Genesis (originally pasted in other blog, turtles travels)
Genesis
Posted on March 18, 2012
I’m all moved in to my own apartment . It’s lovely! Very spacious. Two rooms (well 3 if you count the bathroom….actually, 4, if you count the big closet!). And I especially like the location. Right in the center of Katowice. Close to work (10 min. walk for me) and lots of shops and restaurants nearby. And several bus stops and a tram. I’m thankful and all, but the other day, I was thinking “It’s not good for Mirjam to be alone” God should provide a helper suitable for me (that’s from the story of Genesis in the Bible, the part where God makes Eve so Adam won’t be alone). But it doesn’t have to be a relationship. Just a regular roommate will do. Someone who can open the freezer door without bruising her fingers, and turn off the tap/faucet real tight to where it stops dripping.
I mean, I turned it as far as it would go, at least as far as I could get it - practically dislocating my wrists (but not really) and popping the shoulders, and was just about in tears, begging god to make the f*** tap stop dripping! (I was really tired and in an aggravated mood from memories). The next day a friend came over, and she turned the tap just a little bit tighter, and now its not dripping anymore. So that’s when I got the thought “it’s not good for me to be alone” based on the verse in Genesis “It’s not good for man to be alone” and that sparked some theological musing (that’s a warning about the tone of the rest of this journal entry for “my readers” who don’t like religious stuff/talk. You know who you are
:
Genesis 2 says that, God created a woman, out of the man’s rib, to be his companion and “helper suitable for him.” But Genesis 1 says he had already created them both, in his image (“male and female he created them”). So in the very first two chapters, the Bible is already contradicting itself - or presenting more than one possible story/account. That makes it hard to take the Bible literally, because if you tried that, wouldn’t you be like: “so which one is real? Which one is “The Truth?”
I think its’ a foreshadowing, or guide, for how the rest of the Bible should be read. There is not One possible answer, story, account, or truth. And that goes not just for the Bible, but all of life, I guess. It’s vast, varied, and contradictory sometimes.
Some parts (of the Bible and life) are beautiful little gems on their own, and some things only turn out to be beautiful once you read or experience the whole story. Some parts seem stupid on their own but then “work together for good” in the end or make more sense when you understand the context.
And sometimes the part where you can see the reason for the “stupidness” and how it was necessary for a greater good - perhaps in your own life, or someone else’s or as a necessary part of a bigger beautiful picture, or all of the above - or the context that will make the seemingly stupid parts of the Bible seem less stupid - doesn’t seem like it will ever be reached or understood in this life.But someday we’ll know.…in a way, that’s a reassuring thought (that’s all it is really, just a thought, or a belief. I don’t really know if one day, like in Heaven, we’ll know/see/understand everything …. But one day we’ll know if we’ll ever know it all or not
…. I think) but anyway, where was I? yeah, it’s a reassuring thought in a way, but on the other hand…there wouldn’t be any mystery. All would be known. How boring would that be! I kind of like the uncertainty, the mysteries and the challenges of life. The privilege of not knowing, but having faith (and to be able to keep searching and questioning and discovering things).
Posted on March 18, 2012
I’m all moved in to my own apartment . It’s lovely! Very spacious. Two rooms (well 3 if you count the bathroom….actually, 4, if you count the big closet!). And I especially like the location. Right in the center of Katowice. Close to work (10 min. walk for me) and lots of shops and restaurants nearby. And several bus stops and a tram. I’m thankful and all, but the other day, I was thinking “It’s not good for Mirjam to be alone” God should provide a helper suitable for me (that’s from the story of Genesis in the Bible, the part where God makes Eve so Adam won’t be alone). But it doesn’t have to be a relationship. Just a regular roommate will do. Someone who can open the freezer door without bruising her fingers, and turn off the tap/faucet real tight to where it stops dripping.
I mean, I turned it as far as it would go, at least as far as I could get it - practically dislocating my wrists (but not really) and popping the shoulders, and was just about in tears, begging god to make the f*** tap stop dripping! (I was really tired and in an aggravated mood from memories). The next day a friend came over, and she turned the tap just a little bit tighter, and now its not dripping anymore. So that’s when I got the thought “it’s not good for me to be alone” based on the verse in Genesis “It’s not good for man to be alone” and that sparked some theological musing (that’s a warning about the tone of the rest of this journal entry for “my readers” who don’t like religious stuff/talk. You know who you are
:
Genesis 2 says that, God created a woman, out of the man’s rib, to be his companion and “helper suitable for him.” But Genesis 1 says he had already created them both, in his image (“male and female he created them”). So in the very first two chapters, the Bible is already contradicting itself - or presenting more than one possible story/account. That makes it hard to take the Bible literally, because if you tried that, wouldn’t you be like: “so which one is real? Which one is “The Truth?”
I think its’ a foreshadowing, or guide, for how the rest of the Bible should be read. There is not One possible answer, story, account, or truth. And that goes not just for the Bible, but all of life, I guess. It’s vast, varied, and contradictory sometimes.
Some parts (of the Bible and life) are beautiful little gems on their own, and some things only turn out to be beautiful once you read or experience the whole story. Some parts seem stupid on their own but then “work together for good” in the end or make more sense when you understand the context.
And sometimes the part where you can see the reason for the “stupidness” and how it was necessary for a greater good - perhaps in your own life, or someone else’s or as a necessary part of a bigger beautiful picture, or all of the above - or the context that will make the seemingly stupid parts of the Bible seem less stupid - doesn’t seem like it will ever be reached or understood in this life.But someday we’ll know.…in a way, that’s a reassuring thought (that’s all it is really, just a thought, or a belief. I don’t really know if one day, like in Heaven, we’ll know/see/understand everything …. But one day we’ll know if we’ll ever know it all or not
…. I think) but anyway, where was I? yeah, it’s a reassuring thought in a way, but on the other hand…there wouldn’t be any mystery. All would be known. How boring would that be! I kind of like the uncertainty, the mysteries and the challenges of life. The privilege of not knowing, but having faith (and to be able to keep searching and questioning and discovering things).