My ten most memorable reads of 2022, fiction and nonfiction, out of my 42 first-time reads: 1. The Book of Job -- Robert Alter's translation “Oh, let that night be barren, let it have no song of joy.Let the day-cursers hex it, those ready to rouse Leviathan.Let its twilight stars go dark.Let it hope for … Continue reading Favorite reads of 2022
I recently read John Steinbeck's "East of Eden", a novel so rich, and long, that one blog post couldn't begin to uncover even 2% of it. But below I've quoted passages from the novel that I'll talk about both in themselves and in relation to certain texts: the Bible, principally Genesis and Job; Miguel de … Continue reading East of Eden
The Two Testaments finished its podcast-tour through the Book of Job recently with a discussion focused on Job's concluding words and the epilogue: Job 42 (Job's Response and Epilogue) with Carol Newsom. The podcast is hosted at The Two Testaments, and it's available at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nmfpbCSEQc Carol Newsom is the author of The Book of … Continue reading Carol Newsom podcast on the Book of Job
In my last post I reviewed a book by William P. Brown, The Seven Pillars of Creation, that read God's speeches in the Book of Job as a creation story. This was a very new perspective for me. It made me take a look back at my little journey through Job in recent months. I've … Continue reading William P. Brown podcast about Job
I recently read Michael P. Brown's "The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder", an exploration of scripture in light of modern science, with emphasis on our current ecological crisis here on Earth. Brown, a Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary, explores what the Bible and science have … Continue reading Seven Pillars of Creation
Did the miser, Silas Marner, recover his faith in God? George Eliot's novel tells of a miser who hoards gold and is redeemed by taking in and raising an orphaned child. Anyone can see why such a story would be regarded as a story of faith, even a Christian story, though Eliot herself was not … Continue reading Faith in Silas Marner
I'm re-reading George Eliot's "Silas Marner," almost forty years since first reading it in grade-school. I've just started, so this post won't be a full review. I'm going to share some of the reading experience I've had thus far, both by myself and with my kids, who've shocked me a bit by asking me to … Continue reading The Weaver of Raveloe
Below is the King James text of the Book of Job, with illustrations of William Blake's twenty-two engraved prints. I've inserted the illustrations almost entirely in Blake's original order. Plate 2, which depicts Job's happy former life, I've used both in the prologue and in Chapter 29, when Job recalls that lost time of his … Continue reading Book of Job illustrated by William Blake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_n87NtpaWo Song by Joni Mitchell Let me speakLet me spit out my bitternessBorn of grief and nights without sleepAnd festering fleshDo you have eyes?Can you see like mankind sees?Why have you soured and curdled me?Oh, you tireless watcherWhat have I done to you?That you make everything I dread and everything I fearCome trueOnce I was … Continue reading The Sire of Sorrow (Job’s Sad Song)
I have an old telescope, through which I've spent many hours observing and photographing the sky. An old blog of mine, Catching the Sky, has many of my photos and observations. I've been looking through my photos and journals in recent days, partly inspired by Tom McLeish's book, Faith and Wisdom in Science. His book … Continue reading Orion, the Bear and the Pleiades (Job 38)
