Psalms Assignment

Psalm 8:

Summary: This psalm is basically praising God for giving man the earth and all the things that make it possible to survive. It also discusses man's place in the world and creation, such as when it says, "For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor." (verse 5) It is saying that humans are not as divine as angels, but God gave them glory and honor and control over the things that He made.

1. In what ways does this psalm draw upon the first chapter of Genesis?

This psalm relates to the first chapter of Genesis because it discusses when the earth was made and man's role in the creation of the earth.

2. a) In what verse is the theme of the role of humankind in creation first sounded?

The theme of the role of humankind in creation is first portrayed in verse four when mankind is first introduced and it’s role is questioned.

b) What place do humans occupy in relation to heaven and the rest of creation?

Humans are lower than God and other divine beings such as angels, but they are higher than the rest of creation on the earth and were given “Dominion over the works of thy hands.” (verse 6)

c) What does this unique place suggest about the relationship between humans and God?

It suggests that God has a personal relationship with humans, but they will never be able to be on the same level as Him especially because they can’t understand him.

Psalm 19:

Summary: This psalm talks about how God rules over everything on Earth, and how great of a feat this is. It also discusses God’s laws and why they are important and uses sinning as an example in verse 13.

1. How do the two distinct poems in this psalm differ in what they praise?

The first part praises how God rules over everything and his power extends throughout the entire earth. The second part of the psalm praises how strong God is and the way that he governs people and the earth and how people should follow his rules because they will make you a better person.

2. a) Identify the two prayers that are in the end of the psalm.

The first prayer is in verse 13 and says, “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.” The second prayer is in verse 14 and says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight.

b) What is the author requesting of God in each case?

In the first prayer, the author is asking God to help him be free of sin and give him the strength to not sin. The second prayer is asking God to hear the first prayer and accept it and know that the person who is asking to have the strength to be free of sin really means it.

Psalm 23:

Summary: This psalm explains the relationship between God and humans and how God gives humans strength, leads them through life, and provides what they need to survive.

1. Which verse best summarizes the theme of the Psalm?

I think that verse 3 summarizes the theme of this Psalm because the first two are like and introduction, and verse 3 it summarizes what the psalm is about, and the rest of the verses go into more detail about the main point of the verse.

2. What may gave caused this psalm to be adopted as a prayer of last resort?

I think this psalm is used as a prayer of last resorts and in moments of crisis because it is a prayer of strength from God, so people recite in when they need strength from God.

Psalm 137:

Summary: This psalm is about the Babylonian exile and how the Israelites do not want to forget about Jerusalem. It is also a prayer asking God to punish the people who exiled them.

1. To Which qualities of God does this psalm appeal to and why?

Instead of appealing to God’s goodness and mercy, it appeals to his ruthlessness. This psalm appeals to this quality of God because it is asking Him to punish the people who exiled the Israelites out of Jerusalem.

2. a) In what way are verses 5-9 an answer to the command in verse 3?

In verse 3 the Babylonians command the Israelites to sing them a song about Zion and verses 5-9 are the song that they sing in response to the Babylonians.

b) What is ironic about this “answer”?

The thing that is ironic about their response is that it is not really a song about Zion, it is more about the Babylonians and what will happen to them because the forced the Israelites 0ut of Zion.

c) How are verses 5-9 also an answer to the question in verse four?

Verse four is asking how they can live life with God or let Him guide them in a land that they did not grow up in and doesn’t belong to them. Verses 5-9 answer this question by saying that they should live in a different land by never forgetting about Jerusalem and Israel and where they came from.

Year of Living Biblically Month 6

1. Jacobs says that the red heifer idea is potentially dangerous because some people would view it as a sign to build a third temple, which would have to be built over one of the most important Mosques in Islam which could cause a war between Muslims, Jews, and possibly Christians because it is an important site in Christianity as well.

2. Now that he is halfway through his spiritual journey, he can look back on what has happened and the progress that he has made and I think he feels like he hasn't made as much progress as he wants to because he has had so many high and low points. I think he also feels distanced from God partly because he still isn't sure about what he believes and also partly because he has lived his life in a completely rational mindset. His dilemma is that he doesn't know how to get out of that mindset and accept his experiences so far with God so he eventually starts doubting all of the meaningful experiences he has had so far.

3. Jacobs says that the Bible is like wikipedia because there is a theories that many people wrote it, instead of just a few. This makes it like wikipedia because people don't know who all the authors are, and it was compiled over a long period of time. I agree with his argument, because if that theory is true, then it has a lot of similarities with wikipedia, but I don't think that it is exactly like wikipedia because a person still had to be extremely important and powerful to write part of the Bible compared to wikipedia, which anyone can write in.

World Religions Month 5

Quote 1:
"And you shall not strip you vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes...you shall leave them for the poor."
-Leviticus 19:10
The meaning behind this quote is that everyone should help people who are less fortunate than them. It also means that people should not be greedy and take everything for themselves, they should leave some of their food and possessions to the poor. Jacobs does this by trying to drop money on the ground, which does not really work, because most people are not used to someone dropping money and leaving it there. In the modern world this is the same thing as the idea of donating extra money to charities or volunteering to help the poor. Jacobs also says that the idea of "gleanings," or giving to the poor, has been called the "first welfare system." Today, we have government systems and non-profit organizations that are all based off of the idea that a person should give what they have left over to the poor.

Quote 2:

"You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged."

-Leviticus 19:32

This quote means that a person should honor people who are older than them and respect and take car of them. Although Jacobs takes the part of the quote that says "you shall rise up before the grayheaded" literally, I don't think that applies to modern society, because most people do not stand up every time that an elderly person entires the room. I think that this quote does not really apply to modern society because most people forget to follow this rule. When someone is a child, they are usually taught to respect people who are older than them, but usually people do not actually take care of the people in their family. Although some families take care of them, usually older people are sent to homes for elderly people and sometimes barely ever see their families. Although a lot of people do not follow this rule to the fullest extent that they can, most respect those who are older than them and honor them to some extent.

The Story of the Flood and David and Goliath

The Story of the Flood:
1. a) What is the meaning of the statement “Noah walked with God?” b) What does God’s willingness to spare the earth because of Noah suggest?
a)”Noah walked with God” means that Noah was an extremely righteous person and close to God, not that he was a God, but that he lived in a Godly way.
b) God’s willingness to spare the earth because of Noah suggests that He trusted Noah enough and thought that Noah was a good enough person to save above everyone else. It also suggests that God did not think Humanity was completely evil, He just thought that they needed to be punished for breaking the covenant.
2. a) How does the flood reduce the earth to its appearance in the early stages of creation? b) How might this fact make humans especially eager to have a covenant?
a) The flood kills all the humans, animals and plants that live on the earth except for the ones that Noah has on his ark. This reduces the earth how it was during creation, before God made animals, plants, or humans.
b) This would make humans eager to have a covenant because they would not have anything left to sustain themselves is God had not ordered Noah to save one of each gender of every animal. Also, because humans do not have any infrastructure, or way of life, they need to depend on God for emotional security.
3. a) What does God require of Noah and his sons before he makes the covenant? b) What is the reason for these demands?
a) Before He makes the covenant, God requires Noah to build an Arc and follow the exact directions the He gives him. He also required Noah to out a lot of effort and energy into his task.
b) The reason God makes these demands was to test Noah’s faith and see how devoted Noah was to Him.

David and Goliath:
1. Is it fair to call the combat between David and Goliath a contest between good and evil? Explain.
It is fair to call the combat between David and Goliath a contest between good and evil in a religious aspect because David is loyal to God, which in the Bible is considered to be good, while Goliath worships pagan Gods which in the Bible can be considered evil.
2. Identify two speeches in which David shows more concern for God’s honor than for his own. Explain your choices.
a. The first speech in which David shows more concern for God’s honor than himself is when he is speaking to the crowd of men in the army about who will fight Goliath, and he says, “What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (Line 26) He is saying that even though the men are afraid to fight Goliath, they must do it in God’s honor because Goliath has offended God’s honor.
b. The other speech that David makes is when he is about to fight Goliath, and he says, “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Isreal, whom thou has defied.” (Line 45) He is saying that even though Goliath could easily kill him and ruin his honor and the honor of the entire army, David has God on his side to help him out because Goliath defied God, and God will help David win to restore his honor.
3. a) David describes to Saul his role as a shepherd. What does this description suggest about God’s role in relation to the Hebrew people? b) How does the story of David and Goliath illustrate this role?
a. When David describes his role as a shepherd to Saul, it suggests that God’s role with the Hebrew people is partly to help them sustain themselves, such as when he tells Saul about his battle with the Lion and the Bear to save one of his animals. It also means that God does not care about class or wealth, that if you are faithful to God, he will help you.
b. The story of David and Goliath illustrates this role because God helps the Hebrew people win the war against the Philistines, and He helps David win it, because he has been loyal and faithful to God.

Year of Living Biblically Months 3 & 4

1. Jacobs has a hard time avoiding "The Evil Tongue" because the rules in the bible about speech include any negative remark about someone, not just pure gossip. In today's society, people are used to making automatic judgements about people the moment they meet them. This is one of the reasons why it is so hard to avoid using "The Evil Tongue," because although he is still allowed to make judgements in his head, he can't say anything about them, which he has been doing his entire life.

2. I think Jacobs meant that to embrace religion, you have to give up some of your freedom and devote your life to following that religion. Most people like to be in complete control of their lives, but following a religion makes it almost impossible to have complete control because you have to rely on that religion so much. It's strange that he is so afraid of this, because that is exactly what he is doing. He is trying to embrace religion, and to do so he has let the Bible completely control his life and has given up a lot of his freedom in the process.

3. Under his context and explanation, he is right. Images are used in the media so much that people only see those, instead of any text that goes with them. He is also right about the Hollywood and Washington examples, the majority of the population relies on personality, which we can only see through pictures and video to decide who they like. If photos and videos were not used, it would only matter if a presidential candidate was capable of doing the job.

4. When Jacobs tries to convince himself that the earth was formed a handful of generations ago, he discovers that this belief actually makes him feel more connected to the rest of humanity because Creationism states that everyone comes from Adam and Eve. He also discovered that he feels more important in the world, instead of being a small part of the earth’s existence, he actually plays an important role. From these feelings he starts to understand why people believe in Creationism and why it would be appealing to some people. Although he finds a lot of good things through this experiment, he also realizes that the Bible teaches humility, but there is also a certain amount of arrogance on behalf of humans. God saved the creation of humans until after he had made everything else, which means they are more important.

5. I think Jacobs is ok with the explanation for why there are so many strange rules in the Bible because it makes sense and that is one of the purposes of the Bible, to help people figure out the “puzzle” of life. It makes sense as a metaphor, that life is supposed to be a challenge, and if people already understood everything when they were born, then life would be extremely boring. I think it makes sense to him because this entire process has been a challenge and I think he is starting to understand the complexities of the Bible, so it is a good explanation for why the Bible does not make sense sometimes.

6. When Jacobs comes to the conclusion “Be good for goodness’ sake” he figures out that either way, no matter how a person acts or how well they follow the Bible, bad things will always happen to people. He says “We can never hope to plumb the mystery of God’s mind.” so we can’t figure out what God is thinking or why these things happen, so we should try to appreciate what God has given us instead of wondering why he causes all these bad things to happen. We can never know the outcome of our lives, and people should not act morally because they want a specific outcome, because the future is never certain, so people should act morally because it is right, instead of a path that leads to a goal.

7. A Chasid Shote is someone who gets too caught up in religious rules and regulations that they forget about the main points of their religion. Sometimes people are led to believe that if they do not do everything the Bible tells them, they will not get into heaven, but if they miss the main themes of the Bible, they will not get into heaven either. In some religions, people focus too much on the details instead of the really important aspects of what each religion teaches.

Month Four:

1. How does Jacobs’ commitment to his project change as his son gets older, and he meets more non-secular parents?

Throughout the book, since he began his project, Jacobs always says that he is not sure what to teach his son about religion, because he does not want to force him into anything, but he also wants him to be a good person. When he remembers the woman he met at Sara’s wedding, who is his aunt Kate’s daughter, he thinks that she may have been right to become secular when she had children because her children turned out to be good responsible members of society. He uses the example of Bart Simpson and Flander’s kids who are extremely religious and says he would prefer to raise his kids the way that Flanders did. He even started making Jasper follow some of the biblical rules that he follows, like not stealing straws from Starbucks. One of the reasons he thinks more about how to raise his son is because he keeps meeting very religious people who he really likes, instead of the stereotype that all religious people are crazy fundamentalists, so he wants his child to grown up to be a responsible member of society, especially when kids see so many things in the media that would be deemed immoral by the Bible.

Genesis Reading

Hebrew Literature Reading

1. Summarize what the Bible is using page one of the reading.

The Bible is a collection with several different types of books, like the Torah, historical accounts like the Book of Samuel, and other different short stories and poems. Most people believe that Moses and King David wrote the Bible, but there are many theories that multiple people wrote parts of the Bible. Although the Bible covers a variety of topics, it focuses on the power and benevolence of God, the covenant that he created with the Hebrews, their struggle to stay within the rules of the covenant and how God forgives them even if they do stray away form the covenant. The Bible is also a written record of Jewish culture, and has been very influential to other religions, especially Christianity and Islam.

2. a) What is the attitude toward nature does Genesis convey?

Genesis has a respectful tone towards nature, because humans need nature to survive. At the same time, there is a tone of domination towards nature, because god creates the earth before he creates humans so they can live off of it and use it.

b) Explain how specific passages contribute to this attitude.

After God creates man, he says, “Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” This implies that humans should dominate the land and use it for what they need, while respecting it and replenishing it.

3. What are the implications of the relationship established between humans and the rest of creation?

The implication of the relationship between humans and the rest of creation is that it creates an idea that humans can dominate the earth and that it is there jut for our use. Although this created a kind of dominating relationship, it also means that humans need to respect the rest of creation and treat it will because they need it for survival.

4. Why do you think God links “the knowledge of good and evil” with death?

God links the knowledge of good and evil with death because before they ate the fruit, they only knew about good and not evil and God did not want people to be evil, just good. So when someone eats from the tree, they would die.

The Year of Living Biblically, Month Two

1. Jacobs goes to the Creationist Museum because Creationism is one of the best examples of biblical literalism, and he still has a lot of questions about how to continue on his quest and follow all of the rules at the same time. One of the main thing that he learns and is surprised by is that the creationists are liberal on some topics, and conservative on others, which is contrary to the stereotype that all creationists are extremely conservative. Another thing that he struggled with was the idea that dinosaurs we on Noah's Ark and that the earth is really as old as the Bible says it is. Another thing that he learned was that there is a lot of science behind their claims, it just is not generally accepted by the population, but he seemed to have a hard time believing this, because he still believes in evolution.

2. Jacobs goes to the Simchas Torah because he wants to try to experience the "joy of religion" like King David did when he was dancing about bringing the Ark of The Covenant to Isreal. One of the things that Jacobs struggles with is the fact that all of the men at the party are extremely drunk, which he has never really seen before in people who are so devout. He also sees how connected his friend is to God when he is praying, and wants to be able to do the same thing and be in the same spiritual state. The biggest part of the night that he takes away is the feeling of pure joy that he experiences when he is dancing, and discovers that he is not as far away from God as he thought.

3. The thing that Jacobs loves about the prophets is not just their message of social justice, but also how they deliver that message. They performed public displays of their beliefs and devotion to God, and usually did it in a very dramatic and entertaining way. Jacobs feel like he has a lot in common with the prophets, because they did absurd things to follow what they believed, which is the same thing that he is doing for this project. Even though he may look and act like an idiot, he still does it because he is curious about his faith and believes that he should be doing it.