Ancient Israelite Religion: Susan Niditch, a book report.

                Susan Niditch with reverent respect sets out to expose the factors that come together to formulate the story of a culture and its chosen religion in her book Ancient Israelite Religion. With evidence presented from both the realms of archaeology and Biblical text, Susan presents the historicity as well as the folklore that formulated the Biblical story we have come to know and love. She argues that the Bible cannot be taken at face value nor can we understand it from the perspective of our day and time. She lays the chapters of the book chronologically from Genesis and uses the dimension of time and culture to build her case.

                Susan Niditch migrates through the chapters in a chronological sort of fashion using the advent of time as the beginning. She also separates the book into five dimensions. Using beautiful words even an advanced graduate student will have to stop and look up, the language is strikingly formal and clear. The first chapter, Religion and the Ancient Isaelites, highlights the developing culture of the forming nation of Israel and how that affected both the legends and the written and spoken accounts of the young budding religion. While the historicity of the Bible cannot be authenticated in very large sections, many of the stories become bonafide when historical accounts verify important elements that pull the Bible together.

                She expertly builds the chapters chronologically due to the simple fact that this is exactly how the story would unfold and build over time. The second chapter, The Experiential, speaks of how the experiences of the person who lived the story as well as the author writing the account greatly affect the way the story is told and understood. The portrayal of God, Israel, and religion are unique to that story, to that author, to the telling of that tale. These experiential accounts in turn work to shape the spiritual history of the nation of Israel. We smoothly transition in the third chapter regarding mythic patterns of origins and death.

                Chapter three discusses the important question “where from, where to”. The mythic patterns that shape a culture’s beliefs in life from origin to death have many synchronous patterns. With the advent of a creation story, mankind is liberated from chaos and is formed fresh and brand new. The Biblical account weaves in many aspects of the stories of other eastern religions and local cults. Time progresses, stories evolve and come to exist as we now know them. Susan Niditch would be remiss were she not to mention the legal and ethical dimension of a growing religion. In the fourth chapter, The Legal and Ethical Dimension, she explains why it is so very important.

                “Implicit is the importance of the nuclear family as a microcosm of the larger society and as a human-to-human echo of the relationship between the deity and humans (p.74).” The system society is built upon begins with the nucleus of the family just as the relationship we have with one another begins with our relationship to the Divine. The moral and ethical codes set by such laws as the Ten Commandments set a strong precedent in the daily lives of the Israelites. The ethical and legal perspective, in turn plays a large role in the story of a young, developing nation. Where would this book be without the mention of the dimension of ritual worship?

                The fifth and final chapter deals with rituals of sacrifice, offering and purification. This is a large thread in who the people of Israel are, and who they are to become. Blood and water are the two elements that hold the highest level of significance and wind their way through almost every ritual. It is important as we glean knowledge to make sure we consider all of these dimensions as they factor in deeply to the development of every culture and religion. Perhaps page ninety one surprised me the most. How can a woman’s cycle which prepares her for the birth process is considered unclean? I remain confused most by the ideology of war in the Bible as expressed on page eighty four. If murder is wrong how all the warfare and killing is justified? This book opened my eyes and I certainly was intrigued and engaged. The favorite spot for me was on page eighty two where the Bible states that many provisions must be made for the “marginals” in Israelite culture. How I would love to see an end of oppression! I thoroughly enjoy eye-opening reads such as this. Susan Niditch accomplishes her goal successfully ending as she so desired with an invitation for further study (p. 121).

Ancestral Age & the Historicity of Biblical accounts

            In order to account for the stories of history, mankind created a structure called Time. Time did not exist pre-creation, nor does it truly exist now. What is history and how might a modern historian fashion the telling of it? (Davies, P., History of ancient Israel, 2015). In Genesis 25:7, the Bible states that Abraham was one hundred seventy five years of age when he passed away. In Exodus 34:7, Moses is said to be one hundred twenty years of age when he dies (The Harper Collins Study Bible, NSRV, 1989). The days of Noah were accounted at nine hundred and fifty years (Genesis 9:29). How could ages vary so drastically throughout the Old Testament? Upon further investigation, we find the Bible is fond of numeric symbology and one will recognize a pattern of numbers used over and over again.

            The story of creation alone is relative to seven days; however the Bible later states that a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is but a day in the sight of the Lord (Psalms 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8). So we must inquire: what accounting of ancestral age is actually possible? What purpose do the numbers truly serve? Biblical scholars, such as John Nelson Darby, segregated the Bible into stages and used fine detail to do so. John Darby even used his dispensational approach to predict the rule of the anti-Christ and Armageddon (Wilkinson, P.R., 2008). How is any of this possible if time is a creation of man and the perception of time has changed drastically since creation?

            Our approach to time has changed dynamically this century especially in Western culture. The theory of accelerated time shows an internal movement that controls our external flow throughout our daily activities. In a search to attain more, we have more tasks to accomplish throughout our day, limiting our quantum movement through time. This rapid internal and external movement keeps us from respecting the moments we encounter throughout our day. It also alters our notation of time as well as our remembering of time (Collins, J., 2007).

            As our perception of time changes, so does our calculation of the structures of history. In retrospect, we use our own perception of time to calculate the movement of time in tales of history. Historicity is simply a noun that means the “authenticity of history” or “historical actuality” (Merriam Webster). When the perception and recording of time has changed throughout history; when the accounting of history is left the victor; when money and power have sway in the telling of the tale; how does any authentic philosopher account the science of ancestral age?

            The Kabbalah is an ancient Jewish philosophy based in mysticism. It branches into many different segments of its Tree of Life; however, numerology and symbolism are at its very core. The Hebrew language is also tied intensively to numeric value and I feel this bears enough weight to mention it in the exegesis of timelines in the Bible (Matt, D.C., 1995). Being that there is no actual way to clearly account for the timelines or ancestral age in the Bible, it becomes inherent to recognize the patterns of numbers and the symbology they might serve.

            It is from this perspective we begin to recognize the numeric patterns represented in the Bible. Seven days of creation. Revelation prophecies state there will be a seven year reign of the anti-Christ. Three parts are recognized in the Holy Trinity. Christ was in the tomb three days and resurrected. The ark was floating for forty days and forty nights. The Israelites were in the wilderness for forty days. We see that the numbers four, twelve and forty-eight play a large role in Israelite history. I could continue, but the point has been made.

            So the question remains, what can we state with confidence about an ancestral age? The historicity of the Bible has been authenticated multiple times over the course of its tale. There are also many stories that do not have historical verification. We must then trust that the Bible is an analogy, a set of stories rooted deeply in mysticism, symbology and parables to show us the right way to live our lives. “The modern secular discipline of history is in tension with notions of sacred history, in which the divine hand is perceived. (Davies, P.R., 2008, pg. 2)” We must then move forward from the hope of providing an accurate historical timeline of the Biblical tale. We must also let go of the notion that we may know the geographical location of many of these Biblical tales. When we are able to set ourselves free from this need to document the timelines of Biblical tales, we may then move forward to fully appreciate the deep and poignant symbology the Bible may serve in our daily lives.

            So what then is an ancestral age? An ancestral age then becomes a division but not one recognizable in time or space. An ancestral age then becomes a division by sameness of message, spirit or continuity of the age in question. For example the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a personal God that walks among His people. He is a fierce God, a God that demands worship. The God of Moses is moving from the realm of walking among the people and becoming a God one needs to reach for through priest or prophet. He is a jealous God. He is a God of vengeance. There are then different natural divisions to an “age” that have little to nothing to do with “time”.

            We then later witness the God of the New Testament, the loving father of the sacrificed Son. We see the Holy Spirit move among the Disciples of Christ and miracles being performed. We see the outpouring of love from the Christ to all people, even those who are outcast from society and those set apart by the weight of their sin. We see the ultimate sacrifice being freely given to save us from our guilt and sin. The entire story of the Bible is a movement toward an end.

            From creation to Revelation the eschatology of the Bible is represented by the Kingdom within and the Kingdom still to come. The resurrection of Christ represents not only the renewal of our physical beings but the promise of the renewal of this physical earth (Yong, A., 2014). The Bible is a penetrating tale of sin and forgiveness; love and sacrifice. With Armageddon lurking in the book of Revelation, the tale of the Bible can be seen in segregated passages leading up to this great war and the promise of a new kingdom yet to come. Returning to the thoughts of John Nelson Darby and his dispensational view of the Bible and man’s timeline, we are shown seven ages: innocence, conscience, human government, promise, law, church and millennium. If we choose to view ancestral ages in the same manner, we can see natural segregation to the Bible that culminate this powerful story that supersede the existence of time.

            We may see then an age from Creation to the Fall (John Darby). We may add the age from the Fall to the Flood. We would further separate an age from the Flood to the call of Abraham. John Nelson Darby would then show us an age from Abraham to Moses. Next would be an age from Moses to the death of Christ. The last age that has taken place would be from the resurrection of Christ to our current day. His final segregation represents the future and is defined in the thousand year reign of Satan (Wilkinson, P.R., 2008).

            In conclusion, may we take the time to see the relevance of the story. May we see the validity of the parable without the necessity of historicity. May we recognize the ages as they naturally segregate within the Biblical story. May we forget our notion of time and remember that God exists without the man-made construct idealized to organize and define our lives. An ancestral age then has a proclivity to become a story with continuity of purpose. It represents an organization outside the confines of time. An ancestral age is a segregation seen perhaps as a chapter in a book that represents the entirety of a tale. An ancestral age holds poignant purpose in the telling of the tale. It represents value in the dispensation of our progress as children of the Divne.

           

           

           

References:

Bassler, Jouette M.Meeks, Wayne A. (Eds.) (1993) The HarperCollins study Bible :New Revised Standard Version, with the Apocraphal/Deuterocanonical books San Francisco, Calif. : HarperSanFrancisco,

Collins, J. (2007). Global Palestine: A collision for our time. Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies, 16(1), 3-18.

Davies, P. R. (2015). The History of Ancient Israel: A Guide for the Perplexed (Vol. 347). Bloomsbury Publishing.

Matt, D. C. (1995). The essential Kabbalah: The heart of Jewish mysticism.

Wilkinson, P. R. (2008). For Zion's Sake: Christian Zionism and the Role of John Nelson Darby. Wipf and Stock Publishers.

Yong, A. (2014). Renewing Christian theology: Systematics for a global Christianity.

My Credo evolves...

I believe the Divine is energy rather than entity. I believe said energy flows freely within every living thing. I believe we each have a moment by moment choice to honor or dishonor that living stream. I believe as conscious beings, we have an obligation to honor Spirit. I believe we must love ourselves and one another in an unconditional manner that allows room for and also encourages our exponential potential.

I believe we all have dark and light within us. Our natures are not merely human, not merely divine. The tension existing due to this constant battle of our dual nature is what the journey is all about. Each of us come blessed with strengths and challenged by weaknesses. Some lie. Some cheat. Some steal. Some murder. Some manipulate. We must not view our flaws as lesser than another. We must strive to keep our flaws from negatively affecting our fellow travelers. We must make right those wrongs that inevitably occur.

I believe even our flaws are part of our exceptional design; a part of our ever-unfolding destiny. I believe who we are, is composed by our collection of unique strengths and weaknesses. I believe that the mistakes we make are an inherent part of our development as beings. I believe these mistakes create unique obstacles for each of us meant to be overcome and aid in our growth and evolution.

I believe that unconditional love begins with self. Seeing ourselves through an accurate lens is imperative to loving ourselves unconditionally. We must see our strengths, our weaknesses, our past, our present and the goal of our future. We must accept ourselves as we are yet remain in forward momentum toward our highest selves. When we practice self-love at this level, we are then able to turn our love outward to our fellow travelers and see people as the divine echoes through their souls, spirits, and flesh. We will begin to see the potential in every living being. We will begin to focus on the light rather than the darkness in one another and move as One toward our exponential potential as a human race.

I believe we are a work in progress that must make mistakes as part of our growth. I believe we all deserve to be viewed with compassion. I believe truth is a vibration open to poetic interpretation. I believe we are all interconnected and have much to learn from one another. I believe segregating humanity by ethnicity, religion, sexuality, education, culture or by any other factor not only limits us as a race but also damages us as spiritual beings. I believe there is truth and fallacy in every philosophy and our future would be better served to truly sit together and learn from one another.

I believe in the reality of karma. I believe that we must constantly strive for perfection, at the same time recognizing it is a forward moving process and not something that can truly be attained.  I believe we must treat others as we desire to be treated and recognize that mistreatment of our fellow human being not only injures them but also injures Self. I believe we must carefully act in all ways to harm no one, including Self and strive to become the best of ourselves daily.

 

I believe life is a journey meant to be lived with full regard to all we see, touch, taste, feel and hear. I believe we should all endeavor to become better versions of ourselves each and every second of each and every day. I believe we are here together with purpose and should live our lives like we truly believe it. I believe life is a gift, replete with sorrow and joy, obstacles and victory, moments of weakness and moments of strength. I believe life should be lived to the fullest. Time is a scientific structure of mankind, however, our moments upon this earth are not meant to be wasted. I believe in our exponential potential.

Knowledge we all need!

Share and Post: Egregious Truths

Sources Cited

1:

“1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been the victim of severe intimate partner violence.”

Source

: U.S. Department of Justice,

Crime in the United States, 2010

. Federal

Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports, Washington, DC: 2011.

2:

“Each

minute, there are 24 victims of rape, physical violence or stalking.

”

Source

: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

National Intimate Partner

and Sexual Violence Survey

: 2010.

3:

“73% of rapes are perpetrated by a non

-stranger.

”

Source

: U.S. Department of Justice,

2005 National Crime Victimization Study

:

2005.

4.

“34% of Native American women will be raped, which is twice the national average of

all female

rapes (18.2%).

”

Source

: Na

tiona

l Institute

of Justice

and Centers for Disease

Control &

Prevention,

Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence

Against

Women Survey

:

2000

.

5.

“Only 32% of sexual ass

aults are reported

to the police.

”

Source

: U.S. Department of Justice,

National Crime Victimization Survey

: 2008-

2012

6.

“

Nearly 1 out of 10 women has been raped by an intimate partner.

”

Source

:

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: Division of Violence

Prevention, National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010

.

Credo (in momentum)

I believe the Divine is energy rather than entity. I believe said energy flows freely within every living thing. I believe we each have a moment by moment choice to honor or dishonor that living stream. I believe as conscious beings, we have an obligation to honor Spirit. I believe we must love ourselves and one another in an unconditional manner that allows room for and also encourages our exponential potential.

I believe we all have dark and light within us. Our natures are not merely human, not merely divine. The tension existing due to this constant battle of our dual nature is what the journey is all about. Each of us come blessed with strengths and challenged by weaknesses. Some lie. Some cheat. Some steal. Some murder. Some manipulate. We must not view our flaws as lesser than another. We must strive to keep our flaws from negatively affecting our fellow travelers. We must make right those wrongs that inevitably occur.

I believe that unconditional love begins with self. Seeing ourselves through an accurate lens is inherent to loving ourselves unconditionally. We must see our strengths, our weaknesses, our past, our present and the goal of our future. We must accept ourselves as we are yet remain in forward momentum toward our highest selves. When we practice self-love at this level, we are then able to turn our love outward to our fellow travelers and see people as the divine echoes through their souls, spirits, and flesh. We will begin to see the potential in every living being. We will begin to focus on the light rather than the darkness in one another and move as One toward our exponential potential as a human race.

I believe we are a work in progress that must make mistakes as part of our growth. I believe we all must be viewed with compassion. I believe truth is a vibration open to poetic interpretation. I believe we are all interconnected and have much to learn from one another. I believe segregating humanity by ethnicity, religion, sexuality, education, culture or by any other factor not only limits us as a race but also damages us as spiritual beings. I believe there is truth and fallacy in every philosophy and our future would be better served to truly sit together and learn from one another.

I believe life is a journey meant to be lived with full regard to all we see, touch, taste, feel and hear. I believe we should all endeavor to become better versions of ourselves each and every second of each and every day. I believe we are here together with purpose and should live our lives like we truly believe it. I believe life is a gift, replete with sorrow and joy, obstacles and victory, moments of weakness and moments of strength. I believe life should be lived to the fullest. Time is a scientific structure of mankind, however, our moments upon this earth are not meant to be wasted. I believe in our exponential potential.

Real-ationships

As a young woman, my parents instilled in me that honesty certainly was the best policy. Whether we are discussing friendship, marriage, family or co-workers, being honest was high on the list of any set of priorities. In this day of secrets, side-chicks and friends with benefits, I am deeply disturbed about the layers of lies that find their way into almost every connection.

Integrity, a strong moral compass and a strong work ethic were also factors people were measured against in my generation. I am far from perfect, yet I am certainly proud of the woman I am, and have much faith for the woman I am yet to become.

American culture generates strong pulses of individualism which in turn generates a need to "throw people under the bus" and "stab someone in the back" to get ahead. Often lying about our abilities is the first impulse so we can get that job we so desperately want/need. In my household, there was no shame in saying, "I don't know". What was expected however was doing the research required to find out! This is how I became so devout about attaining knowledge.

I have been told more than several times that I share too much, that I am too emotional and that I shouldn't broadcast my business. A few years ago, after hearing these things several times by those closest to me, I started practicing layering the exposure I offered to my life. It resulted in a big, fat, hairy mess! My inner circle knows me to be raw, real, and extremely honest. Beyond the frustration of deciding who should know what, and trying to remember what parts of me I exposed to which people, came another level of frustration.

No matter how honest you are, or how much you share, people are going to have their perception of you. They are going to use the filter of their life experience to "judge" you and "size you up". No One on this Earth knows me like I know me! At thirty eight I am finally ready to "stand on my square", "claim my Divinity" and remember how to be the calm in the center of the storm. I sleep with my own soul each night, and I know that I have done all that is required of me. I am a work in progress just like any other being on this planet, and I strive daily to become the best of me.

When you open yourself up to other people's opinions and advice, you have to promise yourself to listen to your Spirit overall. My soul surely knows the way. I was told recently by someone I am very close to that I am too emotional (never heard THAT before). I was told by another fellow traveler that I am not focused and I need to put more energy into myself. I was told by someone who spent a few moments looking into my life that I needed to stop focusing on only the questions in life, and I should share the answers as well. I could go on for days with advice, opinion, and criticism that has been funneled my way. I am not saying that I am not grateful for those who care for me. I am not saying that there have not been times that someone's advice was exactly what I needed to hear. I am just expressing that the old saying, "take it with a grain of salt" is highly important.

Especially as a figure in the public eye, I open myself to so many souls. I have love for them all. I see the light in them all. However, not everyone has a clear view of me. Not everyone is coming from the foundation of honest intentions. Not everyone even know themselves like they proclaim to know me! I am a very sensitive heart. I have a gift of seeing the best in people. I try to build people up and lift them up to the light. That by no means negates the fact that I also see the darkness in people. I have my own demons to face.

It is because of the things I have done wrong that I do my best NOT to judge my fellow travelers. I forgive easily because I wish to be treated with the same respect. Just because I forgive you, does not mean you can continue to perform the same errant behaviors and still be good with me. I do have lines that may not be crossed. Apologies may soothe a situation. They may even be genuine, however, if someone continues to do the same thing over and over and over, they will have to be removed from my circles. If I am slapped every time I come in to kiss you, will I expect kisses?

Like Saturn, I have innermost and outermost rings with levels of intimacy in between. My inner circle has no doubt who I am or what they mean to me. They are my council. They are my fire. They are the ones I turn to when I need to be reminded who I am and what purpose I serve on this fiery planet. The truth may be uncomfortable. What you believe to be the truth may have been based on a false premise. Assumptions...well, you know what they say.

All I would love to see come from this post, is everyone who reads it taking a moment to reflect on their level of commitment to the truth. Research, listen, reflect, and grow. Speak honestly to the best of your ability. Let your intentions be to seek out the truth and may the integrity in your chest hold you to your moral compass. First and foremost, be honest with yourself. The truth shall set you free!

With all the layers of lies this society has come to accept, it is hard to trust anyone. People are skeptical about love, truth, trust, honor, and so many other things that once were standard in most people. We have grown in technology, but our technology has begun to separate us, and tear us from the moral fiber we once so proudly stood for.

I love the best in you. I see the worst in you. I love the best in me. I see the worst in me. Daily, I work to become closer to the mark. Daily, I work to reach my maximum potential. From the outside, you may not see the work I am doing. I hope something I said inspired you to be true, especially to you!

Much love,

Lady RAin.

Unfolding Orgiami

I am not who I once was
Nor am I who I shall be
And yes, I realize this concept
Is quite elementary
Rudimentary
These life fundamentals
Every breath that I take
Is purely elemental
Supplemental my intelligence
With beauty accidental
Owe that part to genetics babe
It was simply parental
Push it down
These emotions I feel
Like every thought I possess
Rolls out on reel to reel
He said my name
Should never have been in your mouth
Now, hard as I try
I cannot seem to spit it out
These Queens say I am "ride or die"
But whose death am I riding to?
I pump the brakes, hold his hand
And fight to hold the truth
But what if this story is
His business and mine?
How do I decide
Where to draw the lines?
Sign over symptom
My song ever carries
And I am struggling to
Limit my bearings
Setting nauticals to
Keep me closer to home
Close to the bone
Ready to hone in
Cuz I only dive to save people
Ready to swim
If you ain't in it to win it
Then sit the fuck down
Tell yourself can't one more time
And count yourself out
If you walkin with me
Then we walkin devout
Penetrate the promenade
Of the average full of doubt
Armies of angels
Ready to rise
Baby boy, just remember
You opened more than my thighs
Goddess on the rise
Wings to the skies
Perfecting my pieces
this puzzle born life