Showing posts with label Forever Jack Notes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Forever Jack Notes. Show all posts

Thoughts about Asherah – God's Girl Friend


I found a copy of Time Magazine on the train yesterday coming back into downtown. Normally I don't read such dribble, but it had a tempting article titled Decoding God's Changing Moods, by Robert Wright, who I've never heard of, but that doesn't mean anything.

Anyway, the article was fairly interesting, and then about half way through, he brings up the topic of Asherah, using the term Mistress in context to God.

Now, I do( and did) remember the Asherah pole, but never put the name with a Goddess and after all, why should I? The Hebrews don't have a Goddess... right?

Well, it looks like, after doing quite a bit of research, that this may not be the whole case. I will say at this point however, she is not a Goddess as we would first think of a Goddess, and the impression I got, from all that I read, was that she is more or less an angel, and … apparently a very powerful one.

My selfish interests aside I was also looking for a good topic to test drive my Basket Notes program, to see if it would stand up to the heavy research I do while I'm preparing to write. I found that between Basket and FreeMind, I may have found a good enough tool set to replace my MindMap (MindJet) program using Ubuntu.

Here's the page I put together without having to think much... which is a very important feature when researching, because if I have to constantly think about the program I'm using to take notes and file away references, then I'm not thinking about the subject I'm researching.

Since I'm merely approaching this subject as a fiction writer, I'm not tied down by the weight and strain of challenges to the righteousness of the biblical beliefs of others. I'm not even sure at this point how this little lady would fit into any of my current story-lines, and it is very possible that she won't. However, it is always nice to meet another of God's mystery ladies.

Thoughts

Something I came up with with, which I can't find any other reference to (thought I am sure someone has written something on this correlation) is the matching up of Asherah (Queen of Heaven) and the female persona of Wisdom in Proverbs.

The mention of the Pillars, the rebuke, the "door of her house", the bread, the wine... in fact most of what she says in this area, is very clearly a calling of Asherah, or at the very least, using Asherah's firm imagery to illuminate Wisdom as a persona.

I copy quite a bit in here, because there is quite a bit to see about this "woman" in Solomon's mind. Chapter 8:22-31 is absolutely amazing when we juxtapose Asherah and Wisdom.

What is clear here as well, is that Wisdom/Asherah doesn't see herself, in these lines, as anything except a tool for God to use, however, she is also very clear, regarding what happens to those who do not use her.

Prov 1:20 Wisdom cries outside; she utters her voice in the streets;

....

Chapter 8
1 Does not wisdom call? And does not understanding put forth her voice?
2 She stands in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the path.
3 She cries in the gates, before the entrance of the city, at the doors.
4 To you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.
5 O simple ones understand wisdom; and, fools, be of an understanding heart.
6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.
7 For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is hateful to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; nothing twisted or perverse is in them.
9 They are all plain to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge.
10 Receive my instruction and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

12 I, wisdom, dwell with sense, and find out knowledge of discretions.
13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the wicked mouth.
14 Counsel and sound wisdom are Mine; I am understanding; I have strength.
15 By Me kings reign and princes decree justice.
16 Princes rule by Me, and nobles, all the judges of the earth.
17 I love those who love Me; and those who seek Me early shall find Me.
18 Riches and honor are with Me; enduring riches and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and what I give is better than choice silver.
20 I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment;
21 I may cause those who love Me to inherit riches; and I will fill their treasuries.

22 The LORD possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. 23 I was anointed from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth ever was. 24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no springs heavy with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I travailed; 26 before He had made the earth, or the fields or the highest part of the dust of the world. 27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there; when He set a circle upon the face of the deep; 28 when He set the clouds above; when He made the strong fountains of the deep; 29 when He gave to the sea its limit that the waters should not pass His command; when He appointed the foundations of the earth; 30 and I was a workman at His side; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him; 31 rejoicing in the world, His earth; and My delight was with the sons of men.

32 And now listen to Me, O sons; for blessed are those who keep My ways.
33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and do not refuse it.
34 Blessed is the man who hears Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors.
35 For whoever finds Me finds life, and shall obtain favor from the LORD.
36 But he who sins against Me wrongs his own soul; all who hate Me love death.



Prov 9:1 Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars:
2 She has killed her beasts; she has mingled her wine; she has also furnished her table.
3 She has sent forth her maidens: she cries upon the highest places of the city,
4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in here: as for him that wants understanding, she says to him,
5 Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.
6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
7 He that reproves a scorner gets to himself shame: and he that rebukes a wicked man gets himself a blot.
8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate you: rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
11 For by me your days shall be multiplied, and the years of your life shall be increased.
12 If you be wise, you shall be wise for yourself: but if you scorn, you alone shall bear it.
13 A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knows nothing.
14 For she sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,
15 To call passengers who go right on their ways:
16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in here: and as for him that wants understanding, she says to him,
17 Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
18 But he knows not that the dead are there; and that her guest are in the depths of hell.

St. Dismas in the novel Forever Jack


Saint Dismas is the Good Thief, the man crucified at the right hand of Christ.

There is quite a bit of controversy about this saint, certainly more than any other Catholic Saint, or the Eastern Orthodox Saint. For a great many of the years between the crucifixion, and today, Dismas' name has been added to and removed from the list of saints in Rome, depending on how the current Pope felt about the man.

Dismas was a thief. If we look into what we have available to us (which isn't much to be sure : Gospel of Nicodemus), we know he was a career thief, that he had a very long career as a thief. He wasn't a break-and-enter, burglary thief, he was a highway-man, a robber -- which means he probably took lives. According to St. John Chrysostom, Dismas dwelt in the desert and robbed or murdered anyone unlucky enough to cross his path. According to Pope Saint Gregory the Great he "was guilty of blood, even his brother's blood (fratricide)".

... a thief of the divine gem

A soul thief.

The name Dismas, means both sunset and death. It is very possible this was not his original name, but the source of this given name is credible enough in this particular area (meaning that he had both the means, and the ability to discover the Good Thief's name if he choose to, which he seems to have had the desire).

For me, such a controversial person, who is the first Saint, had to be explored, and that was my first intention with the novel Forever Jack.

Free from Jerusalem

 
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It isn't that I don't like historic research -- in fact I love it, but I really need to be more careful regarding the subjects/timelines I choose to jump into. Thirty days writing a single chapter is rather frustrating, but I finally got enough information, and insight to get what I wanted into the chapter, and finished it last night. So now I can get back to editing the rest and move forward to my publishing date.

Often I hear novelist talking about their fictional worlds becoming too real. I know exactly what they are talking about now. It isn't that I believe my fictional world, it is that the world has become so defined inside the scope of the novel, there are now hard walls which must be adhered to, or the story fails to keep the attention of the reader. Fails to maintain that Suspension of disbelief


Coleridge suggested that if a writer could infuse a "human interest and a semblance of truth" into a fantastic tale, the reader would suspend his or her judgement concerning the implausibility of the narrative. -- wikipedia


I was just getting to sleep last night and a whole scene for chapter 32 fell into my brain, so of course I got back up, grabbed my blackberry and jotted down enough of the idea to be able to recall it today. I have to do that with ideas -- write them down. If I don't, all I remember the next day is that ... I had a good idea ... and nothing else, except that it was good.

The image above is the Cross bar, that Dismas was crucified on.

Interesting Jerusalem conflict

I recently was reading more on first century Jerusalem.

Judaea in Hellenistic and Roman times
By Shimon Applebaum
Roman law and history in the New Testament
By Septimus Buss

Septimus Buss makes an interesting statement, that the Talmud says "... the power of capital punishment was away from the ecclesiastical judges [The Sanhedrin] for forty years prior to the fall of the temple.

There are two major conflicts which I can see evidence of in these readings, which would occur rather rapidly because of such a decree. These would be idolatry, and prostitution. Both of these have no punishment under Roman law, and have a death penalty under Hebrew law.

Since, the Sanhedrin could find a person guilty and sentence him to death, but could not carry out the sentence, the man (or woman) would then be taken to Pilate, who would ... let him go, especially if the person was worshiping Zeus or Apollo... can't kill a man for worshiping your own god... that's just silly.

I'm sure it wasn't silly or even humorous to the Jews at the time -- after all we are talking about the First Commandment being broken here, but... what could they do about it?

What is certain, for me anyway, is that my own research in to this era has been made more difficult by the continuous view point that in this time period Jerusalem is consistently looked at as a Jewish city, when in fact this wasn't the case at all. However, it was viewed this way by the Jewish people living there at the time as well, despite the Roman legion, banners, people and a large population of Greeks and Arabs living inside the walls as well. I found, however, that the actions and decrees of the time period I find during my research, become much easier to understand, when I remind myself, that Jerusalem at this time is conquered and occupied by Rome.

Timelines and events

It is amazingly difficult to bring to bear anything solid for accounts happening in Jerusalem in the first fifty years of the first century. For the most part, we are stuck with Biblical accounts, which are vague and rather inaccurate as well. But it is what we have...


Upon the death of Herod, his kingdom is divided among his three surviving sons, Philip, Antipas, and Archelaus.

These three traveled to Rome to apply for legal ratification of their father's will (cf. parable in Luke 19:12,14).

Caesar Augustus and the disposition of power was as follows:

1. Antipas (4 B.C. to AD 39) ruled Galilee and Perea (east of the Jordan in the north). The Jews were offended by the illicit union of Antipas with his niece and sister-in-law Herodias. This formed the occasion on which John the Baptist was imprisoned and martyred (Mark 6:14-29; see also Jospehus Ant. XVIII, 116-119).

In A.D. 39, Antipas was banished from his rule.

2. Philip (4 B.C. to AD 6) had the region east of the Jordan in the northern part of the kingdom. He built a new residence, Caesarea Phillipi (Mark 8:27). Upon his death, the region he ruled passed under the control of the legate of Syria.

3. (4 B.C. to AD 6) ruled over Judea, Samaria, and Idumea. Archelaus was most despised by the people (cf. Matt 2:22) and was removed from office.

Archelaus' territory is then placed under a Roman governor or procurator, answerable to the emperor.

During the times of Jesus Pontius Pilate (the fifth procurator) held the office as Roman governor (26-36). (Philo, Legatio ad Gaium, 302, said his conduct was marked by "corruption, violence, depredations, ill treatment, offenses, numerous illegal executions, and incessant, unbearable cruelty.")


This is a typical time line, with a heavy bias. What we don't really get from this is an account of "who" is leading the corruption, violence, depredations, ill treatment, offences, and numerous illegal executions.

We are lead to believe, by the context, that it is the Romans who are the instigators fo all of this, but the more I read, the more I really wonder about this assumption. For example, one of the bits of information I came across is that the Temple would purchase the sacrificial animals from the herdsmen at a set price, which of course was not what we would call "market value". It is also clear that the herdsmen were obligated to sell the best of their stock to the Temple as well.

What is also clear, is the left over stock would then be brought into the city to be sold. Of course, the Romans, and Arabs are telling these herdsman that since the best of this stock sells for the set price purchased by the temple, the rest of his flawed stock should sell for less than that price.

Then of course, there is the tax for the sales to the Temple, which the herdsman is obligated to pay, and these taxes go up over the years, and so does his rent in the fields (very few herdsmen would be land owners, and this is a major conflict amoungs the eliete of the Jews, and the poorer classes). So this guys cost of living is going up, while his available income is staying the same.

He's caught. Can't move, and there is little in a way out. So, what does he do? Many of the books and research I've gone over, suggest he becomes a robber, so he can afford to feed his family. Of course, he gets caught, or kills several of his own people.

So, while the Romans are certainly accountable for many hardships and deprived actions, we can not simply ignore the violence and hardship instigated by the Temple, or rather the Priests of the Temple during this time period.

What also comes to mind is that the Hebrew law, certainly did not have a clause or accomidation for the Temple existing, and active, in a city where the Jewish people are being ruled by another country; and certainly not another religon. So, I'm starting to get the idea, that these conflicts and wars which happen during this time, all of them, are given birth by the Roman ideal of allowing a conquered culture to maintain its heritage and beliefs, and by building the second temple for the Jewish people (Herod built the temple with Roman money, hiring 1000 priests for the work).

Writing about Ancient Days

The bane of historical sections in fictional novels, is the writer of the fictional novel. Ideas and settings are hard enough to come up with, and when you get a good story line running in your head, the last thing you want is some archeologist coming up with a fact that makes your great idea impossible, or at the very least highly unlikely.

For example, I had a great mental image of Dismas coming down into the Valley of the Shadow, on the east side of Jerusalem. There is a necropolis on the Mount of Olives, just to the south of where he is riding down from the summit. To bring the description inline with the mood of the character, I wanted to darken the atmosphere up a bit, which is rather difficult considering you are looking at Jerusalem from the summit of the Mount of Olives at sunrise.

One of the descriptions I came up with, is to put some fog down in the bottom of the vale, and to put some small lamps on the tome stones in the fog covered area of the necropolis. Small lights in fog are spooky to me. There are names like death watches and dead lights that come to mind when I see these scenes. The trouble was I didn't know if the Jewish people put lamps on tome stones.

After doing some research on the Internet, I came across an article on Stephen Smuts' blog called Ancient Jewish Oil Lamps . In the article Stephen says:

Lamps are common finds in archaeological excavations of private dwellings, villages, as well as in tombs, and are helpful tools for dating.
I really like the word "tombs" in that sentence, because it offered the suggestion that having lamps around the dead would (at least), not be offensive to a Jewish reader. So I wrote Stephen and asked him if there was any Jewish custom he knew about which would put lamps on tome stones. He was very kind in taking time from his day in writing me back.

The answer of course is no, they didn't and don't do that. So in my "writers" mind, these lamps are being left by Roman or Greek friends of the dead, and since there are only a few lamps in the scene, and it isn't and offensive act (wouldn't be considered a desecration), I left the scene in the chapter, but I don't explain it or elude to it after.

Stephen also suggests in his article that the lamps are very useful for dating a discovery, and I take this to mean there are different types of lamps being created over time; different styles and possibly different materials being used as well.

The great temple lamp, the one inside the temple which burns before the door of the Holy center, can only be filled with olive oil. And... this olive oil is made from gathering the first drop of oil from each olive.

The towering lamps in the court yard in front of the temple are also filled with olive oil, and the wicks are said to be made from the old robes of the priests. How true this is, I don't know. There are many basic information areas that we have lost regarding the temple, which is the second bane when writing about ancient days. Some times the information you are looking for, simply doesn't exist.
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Map of Alexandria I used for the first Forever Jack Novel


I found this map on Michael Livingston's web site. He did a bit of editing to the version he found. While most of my descriptions are going to be vague, especially concerning places that simply do not exist any longer, in order to write the passages, I need to know what they look like.

I guess it is quite a bit like the characters of a fiction novel. You note and create a much larger profile for them than you will ever use in the novel.

In the Gospel of Nicodemus, Dismas is said to have guarded the passage of Joseph and Mary, with their new child Jesus, into Egypt. This simple statement tells us a great deal about Dismas, and his character if we choose to use it, and I did choose, because there is so precious little to go on.

First off, Dismas is probably between the age of 16 and 20 when this happens. Any older, and he would be past 50 when they capture him as a thief for Crucifixion. Any younger, and he wouldn't have the clout to guard anyone, anywhere.

This also tells us that Dismas is a career thief. A highway man. And, probably from Egypt himself, though not necessarily an Egyptian. I choose to keep him simple, and left the nationality up to the reader to decide. The orphan history is assumed, since for the life he is leading at such a young age, he has to have the skills. To have those skills at 16, he had to grow up with him. Jumping from there to Dismas being an orphan on the streets of Alexandria, seemed almost apparent.

Michael Livingston had some issues with this map, suggesting that it wasn't accurate to where things were according to new information found in recent digs. You can read more about that on his web site. I needed very little from the map. The Jewish quarter, the location of gates, and the rough size of the city. Most of the rest I could manage without.

Messiah Ideas and View Points in Forever Jack

I believe at this point, I'm going to drop most of the Apocalyptic and Messiah ideas in this Forever Jack novel, and revisit them in the course of the other two. There is simply too much to really digest, and they weren't part of my original ideas for the novel.

In my Google Book List there are a number of book titles that I have put in under the tag of Messianic Study which I'm currently reading and learning from. There is one more, which for some reason would not allow itself to be put on my book list.

One is The Messiah idea in Jewish History

I'm sure there will be others. What I am finding so far, however, is that my original concept of the Messiah ben Joseph may not be practical. It appears, from my reading (thus far), that the Messiah is a war monger and devastates the nations of the world, no matter how you translate the idea. Not really a new idea, nor an interesting one to me for that matter.

I was originally attracted to the Messiah ben Joseph because I thought that the meaning could be something like "Of Joesph" or "Like Joseph", and Joseph is a very interesting man. From my admittedly limited understand, this could mean that the first Messiah would come as a man like Joesph who could raise the Jewish nation and produce a world of peace. While this is normally idealized as being -- he will kick every one's ass and raise Jerusalem to the top of the heap -- this ideal is not what the words are saying. What it Says is, he will raise Jerusalem, and bring a world of peace.

Peace doesn't require war to create, and Joseph was not a warrior, by any stretch of the imagination.

Much of the trouble I believe comes from the fact that the expected accounts and deeds I have read are being acquired through reference to Apocalyptic Literature, which is hardly a good source for historical or even prophetic study. For example, we have very large books like The Jewish Messiah By James Drummond which rely almost completely on the Apocalyptic sets, which seems to completely ignore the reality of Apocalyptic Literature, even while putting in his first chapter a very good description and history of the genre. Apocalyptic writings are not prophetic, nor historic, .. they are ... amusement.

So, in my mind, trying to grasp the purpose and nature of the Joseph Messiah, is nearly impossible to do with just the Apocalyptic writings of any religion. We don't even know who wrote these stories. They are anonymous.

There are, I am sure, plenty of good sources out there to discover and digest, so I will be able to find my answers, but it is going to take more time than I have... and again, this interest really wasn't part of the first book to explore anyway.

I am probably going to introduce the idea in some minor way in the book, so I can touch back on it later, but that is all really.

What has been interesting, in the study work I've done so far, is how often a prophetic statement is observed in the Bible, and translated to mean War, or Destruction. If the Nation is going to rise, it seems that most writers just assume this means that the Nation is going to rise through War. Not only that, I have yet to come across a single commentary which suggests that this means it is going to simply become equal. Equal, would mean, peace. Right?

Nope.

It is always War, Devestation, Subjegation and strife, strife, strife.

To clarify, I don't find this in the Bible itself... just in the interpretations I have read thus far, and this has no slight meant to the Jewish people. Again, its just the writings I've gone through thus far... and Christians have Jerry Farwell; what a horrible perspective an outsider would have if all he had to read about Christianity was Jerry Farwell.

Where the Wild Things Are...

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