I'm reading the books of Samuel right now. I kind of arbitrarily pick the next Bible book I read, but I at least like to think it's somehow spirit led. It only kind of matters, because I know I'll find something worth knowing at every turn.
Before Israel had a king, they had "judges." That's why we have a Bible book called "Judges." But a judge wasn't a king. He was kind of a prophet with an army.
Really, quite honestly, prior to having Kings, God really was the "King" of Israel. They only did what he told them, or they were punished for it (Judges, the book, is basically about people listening to God and winning or not listening to God and losing... really, I guess that's what the Bible is ultimately about too, in very differing ways as it progresses).
Since I'm reading 1st Samuel right now (I'm about 8 chapters in), I've been thinking about what that sort of set-up would look like in the modern world.
It's kind of frightening...I think I separate the Biblical rule of Israel from modern politics. And I think that's probably a good thing. Just think about it...what if there was, instead of democracy (or even fascist or Socialist totalitarian dictatorships, or juntas, or what have you) we had someone that claimed to be the voice of God leading our countries.
I wouldn't buy it for a second. I guess that's probably why, eventually, Israel wanted a king.
There, of course, are a lot of differences between now and then. For one, Israel had a single religion and were officially God's chosen people back then. They knew, culturally, familially, traditionally, spiritually, and a bunch of other "-ally" ways that someone amongst them was a prophet who would speak when God warranted.
That, and without the blood of Christ and his present and coming Kingdom, there wasn't the separation between Government and God and the overall inclusiveness of the covenant that we have today.
Anyway, it's just an interesting thought...to think that I would probably be one of the unfaithful in Israel back then...at least with my current rationality.
Of course, it is always a huge flaw in any thinking to try to apply your own worldview to an older system.... indeed, it's why many are anti-Bible in the first place, to say nothing of the pretty common (mis)conceptions about medieval or other pre-modern people.
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We didn't have internet at our house yesterday, and I realized how much I use it to maintain my sanity. Aside from not really being able to work (which was really kind of nice, but I have a problem with not doing things when I know I ought to...that's how I.S. wasn't really that bad...because it was far worse for me mentally to procrastinate), I realized that I feel very trapped at home much of the time. College definitely spoiled me, by basically always putting me in situations wherein I wasn't alone to at least some extent. Even in other internet free-times of my life, I have been in community, whether it be in China, at SLT, or any other conference. I cannot wait to move and start working on campus...for so many reasons.
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I'm glad the Office is back on....it makes my Thursdays. Actually, Thursdays are kind of nice, because there's not really a lot for me to do on Fridays...Thursdays are kind of my demi-Friday. I do have stuff to do on Friday...just not as much generally and the week finally wraps up. Working solely at home (aside from FD meetings, which I don't really count as part of my "work day" since most of them aren't during the work day) makes life particularly interesting, because it both never ends and seems to never begin. I do a decent job of structuring my day, but e-mails come in all the time, and phone calls have to happen in the evening. It's just...part of doing what I do, and I think I mostly enjoy it. I'll probably enjoy it more when it's not my parents' house from which I'm working.
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Books I've recently finished:
Love is an Orientation, Andrew Marin, IVP: A spectacular look at the Christian-GBL dialogue, and how we ought to elevate and change it.
The Dangerous Act of Worship, Mark Labberton, IVP: A spectacular look at what it means to truly worship and live a life driven by worship. It's written by a pastor and even though it seems to try to be geared toward everyone, I think it's best use would be by a pastors looking to revolutionize their church structure and purpose. As such, I especially recommend it for anyone involved in ministry...everyone in general too...but mostly those in ministry.
What I'm reading now:
The Major Plays: Anton Chekhov
The Iceman Cometh: Eugene O'Neill
The Ground Beneath Her Feet: Salman Rushdie
The Land: Mildred Taylor
War and Peace: Count Leo Tolstoy
Ordering Your Private World: Gordon McDonald
For Christ and the University: Keith and Gladys Hunt.
I'm reading two of those for InterVarsity training...guess which two!
My favorite of the bunch is The Ground Beneath her Feet... probably because Rushdie is my favorite author out of almost any bunch.
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I'm watching the third season of Heroes right now; trying to finish before the new season starts Monday. I don't know if there is a single original idea in the entire series...it's basically an amalgamation of Watchmen, X-men, and, to a lesser extent, even Spider-man and Captain America. But it does it all well....very well. Even though there's only one character I truly loved (and she came and went all within the third season, even though I've not even finished it yet), the other characters are good enough and interesting enough that I want to find out what happens....and it's among the boldest and best-shot things you'll ever see on T.V., most especially network T.V., and of that, even NBC. Speaking of T.V., I'm hugely excited that the Office and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia are back. They make Thursday so good....well, last night at least. Community, the new show after the office, is pretty good too... it's a good filler before changing to FX at ten for Always Sunny. Speaking of things on at 10, as much as the world seems to love Jay Leno's new show, I kind of hate that it exists. Aside from never being a fan of Leno and being very happy that Conan now fills an earlier and better timeslot, I just think calling it quits to keep doing the same thing everyday is a dumb career move and a sad excuse for NBC not having enough material to fill their timeslots. Do they even realize that between 10 p.m. and 1:30 A.m. they have three hours of the same format of show? And the half hour in there is the always bad local news? Oh well. In general, I care (and basically exclusively watch) about NBC far too much. Back when we lived on a farm, we only got NBC, Fox, and PBS...so of the standard networks, NBC became what I know and, essentially, what I stick with through good and bad, even though I don't have to do that anymore.
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I think I've just run the gamut of things from my life I can possibly talk about without talking about sports. My sports thought for the moment? Delonte, I thought you were my boy.
Oh, I didn't say anything about music. Here, listen to the music here: www.myspace.com/mae....it's a whole CD, and it's my current album of the year.
Have a good weekend.
-Zack
"But all you need is faith
And hope will bring the brighter day"
-Mae
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