Kebra Negast

In reading Kebra Negast, I realized the Ethiopian religion is rich and complex, which would also lead to a long lasting and involved culture. "The country of Ethiopia" ( a phrase mentioned several times) establishes that the setting in Ethiopia is an important factor. Because this story is so tied to Ethiopia, I think it gives them a sense of national pride but the fact that it is a religious story adds another dimension. Religion is what ties the people of Ethiopia together, a sort of common ground- although we did learn in class that there are Christians,Jews, and Muslims all calling this country home. Because that confused me, I looked up on wikipedia (!) who exactly Kebra Negast would be bringing together (because of religious beliefs). Kebra Negast "is considered by many Ethiopian Christians and Rastafarians to be an inspired and reliable account." (link to more info here) 

When reading the section of the Ethiopian book, Kebra Negast, I kept seeing the similarities between it and the bible ( both Jewish and Christian).  This story gives a special significance to Ethiopia because it is an important story/explanation to many different religious groups. It also gives Ethiopia a sense of great historical and religious importance because the country is present in the events that religions consider crucial. 

some interesting links:

Rastafari online- Kebra Negast

Queen of Sheba

Religion in Ethiopia

An Ethiopian orthodox church

a Nun, a Rabbi, Ali G, a Priest,etc....

A funny Ali G video where he asks a panel of different people (with different religious beliefs) about religion.

Blending/ Metaphors

Throughout the Bible and the Psalms there are metaphors that are created through blending. A point that Fauconnier made in the article as that not only does this blending occur, but we don't usually realize its happening, just like the computer interface example with the mouse and then the arrow on the screen. when we talked about the psalms in class, we focused on the metaphors we didn't understand and how they related to history. What about metaphors that seem so simple or obvious we don't even realize they are there?

When reading about the examples in the article ( skiing, sailing, etc) I tried to apply it to big picture ideas of religion.

1. God is a metaphor.

2. Religion is completely blended and all/most? religions are blended.

3. Humans created religion because they need metaphors to explain the world around them.

4. Nothing, including religion, would be possible without blending.

Fauconnier writes that partial mapping " are mappings from one mental space to another ...(and) the possibility of building cross space mapping is .. made salient only by our own cognitive system and experience in the world"(pg 278). Our religious ideas and the religions themselves are possible because we create them in our minds. Religions and aspects in them are metaphors for things in the real world.

Information on Conceptual blending.

Information on the author, Gilles Fauconnier.

Intention

" The greatest care must therefore be taken to determine whether the expression that we are trying to understand is literal or figurative." ( Pg 85)

Quoted from On Christian Teachings, Augustine makes clear here and throughout Book 3 that there is ambiguity in the bible and we need to decipher the form of the expression before we can actually figure out what is being stated. If we do not realize that something is in fact a sign or a metaphor for something else, that is a problem. As Augustine states, " someone who attends to and worships a things which is meaningful but remains unaware  of its meaning is a slave to a sign" along with " the person who does not understand what a sign means, but at least understands that it is a sign, is not in fact subjected to slavery" (pg 74-75).  Overall, Augustine thinks, and rightfully so, that we need to know when a sign is actually being used because they are used so much in the bible. 

I think that this can relate to religious knowledge, on a larger level. Just as we should realize when a sign or metaphor is being used in the bible or Psalms, we (one who studies these texts and/or use them as part of their religion) also should be aware of the meaning of the overall texts. I do think it is important to adapt a modern outlook because things obviously change over time, but it is also crucial to understand the " intention of the writer through whom the Holy Spirit produced the part of the scripture" (87).  I think this relates to the historical outlook we used for discussion on the Psalms. If we didn't think about and learn how the texts were created and meant to be read, and just made up opinions and stories of our own to go along with the words, that wouldn't be very meaningful. History adds a level of  authenticity to the texts. The scriptures have certain meanings but can be read in other way that maybe produce different meanings. I don't think it is wrong to believe in anything you want to, but it is important to realize what meaning was initially intended. 

On Christian Teaching

In Book 2 of On Christian Teaching, Augustine explains how to read the Psalms and therefore how to understand them. He first talks about signs: "for a sign is a thing which of itself makes other things come to mind" ( pg 30). There are two types of signs, natural and given- problems arise with the given signs are in the form of obscure words and phrasing, which we definitely encountered in the Psalms. Theses ambiguities/ obscurities only occur, Augustine believes, because of the translation in language and " to correct any Latin manuscripts, Greek ones should be used" (pg 42). His explanation of signs and how the obscurities occur could be used to interpret the Psalms since there are many signs ( in the form of metaphors, for example) and many confusing passages that even Alter doesn't have figured out.

Later on in book 2, Augustine seems to go much more into a Christian direction and really shares his religious beliefs but in a way that seems he thinks they are the absolute truth. This is not helpful in interpreting the Psalms in an open way. (maybe it works well for a Christian studying the Psalms as their religious book- but not as a book to learn about religion and how it work just as how we are doing in class). Also, Augustine believes that non- Christian, or pagan writings are untrue when they are not glorifying God. I may be off on this, but it seems that Augustine is denouncing science as truth because he does so with the study of astronomy. Since those writing about science would not be including God in the reason/theory/creation of those thoughts, Augustine did not approve. He does not want those who read his book to concern themselves with ideas that don't fall in place with Christian beliefs and he states" do not venture without due care into any branches of learning which are pursued outside the church of Christ.... keep away too from the unnecessary and self indulgent institutions of mankind" ( pg 63).

I don't think that these ideas(in the paragraph above) are helpful for interpreting the scripture because they are too one-sided, but his information on signs, translations, and how to go about actually learning the text are helpful. Even though Augustine states that we need to watch out for problems in translations which can lead to obscurities in the text, I think we also need to watch out for Augustine and his very strong views.

Please, No More Matzo!

Passover ended a week ago today and there is still matzo sitting out at Downer.

No observing Jew would still be eating matzo now after eating it for the week of passover ( but then how many observing Jews are at Lawrence? and how many kept passover?) Last year when Downer did this ( yes, they did this last year and probably every year) I was sort of offended but didn't say anything to the Downer ladies. I told my mom about it and how it bothered me, but she didn't seem upset- she said they probably just wanted to get rid of it and hopefully people would eat it if it was sitting out to take. This answer didn't really change my opinion especially when its happening again this year.

Now for my rant:

Its not that matzo is some sacred religious thing that needs to be taken special care of- its more just the principal of it. When Passover it over, its not like I want any more of that, and it proves the point that while Downer is trying to seem conscious of religious practices, they don't really get it. Maybe its still sitting out because they don't know when Passover ended?

Also, I went to the Seder that Lawrence had at Lucy and sat with some people who thought they knew more about the religion than they really did. Its okay to not know information, but to act like you do isn't. And if one does want to be knowledgeable, learn!

On a side note, the matzo Downer has taste horrible ( which I know I shouldn't complain about because at least they have/had it), but then what else is new?.. its Downer.

Psalm 18

In Psalm 18, God is intimidating and seems violent. The images of fire and smoke, usually linked to hell, are associated with God in this poem. It states:" for smoke rose from His nostrils and fire from His mouth consumed, coals blazed up around Him." God has taken on a different role in this psalm than in other ones- here he is very much meant to be feared by all, while in others, he is a helper, healer, and forgiver.

There are a lot of nature images and metaphors in the Psalms but in this one, it seems nature is being used in a different way. Through his affect on nature, God is putting fear into people such as, " lightning bolt shot", "channels of water were exposed and the world's foundations laid bare", and " the earth heaved and shuddered." Nature also fears God. While God has created both nature and humans, he also has the power to destroy, which is the fear he is instilling. He has so much power and is now showing how he can use it (which seems negative).

The Psalm is affective because it is not saying that God will hurt all, but that he will harshly punish those who are the "enemies" ( those who the speaker of the psalm refers to as the opposition- wrongdoers, those who are faithless, etc). The speaker will be given a "shield of rescue" but " the God who grants vengeance to me and crushes people[the enemies] beneath me"- God will not come to the rescue of the enemies and therefore those who read this psalm will not want to be included in the "enemies."

I do think the image of God in Psalm 18 is alarming but that helps in its purpose- to convince those who read it to follow the rules set out by God and to fear his power by doing good and being faithful.

Also, I don't think it is problematic that elements of this God have been borrowed from other religious traditions. It only furthers the importance in the religion because it has connections to other religions and more depth. When religions are tied, the people in those groups may have similar beliefs and hopefully can get along rather than have tension and anger.