The Old Testament: Isaiah I – Throw off the Yoke of Oppression

Posted on July 1, 2013 by virgowriter

It’s always interesting when a rising political star makes his or her mark on the national stage.  What issues will influence his or her political identity? How well will he use words in a speech? How strong will she be in the face of opposition (or poll numbers)? Sadly, the strong showing some of these politicians have, typically landing in the spotlight every four years at either Democratic or Republican convention, often fades, as the candidate wrestles with which issues to back and which causes to champion. In the end, a successful politician is a strong cheerleader who backs issues for the right reasons and can rally the base when the team is down.

For current Republican, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, the issue is immigration. And as a child of Cuban immigrants, this makes sense.

But his heritage isn’t the only thing influencing his passions. As Rubio told a recent gathering of Christian conservatives at the Faith and Freedom conference in Washington, DC, the Bible is an influence in his life.  Given this influence, Rubio believes that we should be compassionate.  According to him (in this recent speech),“We know every single human life has value…Every single human life matters” and “deserves protection of our laws and values.”

Well said.

He took this mentality a step further, where, as one who identifies as a Catholic, he urged those in attendance to remember that “faith compels them to do something.” This suggests that if you are also influenced by the Bible that you should make sure that the laws you back are ones that reflect this compassion.

In the Book of Isaiah, The Prophet Isaiah is trying to rally Israel to change its direction in life or face severe consequences. He often warned kings that their armies could only do so much: they needed to get their spiritual houses in order. In fact, much of what he said didn’t sound so rosy; however, he believed every word of it, in part because he knew who was providing him the information: God. He desperately wanted to get his people to understand the error of their ways so that they could change before it was too late.

Although Senator Rubio might be attempting to pull off the same type of instruction with his base, unlike Isaiah, his words are hollow.

His immigration bill hit a roadblock, and it seems (based on his comments) that the people who were looking to expand the compassion afforded people in his Immigration Bill by including LGBT couples have ruined it. What he fails to realize is that LGBT couples are often torn apart when one is not a citizen and, since we can’t marry, must return to his or her country of origin. Fixing this takes compassion, especially if you don’t “believe” in homosexuality.

It seems strange to discourage people from honoring the very thing Rubio endorsed. Yet he says he’s done with the bill if gays are protected.  Why would he do that? He’s said that, “This is already a difficult enough issue as it is.” Apparently the only immigrants who matter are the straight ones. (You can read more of the story here: http://huff.to/12BgHVY)

Clearly Rubio has skipped some parts of the Bible, for if he’d read it all, he would have encountered Isaiah, who in his Book of the Bible is the cheerleader for the people of Israel, and he commands them to (among other things) throw off the yoke of oppression.

Among the inspiring lines, he tells the Israelites to “not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults” (51:7). Now, this is great advice for anyone to hear, as it bolsters confidence in yourself. You should be able to stand by what you believe in. But I guess if you’re a politician, you have to cower to people in your base or even your own party.

This advice continues when Isaiah lets the people know that what they are enduring—referred here as “fasting” as the right kind of fasting, which will “set the oppressed free” (58:6). This is carried further when they are told to “do away with the yoke of oppression” by ditching their sinful ways and recommit themselves to following God’s ways (58:9-10). Could the yoke of oppression be read to be the people (Babylonians) holding them captive or following the wrong gods?

Regardless of the context, the message is still the same: don’t cave to oppression and, by extension (as we see in Ezekiel), if you follow God you should not oppress.  So if you are using the Bible—as some politicians and other conservatives do (like Marco Rubio), they are not exactly being the good god-following, I-read-the-Bible-and-I’m-doing-what-it-tells-me, individuals.  For if they were, they would not be siding with the oppression of LGBT people.

Even sadder: people in his audience who don’t point these elements of the Bible out to him (and those who use it in the same way).

(You can read an article about Senator Rubio and the others who spoke at the conference: http://nbcnews.to/160zKak)

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The Old Testament: Song of Songs I – In the voice of Prince: Lovers Getting Naughty

Posted on June 29, 2013 by virgowriter

The dawn of MTV coincided with my discovering music.  In the early 80s, I ate up Duran Duran, Culture Club, The Police, and, among many others, Prince.   On weekends or in the summer, my brother and I (and sometimes friends) would ride to the local record store Boulevard Music and buy 45s of the artists we’d inhaled from MTV.  Buying whole albums was more of a commitment than our allowances would allow so we diversified our music library with singles and after we saw Purple Rain on VHS, we had to have “Let’s Go Crazy.”

Prince was (and is) your typical rock star, and to a boy not yet 10, this meant guitar prowess and raw energy.  And when we listened to that song over and over, this was cemented: Prince was a rock god.  One day (I think on the encouragement of one of my brother’s friends), we flipped the 45 over.

What I heard confused and titillated me, although I was too young to know why.  The b-side “Erotic City” contains some of Prince’s raunchiest, sexy-fueled lyrics, and to fans, this was no surprise, but to someone who only knew the mainstream, Top 40 songs, this was a surprise. I understood maybe half of what he and the woman were singing about, but I knew based on my brother’s reaction that this was no fairy tale love story. Was Prince always like this and I just never knew it? All I knew was that I hadn’t heard someone be some blatant about sex in music before.  Specifically, I’d never heard someone use the F-word like that. Apparently there was much more to this guy than red corvettes and doves.

My impression of people during the time of the Old Testament is pretty much consigned to people walking around in sandals, trying to get out of the heat, conducting animals (camels, ox, etc.) through their fields, worshipping God, belittling women, making war, and keeping their dwellings in order.

The Song of Songs hints at just how much life (and by life I mean a sensual side) these people had.

Unfolding like a few letters back and forth between two lovers, this book of the Bible shows how much passionate love these people fostered for the right person, unfolding in poetic, often erotic lines.

In some ways, their thoughts sound like ways Prince would express his desire. In fact, the purple one would be right at home in this book of the Bible, expressing his affection for a lover by wanting to sit in that person’s shade, eating (her) sweet fruit (2:3). Also, her breasts are like towers (10) (which seems like a strange compliment, but, then again, breasts don’t do anything for me). And there is the wish to give the lover “my love” (7:12).  The context makes it clear that this is not a greeting card or something you could send through the mail.  Yet it’s physical all right.

They also had a thing for wine, for on three different occasions, love is expressed to be better than wine (which is apparently saying something) (1:2 and 4; 4:10, 7:9).

Though, some of the comparisons are strange, and would likely arouse an unfavorable reaction were it offered as a compliment: You have teeth like a flock of sheep (6:6).  Perhaps this depends on how sexy and healthy you find a flock of sheep.

Lastly, there is the the idea that one lover wishes to have the ability to be open in public about their love (8:1).  Apparently, open displays of affection were not tolerated.  So here, in advertently, the Bible offers insight into what gay people have felt for decades. This is what it feels like to carry around a longing for another person and be forced to conceal that desire because the expression of it is frowned upon.

I’m still a Prince fan, and I have enjoyed following his evolution as an artist.  It took me some time to understand the sexual nature of his (and other artists’) lyrics, but when I did, I felt like I’d been invited into an adult club.  And once there, I understood life a little differently.  Not better, necessarily, just that there was more meaning in places than I’d previously realized, and one that finally opened up to me when I was mature enough to appreciate it.

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The Old Testament: Ecclesiastes II – Wisdom Better Than a Weapon of War

Posted on June 26, 2013 by virgowriter

I don’t cook much.  By this I mean that my repertoire, if you can call it that, contains 10, maybe 11 things.  These choice dishes are ones that I can cook well.  I don’t add to my lists, not because I don’t like to try new things (or, more specifically, more interesting ways to cook a chicken breast) but because I hate following recipes.

Sure, I can read, but I almost always get anxious, feeling like I will mess up the directions, in part because they call for a deeper understanding of techniques.  So, when a recipe says to simmer, I would prefer a more specific: turn your burner to ‘4’ or, no, ‘let it reduce by half,’ I need: cook for six minutes.  These are directions I can handle.

I get further tripped up when well-meaning, more-skilled cooks offer advice and, when they see me scrutinize a recipe, offer advice along the lines of: oh, I know it says that, but do this instead.  This tries my patience.  I just want one set of rules.  More than one confuses me, and when it comes to cooking food, I just as soon leave it up to someone else so I don’t ruin a meal (which I am often paranoid about doing).

Ecclesiastes offers its own version of two sets of directions, and they speak to how you are to handle enemies.  Part of the issue as well is how these instructions conflict with what has already been decreed as law in the Old Testament.

The Book of Ecclesiastes suggests that wisdom is better that a weapon of war (9:18).  Basically, use reason rather than force to solve a conflict.  Violence is no answer. And then there’s the way other nations who “threaten” Israel; no discussion, wholesale slaughter. And what about an eye for an eye?

So which is the right way to handle conflict?

Perhaps there is a context issue here—that you should think twice before being violent with a neighbor; people who are in different regions, that is perhaps a different matter.  But if you’re reading the language as written—i.e. not injecting something else—then there is no context here.  According to 9:18, you should engage with ideas (wisdom), not war. But does this imply using weapons as a last resort? How is one to decide?

Doesn’t having two options make it seem like both are options and that you should decide which is best?  But so much of the Bible is about providing rules to live by.  When the rules conflict, this seems problematic.  And when these conflicting rules potentially involve the lives of people, this seems even more of a problem than going against no work on the Sabbath.

Few things are as satisfying as being able plate a new dish, having followed a recipe mixed with input from more knowledgeable people to tweak the directions. But while I’m taking my first bite, in the back of my head, I’m trying to recall which were the directions I should follow the next time I make the dish and which to ignore. For, having done this many times, I know that if I make the wrong choice, the food gets either over or undercooked (or is just plain bad). This problem could be solved if I took better notes on a recipe as I’m cooking, but my hands are usually too dirty to hold a pen and not get the paper dirty. Perhaps I don’t do this out of protest: if the recipe would just be right, I wouldn’t have to think.

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