The Books of Samuel/Kings

On Saturday, I read through both books of Samuel and the first book of Kings, or the first 3 books of Kings, depending on what you label them. (I'm sure they have a different name in the Torah just to add more confusion)


God becomes smaller, sulkier, grumpier. He lives in his box and makes vague predictions about what will happen to people if they don't obey him and often doesn't follow through on these threats.

One thing I find really interesting about these books is that God is no more brutal to people that go off and worship 'pagan gods' than he is to people who stay and worship him. The faithful Samuel and David really fair a bit worse than Saul and Solomon who go off and worship other gods. Solomon in particular has a huge kingdom with lots of money and luxury, 700 wives, and he outright builds temples to other gods and worships them pretty openly. God makes some vague threat that he'll punish Solomon's childen but doesn't specify which ones and says they'll still have a kingdom. Oh... No... I mean so far in the book, no one family has really had their power last beyond one generation.

So yesterday, taking a cue from Solomon and most of the rest of the hebrew in the book of kings, I cast the bible aside and went and hung out with Ashtoreth instead and it was way more fun. She didn't even ask me to set any goats on fire. We bought some 'strong drink' and watched The Aviator and V for Vendetta. Quite a fair bit more fun than this book. Though I suppose, I'll get back to it now and see what other tediums it has in store for me.

Do you like to draw?

Hey! I found biblical reference for the University of Art Academy!

took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold

See! Talent is money and as long as they think you have money, they'll tell you you have talent!

And so it continues.

Ugh. I'm at the halfway point according to my browser but I'm starting to really wonder if this project is at all worth the effort.

I just made it through The book of PsalmsDogma

This is the longest book so far and the one that pounds it into you over and over again:

Ignore what anyone else says, cram you fingers deep in your ears and shout the name of the lord as loud as you can because that means you're RIGHT!

I think this book manages to kill all amusement value in reading the bible. It's not interesting, it doesn't have any good history in it or anything, it's just pure dogma drills and it makes me sad because I know it's the most referenced book in the OT (at least in the churches of my parents and grandparents) and it makes me really sad. This is the book of FEAR, SUBMIT, HATE, DO NOT QUESTION. It's a sad hateful ugly book.

The one thing that's somewhat interesting about it is that it's written from a human point of view. None of it is written as 'the word of God' unlike chunks of other books. Psalms is totally the work of man, completely and utterly about controlling the sheep.

I submit that if you're religious, you can figure out your own ways to talk to your god. Rip this book out of your bible and use it for toilet paper because that's all it's fit for. It's incredibly toxic.


Now I'm going to take a break for a bit because I'm aware of how psychological abuse works and that book could wear down anyone. Ugh. What a piece of trash.

Continues now...

Proverbs was mostly okay. Not nearly as stupid and dogmatic as Psalms.

I'm in Preacher now and I find this set of passages interesting.


9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous,
and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean;
to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the
good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an
oath.

9:3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that
there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is
full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after
that they go to the dead.

9:4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a
living dog is better than a dead lion.

9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any
thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is
forgotten.

9:6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now
perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing
that is done under the sun.

9:7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a
merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.


All through the bible, I see this. Peoples bones are laid with their ancestors, they are buried, dead, and the world goes on. Here it is stated a bit more blatantly.

There is no afterlife. Summarized, I read this bit as 'Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may die.'

FIRE TORPEDOS!

OH SNAP!

From Preacher:
10:2 A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at
his left.

Time and again, I've heard this bullshit from right-wingers that a liberal is a conservative that hasn't been raped. I know first hand this is false, but now I have this wonderful bit to toss back at the pious.

Also, I might suggest they read through Proverbs again for all the stuff it says about being kind to the poor. Actually, so far, they could read ANY reference to the poor in the book and it says 'Don't be a jackass to poor people.' In fact it seems to be almost the only rule that is constient.

Song of Solomon

HOT!

Finally! Some of the good sex I was promised was hidden somewhere in the bible. This book is totally worth reading but it may make you want to cover your body in oil and lie on satin sheets in a room thick with incense and be carassed either by your lover or your own hand.

No mention of this being at all sinful either. This is my favourite book so far by far! ^_^

Are you an angel?

From the book of the prophet Ezekiel:

1:4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a
great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about
it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the
midst of the fire.

1:5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living
creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a
man.

1:6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.

1:7 And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was
like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of
burnished brass.

1:8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four
sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.

1:9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they
went; they went every one straight forward.

1:10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a
man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the
face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an
eagle.

1:11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two
wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their
bodies.

1:12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was
to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.

1:13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was
like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went
up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and
out of the fire went forth lightning.

1:14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a
flash of lightning.

1:15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the
earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.

1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the
colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their
appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a
wheel.

1:17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned
not when they went.

1:18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful;
and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.

1:19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and
when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels
were lifted up.

1:20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their
spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the
spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

1:21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood;
and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted
up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the
wheels.

1:22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living
creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth
over their heads above.

1:23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward
the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every
one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.

1:24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the
noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of
speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their
wings.

1:25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their
heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.

1:26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the
likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon
the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man
above upon it.

1:27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round
about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and
from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the
appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of
rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was
the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I
saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.



Must try to visualize and draw whatever these things are later.

At last, the truth

In Genesis, Sodom and Gomorah are destroyed because they are evil.

Here, way back towards the end of the old testament, we finally get the whole story.

16:48 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done,
she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.

16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride,
fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her
daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

16:50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me:
therefore I took them away as I saw good.



Incidentally. Sodom is NOT wiped out in Gensis. The sodomites show up several more times as a military force. They're eventually taken out by some other group. So much for God's firey wrath.