Just some thoughts July

 

7/21/26

Not much to write about anymore. I have totally lost interest in much of anything. I spend my time during the hot summer days sitting in my chair reading murder mysteries. I pay some attention to the things going on in the world but no longer have much to say. Everyday there is some news that is more outrageous than the previous day. So, I read books that are set in different places and times.

On the other hand, I am reading “The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently” by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettle, with my Methodist book group. Last week the group was not particularly pleased with this book. It is scholarly and academic… not exactly what we are used to. I was put off by the use of the word different about 6 times on the same page and twice in the same sentence. I guess the point is that Jews and Christians read some of the same texts with different interpretations and even though the Old Testament and the Jewish Tanakh have some of the same stories, they are different.

The authors use a lot of big words .. prooftexts, polemics and omnisignificance.. among others. I haven’t decided whether I am even interested in this subject but I agreed with the group to this book selection. For the first time in the history of this group, people are considering abandoning this book. I have a tendency to finish reading a book once I’ve started so I don’t know what I will do. I will be gone for a couple of weeks so by the time I get back we may be on to something else. I will probably take the book with me because it should be good bedtime reading and put me to sleep and it should expand my understanding and knowledge about the differences in the faith traditions and the history of those differences. Another story of the depravity of humans.

The other day as I was driving through some very unhealthy smoke and dangerously hot weather (also since I had read the creation story in Genesis) this thought came to me.

Jesus God! What were you thinking???

Putting humans on your beautiful blue planet.

Whatever made you think that was a good idea?

Look what we’ve done. We are not competent to handle this much knowledge and power.

We are wrecking everything.

You can probably tell that my state of mind isn’t exactly up-beat but I keep assuring Don that I am not depressed.