Proverbs 5-8 Don't Talk to Strangers

Work has me pre-occupied right now.  Read on.

Proverb 5 has some interesting things to say about 'strange women'.  I like the writing here and think it has a nice, wholesome message about fidelity.  The author is obviously a breast man.

Proverb 6 has a bit that I find interesting.

6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

I'll chalk up verse 16 to flowery writing but it smacks of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Verse 17 lists the shedding of innocent blood as something that the LORD dislikes.  But, if every man is a sinner and no one is innocent, there can be no innocent blood.  Just sayin'.

6:28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?  The answer of course is yes.

Verse 7 warns us to be wary of wonton women.  As Billy Joel sang, "I'd rather laugh with the sinners then cry with the saints".

Verse 8 is another one of those oddities that drifts between first and third person narrative.  An odd style.

Book of Proverbs 1-4 I will laugh at your calamity

Proverbs 1-4

I'm not sure who's supposed to be the voice in the first proverb.  Is God or Solomon or ?
Who ever it is, they're not very compassionate in the last half are they?

Proverb 2 has some really great writing and some interesting imagery using woman to represent [evil, corruption form good, ?].

Proverb 3 switches it up and 'she' becomes wisdom.

4:14-15 has some words of wisdom we can all follow!

Book of Psalms 144-150 Makes Me Nostalgic for Numbers!

Psalms 144-150

Thank the gods we're done with the psalms!  A nice, if not boring book to read once but I wouldn't want to make a return visit.

What have we learned from this book?  Beats me.  Do you have any insight for me?

I'm looking forward to the Book of Proverbs.  I don't think I've ever read any of it and hope it will have some little nuggets of wisdom aside from the praising.  I hope I'm not getting my hopes up.

Book of Psalms 136-143 For his mercy endureth for ever

Psalms 136-143

Psalm 136 may be the first ever call and response song!
Ain't no people like the chosen people!  Say yeah! (yeah!)

We get another group of psalms praising God's great doings from the past.

137:9 sounds creepy.  Another reference to killing children?

138:7-8 has a psalm 23 feel to it, doesn't it?


139:22 I hate them with perfect hatred*


*You can find anything on the internet!  Everything is connected to everything else.  I was sure that some death metal band would have picked up on this line and was looking for a link when I found this!  You don't have to watch all of it (or any of it).

Evidently, several levels of the game Doom are taken from the Book of Psalms.  Try using that factoid in your next conversation!

When the Bible bumps up against reality

These videos are making the rounds again.  I'm always up for jumping on the band wagon.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Book of Psalms 127-135

Psalms 127-135

Psalm 127 gives us "Happy is the man that hath a quiver full of them (children)..."
This psalm is the core of the Quiver Full movement amongst the wacker groups of Christians that feel they need to produce as many children as possible for the LORD.  The well being of the mothers and children don't seem to be an issue.  It has been called anti-feminist and critics have accused the movement of subjugating women and scoffing at the idea of equal rights.

One of the scarier things I've read brings in a militaristic aspect (from a Newsweek article);
 "As Quiverfull author Rachel Scott writes in her 2004 movement book, "Birthing God's Mighty Warriors," "Children are our ammunition in the spiritual realm to whip the enemy! These special arrows were handcrafted by the warrior himself and were carefully fashioned to achieve the purpose of annihilating the enemy."


The only problem with this movement, as I see it, is that I, and a large percentage of Atheists were raised in religious households.  Just because the parent is a devout Christian doesn't guarantee that their children will be ammunition in the spiritual realm to whip the enemy. They will BE the enemy!


133:3 is an odd little passage.

Book of Psalms 121-126

psalms 121-126

Nothing much to see here.  Move along.

Ooohhh, We're half way there, living on a prayer

As commenter David has pointed out, we've crossed the half way point in the Bible!!!!

There is only one way to celebrate this milestone,  Bon Jovi!

We're a little behind but I think we can still finish the entire book by the end of the year.  And if we don't, so what?

Reverend Removes "Nasty bits" from Bible

I found this article from the BBC that some of you may find interesting.
A reverend in Whales has removed the "nasty bits" from the Bible as an art project.

From the article:
'Unveiling it at a church event, he said it revealed a "cruel and vile God".'

Book of Psalms 113-120 He will bless them that Fear the LORD

Psalms 113-120

Couldn't the entire book of psalms be condensed into psalm 117?   Maybe have one more for asking God to kill the people you don't like.
Psalm 119 is ridiculously long.

Nothing really interesting here other then that.  For some reason the generic praises of first two psalms made me chuckle. My atheism must be acting up.

Psalm 116 has an odd line.
"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."  Comments?

Book of Psalms 105-112

Psalms 105-112

We start off with a refresher on what God did to the Egyptians.  It's nice to reflect fondly on the good ol' days isn't it?

Psalm 107:15 kind of forgets about God punishing future genrations for the sins of their fathers.

Psalm 109 is written by one sick mofo.  You know this guy got shit on by his co-workers and went home to plan their destruction (with God's help of course).

I remember some equally sick wacko putting out anti-Obama bumperstickers with this psalm number.
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/ps/109.html

Book of Psalms 95-104 ...so that I forget to eat my bread

Psalms 95-104

We start off with acknowledgments that the person(s) that wrote these psalms still believed that there are gods other the Yahweh.  But, Psalm 96 seems to state that all other gods are mere idols and that there is only one true god.

Psalm 101 is an oddity.  It's very confused on who's "speaking", a man or God.  Am I wrong?

Psalm 103:8 has been stated several times before but I still get a kick out of it's delusional statement;
"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. "
Have these people not read the Bible?!?!
;-)

Book of Psalms 85-94

Psalms 85-94

The stand out psalm in this batch is 88.  It must have been written by Job!

Psalm 93 is very short but kind of gets the universe wrong.  The Earth does move.  Quite a bit, in many different ways.

Can we forgive this error in the Bible because the psalms were written by mere mortals who knew nothing about celestial physics or do we raise an eyebrow and question how God would let this obvious error into his perfect word?

Off Topic - Check This Out

My Aunt/Godmother is on a driving adventure across the country.  One of the advantages of being retired!

Stop by her website and show her some love.

Book of Psalms 76-84 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? No.

Psalms 76-84

I was looking at the wikipedia article on the Book of Psalms yesterday, just trying to get a little more interested in these short pieces.  The one thing I found interesting was the attempt to date the individual psalms by the references within them.  the inclusion of kings, prophets and leaders adds a little context for me.
How about you?  Does a reference to David or Moses help put things in a better perspective?

Psalm 78 is my favorite in this block.  A nice recap of the Exodus saga.  Although I also like psalm 79 when the author asks God to torture others for a change and to not judge them for the sins of their fathers (although God has repeatedly stated that's how he prefers to do business).

As a side note, I'm pleasantly surprised that Zemanta/Blogger are recommending my blog for further reading on the subject of the Book of Psalms.  Just shows that they know quality!

Book of Psalms 64-75 Good God!!! We're only half way through!

Psalms 64-75

The seemingly never ending book of prayer and praise continues.

Found this while cruising thru the wikipedia article on psalms.  Enjoy.

Psalms 54-63 Yes, Those are Crickets You're Hearing

Psalms 54-63

I'm traveling this week for work and won't have much free time for fun stuff like reading prayers and praises from an ancient people.  Post will be infrequent.

As far as the Book of Psalms goes, most of this is pretty boring to an Atheist.  I hope the believers are enjoying them.

Do any stand out?  What ones do you connect with?

Book of Psalms 44-54

Psalms 44-54

Still working.  Read on.

Book of Psalms 33-43

Psalms 33-43

Busy with work.

Psalms 23-32 The Nicest Part of the OT?

Psalms 23-32

We start off with one of the most famous pieces in the Bible, Psalm 23.  It's short, sweet and sums up (IMO) the philosophy of Christianity, pre Jesus even.  This (and the rest of the chapters in this reading) is the FEEL the Bible is most known for.  It comes off as very human and a very honest commitment to a loving god.

But (you knew there had to be a but from an Atheist), This very nice, positive passage is in the great minority.  Most of the Bible that we've read so far is violent, vengeful and often leaves me wondering why people would willing follow a jealous, demanding god.

What do you think?

To my American readers, have a happy and safe Independence Day!  And to my Canadian readers, a belated happy Canada Day!