Notes on philosophy, religion, theology, pedagogy, "and so on and so on"
Last week I had a chance to chat with my friend and mentor, Dr. Jeff Garner, on the topic of the Book of Revelation. Here’s the video:
As a way of ‘footnoting’ this interview, I wrote ‘Meditating on the Apocalypse’ before the discussion so people can access my influences (including some really great recent articles by people like Allison Murray, Elizabeth Dias, and Kelly J. Baker).
Another week in the books. Honestly, I can’t wait for this year to come to an end. The format hasn’t been terrible. Students are still learning something. But it’s the time of the year when we can see the end complicated by the fact that the year has felt ‘over’ since about spring break.
I’m interested to see what energy my students will bring to summer school. I’m interested to see what energy I’m going to bring to summer school!
All I want to know is how I didn’t know this exists until today: Visual Commentary on Scripture.
Ramadan Mubarak to all those observing.
For those interested in how the pandemic will impact Muslims during this time, CNN has this article: ‘How coronavirus has changed Ramadan for Muslims’.
And Al Jazeera has this this article: ‘How will the coronavirus pandemic change Ramadan for Muslims?’
It appears that the biggest changes will be in the lack of communal gatherings (prayer; meals like the Iftar) and what’s offered to those in need because of communal gatherings won’t be happening.
When I said I’d do daily readings I may have been overly ambitious but it’s still a good goal, especially if I keep the sections smaller. Anyway, today I’m meditating upon Genesis 1.14-23.
NRSV:
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
CEB:
14 God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will mark events, sacred seasons, days, and years. 15 They will be lights in the dome of the sky to shine on the earth.” And that’s what happened.16 God made the stars and two great lights: the larger light to rule over the day and the smaller light to rule over the night. 17 God put them in the dome of the sky to shine on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was.
19 There was evening and there was morning: the fourth day.
BHS:
1.14 –
This god’s creative activity centers around separating (לְהַבְדִּ֕יל בֵּ֥ין)—Day and Night; Above-Waters and Below-Waters, Below-Waters and Dry Land—and name/purposing: Day; Night; Dome; Above-Waters; Below-Waters; vegetation; seed; fruit-bearing trees; etc.
1.16 –
Sun and Moon, or the ‘Greater’ Light and the ‘Lesser’ Light, rule the Day/Night. Many in the ancient world worshipped these lights as gods. They don’t receive this status here but they’re recognized as important nevertheless. Though their importance is contextualized as being non-gods created by the Creator God.
Theological Interpretation
The Creator’s activity as Creator isn’t making things out of nothing (Creatio ex Nihilo) here but organization of things created. It may be implied that these things were created previously but these acts of creation isn’t that act of creation. These acts of creation are organizing boundaries, designating authorities, and purposing. The Creator God oversee and administrates. The created things do as they are told—even the Greater and Lesser Lights.
Sometime back I mentioned that I felt like I was getting a headache after being on Google Meet after Google Meet each Wednesday. Apparently, there’s something to this. It’s called ‘Zoom fatigue’.
Today we had a department meeting online. As always, it was a meeting that could’ve been an email if meetings are about information alone. But as this pandemic is showing, it’s clear that if there’s a benefit to meeting it’s not for the information alone but for whatever comes out of human interaction. This is true of teaching as well. Information can be made available online but it’s hard to teach when not in person.
As we’ve entered the Easter Season on our way toward Pentecost, theological discussions will focus more and more on the doctrine of the Ascension. For those thinking about this subject, I’d like to point your attention to the interview I did with Prof. James F. McGrath of Butler University a couple of weeks ago: ‘Interview: discussing the doctrine of the Ascension with Dr. James F. McGrath’. Additionally, if you’d like to think more about this topic, Howard Pepper has been sharing his interpretation of the Ascension from a liberal Christian perspective: see ‘Christian Evidence and Christian Myth-Making’ and ‘Action out of Jesus’ Ascension’.
Today is Wednesday which means optional check-in’s from my students through Google Meet. A couple observations:
First, the earlier the class, the less likely I am to see my students. Many have testified to the fact that their sleep schedules remain a wreck. This is a mixture of summer break and school in that they have a minimally set schedule but still have a course load.
Second, the students/classes with which I built strong relational ties when we were together in person tend to be the students/classes with which I have the most interaction digitally. This isn’t universally true but in general it seems to be.
Today’s focus was lesson planning for my ‘Religion in the United States’ class. This week they’re learning about how religion can go wrong as they become acquainted with Jim Jones and The Peoples Temple and David Koresh and the Branch Davidians. Next week they’ll encounter Heaven’s Gate.
These three groups bring up interesting questions, so the second part of the week, next week, they’ll revisit the debate over whether we can ever use the pejorative ‘cult’ or whether it’s best to follow the example of the academy in using the label ‘new religious movements’. Then I’m asking them to think critically about their understanding of religions and religious freedom by choosing two case studies out of four options.
My students will be able to choose from this list:
Read the Los Angeles Times Op-Ed by Alex Gibney titled ‘Op=Ed: ‘Going Clear’ filmmaker: Scientology abuses its tax-exempt status’. Once you’ve read the article summarize Gibney’s argument in three sentences and then explain in three sentences why you agree or disagree with him (three beyond just telling me whether your agree or disagree):
2. Should Satanic imagery be allowed to put a statue of Baphomet on public land if other religious groups (e.g., Jews, Christians) are allowed to do so?
Watch Vice News’ video ‘The Satanic Temple’s Protest for First Amendment Rights’ (13:33). Once you’ve watched the video, summarize why a Ten Commandments monument has motivated The Satanic Temple in a single sentence, then explain the rationale for The Satanic Temple’s offer to put up a statue of Baphomet in two sentences, and then in three sentences tell me why you think The Satanic Temple has or doesn’t have a legitimate cause for putting up their statue:
3. Should the IRS have removed The Peoples Temple’s tax-exempt status?
Read the essay ‘To avoid another Jonestown, reform IRS church reporting policy’ by Annie Laurie Gaylor, the co-President and co-Founder of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Once you’ve read the article, summarize Gaylor’s argument in three sentences and then explain in three sentences why you agree or disagree with him (three beyond just telling me whether your agree or disagree):
4. Should the ATF have changed their approach to the Branch Davidians?
The Department of Treasury and Justice investigated the methods of the ATF and ‘determined that some tactics and decisions were poorly executed; and certain actions by ATF were criticized. However, the September 1993 U.S. Department of Treasury Administrative Review concluded: “…the agency is made up of dedicated, committed and experienced professionals, who have regularly demonstrated sound judgment and remarkable courage in enforcing the law. ATF has a history of success in conducting complex investigations and executing dangerous and challenging law enforcement missions. That fine tradition, together with the line agents’ commitment to the truth and their courage and determination has enabled ATF to provide our country with a safer and more secure nation under law.”’ (Source)
The ATF put together a testimonial video called ‘Waco at 25: as they remember it’. Watch the video and summarize why these agents feel they did their job well in three sentences and then explain in three sentences why you agree or disagree with them (three beyond just telling me whether your agree or disagree):
Notably, when my students studied the Scientologists, I emphasized how under the classification system of the IRS, they are considered a religion. Similarly, I point to the same stamp of approval being given to The Satanic Temple but also in my interview with Joseph P. Laycock he made the case for why The Satanic Temple should be considered a religion. When we came to The Peoples Temple, I asked my students if anything could’ve been done to stop what happened, noting that many feel the government didn’t do enough. When we came to the Branch Davidians, I asked my students if anything could’ve been done to stop what happened, noting that many feel the government did too much.
Today, I’ll look at Genesis 1.6-13.
NRSV:
6 And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8 God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
CEB:
6 God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters to separate the waters from each other.” 7 God made the dome and separated the waters under the dome from the waters above the dome. And it happened in that way. 8 God named the dome Sky.
There was evening and there was morning: the second day.
9 God said, “Let the waters under the sky come together into one place so that the dry land can appear.” And that’s what happened. 10 God named the dry land Earth, and he named the gathered waters Seas. God saw how good it was. 11 God said, “Let the earth grow plant life: plants yielding seeds and fruit trees bearing fruit with seeds inside it, each according to its kind throughout the earth.” And that’s what happened. 12 The earth produced plant life: plants yielding seeds, each according to its kind, and trees bearing fruit with seeds inside it, each according to its kind. God saw how good it was.
13 There was evening and there was morning: the third day.
BHS:
1.6 –
In Genesis 1, we see God speak things into order (existence?). I’ve heard this juxtaposed with the Second Creation Narrative where God seems to ‘make’ things—see 2.4, where YHWH God ‘makes’ earth and heaven (עֲשׂ֛וֹת יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים) and 2.7, where YHWH God ‘forms’ the male human (וַיִּיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים). In v. 3, when God speaks and light appears, this makes sense. Likewise, this patterns seems to be in place in v. 6 when God speaks in order to separate the waters from the waters with a dome. By the way, Faithlife (Logos) has put together a nice visual info graph for this this:
1.7 –
Notably though, after God speaks he also makes the dome (וַיַּ֣עַשׂ אֱלֹהִים֮ אֶת־הָרָקִיעַ֒). The dome separates the waters (see the above info graph).
1.9 –
More separating: this time water from land.
1.10-
More naming (‘Earth’ and ‘Seas’) and acknowledging the work as ‘good’.
1.11-13 –
While these vv. include the praising of creation as ‘good’ there’s an interesting shift in ‘making’. Here ‘the fruits trees that make fruit’ ( עֵ֣ץ פְּרִ֞י עֹ֤שֶׂה פְּרִי֙ לְמִינ֔וֹ) indicate the the creation has some sort of agency of its own now.
Theological Interpretation
In this section we continue to see this god organizing the world. This god separates, designates, and names (purposes) things. He speaks but he ‘acts’ (makes) somehow (by speaking?). But he isn’t alone. His creation begin to make as well.
Notes on:
1.1-5
