ORB Reads the Bible

Hey everyone. Quiet down, please. I want to make an announcement.

There's a new blog in town. And it is ORB Reads the Bible. And it is great.

What they're doing is taking one chapter a day and reading through it together and then sharing their thoughts in the comments. And there's actually smart people on there, as opposed to other blogs you may be familiar with. I.e. mine.

So while Brandon's Bible Adventure is a completely personal thing of how I am experiencing the Bible and what it means to me, ORB Reads the Bible is a place where you can go and read it for yourself and post your own interpretations of what you've read - instead of being subjected to my half-wit understanding of what's going on.

They're currently reading through Luke one chapter each day. I would seriously encourage any reader of this blog to go out and experience it for yourself - and what better way to do that than through a community of really smart, caring people.

Seriously, I have an account on this site that lets me see everyone who visits. It also shows me what site you go to after you leave this one. I want to see everyone going to ORB Reads the Bible. Seriously. I'll come after you. Here's the link again: http://orbx2.blogspot.com/

Do it.

Tuesday, May 4

Yes yes. Thanks to everyone who left the encouragement in the comments and on Facebook. I don't know why I'm feeling so 'blah' about this whole thing. It could be the fact that doing this blog is the last thing I do every day, so sometimes when I'm really tired, I just don't feel like opening the laptop. It's become somewhat of a burden I suppose, in that respect. I think it would be ridiculous to give up now - five months into the process. I guess I was just frustrated with the whole staying up late thing. Thanks for sticking with me during my whiny-ness.

Reading for May 4
Judges 19:1-20:48
Holy crap - this is a messed up story. So there are two nameless people - a guy and a girl. They were married, she was unfaithful, she left and he went to bring her back. On their way back they stayed in an old man's house in the town of Ephraim. That night some dudes from the town came to the door. Check out what they say:

"Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him."

Isn't that the exact same thing that happened in Sodom? When the angels of God came down and stayed in Sodom, the soldiers came to the door and said those exact words, I think. Was this a common problem or was this language re-used to make a point.

I have heard that the idea of "hospitality" was very important to the Israelites, and while that's never spelled out, this story has a lot of specific details about people being overly-hospitable. And butt rape is considered pretty in-hospitable, I suppose.

Anyway - the story goes on from there. The owner of the house does not allow the men to take his male guest out to rape him, but instead hands over the man's wife. It says that she is raped and abused for the entire night and then makes her way back to the house and dies on the doorstep. Then the man takes her back home and...are you ready for this?...CUTS HER INTO TWELVE PIECES AND SENDS THEM TO EACH TRIBE OF ISRAEL!

OK - after reading the next chapter in the story, this was done to rile up the men of Israel against the men who did this to her. The men who did this were from the tribe of Benjamin. I'll get to that in a minute...

Something compelling (NOT interesting) about this whole section is the complete lack of God's presence. I don't think there has been this much continuous text thus far in the Bible without God being even mentioned. Maybe that's why things are so damn dark here...

So the Israelites mount an attack against the Benjaminites but they lose - bad. So finally, they turn to God and pray for success, asking if they should go up against the Benjaminites after all. God only replies: "Go up against them."

So they go for a second day of fighting and lose badly again. Now they pray again and God says, "Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands." Then they start winning, but it's just a big disaster all around. A lot of soldier die, the Israelites then invade the city of Gileah (where the Benjaminites were living) and kill everything. Then they go on a rampage and just burn down every city in their path.

This reminds me of the scene in Idiocracy where the cops just shoot the crap out of that car until it blows up for no apparent reason other than it's awesome.

John 3:22-4:3
A lot of detail here about John the baptist. I think a lot of people believed that he was the savior they had been waiting for, so when they heard about this Jesus guy, they were all like "Hey John - some other schmo is trying to edge in on your racket. What gives?"

John displays great humility here and states that he must bow out of the way as he was only meant to prepare the way for Jesus. He could have easily accepted all the glory and attention he was receiving and had a big epic battle with Jesus to be the one to save Israel - or the world - but he didn't. He fulfilled his purpose for his cousin, Jesus. This is very pleasurable. Not interesting.

Psalm 104:24-35
²⁴ How many are your works, O LORD!
       In wisdom you made them all;
       the earth is full of your creatures.

 ²⁷ These all look to you
       to give them their food at the proper time.
 ²⁸ When you give it to them,
       they gather it up;
       when you open your hand,
       they are satisfied with good things.

This makes you think about what it would be like if we didn't live in a capitalist society. We could certainly survive without jobs and money and cars and luxury and McDonald's. Jesus says something along these lines as well. He says something like,

"Look at the birds, see how they are fed by God. How much more important are you than birds."

Even if you don't believe in God, this still holds up. People in tribal communities can live off the land without the need for currency or anything else. It can be done - would I want to do it? Would I want to give my my luxuries and video games and my bulldog and chicken sandwiches? No, I'm a carnal jerk who needs this kind of stuff because I was brought up in a society where these things were available and plentiful. Ideally, I think life would be much more rewarding living in a real 'socialist' society. Not the "Oh - Obama's a socialist and the devil" kind of way - but the "Hey, what's mine is yours, neighbor." kind of way. Many of the communities written about in the Bible live this way, and it sounds like real life.

I am able to get a small glimpse of this on retreats with my church, where everyone just lives together for a weekend and shares everything and we all take time to listen to each other and love one another. No TV. No video games. No chicken sandwiches. And it's glorious.


Proverbs 14:22-24
 ²² Do not those who plot evil go astray?
       But those who plan what is good find ^[a] love and faithfulness.
 ²³ All hard work brings a profit,
       but mere talk leads only to poverty.
 ²⁴ The wealth of the wise is their crown,
       but the folly of fools yields folly.

Verse 23 there kind of goes against this "socialist" idea I brought up, but you could interpret it differently. Profit could be any number of things other than monetary. Profit of strong relationships, profit of friendship, profit of community, etc.

I think the point is 'hard work pays off, just talking about hard work doesn't do anything, stupid!'

Alright - I'm excited about this again. Thanks for reading, friends.

'Interesting' Synonyms

So thanks to my friend Amanda, and thanks to the internet, here is a list of synonyms for 'interesting'.

absorbing, intriguing, fascinating, stimulating, gripping, riveting, compelling, arresting, entrancing, engaging, exciting, engrossing, provocative, thought-provoking, pleasing, pleasurable, enjoyable, satisfying, readable, stirring, enthralling, spellbinding, affecting, alluring, exotic, unusual, exceptional, impressive, striking, attractive, appealing, captivating, enchanting, inviting, winning, magnetic, prepossessing, delightful, amusing, refreshing

I'm gonna try to use every one of these whenever I start to use the word 'interesting'. So if you see me describe one of Jesus' sermons as 'pleasurable' - you'll know why...

Monday, May 3

Hey bros. I don't have much of an update in my personal life - so let's hit the old Bible.

Reading for May 3
Judges 17:1-18:31
I gotta admit - I'm losing motivation here. This section is about the Danites and how they are searching for a land to call their own. They find it and live there and rename it Dan. It's not very interesting.


I don't know why I'm so unexcited about this right now. A few days ago I was on fire, now I'm forcing myself to do this. I am pretty tired, maybe that's it...

John 3:1-21
Here it is - the most famous line in the whole Bible - John 3:16. Let's all say it together:

¹⁶"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,^[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

This is also the text where I believe the term "Born Again Christian" originates:

"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.^[a]"

Jesus here obviously isn't talking about reentering the womb, but rather spiritual rebirth. Creating a new life for yourself - or allowing the Holy Spirit to give you that new life - in the light of who Jesus is and what he's done for us is the central message of Christianity.


Psalm 104:1-23
Sorry, I'm tired. Nothing really sticks out in this one.

Proverbs 14:20-21
 ²⁰ The poor are shunned even by their neighbors,
       but the rich have many friends.
 ²¹ He who despises his neighbor sins,
       but blessed is he who is kind to the needy.

I think I need some sort of motivation. Leave some love in the comments.

Sunday, May 2

Hi.

Reading for May 2
Judges 15:1-16:31
Samson was not the best example of a man of God. He led Israel for 20 years despite that fact. he slept with prostitutes, he lied, he had a temper - all in all he was - well, he was sinful. He was human. But he also had super human strength, so he was also a super hero.

When I was in my band, back in the early '00s I was obsessed with the word "Donkey" for a short time. One day I decided to write a song about donkeys in the Bible. The first thing I saw was Judges 15:15

¹⁵ Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.

 ¹⁶ Then Samson said,
       "With a donkey's jawbone
       I have made donkeys of them. ^[a]
       With a donkey's jawbone
       I have killed a thousand men."

Is that not ridiculous? He killed 1000 guys - by himself - with the jawbone of a donkey. 

After this he met Delilah - the story of Samson and Delilah is well known, or at least those two names are. Delilah was another Philistine girl and the Philistine government wanted Samson dead. So they bribed her to get Samson to tell her the secret of his power. He tricked her a few times by making up different things that would make him lose his strength, but eventually he told her it was his hair that was making him so strong.

So at night she cut off his hair and handed him over to the Philistines. They gouged out his eyes and put him in prison. He was brought out some time later to "entertain" a large group of Philistines. I'm not sure what it means but "entertain". Anyway, he is tied between two pillars and prays to God for one last burst of energy. God grants his request and Samson pushes both pillars over which collapses the building on thousands of people. Yay, murder!

John 2:1-25
It's very interesting reading the Gospels in order like this. You really get a sense of the different writing styles. John writes in a very descriptive manner. So far, everything that  has happened has been spelled out and leaves no room for interpretation. He also jumps around the timeline a lot - referencing the crucifixion before it happens in the story.

In this section, Jesus gains many followers through various miracles he performs. He also says this famous line:

"Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."

When you first read that, it sounds like he's talking about the Jewish temple, but I thought - "no wait, he's probably talking about himself - referring to himself as a temple." But then John goes on to say this:

But the temple he had spoken of was his body. ²²After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

You can also see there the time-jumps that John does. It's definitely a neat way of looking at it. That's the way my brain works too - I'm always jumping around and thinking about things from the present and the past. Very little of anything I do is linear.

I also need to find another adjective to use than "interesting". I'm very self conscious about my over-use of it. Sorry if it's bugging you. Send in suggestions for synonyms to "interesting"



Psalm 103:1-22
 ¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
       or repay us according to our iniquities.

I'm just thinking again about the idea of sin. If Christianity were a big sham and this whole thing was fake - we would need a compelling reason to believe it. I think I've mentioned this before, but if you don't believe you're a sinner then Jesus' sacrifice means absolutely nothing to you. If you're a generally good person who doesn't have any major infractions against you - and maybe the worst you've done in your life is tell white lies, what reason would you need Jesus.

The Bible adds these "cosmic sins" to make sure that everyone is in need of him. "Disobeying God" may have been very easy to see back in the OT, but how do you even know what God's orders are nowadays? You have to decipher abstract signs that may or may not be from God. So you may or may not actually be disobeying God - and by extension - you may or may not be sinning.

I don't know - it's just a bit disheartening to think that everyone has to be considered lower than dirt to have Christianity work. But I suppose we are also considered God's beloved children because he sent his son to die for us. But if we're not sinful it means nothing. But we are sinful...Someone help me out of this circle...

Proverbs 14:17-19
 ¹⁷ A quick-tempered man does foolish things,
       and a crafty man is hated.
 ¹⁸ The simple inherit folly,
       but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
 ¹⁹ Evil men will bow down in the presence of the good,
       and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

OK - goodnight friends.

 

Saturday, May 1

So today, I went for a 12 mile walk with Jilly. But then I ate 5 slices of pizza, so it probably cancels out. I am exhausted though...

We also just watched a movie called "Lars and the Real Girl". It was incredible - such a unique story and top notch acting and directing. If you haven't seen it, definitely check it out. It will make you rethink your relationships in your own life.

OK Bible time...

Reading for May 1
Judges 13:1-14:20
Samson
This section covers probably the most well known character from this book - Samson. He was born of an infertile woman who was blessed by God. That seems to be a theme for Godly men of the OT.

So when he grew up he married a Philistine girl - the Philistines were not part of the Israelites, but were currently ruling over Israel so God had destined these two to marry to bring peace between the two communities. So they get married and then Samson tells a riddle to some of the Philistines and bets 30 sets of clothes on whether or not they can figure it out. I can't even figure it out:

"Out of the eater, something to eat;
       out of the strong, something sweet."

Samson's wife begs him to tell her the answer because the Philistine men are angry they can't figure it out. Eventually Samson tells her, she tells the guys, they figure it out, Samson loses the bet and kills a bunch of people and divorces his wife.

Samson also ripped a lion in half with his bear hands. His bear. hands.

John 1:29-51
OK - so this is the calling of Jesus' disciples. And there is a lot more detail here than in any other gospel about how they were called. The general vision is that they were fishing and Jesus called them. Not so here - it says that a couple of them were disciples of John the Baptist, while the others were brought to Jesus by the first few that joined him. Jesus already knows details about these guys lives and all-in-all its a very interesting retelling of how the disciples came to be in Jesus' company.

Psalm 102:1-28
Interesting take on the infinite nature of God:

²⁵ In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
       and the heavens are the work of your hands.

 ²⁶ They will perish, but you remain;
       they will all wear out like a garment.
       Like clothing you will change them
       and they will be discarded.
 ²⁷ But you remain the same,
       and your years will never end.

Proverbs 14:15-16
 ¹⁵ A simple man believes anything,
       but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.
 ¹⁶ A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil,
       but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.

Yes. My legs are on fire. Goodnight.

 

Friday, April 30

Evenin'. One of the main goals of this project was to see how reading the Bible every day affected my day-to-day life. It even says it in the description of the blog up there. And up until this week, I haven't really seen any effects at all. I mean minor ones like finally sticking with something for more than a week and maybe being more analytical about the way I think about things. But this week I was able to see a tangible result of reading this book every day: knowledge.

Every so often I have lunch with a friend from work. He's agnostic but a really great conversationalist and a really good friend. So we often have these huge philosophical discussions about life and spirituality and religion and all that stuff. So whenever these conversations happen I usually just listen and try to understand the other person's viewpoint. And outside of a few random times I would never really have a strong opinion of my own. Well this week, in the conversation I had with my friend from work, I felt very confident in my own viewpoint and was able to argue it fairly effectively, I think. The conversations aren't ever arguments, and are very civil, but I just felt more like a participant and less like a listener. I also felt like I knew who I was a little more.

I've always admired people who were so convinced of their faith based on studying they'd done or experiences they've had. Whereas I had done very little studying and have had little to no tangible contact with God. Now that I have more of a grasp of who God is, I have more of a grasp of who I am in light of that. No, scratch that - I have more of a grasp of who I am - period. It's extremely satisfying to be able to state my point of view effectively with evidence to back it up.

Also - today is four full months of reading the Bible every day. Woot.

Reading for April 30
Judges 11:1-12:15
This section is about Jephthah. Jephthah is really annoying to type, so I'm just gonna call him Jeff. So Jeff was the son of Gilead and a prostitute. Because he was born of a prostitute, Jeff's brothers from another mother made him an outcast and banished him from the family.

Several years later, Israel was in trouble as the Ammonites rose against them. They came to Jeff because he was a great leader and a mighty warrior. He agreed to help them if he was made the leader of Israel which they agreed to as well.

Before he went into battle he made this oath to God:

"If you give the Ammonites into my hands, ³¹ whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."

Well, he fought the Ammonites and led Israel to victory. Yay Jeff! But then he returned home and guess what came out of the door of his house when he got home. His only child. His daughter. He tears his clothes and weeps because of the promise he made to God. He lets her go into the mountains for 2 months to weep because she will never marry. After that, she came back and Jeff sacrificed her as a burnt offering. Pretty heavy...

But then again, why would he word it that way: "Whatever comes out of my house to meet me"? What else would come out of a house but a human? Why not "The first animal I see" or "My best livestock"? It was either gonna be his wife or his daughter. Maybe he just really didn't like his wife and was using this as a way out of the marriage.

"Ooh - sorry. I'd love to go to the opera but I promised God I would burn you to death. Next time?"


Is that wrong? What I just said there? Is that messed up?

John 1:1-28
Alright - new book! Exciting.

John opens with a very interesting look at Jesus and God. John theorizes that Jesus was with God from the beginning of time. He refers to Jesus as "The Word" here. And this, I think is an explanation of the holy trinity:

 ¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.

Then he goes on to talk about the light of men. And this light of men came from the life of God. I would think that the "light of men" would be referring to the non-sinful side of people.

Then there's some stuff that sounds like it was written after Jesus was killed and resurrected:

¹¹He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹²Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

Very interesting stuff in this. I bet there's gobs of books written about just these first few verses. 


Psalm 101:1-8
This psalm sets up a dangerous aspect of Christianity - what I like to call the "Christian Bubble".



The majority of this psalm talks about how the psalmist will avoid associating with any evil person or immoral character. So if this is taken literally, and out of the context of Jesus sitting and loving the sinners of the world, it allows us to easily put ourselves in the Christian Bubble.

I lived in the Christian Bubble for a long time. I worked at a Christian Bookstore, I DJ'd a Christian radio show, I was in a Christian band, and yet my faith and understanding was entirely shallow. It wasn't until I started hanging out and talking with non-Christians that my faith started to grow. I was challenged by other people's beliefs and that allowed me to search out and strengthen my own faith. Take THAT psalmist and your elitist Christian attitude!

Proverbs 14:13-14
 ¹³ Even in laughter the heart may ache,
       and joy may end in grief.
 ¹⁴ The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways,
       and the good man rewarded for his.

Good lawd it's a-late. Bedtime kids. Thanks for reading.