2. Hand in your chart-summary-claim-discussion concerning chapter seven of Things Fall Apart.
3. Do another drawing of a portion of The Creation of the World and Expulsion from Paradise at www.metmuseum.org. Choose a portion that will be pertinent to the question of whether God is more loving and kind or more stern according to the artist who painted the picture. Note that the figure of God in the painting is just one piece of evidence (though an important one). Everything in the picture is potentially evidence.
I find something amusing about the fact that when abraham see's god as three men under a tree, he decides to make them dinner, and they proceed to have a casual conversation. On a completely seperate note, at the end of chapter 18, Abraham has finished bombarding god with questions,and the bible says,"and the lord went on his way...and Abraham returned to his place." The way the the statement "and Abraham returned to his place" is worded, I find could be interpreted as saying that now that Abraham has finshed talking with god, he must return to "his place" as a mere human, while god continous onward. This could also be used to emphasise the idea that god is greater than all,and even someone of such biblical status as Abraham must return to their place, under god.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading the last part of chapter 18, the way Moses ran over the Israelites, reminded me of the way kings ruled over the sumerians. Moses was seen as the leader because he was the one who could talk to God, (even though people did not have that much proof that God himself was the one creating their good fortune) just like the way the kings came into power in Sumer. Because of Moses being abel to communicate with god, he was now a"judge for the people" and the whole community was now very dependent on him.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading this passage I found it interesting that God would change the names of his people. He gives no explanation for doing so. I also think it is interesting that he would do so late in the lives of these people. Why did God not send a message to the parents of Abraham (Abram) and Sarah (Sarai) before they were born? God often gives little reason for the things he does yet we are simply supposed to follow and not ask questions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Taylor. Its kind of amusing... almost irelevant although I'm sure there is a reason why god changes their names. On another note- I found these chapters harder to read then the others, not context wise, but harder to understand. I also think the ages are so interesting... that clearly these people live a lot longer then we do now.
ReplyDelete-Audrey Emerson
Expanding on Taylor and Audrey's ideas. Whenever God changed a name, (all two times), He always added an "h" and an "h". For instance Abram became Abra"ha"m, Sar'ai became Sar"ah". Perhaps there was something sacred about those to letters, and if your name was changed it was like a mark of God. Also, we have no mention of someone without an "h" or an "a" in their name until Chapter 9. This could signify that as the humans ( "h"um"a"ns ) became closer to God's reset button (the flood) they became more and more impure. Lastly, God's own name is Je"h"ov"a""h" which has three of the "sacred" letters. This could all be a coincidence, but ask yourself, is it really???
ReplyDeleteI was noticing the same thing as Chris, it could be a coincidence, but I dont think it is. He added an H to Abraham and and H to Sarah, and where H could be a sacred letter, the people that God where changing the name of, he said that he will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly. Another thing that coudl be considered a sacred thing is of all of Abraham kids shall be circumcised. It may not be sacred, but it might be a way to seperate his family from the rest, so in a way he is putting his family in a higher status. You could also think that God was putting his family in a high status because he said that Abraham's son Ish'mael would be the father of twelve princes, so the only way a family's child could become a prince was if the father was a King, so that means that God was making Ish'mael a king making their family ,as I said before, higher in status.
ReplyDeleteI found it intersting how much this whole bible is focused on saying the ancestors/linage that came before a person who was featured in the story. This seems, to me, to show how important the idea of them knowing when all of this happened. I think it gave them the securit ythat htey "knew" when time began by subtracting all of the years these people lived. To me it seems like a security blanket, kind of.
ReplyDelete- Ashley
Chirs- Thats really smart I didnt even notice that before you brought it up.
ReplyDeleteI have read
-Audrey Emerson
What I have noticed was that the stories of abraham and noah are very similar. I say this beacuse the main idea of each stoy is that you must do as god tells you. For example when Eve diobayed god she was punished, but when Noah and Abraham did as god said they were rewarded.
ReplyDeleteI find the whole idea of trust between God and the people to be very interesting and necessary. People depend on God for their lives, and God depends on the people to carry out his word and worship him. Abraham does not think that his wife can carry a child at 90 years old, but the word of God is not broken, so Isaac is born. At the same time, God trusts Abraham to be the father of nations and people after him. Both God and Abraham have words to keep to each other, and the trust is carried on through from generations that started with the promises one another made. I just found that to be pretty neat within this story and the others to follow.
ReplyDelete-Maddie A
I have read!!
ReplyDeleteI wonder why God has changed Abram's name to Abraham. He also changed his wife Sarai's name to Sarah. It really confused me why God were to change someone's name, I don't get the point of that. God is also a very powerful person. In all of the chapters of the Bible when God is mentioned, he is always listened to and he is usually telling others what they HAVE to do instead of letting them decide for them selves.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find most interesting is the fact that these people have so much trust in God...Not only Abram, in whom obeyed god by going out to the promissed land which he was to receive for an inheritance, but also Noah, who was told to build a monsterous Ark that could fit and support his family and hundreds of wild animals.
ReplyDeleteLike miranda mentioned, I'm also puzzled as to why the lord chose to change Abram and Sarai's names. Perhaps since Abram had become... "the father of a multitude of nations", Abraham was a more powerful and prosperous name.
I agree with Maddie completely with the whole dependancy idea. The followers of the Christian religion depend on the word of God heavily, so much that they would probably risk their own lives to follow it. I also think that the way that God changed the name of his people was very interesting by adding letters. Names like Abram and Sarai could still be considered common today, but Sarah and Abraham are much more common in modern day society. One last thing i found very interesting was the story of Ishmael's birth, and how Hagar was afraid to give birth to Abraham's child until God spoke to her and made her realize that she was meant to have this child, so she returns. I have read.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how god appears almost human-like in the Bible, though we know he is not human. In the passage, "So th Lord said to him,'Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." I also noticed that God always has very specific instructions for these people, but they do not question him, they have all their faith in God.
ReplyDelete-Erin Moody
I never quite understood the spelling change for Abraham, but refering to Dustin's comment and how H is a sacred letter shows that God is there to bless him and make him better. Abraham was not a deceptive child of God,and did what god told him to do, as well as Noah;and they both show other sides of people in the bible, making them loyal than Adam and Eve and obeying.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how personal Abraham's relationship with God became also how dramatic God's rewards are for absolute faith and obedience. For example Sarah bears a son at the age of ninety. God is looking for perfect obedience in these stories and the requests sometimes seem illogical and strange. This makes me wonder if God really wants all his requests obliged or is it just a test of faith?
ReplyDeleteI loved your comment Chris! I was thinking as well if it really was just a coincidence that an H was always added to a name when the name was to become more sacred.
ReplyDeleteI also thought, like Erin, it was interesting how human-like God is depicted and how the people never question him even when the requests become quite strange.
I have read.
I just realized I read the wrong pages--oops! Ignore my previous post=) Anyway, after reading the chapters I was supposed to read, I realized there was an angel of god in both The Creation of Earth and the Expulsion from Paradise and mentioned in chapter 16. However the angel seemed to be kind and helpful to Hagar in the bible with multiplying her offspring and giving her hope. On the other hand, the artist perceives the this angel as someone who is ruining paradise and taking away a persons faith instead of giving it to someone.
ReplyDeleteI find that the relationship between God and humans can be both formal and also informal. Abraham yields to his master by bowing down to Him, and also shows great respect in welcoming God by preparing best food when He arrives (18:6). But also, there is a scene when Abraham kind of negotiates with God regarding how many good people will be sufficient to destroy the city of Sodom. And, God responds back to him gently, and He is very nice in letting the minimum number of people to go down to ten. Abraham respects God as a master and Father, but also as a close friend.
ReplyDeleteThis is for 9/21 homework: pg. 96 - 104 mythology
ReplyDeleteI think it is so interesting how love and beauty overpowers so much in all the stories. Like how the humans abanded worshiping venus and instead chose to gaze upon Psyche- and yet never marry her?- I also wonder how much control the gods have over there children. Those relationships seem simaler to the relationships humans have with there mothers and fathers. theres more simalarites then I thought.
Since nothing is posted yet for tonight's(Monday's) homework, here it is:
ReplyDeleteGenesis chapters 19-22 and Mythology pages 96-104
These stories in Genesis almost don't relate because one will be about Abraham and Sarah setteling in the land, and another is about Abraham sacraficing his son. However, they are related because of Abraham's faith and dependance on the Lord. The last short story (chapter 22) talks about how Abraham was willing to sacrafice the only son he had with his wife Sarah because God wanted him to. In the end, he was blessed because he listened to God, but to give something that you love so much shows true appreciation, faith, and love in something. The story about how Sarah and Abraham told people they were sister and brother was somewhat confusing because in one sense. they lied by leaving out a large part of the truth, being that they were married. However, each sstory in Genesis has moral and meaning behind it, and this one seems like it would mean being faithful and not letting yourself be blind to the truth.
In mythology, the story of the beautiful young girl and the monster really had depth in the way it was told. She went from being the favorited sister to the lonely admirer, and then to a beloved wife of a monster no one else would love. I almost wonder if because she was so sad and lonely after no one would ever love her, that what she is describing as sweet and peaceful really wouldn't seem that way to people today. However, I interpereted the story to mean that love is blind. Blind to both the cruelty and lies, and also on the surface and if you love something, you love it. No matter how it looks or others describe it. You can't help it. Love is love.
-Maddie Adams
(I'll re-post this tonight if the other homework blog is posted by then.)