Some light relief...

I started my lectures of Images of God in prophetic Literature course with a cartoon and have since been under pressure to provide light entertainment at each lecture....here's some for "Creator" :)

Bibledex-Videos from the University of Nottingham

Video journalist Brady Haran has a great quote about the Internet:

"For everyone out there who wants to watch a cat fall down a staircase there is someone else who is trawling the internet for a bit more depth"

Hopefully this blog caters for both ends of the spectrum! Haran is connected with an excellent website from the University of Nottingham, Bibledex that I came across via Mark Goodacre’s excellent blog. Bibledex is now a complete collection of videos on every book of the (Protestant) Bible. The site notes that

The videos are by no means comprehensive - rather they're a curious assortment of academic insights into what is probably the most famous collection of books in history

And there’s nothing more I like than a “curious assortment” of insights. I’ll definitely be using these videos in my classes-either as something I can play at the start of a topic, for example on the Book of Numbers in my course on the Pentateuch next year or as a supplementary piece for students to consult outside of the class. One piece of feedback I got from my students this year was that they started off some of the topics feeling a bit lost and I suspect this is because I cannot give enough time to introduce a topic or a book that we’re going to look at because of time constraints. In an ideal world I’d have my classes read the entire book and some background material but this is a lot to expect of the majority of my students so I’m trying to find more visual ways of doing this. Bibledex gives a great general introduction that is rooted in visual displays and solid informed information from academics who know what they’re talking about but aren’t doing their “I’m on the History Channel and need to be taken seriously so I’d better wear my tweed jacket with the patches” routine. Though some do succumb to the “I’m a learned person, look at all my books behind me”.
Have a look at the Genesis video (all videos are on the website and also on YouTube so you can embed them easily).



The only criticism I have (shared with Mark Goodacre) is that the theologians and Biblical Scholars aren’t identified by name, you have to be a certain type of Bible Nerd to know most of them (*cough*) You need to go to the Theologian Profile’s page to match up the pictures, but do take note of the Irish accents, Tom O'Loughlin and Alan Ford are featured.

The site also has an excellent section which I know my students in Milltown will love on Israel, documenting the visit there in January 2010. The video on the Sermon of the Mount is excellent-students love the “what does it look like now” element (there’s grass! And cars!) and a great account of how Jesus addressed the crowd. Well worth a look.





Have a look too at the fan site on Facebook and the BBC report on the project with excellent pictures. There's also the Bibledex's photostream on Flickr. And do let me know of any feedback you receive if you use them!

And as Jim West points out we'll just have to set to with getting the video of the Deuterocanonicals together!

Creation Myths

One day I'll get to teach an entire course on Genesis Creation Accounts and I'll still be stuck for time to fit all it! I found this great resource recently that will be great to use in comparing the Genesis creation accounts with other creation myths. The website is for supplementary use when you buy the CD ROM, but you can still access animated accounts (using Flash animation) of the Norse, Babylonian and Egyptian creation myths (among others) without having to pay. The animations and sound effects are excellent and fun to use. For example, the Babylonian creation myth has an animation (you need to use a next command to go through each slide so it’s probably more useful for individual use rather than in a classroom situation. There are segments on Babylonian culture and the Babylonian idea of the pantheon as well as exercises (which would be great for using with a younger group) and a handy word document of the presentation for use with a larger group. If you look under the Teacher’s Guide section, there are lots of hints and tips for using the programs in various classroom situations.

Other Creation Stories (for use with children) available:

Aborigine
Native American

Japanese (Shinto)

African

Egyptian (Animated)

Hindu (with video)

Aztec

Inuit

Some books I've found helpful for working with children (thanks to my students in Mary I for some of these!)

In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton 

The Creation Story: See and Say (Board book) Christina Goodings

The Coming of Night: A Yoruba Creation Myth from West Africa (Big book)

Biblical Brouhaha-Bruce Waltke and Creationism Debate

I've been following the discussion on the Internet closely over the resignation of the reknowned biblical scholar, Bruce Waltke from the the Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando and thought I should put together some links to keep you up to speed.

Essentially, the "brouhaha" as described by Waltke in his letter to colleagues which is now on the SBL website resulted from a video posted on the Biologos website (now removed though a transcript is available here) in which he endorsed evolution. Now I haven't seen the video but considering the uproar in the blogosphere (just google "bruce waltke video" to see for yourself) it would seem that it has been heavily edited and taken rather out of context. Biologos' mission statement is "The BioLogos Foundation explores, promotes and celebrates the integration of science and Christian faith" which would seem a solid enough endeavour and their own blog is quick to highlight their side of the argument and it's worth quoting Dr Waltke's "clarification" that was given to the site:

Dr. Bruce Waltke’s Statement of Clarification:

“I had not seen the video before it was distributed. Having seen it, I realize its deficiency and wish to put my comments in a fuller theological context:

1.Adam and Eve are historical figures from whom all humans are descended; they are uniquely created in the image of God and as such are not in continuum with animals.
2.Adam is the federal and historical head of the fallen human race just as Jesus Christ is the federal and historical head of the Church.

3.I am not a scientist, but I have familiarized myself with attempts to harmonize Genesis 1-3 with science, and I believe that creation by the process of evolution is a tenable Biblical position, and, as represented by BioLogos, the best Christian apologetic to defend Genesis 1-3 against its critics.

4.I apologize for giving the impression that others who seek to harmonize the two differently are not credible. I honor all who contend for the Christian faith.

5.Evolution as a process must be clearly distinguished from evolutionism as a philosophy. The latter is incompatible with orthodox Christian theology.

6.Science is fallible and subject to revision. As a human and social enterprise, science will always be in flux. My first commitment is to the infallibility (as to its authority) and inerrancy (as to its Source) of Scripture.
7.God could have created the Garden of Eden with apparent age or miraculously, even as Christ instantly turned water into wine, but the statement that God “caused the trees to grow” argues against these notions.

8.I believe that the Triune God is Maker and Sustainer of heaven and earth and that biblical Adam is the historical head of the human race.
9.Theological comments made here are mostly a digest of my chapters on Genesis 1-3 in An Old Testament Theology (Zondervan, 2007).”

Yup. There you have it. Adam and Eve. Historical Figures. Fuller Theological Context. Historical Head of the Human Race. I'm salivating at the thoughts of the handout I'm going to make for my students for my course on the Pentateuch next year in Milltown.

Have a look at some websites that bring the arguments together including John Hobbins' brilliant roundup over on the Ancient Hebrew Poetry blog.

Blogs:
Christian Post
Everyday Christian
Get Religion
Science Blog (Got so excited they used exclamation marks)
ChristianityToday
 
Newspapers:
The Washington Times
Folsom Telegraph (Californian newspaper, clearly not in favour of Evangelical Protestants)
USA Today

Websites:
Science Now

 

And I'm also going to try for a class trip to go to the Creation Museum in Kentucky

This walk through history is the centerpiece of the Creation Museum and features amazing scientific and biblical answers for the world we live in today. Witness the true time line of the universe unfold through the 7 C’s of History—illuminating God’s redemptive plan throughout history.

Not much on the shop though, I was hoping for a tshirt...

The Curious Incident of the Apple in Genesis

I'm a busy bee this week as I'm starting my two new courses in Milltown. My undergrad course is on Wisdom Literature and I have my first lecture this evening. While preparing my last few bits and pieces and trying to pre-empt as many questions as I can I go to thinking about the course I gave last year on the Pentateuch to the first year BD students, many of whom have braved another course with me. These guys are great students and never fail to give me things to think about after every lecture. Last year they caught me out failing to pay attention to my golden rule about reading a biblical text-never assume you know what the story is-always read the text and never read "into" it something that isn't there (a good example is the Creation accounts, or Infancy narratives in the Gospels). I kept talking about "the apple" (ever notice if you say something incorrectly you don't just say it once? No siree bob!), which of course as my class kindly pointed out to me isn't actually in the text. Oops!


But it did get me thinking and like any good lecturer I went away and came back with all the info and will share it here!

The Book of Genesis depicts Man and Woman (Adam and Eve) leading the good life in Eden. God decrees that the may eat fruit from any tree except one, "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Unsurprisingly, they eat the forbidden fruit and are expelled from paradise. The original Hebrew says only "fruit," (gah I can't get the Hebrew font in!) but in latter-day Western art ranging from serious religious painting, to cartoons, to hair care products, to perfume, the item in question is invariably depicted as an apple.

Early rabbis suggested the fruit was:

The Fig because the next verse mentions sewing together fig leaves to make loincloths;
grapes, which later cause trouble for Noah, not to mention many other vino lovers;
The Citron, a lemonlike fruit which in Hebrew is etrog, a pun on ragag, "desire";
Wheat, khitah in Hebrew and thus a pun on khet, "sin" - a stretch, considering wheat isn't a fruit and doesn't grow on trees; or
The Carob, because in Hebrew its name puns on the word for "destruction."

Many modern scholars think the author(s) of the text had the pomegranate in mind.

The Book of Genesis doesn't mention apples, but Proverbs 25:11 says a timely word is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. More significantly, in the Song of Solomon the apple is an erotic symbol indicating sweetness, desire, and the female breast.

Early Christian scholars often took the forbidden fruit to be an apple, possibly because of the irresistible pun suggested by the Latin malum, which means both "apple" and "evil." At least one early Latin translation of the bible uses "apple" instead of "fruit." A contributing factor no doubt was that apples were a lot more popular in Europe than in the Middle East, where it's generally too hot for them to thrive.


It wasn't just Christians who picked up on the apple's racy side. The most famous apple of Greek myth is the gold apple labeled "To the fairest" that Eris, goddess of discord, throws among the guests at a wedding party, leading to the judgment of Paris (he has to choose whether Hera, Aphrodite, or Athena is the most beautiful) and ultimately to the Trojan War. You get the picture: apples may look good, but they're trouble. Christian scholars knew the Greek myths and adapted many to their new religion.

Still, the apple wasn't the unanimous choice for forbidden fruit. Carved depictions of Adam and Eve with apples are found in early Christian catacombs and on sarcophagi. The apple was the favored representation of the forbidden fruit in Christian art in France and Germany beginning around the 12th century. But Byzantine and Italian artists tended to go with the fig.
In Areopagitica (1644), Milton explicitly described the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil as an apple, and that was pretty much it for the apple!


Some Advertising reasons I might have got confused: