

Summarizing the Bible and Genesis

The bible is a collection of religious works tell morals and stories to live by. The Bible has been traditionally divided into sections. The first five books are from the Hebrew bible, the Torah, and is concerned mainly with creation and the law. Many sections of the book contain historical accounts from prophets, or the apostles. There are even parts of the Bible that contain poems and songs. The Bible was compiled from around the tenth century BC onward. No one person was able to write the whole bible, but rather many people expanding on their predecessors work. The Bible is also based on basic themes of power, goodness, and mercy of the one God. The importance of this text is mainly to the faiths of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, but also to other people such as historians trying to glean any solid historical evidence from it.

Genesis

what meanings are associated with light and darkness in the first chapter in Genesis?

light is associated with goodness, and darkness is associated with evil. so he separated them to make day and night which could symbolize the split or difference between heaven and hell.

Naming is an important theme in Genesis. Find five separate passages in which God names things. How does the act of naming seem to be related to the act of creation itself? What does Adam's ability to name the animals reveal about him?

Adam being able to name animals and the things around him show that humans are superior from other animals and that they have control. It shows that because God created humans in his likeness, that they have superiority.

what are the implications of the relationship established between humans and the rest of creation?

the implications of the relationship established is that humans are in control of everything around them.