(no subject)
For I know that my redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has thus been destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God. Job 19:25-26, ESV
That verse continues to boggle my mind. Some theologians believe that the doctrine of life after death - especially bodily resurrection - is a later addition to the Judeo-Christian faith. Thing is, the above verse belongs to the book of Job, which most Bible scholars believe was the first book to be written. So Job had not scripture, no holy writings to draw from. No prophecy, and no law. Just tradition. And yet he said he knew that a) he would be redeemed, and b) he would be resurrected. Bodily.
I love origins. This is a glimpse of the origins of hope.
Thing is, if I'm to say that I believe that God created humankind and that he was known to humankind in the beginning, then it follows without any kind of stretch that said knowledge was passed down, at least among some. It makes me wonder what the first humans knew. If Job believed in a redeemer, he had to have got it from somewhere.
And to those that say that "oh, hey, the themes of the Bible can be found in cultures throughout the world, predating history," I'd say, "Well, obviously." 'Cause the real question is, did those believes coalesce into monotheism, or did they come from it?
Cause and effect, correlation versus causation: whether anyone agrees with me or not, they're questions that need asking.
(In any case, I went and did some calligraphy on the Job verses. Not my usual sort: I picked a modern Roman script and then realized that I liked the effect of block printing combined with ink soaking into cheap notepaper, and that therefore I'm gonna find a way to mount what was originally going to be the rough draft. But I've always wanted to have them on my wall. Here, if you want to see.)
That verse continues to boggle my mind. Some theologians believe that the doctrine of life after death - especially bodily resurrection - is a later addition to the Judeo-Christian faith. Thing is, the above verse belongs to the book of Job, which most Bible scholars believe was the first book to be written. So Job had not scripture, no holy writings to draw from. No prophecy, and no law. Just tradition. And yet he said he knew that a) he would be redeemed, and b) he would be resurrected. Bodily.
I love origins. This is a glimpse of the origins of hope.
Thing is, if I'm to say that I believe that God created humankind and that he was known to humankind in the beginning, then it follows without any kind of stretch that said knowledge was passed down, at least among some. It makes me wonder what the first humans knew. If Job believed in a redeemer, he had to have got it from somewhere.
And to those that say that "oh, hey, the themes of the Bible can be found in cultures throughout the world, predating history," I'd say, "Well, obviously." 'Cause the real question is, did those believes coalesce into monotheism, or did they come from it?
Cause and effect, correlation versus causation: whether anyone agrees with me or not, they're questions that need asking.
(In any case, I went and did some calligraphy on the Job verses. Not my usual sort: I picked a modern Roman script and then realized that I liked the effect of block printing combined with ink soaking into cheap notepaper, and that therefore I'm gonna find a way to mount what was originally going to be the rough draft. But I've always wanted to have them on my wall. Here, if you want to see.)