Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Entry 4 - reading day 2

Genesis 16-19

Dear Reader,

Today I did not read a lot. I only read until Genesis 1:20. That’s only four chapters, but I learned a lot. Firstly, I learned that Abram became Abraham and Seirei became Sarah. I didn’t know this was the case, but I do know the story of Abraham and Isaac. Every person who has been in a Church at any point in their life knows that I think.

I have given my atheist friend a lot of credit and valued her to be an honest person. However, for years she’s been telling me that Lot allowed random men to rape his daughters. As I just read that section (Genesis 1:18) in my complete unabridged Bible Torrent, I can say that this is not the case. I hope that my friend is just confused. I can actually point to the verse and say, “Here’s the verse. Listen to it. Where does this crime actually happen?”

I know that he offered for that to happen, but I don’t think he was serious. I think he was trying to convince his neighbors of how ridiculous they were being to attack his visitors by offering something even more outlandish than attacking random strangers. I don’t know if it was sarcasm or not, but I do know it didn’t happen because the strangers pulled him back in the house and told him to take his daughters and sons-in-law and his sons and theirs wives out of the city.

My assistant made a good point. She said that perhaps my atheist friend meant that Lott was evil because he was going to allow his daughters to be raped unless the angels intervened. If that’s the case, than yes, Lot’s a bad man.

But, also at the same time, shouldn’t we be rejoicing that the intervening of someone happened to avoid this horrible situation? For myself, I have at times thought to do really horrible things (more times than I care to admit I thought about doing said awful things to others, often in fits of sheer, mindless, rage. Luckily, I been intervened with so as not to do those things. Of course, looking back on it later, I asked myself, “What was I thinking?” So maybe that’s what happened to Lott. Maybe he had moment of absolute panic and was going to do something so absolutely evil, when (lucky for his soul, in my opinion) the angels stopped him.

I must also inquire as to why in the next verse his daughters decided of their own accord to sleep with him and make him so drunk he wouldn’t know about it. From an epidemiological perspective, I didn’t know men could get that drunk and still have an erection. As a health educator, I’m pretty sure they can’t. So perhaps Lott was the real instigator in those relationships (also a really evil occurrence) or perhaps none of them are that psychologically well as people.

People who opt to break the incest taboo, either way, generally are not. All I can say is: I would never under any circumstances endeavor to sleep with my father for any reason. I honestly don’t know why anyone who was rationally sane at the time would do this.

I’ll keep pondering tomorrow. Onward, onward!

2 comments:

  1. In the theoretical case that the story as reported happened:

    Yes, I'm glad the visitors told Lot to leave.

    Yes, I'm glad the girls weren't raped.

    Yes, he offered them to be raped, honestly.

    Yes, he did so because he thought his guests were more valuable than his daughters.

    I haven't a clue about why there's the incest, but I will note Lot's wife ends as a pillar of salt for looking back. Again, punishment fitting the crime?

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  2. http://www.iwgonline.org/docs/sodom.html

    A thorough breakdown on the sins of Sodom. Not offering hospitality, which was a major part of the social code of the day.

    Not my words but true:
    "This happens a lot in the Old Testament. He's powerful enough to create the world, but doesn't have the awareness necessary to find a family in Sodom or a couple of naked people in a garden. He's powerful enough to work all kinds of incredible miracles and bring about terrible plagues, but he still has to worry about people managing to build a tower to Heaven."

    With regards to this genocide being educational:

    "It would be like beating your children to teach your dog not to chew on your shoes without actually telling your children why they are being beaten or teaching your dog better behavior."

    Points to ponder.

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