the singularity of being and nothingness
Posts tagged Anthropology
Introductory Thoughts Concerning the Shift from Faith to Objectivity in Religious Thought
May 2nd
There was perhaps no greater shift in human epistemology than that engendered in the Englightenment. The revolution in thinking was so profound that if Socrates is the father of philosophy, Descartes is his violent and victorious progeny. All aspects of human epistemology–from history to science to religion–have undergone palpable changes, philosophy being forever marked by the revolution of the modern philosophical programme.
While volumes and volumes can and have been devoted to outlining the changes and effects actualized through the implementation of Enlightenment thinking to all areas of human epistemology, one of the most profound can be seen in Christian thinking. While doctorates could be written and institutes established concerning this more refined topic, I simply wish to outline some very brief reflections concerning what I perceive to be devastating shifts within Christian thinking concerning the inheritance of the Enlightenment and the nature of faith. In doing so, I simply wish to call attention to the all-too-subtle ways in which inherent philosophical assumptions of culture (racial, social and religious) create definitions of religious categories which may or may not cohere with the ancient beliefs of the earliest believers, concluding, alternatively, with suggestions of the how the same can be avoided More >
A Self-Legitimating Argument Against the Existence of God
Mar 28th
Several weeks ago, I posted some reflections about Hugh Ross' apologetic of theism based upon cosmological discoveries of the recent decade. In short, Ross argues that there is objective, ascertainable evidence in the cosmos that legitimizes belief in not only God, but more specifically the "God of the Bible." I argued that Ross approaches the discussion with illegitimate categories, as professing belief in naturalistic proof for divinity, IMO, plays directly into the materialist conceptions of origins against which Ross is attempting to argue.
Upon finishing this book, I ran across a submission from Victor J. Stenger entitled "God: The Failed Hypothesis." In this work, Stenger argues that, contra Ross, evidence within the cosmos leads to the inevitable conclusion that God does not, in fact, exist. To develop this thesis, Stenger looks for evidence in creation, asserting that the universe looks exactly like it would were one to eliminate "God" from the discussion of origins. Later in the book, he even dons the philosopher's hat and suggests that considerations of the universality and variability of human morality; the problem of evil; and the materialism of the human person specifically deny the existence of God.
Overall, I had a fairly difficult time taking More >
God of the Feminine – Reflections on Genesis 1:26-27
Aug 3rd
As I have been studying the numerous connections between the structures and themes within the Hebrew Scriptures and other ancient Near Eastern literature, I have been particularly drawn towards the correlations between the respective creation stories. Although the Genesis text is by far the most popular creation text, there are numerous others that share very similar features that presumably influenced the final form of the Genesis text. One interesting feature of the creation-epic literature of the ancient Near East is the dual role of masculine and feminine divine figures in the act of creation. In numerous stories, gendered gods and goddesses are utilized to describe the unique way in which the creation came to be.
As I have been reflecting upon the significance of the identification of the masculine and feminine in the ANE creation stories, an interesting thought occurred to me: perhaps this male/female connection exists within the biblical text as well. The primary candidate for such a consideration, I believe, is Genesis 1:26-27:
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the More >
Works=Actions…Or Do They?
Jun 26th
Over the last few days, I have been engaged in some rather lengthy and in-depth discussions of the concept of justification-by-faith with others, especially those from the Reformed tradition. As I have discussed this concept, I have come to the conclusion that the common conception of justification-by-faith, apart from works is a loaded and incorrect concept. In the following, I shall outline the objections which I have to this theology.
Per the standard explanation of justification-by-faith, humans are justified when they place their faith in Christ, hence justification by faith. As sinful humans cannot even be looked upon by a holy God, there must be a way by which humans are somehow changed from sinful to holy, from rejected to accepted of God. The doctrine of justification by faith advocates that this occurs through an imputation of righteousness. In this imputation, the righteousness of Christ, the only perfect human, is placed over or imputed to the one who has faith. Because of this imputation, God is now able to look down upon the sinner (who is still a sinner, BTW). However, instead of seeing sin, filth and wretchedness, God sees only the righteousness of Christ which literally clothes the one More >
Sumerian Kings' Lists and Genesis 5 – Part Deux
Jun 15th
My first post concerning this issue raised a lot of questions and spurred a lot of dialogue. Regardless of whether or not a consensus has been achieved amongst those who supported my opinions and those who did not, it did serve to create conversation, raise more questions, and better articulate and outline the salient issues that are involved in the act of interpretation. I believe this dialogue is important, especially in relation to texts that are shrouded in contexts which we will never be able to fully penetrate. Hopefully, this second post can move the conversation to other possibilities for thinking and reflection as well.
As I have continued to study this issue, I have come across some interesting information. For example, consider the following data set:
Name /Age When Son Born / Remaining Years / Total Years ——————————————————————— 1. Adam / 130 / 800 / 930 2. Seth / 105 / 807 / 912 3. Enosh / 90 / 815 / 905 4. Kenan / 70 / 840 / 910 5. Mahalalel / 65 / 830 / 895 6. Jared / 162 / 800 / 962 7. Enoch / 65 / 300 / 365 8. Methuselah / 187 / More >
Sumerian Kings' Lists and Genesis 5
Jun 12th
For one of my classes this summer, I am reading Kenton L. Sparks Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible in which Sparks meticulously draws comparisons and outlines the relationships between the content, form and structure of the Hebrew Scriptures with other texts from periods and people groups predating, consonant with and following the potential dates of authorship of the various biblical texts. While I am barely into this text so far, I have come across some very interesting information. For example, remember the genealogy of Genesis 5? In this section of Genesis, 10 persons, from Adam to Noah, are outlined, including their respective lengths of life. As Sparks points out, the genealogy in Genesis 5 is oddly out of place in Mesopotamian literature of the time, for the genealogies of other peoples did not include time frames. Rather, they were simply genealogies that outlined the descendency of families and tribes. However, and interestingly, there was a genre of literature that did include chronological information king lists. For example, consider the following Mesopotamian/Sumerian kings list: Name Length of Reign 1. Alulim————-28,000 2. Alagar————-36,000 3. EnmenluAnna—–43,200 4. EnmengalAnna—-28,800 5. Dumuzi————36,000 6. EnsipaziAnna——28,800 7. Enmeduranki—21,000 8. Ubar-Tutu——–18,600 Obviously, as compared to More >
