Category Archives: BELIEF

Abram Saves Lot (Gen 13-14)

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Text Summary:

Abram (a.k.a. Abraham) returns from Egypt very rich, so much so that he and his nephew Lot have to separate to have enough land for all their animals.  Lot moves to Sodom and is taken with all his possession when a group of kings invade.

Abram learns of Lot’s fate from an escapee and sends an army of 318 men to rescue him. Abram wins the battle and shares the loot with his allies and the remaining kings.  Abram is blessed by Melchizedek, a king and priest, in the name of the Most High God.

Interpretation:

Sounds like a historical record of how Abram saves Lot from the captors of Sodom. Abram is benevolent enough to share the resulting loot with his allies and the remaining ill-fated kings.

God Calls Abram (Gen 12)

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This seems to be more historical, introducing Abram (a.k.a. Abraham) and setting the stage for things to come, than a story with specific meaning.  Abram obeys God by moving to Canaan, modern day Israel, and is told he will be given “many descendants, and they will become a great nation”.

But, then famine hits and they all move to Egypt where Abram deceives the King into buying his wife Sarai (a.k.a. Sarah) as his sister.  The King receives terrible diseases from God, likely carried by Sarai, on him and the people of his palace, so he kicks Abram’s clan out of Egypt.  Abram returns to Canaan rich.

Abram doesn’t seem like the noblest father to the 3.6 billion Christians, Muslims, and Jewish people of today (see Wiki Number of Followers chart) in this story.

Tower of Babel (Gen 11)

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Another Noah Story Question: It seems to me that the kids ask dad another question in the middle of the Noah and the Flood story, “If we are all descendants of Noah, then why are there different languages?”  Dad conveniently invented the tower of Babel to answer the question.  I especially believe this since the Tower of Babel story seems arbitrarily written between a long list of Noah’s descendants.

Noah and the Flood (Gen 6-9)

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Best Known Bedtime Story: Noah and the Flood was probably based on a true story about a tsunami that devastated the Mediterranean around 8,000 years ago (see story), but got better after each telling.  It probably went something like this:

DAD: So, that’s how the great flood covered the earth.
KIDS: Wow!  That was a lot of water.  How did the people survive?
DAD: Uh, this man named Noah was saved with his wife, sons, and their wives.
KIDS: How about all the animals?  Wouldn’t they have all died in the flood?
DAD: Uh, Noah saved them too.
KIDS: How did he do that?
DAD: Let see, he put them on a boat.
KIDS: That boat must have been huge to fit all the animals.
DAD: Yes, it was very large, but it didn’t fit ALL the animals just two of each kind.
KIDS: It must have taken a long time to build.  How did Noah know the flood was coming?
DAD: Well, God told him of course.
KIDS: Why did God do such a bad thing and send the flood?
DAD: He was very angry at the bad people.
KIDS: I’m afraid.  Will God wipe out the world again?
DAD: Don’t be afraid. God said He’d never wipe out the earth again. Okay, it’s time for bed.

Additional:

End Days?: Noah and the Flood brings to mind the two tsunamis in Indonesia (2004) and Japan (2011), hurricanes like Katrina (2005) and Ike (2008), Tornadoes like the ones in Alabama and Joplin, Missouri (2011) and earthquakes like in Haiti (2010).

These events make us wonder if these are the end days?  The answer is “NO”. Earthquakes happen somewhere on the planet every day, hurricanes and tornadoes follow regular season patterns, and tsunamis happen periodically as well (see List of Tsunamis).

The earth has not changed, but we have:

  • Over-population makes all these disasters worse.  With larger population centers in harms way of natural disasters, we will continue to see more damage and loss of lives in the near future, but that does not mean the earth is coming to an end.
  • Sensationalized media coverage is probably the biggest reason we feel like these are the end times.  Fifty years ago, most people never knew when a disaster struck Southeast Asia.  Now it feels like it is happening right next door.  Movies like The Day After Tomorrow and 2012 flash the end of the world right before our eyes.
  • Mayan Calendar 2012: The media’s latest fear device is the Mayan calendar that ends in December 2012.  Now many people believe the end of the world will happen on 12/21/12.  My calendar ends December 31st every year and we’re still around each New Year’s Day.  Of course, I’m not as all-knowing as the Mayans who practiced human sacrifices as offerings to their gods thousands of years ago.

Personally, I think this is irresponsible journalism that is bound to get many people killed. Watch, I am sure the number of suicides will increase as we approach December next year.  I just hope nothing worse … manmade … happens.

There is Always Hope: the best message from Noah and the Flood is that there is always hope.  The story tells us not to give up.  Noah, his family, and the animals were stuck on the ark for 150 days.  I can only imagine how they felt when the first dove returned empty-handed (or beaked) as they looked at their dwindling food.  But, with hope they sent out the second dove that returned with the olive branch.  We must always have hope and continue to try in our daily endeavors.

Creation (Gen 1)

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Initial:

  • Kid Story: The creation story seems like it was made up to answer kids’ questions of how the earth, sky, animals, and humans came to be.
  • Introducing God: Like all great stories, the main character God is introduced in the first sentence.  We are not told what He looks like, though presumably “He” is male. We are not told where He was before He created the universe and during the story He seems to be in some “out-of-universe” lab creating everything.
  • We are in Charge: God put us in control of the earth.  It is very interesting that a storyteller from over 4000 years ago, when there were only 35 million people scattered around the world (per Wiki World Population), realized that humans would populate every corner of the earth and control its outcome.  We are in charge of the animals, birds, and seas, whether we realize it or not.  It is our collective actions, deliberate or consequential, that affect our environment.  I truly believe that over-population of humans is the biggest issue of our time.  Everything else is just a symptom!
  • Stop and Smell the Roses: On a lighter note, the first story of the Bible includes some self-management tips like “God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased.”  I read this to mean stop and smell the rose once in a while.  We are so caught up in doing so much in our lives that we never seem to stop, look back, and admire what we have accomplished.  Take a day off this weekend and write down what you have achieved.  Be positive and include things no matter how small they seem to you.

Controversy:

The story of creation has been rocked by controversy between creationists and scientists since the days of Galileo (1633), to the Scopes Monkey Trial (1925), and even to today. Both sides seem to be converging on common ground, though ever so slowly (think centuries).  The biggest advance has been that scientists are approaching the limits of their abilities and have no other explanation except that God did create the universe.

  • God is in the Details: Cosmologists, scientists who study the workings of the universe,  have worked their way back to a “singularity”, the point where all the matter of the universe was compressed into a single, very dense mass no bigger than the period at the end of this sentence.  They believe that singularity exploded in a Big Bang to fill our universe with galaxies, stars, and ultimately planets.  However, scientists get hung up on three things: (1) what existed before the singularity, (2) what created the singularity, and (3) what made it explode into the universe?  Many scientists have concluded the only explanation is that God created the universe.  “Let there be light” sure sounds like a Big Bang.
  • On a Small Scale: Cosmology is very intertwined with Quantum Physics, the study of the real small.  Physicists have peeled back the layers of matter to ever smaller levels of molecules, atoms, protons and electrons, and particles of quarks, leptons and muons.  Scientists are still chasing the “God particle”, the smallest portion of matter that makes up everything.
  • Size of a Dime: Along the lines of quantum physics is the realization that ALL matter is mostly made up of “air”.  An atom is composed of a tiny nucleus of matter circled by an electron (see Wiki Atom).  So, in reality most of what we see and what we are is just air.  For example, a Carbon-12 atom is 33,000 times larger than its nucleus (per Georgia State University).  In comparison, a 165 pound person removed of all “electron air” would be just the size of a dime!
  • Try to Understand Each Other: Back to the controversy.  Wherever there is more than one there will be a difference of opinion.  Life is too short to doggedly cling to one idea “because I am right” or simply because it is tradition.  Times are changing, and quickly.  We need to be able to adapt.  Try to understand other’s thoughts, ideas, views, and concerns.  At the very least, agree to disagree but don’t continue down the path of an inquisition to the exclusion of other ideas.  You never know from when or where a great idea or person shall come.

Cain and Abel (Gen 4)

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Initial:

  • Focus on Family Business: It seems the goal of the story is to convince the listener (think 4500 years ago) to choose shepherding, the main occupation of the Israelites, over farming.  Abel, the shepherd, is looked favorably upon by God for his offering while Cain, the farmer, is not.
  • Jealousy is Bad: The story also teaches how jealousy, actually acting upon jealous thoughts, can ruin your life.  Cain is jealous of Abel being in favor with God, so he murders Abel and as a result is banished to wander the hills, a punishment Cain believes to be too hard.  Note, this “wandering” turns him into a shepherd.
  • No Capital Punishment: This story contradicts the eye-for-an-eye generalization of the Old Testament.  Cain is not put to death for murdering his brother.  On top of that, he is actually protected by God from harm by others.
Traditional:
  • My Brother’s Keeper: Are we are brother’s keeper?  This is the question so often pulled from this story and generally translated to: are we supposed to care for the poor?  I believe the answer is a resounding “yes”, but with a few conditions: (1) only give food to beggars, (2) let the experts provide real care to the poor, in other words, give your money to homeless shelters and food banks, and (3) try hard to help those really in need.

1. Only Give Food to Beggars: I have been “taken” by so many beggars in my life.  The worst was falling for the broken-down car scam as I watched the person hop in a car and drive away with my “donation to their cause”.  I am a beggar’s dream, walking around wearing a cross necklace, the universal sign for “easy money”.  I have actually watched them change directions to approach this Christian target – me.

Many people give food instead of money, keeping some in their car or a granola bar in their pocket.  I have done the same, when I remember.  I once walked a gentleman to Wendy’s and bought him lunch.  CAUTION: I do NOT recommend this for everyone.  You still need to be concerned for your own safety.

It is really hard — believe me — but I have learned to say, “Sorry, but I just can’t,” and then walk away.

2. Give Money to Charities: I feel better about saying “no” to the beggars since I donate money to homeless shelters and volunteer at the local food bank.  I am comforted with the feeling that this money goes for food and shelter for the poor.

3. Help those REALLY in Need:  Believe it or not, most people in need are too proud to ask and suffer in quiet desperation.  These are the people you need to help.  The biggest challenge is determining who they are.

Once, there was a very thin woman ahead of me at the grocery checkout.  She watched her total closely and held back four necessity food items that she obviously could not afford.  I hesitated then told the cashier to put them on my order.  By the time she got them bagged, the thin woman had left.  I ran after her all the way to the parking lot.  She looked confused when I said, “Excuse me, you forgot these,” but then smiled broadly and thanked me.  When I returned to the checkout, the cashier said that really made her day and no one behind me in line said a word about the delay.

Search online for “Random Acts of Kindness” books and sites to find hundreds of ways to help other people.  Try it.  It will make you feel good inside!

Adam and Eve Eat The Apple (Gen 3)

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  • Growing Up: The classic tale of adolescence transition from child to adult.  God represents the parent.  He watches over His children and doesn’t want them to grow up and be tempted by the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.  However, we all eventually grow up and we do need to understand right from wrong, instead of being sheltered by our parents to only see the fantasy good of childhood.  It is a story of learning about consequences for our actions, whether with or against our parental authority.  The transition is complete when we grow up and men have to work (“toil”) and woman start having their periods and giving birth to children to start their families.  Yes, parents want their kids to stay young forever, so they can hold on to their youth a little longer, but that is not the natural cycle of things.
  • Caution When Making Choices: The story also cautions about the snakes that can lead us down the wrong path in life.  It hints at the temptations that parents know can have everlasting consequences for their children, so make your choices wisely.
  • Blaming: Some comedians poke fun at the fact that this the first time a man blames a woman and she in turn passes the buck to the snake.  But God doesn’t let the man off the hook.  We are all responsible for our own actions.