Midterms

I am pretty exhausted from my tests, and a couple people have asked me what midterms have involved this week, so here you go.  For my Old Testament class, this is just one of three essay questions that needed to be answered outside of class, then 16 short answer questions and scripture identifications.

The essay prompt is "Compare and contrast the accounts of the origins of the earth and human beings in Genesis to those of the other ancient Near Eastern epics. Be sure to address similarities and differences between these stories, including their depictions of deities and the role(s) they play in creation, the process(es) of creation, how the presence of living beings and the natural world are explained, and the purpose(s) of humanity within creation. In your answer, be sure to cite relevant texts, whether biblical or from the ancient Near East, to illustrate your arguments."
 
The creation account in Genesis one from the P source begins with a description of a chaotic scene in which “the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters” (NRSV, Genesis 1:2).  An orderly pattern of creation follows, with God speaking into existence parts of creation (Genesis 1:3-25), ending with the creation of humankind in verse 26-27 “Let us make humankind in our image…in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”  God goes on to direct humankind to be stewards and rulers of all creation in verse 28. 

            Another account of creation appears in Genesis two, written by the J source.  This poetic, anthropomorphic account has God more intimately involved in creation instead of speaking the world into existence.  After causing water to rise up from the earth, God formed man, Adam, from the soil and breathes life into him (Genesis 2:7).  God goes on to create plants and the Garden of Eden in verses eight and nine.  Next the animals are created (Gen 2:19-20), none of which is a suitable helper for Adam.  Finally, as a final act of creation, God creates woman from the man’s rib in 19:22-23.  The purpose of humanity in this account is to till the ground and tend the garden (Genesis 2:15). 

            The two accounts of creation in Genesis differ from one another in several ways.  In Genesis one, the earth is a formless void of watery chaos, stilled and ordered by the spoken command of a transcendent God.  In Genesis two, a waterless, dusty landscape, devoid of all life is presented.  Next, the order of creation is markedly different.  In Genesis one, an orderly progression of creation culminates in the creation of humankind on the last day, with God observing the Sabbath as a final act of creation.  Genesis two is more dramatic, with an anthropomorphic representation of a creator deity intimately involved in shaping creation (Coogan 2011, 38).  In this account, man is created first, then plant life, then animals then woman.  Finally, the purpose of humanity is different in these accounts.  In Genesis one, humanity is to have dominion over all creation, and in Genesis two, humanity was created to do the former work of the gods on earth, similar to the Enuma Elish (Coogan 2011, 39). 

            The biblical accounts of creation are distinct from the creation story in the Enuma Elish.  Of note in the Genesis accounts is the presence of one creator deity, who creates things such as the sun, moon and stars, which in ANE cultures are viewed as divine bodies themselves (Coogan 2011, 37).   In the Enuma Elish, the cosmos are made from the body of the slain goddess Tiamat (Enuma Elish, tablet IV, line 138, www.etana.org) and the stars are “stands for the great gods” (Ibid, tablet V, line 1, www.etana.org).  Also missing from the Genesis accounts are stories of creation by violence as in the Enuma Elish.  The marriage of two deities gave rise to a new generation of gods including those of earth and sky (Coogan 2011, 32).  Subsequent gods were born, and from their chaos arose a battle between Marduk, god of the storm, and Tiamat, god of the sea.  Tiamat is killed, and Marduk goes on to kill Tiamat’s consort, Kinu, and from his blood humans were created (Coogan 2011, 32-34).  However, this motif of battle and violence is seen in other biblical accounts such as Psalm 74:13. 

            Additionally the Enuma Elish has commonalities with the Genesis accounts.  In this ANE text, the origins of the world are said to have come from a mixing of waters by the deities Apsu and Tiamat (Enuma Elish, tablet I, lines 3-5, www.etana.org).  In the first Genesis account, creation comes from watery chaos (Genesis 1:2). Also in the Enuma Elish, humans were created to do the work of the gods so that the gods could have a life of ease.  This differs from Genesis one in that humans were given dominion over all creation, but aligns with Genesis two when man was created to do the work of God on earth. 

            Parallels in the second biblical account of creation can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh.  Most prominent is the seduction by an antagonist, which causes the protagonist’s situation to change dramatically.  In Genesis chapter three, this takes the form of “knowledge of good and evil” and being driven out of the garden upon eating the fruit of the tree (Gen 3:22).  In Gilgamesh, Enkidu losing his closeness to nature through his seduction by the prostitute, by which he is humanized and develops knowledge of sin (Coogan 2001, 43). 

            In their accounts of creation distinct from ANE texts, the biblical writers are setting up a paradigm to support the later covenant with Israel.  Human beings were created in the image of God as the culmination of creation (Gen 1:26-27), or at the center of creation (Gen 2:7).  They were made to tend and have dominion over the earth, not just to do the work formally done by the gods.  In this lies evidence that HaShem is building a new creation.  

This is the absurdity known as Greek

Greek nouns of the first declension

24 different permutations of the word "the"

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snapshot of what I am currently spending my waking hours doing...

Hebrew Bible Exegesis:

The book of Joshua, and in particular the battle of Jericho in chapter six, functions as an etiological narrative to explain how Israel gained control of the promised land, with the story of Rahab in chapter two, framed by the greater narrative, as a reminder of the Israelites' identity as a people in covenant with God.  


The story of Rahab, when looked at critically and through the lens of literary criticism, functions on one level as an etiological narrative to explain the incorporation of a Canaanite group into Israel, but it also functions as an extended metaphor to remind Israel of its covenant relationship with God.  


Contained within the narrative are elements of the suzerain treaty form, as well as allusions to a history of God's mercy in sparing certain righteous individuals from widespread destruction, and Rahab is considered righteous because of her reverence for Yahweh and her assisting of Joshua's spies, seen as critical in fulfilling the story of Israel.  


Finally, the most poignant reminder of the covenant is the metaphor functioning as an allusion to the first passover in Egypt.  The crimson cord tied to the window in Joshua 2:18, along with the imperative to Rahab to gather her loved ones into the house and stay there until the invasion is complete, is a direct allusion to the blood put onto the doorposts by the Israelites and the imperative to stay indoors in Egypt during the first passover.  


My current favorite phrase in grad school is "prehending the orienting Gestalt."  Which is  fancy way of saying "understanding the underlying whole" with regards to counseling and pastoral care.

First week of grad school

I started grad school this week, and so far this is what I have learned:

1. Perhaps most importantly, fully caffeinated coffee only affects me marginally.  I drank two cups last night around 8pm and still fell asleep without any problems.  That was after two cups in the morning and two cokes in the afternoon.  Bad habit.

2. Blessedly, I now know enough Greek to know that my tattoo is indeed grammatically and linguistically correct!   Even though I had three people give me the right transliteration, including a native Greek speaker, I was still somewhat afraid that I would be tattooed with misspelled Greek the rest of my life.

3. A neat new party trick that I have learned is the Greek alphabet, and I now have a Greek vocabulary of about 50 words.  Which puts me on par with a Greek toddler, but we can't have it all at once.  At present, I am translating (using a Lexicon) phrases from the Septuagint and New Testament into English and vice versa.  

4. I have enough information to now be able to intelligently discuss the formation of the Torah.  Including the Documentary Hypothesis (JEDP), form criticism, tradition history and redaction criticism, plus their advantages and disadvantages.  Also included is the ability to draw parallels between Ancient Near East (ANE) texts and the Hebrew Bible, including the epic of Gilgamesh, the Babylonian Creation Myth and the epic of Kirta.  If this sounds like a tremendous amount of work for one week, you would be right.

5. On the off chance that caffeine does start to keep me awake, I have discovered two new sleeping aids:
The Anchor Bible Dictionary (all ten volumes, each about 4 inches thick) or The Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counseling (which weighs about 12 pounds).

One week down, nine weeks to go this quarter.

assorted and sundry updates

Since it has been so long since I have written an update for my blog, it is probably time to do so.  So here is what I have been up to lately. 

First, I got a new tattoo.  It is on my right ankle.  It is the Greek conjugation of the genitive form of the word Grace, meaning "belonging to Grace" or "by means of God's Grace."  Which is how I choose to live my life and tremendously important to me as a Lutheran.  This is also informing my theological studies, and my vocation.  As a funny side note, the day after I got the tattoo I was managing the emergency services department along with one of our volunteers, Kathleen.  Kathleen is a hilarious older woman who says exactly what she means.  When I was showing off my tattoo to a coworker, Kathleen remarked, "Well I sure hope that is religious."  After I got done laughing hysterically and telling her that, indeed, it was religious, she said that was okay and if she was younger, she would do the same thing.  And I couldn't agree more.  If you are going to put something on your body forever, you need to make sure that you feel strongly about it.  Which is why I have an ichthus on my back.  My dear friends here in Denver knew how much I wanted a new tattoo, so they got together and collected money and gave it to me on my birthday.  True friends encourage permanent body modifications! 

Next, I registered this week for classes at graduate school.  I will be taking 14 quarter hours, which differ slightly from semester hours.  Our quarters are only 10 weeks long.  So in other words, I am going to have my hands full and it is good that I won't be working this quarter.  I will be taking biblical Greek, Old Testament (Hebrew) exegesis, pastoral care theory and a vocation discernment class.  But I am WAY excited to go back into academia.  Evidenced by the fact that I am totally geeking out over the fact that I need to go buy a much bigger bookshelf to hold all of the exciting text books! 

A couple weeks ago I was awarded entrance into the ELCA candidacy process for Diaconal Ministry.  Back in May I wrote this post on diaconal ministry.  (click to follow link)  Candidacy is the communal discernment process through which the candidate and their church body (in this case, the Rocky Mountain Synod) mutually explore internal (from the candidate) and external (from the greater church and others) sense of call.  I wrote a couple essays, endured an intelligence test/psych evaluation and a couple interviews earlier this summer.  On August 12th I had my panel interview with my candidacy sub-committee.  They asked questions about my essays, sense of call, vocational goals and theological understanding.  While the process is grueling, I am very appreciative of it, because it means that the people who are serving the ELCA are really qualified and called to do so.  A mainline denomination such as the ELCA can only exist because of careful attention to who is called to serve and shepherd it.  Mainline protestant ministers and church leaders are very well educated and informed, and this is helpful because it means that churches are not built around the "cult of personality" of a charismatic preacher, but rather, rooted in a firm understanding of theology and sociology and caring for others. 

My next step is to start classes this fall and complete a unit of CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) next summer in a hospital.  After this year of didactic studies and the CPE residency are complete, I will write a few more essays and undergo some more interviews to progress into the Endorsement phase of candidacy.  At this point, I will have to discern whether or not I am going for consecrated or ordained ministry, and my studies will follow accordingly.  After that, I have a couple more years of study and internship, and finally the Approval phase.  Approval tests theological competency and understanding and ability to serve and culminates in Call.  I feel blessed to be supported by a wonderful candidacy committee, my congregation, my clergy mentors and a whole bunch of friends.  Right now it is just one step at a time.  I am working on finalizing my affiliation with an ELCA seminary (Luther in MSP) for supervision of my Lutheran formation classes and getting really excited to start classes on September 12th.