January 2, 2009, 3:12 pm by dc-agape.

I have updated two pages on my major domain. I hope that you enjoy the added organization; maybe it will help navigate to direct pages easier.

1)      I have added a new section to My Thoughts.  It is a little about how the experiment is going.

2)      I have made a list of posts by title, date and chapter in the Book of Genesis.  This can be found in the footer of my main page to the domain.

Posted in State of Mind, Introduction | Print | No Comments »

January 2, 2009, 3:05 pm by dc-agape.

Having thought about the passage I read earlier this morning I have realized that I missed two important points.  One deals with the number of sins that the brothers Simeon and Levi commit.  The other has to do with how YHWH responds to these sins.

I did not realize it at the time, but Simeon and Levi did commit another sin from the not yet written 10 commandments.  That sin was:

Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

By bringing trouble on to Jacob, both brothers have dishonored their father.   So that totals 4 of the 10 commandments broken, plus one the one of arrogance, plus our societies distaste for slavery!  Wow these guys are the perfect role model.  Let’s all be just like them.

What might be even scarier is how YHWH finally does respond nearly 500 years later.  Moses was born to a Levite family and all the Levites became responsible for the tabernacle.  The descendants of the man who committed 6 hideous crimes become the religious leaders of the Israeli nation.  I guess we should all begin to break the laws of God; he will reward our offspring in the future!

I have updated two pages on my major domain.  Hope you enjoy them, and maybe they will be helpful to you.

1)       I have added a new section to My Thoughts.  It is a little about how the experiment is going.

2)      I have made a list of posts by title in Genesis, found in the footer of my main page.

Posted in Genesis, Becoming an atheist, Readings, Introduction | Print | No Comments »

January 2, 2009, 10:22 am by dc-agape.

Genesis Chapter 34

This is a chapter about Dinah the daughter of Leah and Jacob.  Here again is a chapter where the Patriarchs of Israel do not have faith in YHWH and do not call upon his name.  The story starts out serine enough.  Dinah goes out among the women of Canaan (the descendants of Ham). 

While out with the girls, the son of a powerful man violates her.  Shechem was the name of the man that loved Dinah: 

^{Gen 34:3} His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and he spoke tenderly to her.

This might be very similar to date rape today or it could have been consensual.  As despicable as the act was, he was willing to do anything, pay any price for marriage to Dinah.  He wanted to correct his mistake!  How many men today will do that without a father’s shotgun?  Shechem’s father, Hamor, goes to Jacob to make the arrangements.

Jacob’s sons are filled with rage and flat out lie to Shechem and Hamor.  They demand genital mutilation before they will give consent to the marriage.  Shechem is so in love with Dinah that he and his father agree.  Even more they talk the all the men of the city into mutilating each individual’s genital.  The entire city is willing to take such a drastic action.  It might be true that they are thinking of their offspring with the sons of Israel, but is this not proof that they are willing to make a covenant with YHWH in the process?  Today, would an entire town mutilate their genitals just so one man could marry?  Jacob had 11 sons that needed wives; he has little choice about where those wives will come from.

The men of the city of Shechem followed through with the mutilation as required.  But instead of allowing Shechem to marry Dinah, Simeon and Levi attack the city!  They kill all the men, before the men recover from the genital mutilation.  To make things worse, they take all the possessions of the city, including the flocks, herds, and donkeys.  But they are not finished yet…no they take the women and children as well!

Let’s count the sins that were committed in this story.  The non-Israelite violates Dinah; we are not sure if this is rape, or if it is consensual.  The son’s of Israel on the other hand commit at least 5 sins.  First they have committed the sin of taking the place of YHWH as judge, truly arrogant.  Second, they have not called upon the name of YHWH during this episode; this was an act of man.  They bore false witness to the men of the town of Shechem.  They then murdered the men of the city, every single one, even the innocent ones!  Finally, they stole everything of value from the men they murdered without YHWH command.  Our society today would add one more sin to the list, even though it is not one of YHWH’s.  The women and children of Shechem are now slaves to the sons of Israel.  The women and children of Shechem have been denied freewill, and will be forced to either do manual labor or marry the sons of Israel!

To say the least, Jacob is troubled by the actions of Simeon and Levi.  He is worried that all of Canaan will turn against him and his family…for good reason!  All the sons can say is:

^{Gen 34:31} But they replied, “Should be have treated our sister like a prostitute?”

I sure am glad that we act a little more civilized today when premarital sex occurs!  Can you imagine the bloodshed if we acted in such a way today?

Posted in YHWH & slavery, Family Values?, Genesis, Readings | Print | 4 Comments »