The things you learn, or theological education brought to you by Mars Hill

[sugared_henna]

Listening to podcasts seem to quicken my baking process, and that is no complain. In fact, I may be baking a new batch of cookies as soon as my mother's friends have concluded their birthday revelries (it's still so hard to believe that Glenda is 54; yes, she is 54, and it's hard to believe) and I shall be listening to Mars Hill once again for sure.

I've been bad with my podcasts lately. I have accumulated about 21 unplayed podcasts, about 80% of which are really church stuff. I'm a born-again geek. I'd love to take up theology and teach a course on Biblical Literature just so I can bask in my own brilliance and listen to my own voice. LOL

There are two things I learned while baking oatmeal cookies yesterday:

1. It is assumed that Isaac was a literally a little boy when Abraham took him up to Mount Moria to be sacrificed. That's all it is, an assumption. According to chronologies that rabbis have accounted, Isaac was actually...37 years old. Makes you think a lot about sacrifice, obedience. I mean, this whole story in Genesis takes a full circle when Jesus is on earth.
2. In the Book of Esther, I learned two things:

• That this Book originated the Jewish festival called Purim. Purim is kinda like Halloween plus Mardi Gras. Everyone wears masks, drinks wine and has fun. The idea, like Halloween, is to hide. Queen Esther hid her Jewish ancestry from the King of Persia and later revealed that fact when a plot to kill the Jews were apparent.
• In the beginning of the Book, the King has a party with all the important people and VIPs and whatnot in his palace. It was a drunken revelry (it is ancient Persia after all). High with wine (pressumably), the King calls for his wife Queen Vashti to dance with her crown in this "banquet for all his nobles and officials" in which "The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present." The Queen refuses and is banished. Rabbinical commentary say that what the King really meant for her to do was to dance with JUST her crown.

Astig.