About Lilith...

I was curious about Lilith in the bible and ended up stumbling upon something else entirely. I read this article that sums up her presence and mythology throughout history. As it turns out, the Lilith figure shows up in a number of religions and legends that have nothing to do with early Christianity. Following are the excerpts I found most interesting regarding her mythology:

"The ancient name “Lilith” derives from a Sumerian word for female demons or wind spirits... The lilītu dwells in desert lands and open country spaces and is especially dangerous to pregnant women and infants."

"The earliest surviving mention of Lilith’s name appears in Gilgamesh and the Huluppu-Tree... 'after heaven and earth had separated and man had been created,' Gilgamesh rushes to assist Inanna, goddess of erotic love and war. In her garden near the Euphrates River, Inanna lovingly tends a willow (huluppu) tree, the wood of which she hopes to fashion into a throne and bed for herself. Inanna’s plans are nearly thwarted, however, when a dastardly triumvirate possesses the tree. One of the villains is Lilith: 'Inanna, to her chagrin, found herself unable to realize her hopes. For in the meantime a dragon had set up its nest at the base of the tree, the Zu-bird had placed his young in its crown, and in its midst the demoness Lilith had built her house.' Wearing heavy armor, brave Gilgamesh kills the dragon, causing the Zu-bird to fly to the mountains and a terrified Lilith to flee “to the desert."

"Throughout the Book of Isaiah, the prophet encourages God’s people to avoid entanglements with foreigners who worship alien deities. In Chapter 34, a sword-wielding Yahweh seeks vengeance on the infidel Edomites, perennial outsiders and foes of the ancient Israelites. According to this powerful apocalyptic poem, Edom will become a chaotic, desert land where the soil is infertile and wild animals roam: “Wildcats shall meet hyenas, / Goat-demons shall greet each other; / There too the lilith shall repose / And find herself a resting place” (Isaiah 34:14).5 The Lilith demon was apparently so well known to Isaiah’s audience that no explanation of her identity was necessary."

"...she does resurface in the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran. The Qumran sect was engrossed with demonology, and Lilith appears in the Song for a Sage, a hymn possibly used in exorcisms: “And I, the Sage, sound the majesty of His beauty to terrify and confound all the spirits of destroying angels and the bastard spirits, the demons, Lilith. . ., and those that strike suddenly, to lead astray the spirit of understanding, and to make desolate their heart.”

"In Ben Sira’s fanciful additions to the biblical tale, the Almighty then fashions another person from the earth, a female called Lilith. Soon the human couple begins to fight, but neither one really hears the other. Lilith refuses to lie underneath Adam during sex, but he insists that the bottom is her rightful place. He apparently believes that Lilith should submissively perform wifely duties. Lilith, on the other hand, is attempting to rule over no one. She is simply asserting her personal freedom. Lilith states, “We are equal because we are both created from the earth." ....So Lilith flies away, having gained power to do so by pronouncing God’s avowed name. Though made of the earth, she is not earthbound. Her dramatic departure reestablishes for a new generation Lilith’s supernatural character as a winged devil... Three angels are sent in search of Lilith. When they find her at the Red Sea, she refuses to return to Eden, claiming that she was created to devour children. Ben Sira’s story suggests that Lilith is driven to kill babies in retaliation for Adam’s mistreatment and God’s insistence on slaying 100 of her progeny daily."

There seems to be a connection between the biblical Lilith in Isaiah and the Lilith of Gilgamesh because they both end up fleeing to the desert. The Lilith of lore is depicted as wildly sexual and horrific, tempting men and then using them to bear demons and spirits. She apparently attacks pregnant women and infants, and she's been identified with the serpent and the screeching night-owl in many instances. People of all different ancient cultures recognized the Lilith figure, and her presence as Adam's first wife in Genesis is definitely arguable. By today's standards, it's also arguable that she is merely a patriarchal reflection of what men found unappealing and unholy in women, and that her attacks on maternal figures and their children were created to inspire the same disdain for her in women who might have otherwise sympathized with her independence and sexual freedom.

An interesting figure, to say the least.

EvangeCube

This is a nifty toy I had when I was a kid. It's called an EvangeCube, and it essentially teaches the story of Jesus's resurrection and its relation to modern-day Christians in a super-awesome folding cube thingy..

Okay, not the best description, I'll admit it. But honestly a good teaching tool, especially for kids in bible studies. I used to go to Wednesday school and Sunday service, and they'd teach us about the verses on Wednesday that the sermon would cover on Sunday so that we could understand what was talked about in the service. The bible study teachers used lots of posters; I remember one about the ten commandments in simple language, and another about Exodus explaining how/why Moses led the Israelites from Egypt with a flow chard. And one day, we got these little suckers before the Easter service.

The PDF link here explains each of the images and the verses that accompany it.

This picture is titled "Grace," by Eric Enstrom, from the year 1918. It's simple and effective, and the picture has garnered a huge amount of fame throughout the years. It hangs in many families' homes, reminding us to be thankful for things as simple as a bowl of gruel and a loaf of bread. As the story goes, an old peddler stopped by Enstrom's studio and struck the artist as a man with an honest face. Ernstrom arranged the bowl, bread, knife, and bible and then asked the man to pose as if he was praying. The man fell into the pose comfortably, and as they say, the rest is history.

I chose to write about this picture because it has hung in my grandmother's dining room as long as I can remember. My grandma is a very faithful Southern Baptist and always seems to be advocating God's love to her grandchildren. I used to look at the picture a lot over breakfasts or dinners at her house, and I guess that it always struck me for its warmth in simplicity. It's a message that reaches most people, be they religious or not. Thanks be given to whoever is behind all of this.

The Race of Jesus Christ

After reading on the shroud of Turin and our class discussion about the face of Jesus, I thought I'd go looking for ideas of what people believe he looked like.

This site aims to promote the second coming of Christ and has a gallery of two hundred photos of him. Most of them are fairly similar; a lot are Caucasian-esque representations. I find the Caucasian faces to be hugely common but perhaps not historically accurate. I'm curious about why he is so frequently represented with dark hair, blue eyes, pale skin, etc. with a clearly European or Western ethnicity when he lived in the Middle East. Is this a case of the "white-washing" phenomenon?

I found another article about the contested color of Jesus Christ, that clearly suggests his race changes with those who are worshiping him. While a predominantly-colored church has a stained glass window with a dark-skinned Jesus (installed after a racial bombing,) a Mormon statue depicts Jesus as "chiseled" and Caucasian.

"Korean Times" shows a few images of so-called Korean Jesus, a clearly Asian-ethnic man.

There are tons of sites attesting to the race of Jesus, some of them claiming him for races that are not geographically or historically feasible. The wiki for Jesus's appearance shows him from Caucasian to Middle Eastern to African to Asian.

It's interesting to me how fluid the face of Jesus has become. All races want to claim him for his own; but it makes sense. If religion is supposed to build community and camaraderie among people, then shouldn't they want a savior/messiah/teacher that they can identify with?

I found an interesting article over a National Geographic documentary regarding Jesus. It goes into a bit of detail about the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, claims of Stigmata (in which the wounds of Christ manifest in people without any apparent cause,) the idea of Jesus having a wife, and perhaps the idea that he may have left behind a bloodline. I'd be interested to see the documentary after reading about it, especially the bit about Stigmata, which is a phenomenon I've never heard of before.

The link is here.

"Cafeteria Catholics"

I read an article on Huffington Post that sparked my interest. It's an article about old religions in the new age; specifically, it's about the Catholic church and dissent among followers regarding age-old Catholic customs such as contraception and refusing to ordain female priests. Apparently, a lot of people within the Catholic church have begun removing themselves from the religion, only attending Mass on certain holidays such as Christmas. Some believe that the church must reform in the new age in order to follow its original purpose if there is any hope for keeping it from getting lost in new political and social systems. It's interesting because this new balancing act --- new versus old --- seems to be becoming more prevalent in the "classic" religions that have been around for centuries upon centuries. People of the new generation are uncomfortable with following all of the old religious customs, and religions that don't bend to the flux of time are losing out to NRMs.

Anyways, here's an excerpt from the article:

"For the most devoted Catholics, the recent holiday season was a time to reflect more fervently on spiritual endeavors, a time celebrate their faith in its fullest terms.

For many, however, Christmas marked the first time they attended Mass in months. Some cite a growing personal conflict with Church practices as reason for abandoning a regular Mass-going schedule; remaining Catholic in name, yet disagreeing with the Church on certain principals, such as abortion, birth control or gay rights.

"Cafeteria Catholics," some call us (yes, I count include myself in this group) -- namely, those among the clergy and laity who consider dissent from Church beliefs unforgivable -- referring to the "picking and choosing" aspect of this religious lifestyle. It's not a complement.

But Brother Louis DeThomasis, FSC, author of "Flying in the Face of Tradition" (released in 2012), has decided to turn the term on its head.

"They're the cafeteria Catholics," he says to me, during an interview about his book, of the ultra-conservative individuals not willing to recognize that the Church has changed. "You've got to fight them on their own terms. They're not seeing Vatican II as legitimate. The windows that Vatican II opened are being closed."

This is far from the most radical thing that De Thomasis states in his incredibly frank assessment of the modern-day Catholic Church, which is sure to anger many who view these traditional beliefs as unchangeable.

To others (like me) his book is a crucial -- and refreshing -- step in the right direction.

DeThomasis, even considering his position as a De LaSalle Brother, is willing to speak out against what he describes as an increasingly inflexible hierarchy, unwilling to bend or even discuss such issues as the droves of young people fleeing the Catholic Church, the difficult questions surrounding sex abuse scandals or the question of ordaining women priests.

"I look at the way the church is treating women ... in this day and age, come on," he says. "You just cannot give any credence to the fact that women shouldn't be equal to men in all things, including ordination."

In this concise, easily digestible yet thought-provoking 10-chapter book, DeThomasis explores conflict within the Church and the resulting mass exodus of Catholics frustrated with an increasingly unbending hierarchy. There volatile subjects are usually reserved for private conversations, but discussing these matters out loud is now crucial, he says; discussion is, in fact, the Christian thing to do...."