The Apocrypha’s “The Story of Susanna”: A Former Bible Book’s Law and Order episode

Posted on August 5, 2014 by virgowriter

The Apocrypha’s “The Story of Susanna”: A Former Bible Book’s Law and Order episode

Last night, with nothing on TV—what does one do when basketball, Hockey, Game of Thrones, The Blacklist are done for the year and all that’s left is the promise of a new(!) singing competition on TV? Heck, even the World Cup matches were done for the day. Then I happened upom an old episode of Law and Order: SVU.

I don’t know that I’ve ever sat through an entire episode from this series, although I have seen plenty of the original series to know how they operate. A random person discovers a body or a crime or crime evidence, the investigators get involved, and then they start questioning suspects. They often feel they cornered the real suspect but, during a trial or questioning, some new twist is revealed and the truth comes to light. There’s no shock in this formula but occasionally there is an interesting piece of social commentary made from which the viewer can learn, like not to trust those in power. These interesting nuggets often remind the viewer why the series has had such a strong run.

The Apocrypha’s “The Story of Susanna” is basically an ancient example of a Law and Order episode—albeit condensed and devoid of the iconic music between scenes.

This excised Bible book contains an interesting story about a woman whose life brings about important change. Married to an influential man in Babylon (Joakim), Susanna is famed for her beauty. Two recently-appointed judges for the region hold court at her husband’s home, and while conducting business, they become taken with her beauty. And so, they unfortunately do what men throughout history have done: they conspire to have sex with her. Hiding out while Susanna bathes, they spring a trap once she dismisses her maids. Alone with her, they tell her that if she does not have sex with them, they will accuse her of infidelity. Faced with a no-win situation—either gets her killed, basically—she screams (1:24). The judges make good on their threat and she is charged with having sex with a man who is not her husband.

At her brief trial, where their lies carry the day, she is in a tight situation. Since men have all the power, she is unable to sway the court with her account of her innocence. Just when the audience believes that all is lost, the plot twist arrives: she prays to God. Upon hearing her, he inspires Daniel, who then accuses the men of bearing false witness. He demands that these men be questioned separately. As the men are grilled separately—they’re asked under which type of tree this alleged tryst happened—their lie is exposed and Susanna vindicated.

From a different perspective, her infidelity appeared to be an open and shut case, one people accept easily—why would two noble, trusted men lie about such a thing? But of course they did and, sadly, they often did (and do to this day). So this story, like a well-crafted Law and Order episode, carries an important message: Some men lie, and unless systems are in place to investigate the truth in any case, an innocent person might be falsely accused. With such an important message—establishing the need to question witnesses independent of one another to discern how well their facts stand up—I would think this story belongs in the Bible.

For this reason, I was puzzled to know that this Bible book was cut. It’s certainly worth including.

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The Apocrypha’s “The Book of Baruch”: Say It Often Enough, It Just Might Stick

Posted on July 30, 2014 by virgowriter

The Apocrypha’s “The Book of Baruch”: Say It Often Enough, It Just Might Stick

As a kid, I had to be hounded to complete my chores. I don’t remember what my brother’s were, but I had to empty all the trash in the house once a week and clean up the dog poop in the back yard three times a week. There might have been a few more, though I can’t think of what they would have been, but at the time, these felt like an incredible imposition. I did, however, have zero problem asking for my allowance each week.

Dad was pretty good about reminding me about my unfinished chores yet still giving me my allowance (even though he’d used his bathroom every day and could clearly tell the trash was full). At some point, his frustration won and he cut off my cash: prove you can do your chores without being told a few weeks in a row and you’ll get your allowance.

Although I was clearly put off about losing my money, I finally had my incentive and did not have to be told again. I don’t know why I constantly ignored my father’s instructions—this wasn’t something I did in other areas of our home life—and I’ll give him credit: this was the one area where he demonstrated an awful lot of patience, and, looking back, I can see how justified he was in withholding my money. I do, however, wonder why he waited so long to do so.

The Israelites are in a similar situation in The Apocrypha’s “The Book of Baruch,” where the author speaks on behalf of the people being taken into Babylonian exile: Lord, have mercy; we understand how bad we’ve messed up and we will do better, we swear (3:1-19 and 4:1-21). As the author make clear, these people need to have faith in God and be patient, for although they will be captives in Babylon for seven generations (6:1), God will punish the Babylonians eventually (4:25).

It seems strange to punish the instrument you use to exact punishment, but that’s the deal. This makes God seem a bit underhanded. Perhaps if the Babylonians were wiser about the god(s) they worshiped, they might have better chances. But no, they’re bad like this, and the Israelites are warned against being tainted while under the Babylonians: don’t worship their gods or become materialistic like them (6:15). Apparently, their gods are about as useful as a scarecrow in a cucumber bed! (6:70). (I’m not sure why this last point amused me but it does.)

Given the refrain of the Israelite’s mea culpa throughout the Old Testament—and the fact that they eventually get their acts together—I can see why this book was cut from the Bible. There’s little (if anything) new in these chapters. But, perhaps as a reader, a believer would need the constant repetition in order to make sure they don’t stray from God’s belief system. As soon as I detected the tenor of the book’s ideas, I knew exactly where it was headed, and perhaps that’s the mark of good advice: it’s been repeated so many times you almost don’t need to hear it in order to understand what’s expected of you.

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The Apocrypha’s “The Wisdom of Sirach” III – Dreams Give Wings to Fools (Unless Visions from God)

Posted on July 25, 2014 by virgowriter

The Apocrypha’s “The Wisdom of Sirach” III – Dreams Give Wings to Fools (Unless Visions from God)

I dreamed of being in Duran Duran was I was young. There was something about their music, their videos, their concert films that enthralled me. And watching other musicians perform, I understood on some deep level that I wanted to feel what musicians felt writing songs, recording albums, playing to crowds. But like a lot of people with dreams, I did little about it. That is until 1991, when, thanks to a friend who knew the guitar player from Metallica, I had the extreme good fortune of standing in the “snake pit”—a diamond-shaped area with a capacity of 150 in the middle of the stage—watching the band electrify the LA Forum crowd, I knew I had to take a stab at my dream.

The next week, with the help of a friend, I answered an ad in the Recycler and bought a bass guitar for $150. Soon after, I signed up for lessons at a music store on Ventura Boulevard. I learned to play Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Metallica songs. I soon fell in with a few friends—a guitar player, a drummer—and we learned a handful of cover songs and even wrote a song of our own. When I moved to San Diego, I joined two other guys and we formed a band. We wrote songs and played for friends (and ungrateful neighbors), and although we never hit it big—no record contract, no fabled tour across the country in a mini-van with our gear, I will never forget what it felt like to be a part of a band, playing songs, swimming in that energy.

Most important: I will never have to look back and say I wished I’d done something about that dream.

I will also be thankful that no one ever told me not to bother in the first place. But there are plenty of people who—for a number of reasons—believe they are helping a family member, a friend, a lover when they dissuade a person from not pursuing dreams. Apparently, dreams can be dangerous, for they give you something to strive, reach for; enable you to see beyond your present set of circumstances, and allow you to hope, a feeling that (in the best case scenario) compels you to then take steps to achieve this dream. How far it goes is not always important. But if you can quash a person’s dreams, they’ll (likely) stay put.

The Apocrypha’s “The Wisdom of Sirach,” advocates squashing dreams, for according to this Bible book, “Dreams give wings to fools” (34:1)… unless those dreams are actually visions as warnings from God (34:6).

Now, in context, these lines might speak to the notion of pursuing a way of life inspired by a supposed divinity other than God—a voice told me to… however, there’s not much context for this; instead, the counter advice is that you should only follow the visions from God if you’re being told what NOT to do. How exactly does a person verify the source? Furthermore, these lines can very easily be read to mean the way I took them: be happy with where you are in life; don’t strive, don’t want more than you have, etc. Out of all the positive life advice in this book, this feels the most dangerous, in part because it limits people, and when people are limited, they don’t experiment, challenge, test the world around them.

Without these people, would we have all the advances we’ve enjoyed in the world? Would we have cars? Would we have been to the moon? Would Martin Luther King jr. have been able to inspire a crowd with his dream of racial equality?

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