Genesis 1-30

Okay, so the journey starts!

First, let me say that I'm not deliberately trying to pull out things to make the Bible look bad, but some things are just too hard to pass by without mentioning. My first surprise when I started reading was that the stories weren't in actual chronological order. As much as the Bible is used by Christians as a book of history, and it is written in that tone as well, I didn't expect the stories to not follow a timeline. Other than that, my overall attitude about what I've read so far is it feels like a history book I would be assigned in high school and I'm scared that one of the many people listed in the lineage are going to be on the test and I will fail based on my lack of being able to memorize the long list of who was the son of who.

I was also surprised at what feels like the lack of good role models thus far and moral stories. I knew there are some pretty sketchy accounts of prophets in the Bible, but I thought I remembered reading about great things they had done when I was in Sunday school as a kid. Now reading through it verbatim, I'm overwhelmed with the lying! Either people are lying about who they are, who their wife is, or what they have done... I'm anxiously awaiting some good moral story to prove to me my Sunday school lessons weren't a lie. I  know it's there! I should give credit to Abraham for following God's command and following through though.

Okay... notes:

I was a bit taken aback by the anthropomorphic nature of these verses:

Gen 1:10  ...And God saw that it was good.

Gen 3:8-10   And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. ⁹But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" ¹⁰And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself."
Gen 18:33  And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Angels are also mentioned in an anthropomorphic fashion:

Gen 19:1-2  The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth ²and said, "My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way." They said, "No; we will spend the night in the town square."
Gen 19:8  Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof."

Some curiosities. I just put links to the verses to make it easier on the eyes and save space:

Sons of God have children with daughters of man? Gen 6:4
What is significance of the animals being clean? Gen 8:20
What is the bow in the cloud? Gen 9:13
Why must Isaac's wife be from the land they left? Gen 24:3-6
Why does Rebekah cover herself in front of Isaac but not his servant? Gen 24:65
What exactly is Esau's birthright? Gen 25:32
Is this a support for tithing? Gen 28:22
They use divination?? Gen 30:27

Things I like: 

Gen 1:14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,
     I think I like this one because it reminds me of how Allah tells us in the Qur'an that the stars are signs for those who reflect
Gen 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Gen 1:28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
I think people in the US especially (just because that is largely what I know) need to remember that with dominion comes responsibility. Do people think their actions upon Allah's creation are going to go unnoticed? The Bible goes further in Gen 3:16 mentioning that man has rule over his wife. This seems to be a harsh tone, but I know the meaning that one would give behind it. All I have to say is if this was in the Qur'an, people would be pointing to it left and right saying, "See?! Men can do whatever they want to towards their wives!!"

And the disturbing accounts of the prophets:

Gen 9:20-21 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. ²¹He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.
Gen 19:33-36 Lot's daughters get him drunk so they can sleep with him and get pregnant
Gen 20:12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. (Abraham is speaking in this passage)
Gen 26:9 So Abimelech called Isaac and said, "Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac said to him, "Because I thought, 'Lest I die because of her.'" (Abraham did the same thing: hiding that a woman is his wife. It isn't a huge thing, but the continued lying when convenient became disturbing)

I'm a bit bothered by the account of Isaac and Ishmael. Not that Ishmael needs to be the firstborn because he's the "father of the Arabs" or anything like that, but I don't get how things like Gen 13:16 is ignored, and how was Sarai wronged (see Gen 16:5) when she chose this path? I understand a wife having jealousy, but for Ishmael to be completely ignored as the first born seems extreme.


Whew! I should write the updates quicker because getting that all compiled again was quite a bit of work! And, I'm sure it is a bit to read through. Anyway, inshaAllah I'll get some more reading done over the next few days and share with you all. Tomorrow is very, very busy. InshaAllah I'm not totally fried at the end of it!


Assalam alaykum!

Peace and Blessings!

What Version?

Ah, the million dollar question! What version of the Bible should one read? The two main versions I hear of are the King James Version and the Revised Standard Version. I have to say that I do not trust the King James Version, but I know many that do, so I need to read something that I can trust, and that is reputable in their translations, using the earliest manuscripts available.

Why are these items important?

From where I stand, it appears to me that things have been distorted through time. That means that manuscripts that may be in Greek and Hebrew may still have distortions in them if they are late enough. I am not a scholar, nor do I know how to read Greek or Hebrew, so I have to put my trust in someone who is much more skilled than I in these areas. The fact that the King James Version is one of the earliest Bibles in the English language means nothing... what I want is a Bible that uses the earliest manuscripts available, knowing full well that there are no actual originals.

Reading through the versions list on biblegateway.com has helped as it lists the philosophy behind the versions. I originally downloaded the English Standard Version to my Kindle and after reading the version's description on this website, I'm happy with my choice. Here's an excerpt of the description:

The ESV is an "essentially literal" translation that seeks as far as possible to capture the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer. It seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting the reader see as directly as possible the structure and meaning of the original.

Perfect.

I have my notes in my Kindle, but just realized yesterday that they don't have a link back to the text. I'm going to need to find a more efficient way to take notes. So, my first post on what I've read so far is in the works, but it'll be a little bit of work to get it transcribed over. InshaAllah it will be sooner rather than later.

Reading the Bible

I've been wanting to read the Bible for quite some time, and I read the Gospels within the last two years, but I wanted to be able to say I've read the entire thing.

I find it somewhat odd that most people don't show appreciation for one trying to read through the Bible. Not appreciation like, "Thanks for doing the dishes", I'm talking about respecting the act and validating it as a worthwhile thing to do. I have been told a number of times to just read a part, and of course this part is pointed out to me. What is so wrong with reading it from cover to cover?

I don't expect many surprises as I've read many people's viewpoints on the Bible whether it be agnostic, atheist, Muslim, Christian, etc. and this points me to all the "highlights" that one would want to display for their own purpose. My goal really in all of this is to understand context far better and to look at the whole picture. Too often we are pointed to one section or another, as I stated before, and I think unfortunately it is even more often that we as humans take the lazy way out and don't look into it further.

Now, I am the queen of being inconsistent, so I will do my best, but with two kids (one being quite small still) and a husband that keep me busy, I can't make any promises. Just know my intentions are to take the notes from my Kindle and try to share them along the way.

CNN Unwelcome: Muslims Next Door Soledad O'Brien

I watched this video last night that aired on CNN this previous Sunday:



I'm amazed at how optimistic the Muslims remained. Personally, things like this make me believe that the average American Muslim has a higher risk of being attacked by an American non-Muslim than vice versa.

So often we hear that Muslims are trying to change the face of America, and "they" are working to make Shariah law into everyone's law. And by golly, we all know that Shariah law is all about cutting off appendages and stoning people to death! *shakes head* There's so much more to Shariah than that. I liked that they pointed out that Shariah is more of a way of life than just a list of punishments. InshaAllah, I would like to become much more knowledgeable in Shariah so I can confidently refute comments I hear, such as, "What about XYZ thing that happened in X country that I heard on the news?" There is so much garbage on the news, it is hard to come back with the specific cultural practice of every country that has an ocean between us.

It really is about "us" and "them", isn't it? This has been the fight throughout American history, and possibly history in other countries as well. First "they" were the Native Americans, then came those pesky Italians and Irish. After that, all the Europeans could band together to hate the blacks, Japanese, and most recently the Mexicans. Dang immigrants coming to "our" country! Do we forget our past? As much as people say that people need to learn English before coming here, I am pretty certain their original ancestors to this country didn't know perfect English before settling in the mighty U.S. of A. So many were fleeing persecution or poverty. What lazy dimwits they must have been for not stopping to take an English class before leaving their country! *sigh*

Now "they" are the Muslims. As I look through history, there has never really been an easy way to settle this. There are fights for equal rights, such as we see with Martin Luther King, Jr., and some things just take time for people to warm up to. Time will tell what will happen in the coming year. I know Muslims are watching the news, and this upcoming election seems pivotal for the outcome of Muslims in America.

Islam is on trial. We know the truth, but will it set us free, in America?

Worship and worries

Shannen Espelien (@Durriyyah1982) has shared a Tweet with you:

"Durriyyah1982: When a worshipper prostrates to his Lord, his worries fall off his shoulders and remain discarded on the ground as he rises back up."
--http://twitter.com/Durriyyah1982/status/51123155946840064

What do you think?

I find this so true, but only when I really concentrate on the worship. If I'm in prayer to worship, but thinking of my worries, there is no difference in my demeanor. I know I need to hand things to Allah and let the weight off my shoulders. Some things are out of my control; and alhamdulilah they are! The thoughts of "if I would have done X" melt away.

Thoughts?

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Polygamy

Oookay, I am taking a break from life and making myself sit down and think about something of importance, or relevance.

My husband and I started watching Sister Wives, and it is interesting how many discussions it brought up about polygamy. Now, understand that we have never had a knee-jerk reaction to polygamy while we have known each other, but this is something I witness from others quite often. People immediately say, "Oh, no, gross, I would NEVER!!" but it is amazing how quickly they open up a "maybe" when you start bring examples in which it would be beneficial. The hypothetical example I typically give is: What if I was injured and became paralyzed from the neck down?

So, given this example, let's think through some scenarios.

1) My husband has to take care of me 100%, whether that is paying for a home nurse, or doing the work himself; probably somewhere in between. He now has the rest of his life married to me in which I basically can hold a conversation with him. I no longer can meet his physical needs nor can I take care of him in any way. This is a one way street.
2) My husband divorces me so he can be with someone who is able to meet his needs.

I don't think either of these options really seem like a good solution to this problem. Simply, taking another wife would be beneficial for both the husband and the wife. The wife can still be taken care of by the husband financially, and he can have his physical needs met (food, care, sex, etc.) by his second wife.


This is only one example. Think further, and we can find many other examples of situations that would be beneficial to both parties. For instance if the wife is barren, the wife has a much lower sexual drive than the husband, or even if she is less "cuddly" than him, the husband wants more kids than the wife wants to have, etc.


I have heard so many people look at men who are in polygamous marriages as if they are sex fiends. Okay, so let's be blunt here... who cares if they are?!? They are acting out their desires in a committed, loving relationship! This is not some guy who is cheating on his wife, lying about his actions, etc. all to cover up this deep dark secret that *gasp* he wants to have sex! I can't count how many times I have heard wives say they want sex FAR less than their husband does. Some go as far as maybe only being intimate with their husband a dozen times a year. So let's say a guy has two wives and they both have this type of drive. He would have sex *oh my gosh!!!* 24 times a  year. Whoooooaaaaa!! He must be a maniac, right?

sigh

So let's get real. It is perfectly legal for a man to be intimate with as many women as he wants, so long as he doesn't marry them. If he wants to be committed and marry them, this is downright illegal. What a system we live in.

So, before we go on judging about how disgusting a man is to have more than one wife, let's first think about how brave, caring, generous, kind, thoughtful, and affectionate this man must be to have won over not one, but two or more women to be his life long partner.

Need Inspiration!

You know, in the past it has been conflict that has inspired many of my posts.

Well... there has been little to no conflict lately, alhamdulilah!! But now, what do I write?!

Any questions/suggestions/comments??