Vignettes from the 70s: January 2019

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Spit and Image of the Old Man

What is the most interesting idiomatic expression in American English and what is the history/story behind it?

He’s the spit and image of his father. See 'Spitting image' - the meaning and origin of this phrase. “26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:26–27). “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7 KJV).

Image from The Book of Genesis Illustrated by Robert Crumb (2009)

Note that it takes two requirements to create a man in God’s image: (1) the dust of the ground, and (2) the breath of life. There is always an influx of God’s energy - whether it be breath or some other emanation, for example, saliva or spit. In this connection, it’s worthwhile to look at John 9:6–7.

“When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.”

The occasion is being born again in the light of the Lord. Just as breath imbued the dust of the earth with spirit, so does the saliva of Jesus fill the man with the Holy Spirit.

Thus do spirit and image, or “spit and image,” make humankind the very image of God.

Monday, January 21, 2019

Sheol and Heaven and Hell

According to the Apostles Creed, Jesus “descended into hell” after his crucifixion. However, he told the repentant thief on the cross next to him that “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." Which is the correct account?

Jesus Christ had a long day on his hands when he died, and he could well have gone to Heaven as well as Hell, but you have a good point there.

(1) The realm into which Jesus descended is called Hell, in long-established English usage, but Sheol or Limbo by some Christian theologians to distinguish it from the hell of the damned. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrowing_of_Hell)

(2) Sheol/Hades was a realm with two divisions—a place of blessing and a place of judgment (Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27–31). The abodes of the saved and the lost are both generally called “Hades” in the Bible. The abode of the saved is also called “Abraham’s bosom” or “Abraham’s side” in Luke 16:22 and “paradise” in Luke 23:43. The abode of the unsaved is called “hell” or “Hades” in Luke 16:23. The abodes of the saved and the lost are separated by a “great chasm” (Luke 16:26).

When Jesus died, He went to the blessed side of Sheol and, from there, took the believers with Him to heaven (my emphasis, Ephesians 4:8–10). The judgment side of sheol/hades has remained unchanged. All unbelieving dead go there awaiting their final judgment in the future. Did Jesus go to sheol/hades? Yes, according to Ephesians 4:8–10 and 1 Peter 3:18–20. Source: Did Jesus go to hell between His death and resurrection?"

(3) Therefore, Jesus did go to hell (Sheol), but he also went to heaven. How he could do all this in one day is beyond me, but after all, he’s God’s kid.

It is not right for a man to be alone

What does it mean that a wife is supposed to be a "helpmeet"?

In the Bible, it is written of Adam that “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18). In this instance, help meet means a help that is meet (proper) for Adam, and the term has since been transformed into helpmeet, or helpmate.

Now, this expression does not translate into “A wife should be subservient to her husband” and fulfill his every wish and command. Rather, it is a recognition that men and women, as social creatures, require a mate to fulfill their needs for human contact and reproduction. Not only that, but they need each other to be complete in the sense that yin fulfills yang, and yang fulfills yin. That is, they are complementary.

Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/wife-helpmeet.html

Image by Robert Crumb, from The Book of Genesis Illustrated (2009). Though Crumb follows the Bible in word-for-word translation, in this instance God uses a sightly different version from the King James version (“a fitting helper” rather than “an help meet”).

Saturday, January 19, 2019

Sodom and Gomorrah

A couple of passages in the Old Testament take a dim view of same-sex relationships. Those passages are Genesis 19 and Leviticus 18 and 20. Genesis 19 is the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, which includes an account of a large group of men who approach Lot and want to “know” two men (actually angels) who have been welcomed into Lot’s home. The ringleaders say, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them!”

Image by Robert Crumb. The Book of Genesis Illustrated (2009).

The visiting angels, for their part, pull Lot to safety in his house, and they blast the mob with “blinding light,” rendering them blind.

Leviticus 18:22 states, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” Leviticus 20:13 is a rejoinder that man shall not lie with mankind - again an abomination.

There are also passages in the New Testament (Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6, and 1 Timothy 1) that describe homosexuality as not being what G-d intended.

Be all that as it may, if you look at the Bible in the original Aramaic, there is no reference to homosexuality as a sin. My friend Gary was a student at Bob Jones University, which was known for its vehement stand against gays of all sort. He had a job as assistant to one of the deans.

At that time Bob Jones had one particular Bible verse that they used to justify their stance against gays, and Gary was himself a closeted gay. As part of his studies he worked on translating Bible passages from the Aramaic. When he got to the key verse, he discovered that it had nothing to do with homosexuality.

Concerned, he went to the dean and reported what he’d found. The dean turned to him and said, “We know, Gary; that’s why we’re looking for a new verse.” Ba-doom ching!

http://instantrimshot.com/index.php?sound=rimshot

Friday, January 18, 2019

Holding Hands across the Universe

I don’t know, Tim. It’s really a sad state of affairs these days. I wish I could give you some hope for the future because I think getting along with others is one of the primary things we should be doing. My own view of humanity in general is, we’re all on an extremely vulnerable planet in the vastness of space, and if we want the Earth to survive we have to help each other and hold hands.

The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer is a meditative prayer associated with the Eastern Orthodox Church, and it goes like this: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." (see Jesus Prayer - Wikipedia). Another source says, “The history of the Jesus Prayer goes back, as far as we know, to the early sixth century, with Diadochos, who taught that repetition of the prayer leads to inner stillness” (Saying the Jesus Prayer). The biblical basis for the Jesus Prayer is 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing. An entertaining description of a person who is dedicated to the Jesus Prayer is The Way of a Pilgrim, which was published in the nineteenth century . See Jesus Prayer - Wikipedia: “It is unknown if the book is literally an account of a single pilgrim, or if it uses a fictional pilgrim's journey as a vehicle to teach the practice of ceaseless inner prayer and communion with God”). The form of the prayer is “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner” (“sinner” may be omitted).

Here’s a description of the practice of the Jesus Prayer from The Master Game, Robert S. De Ropp (1968):

"You know that our breathing is the inhaling and exhaling of air. The organ which serves for this is the lungs which lie round the heart, so that the air passing through them thereby envelops the heart. And so, having collected your mind within you, lead it into the channel of breathing through which ir reaches the heart and, together with this inhaled air, force your mind to descend into the heart and to remain there. Accustom it, brother, not to come out of the heart too soon, for at first it feels very lonely in that inner seclusion and imprisonment. But when it gets accustomed to it, it begins on the contrary to dislike its aimless circling outside, for it is no longer unpleasant and wearisome for it to be within. Just as a man who has been away from home, when he returns is beside himself with joy at seeing again his children and wife, embraces them and cannot talk to them enough, so the mind, when it unites with the heart, is filled with unspeakable joy and delight. Then a man sees that the kingdom of heaven is truly within us; and seeing it now in himself, he strives with pure prayer to keep it and strengthen it there, and regards everything external as not worthy of attention and wholly unattractive.

"When you thus enter into the place of the heart, as I have shown you, give thanks to God and, praising his mercy, keep always to this doing, and it will teach you things which in no other way will you ever learn. Moreover you should know that when your mind becomes firmly established in the heart, it must not remain there silent and idle, but it should constantly repeat the prayer: 'Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me!' and never cease. For this practice, keeping the mind from dreams, renders it elusive and impenetrable to enemy suggestions and every day leads it more and more to love and longing for God." (E. Kadloubovsky and G. E. H. Palmer, Translators.

Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart. [London: Faber and Faber, 1951] p. 33.)

Here’s a video:

Comment

Why was Jesus always making wine?

Comment

I have flat feet. My feet hurt every time I walk, sometimes it makes me limp. Is there any way I could get a walking stick/crutch from my physiotherapist to use when it starts to hurt too much?

Tim Bryant, former Coordinator, Illinois Water Inventory Program (2003-2014)

Answered Jan 9

You can always ask, or you can buy one at a medical supply store.

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Can people make contributions to pay for the southern border wall?

Tim Bryant, 30+ years experience writing and editing, B.S. English

Answered Jan 9

There is a Go Fund Me campaign for doing just that, but it would take 20 years to get enough money (billions) to make a dent in the construction costs.

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I found photos with full names and dated on them but how do I find the people in the photos?

Tim Bryant, 30+ years experience writing and editing, B.S. English

Answered Jan 9

I used to be into genealogy a lot, and when I found an old trunk on the street I looked inside and found several photographs of people just as you describe. I took the photos to the genealogy secti...

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How do you personally handle the annoying repetitive/spam questions on Quora?

Tim Bryant, former Coordinator, Illinois Water Inventory Program (2003-2014)

Answered Jan 9

I downvote them.

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Is the piano an easy instrument to play?

Tim Bryant, 30+ years experience writing and editing, B.S. English

Answered Jan 9

I think so. If you don’t play an instrument, piano is a good one to start on.

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What made you abandon your childhood religion?

Tim Bryant, 30+ years experience writing and editing, B.S. English

Answered Jan 9

It was Catholicism and it got too boring.

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What cover versions of songs could be considered better than their original?

Tim Bryant, 30+ years experience writing and editing, B.S. English

Answered Jan 9

“I Believe in You,” by Bob Dylan, as sung by Phoebe Snow. It should be obvious why I prefer Phoebe’s version over Bob’s, but here’s Bob’s version followed by Phoebe’s. (Well, his performance isn’t ...

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