good morning frens

[Anonymous No.12217927]

what are we reading today?

[Anonymous No.12217932]

(I will be reading the Book of Judges.)

[Anonymous No.12217947]

>>12217932
I will be finishing the Book of Judges and reading the Book of Samuel today. Enjoy it, friend.

[Anonymous No.12217948]

>>12217947
all jokes aside, is this even refutable? I often find myself stuck in a pit of this sort of nihilism

[Anonymous No.12217949]

>>12217948
Is what refutable?

[Anonymous No.12217976]

>>12217927

The gift - Bladimir Nabokov

[Anonymous No.12217986]

Im picking up The Society of the Spectacle and War and Peace from the library today

[Anonymous No.12218112]

Empirisme et subjectivité by Deleuze and then meet up with a chick from class to discuss Deleuze' understanding of transcendent meaning

[Anonymous No.12218123]

>>12217986
>tfw mommy got me War and Peace for Christmas

[Anonymous No.12218126]

>>12218123
Aw

>>12217976
I'm also weirdly reading the bible and nabokov (lolita) today, have they both been rekindled?

[Anonymous No.12218247]

Crime and Punishment
Battle for Belorussia
Homeward Bound

[Anonymous No.12218277]

>>12217927
I’m up to W
throw pages away as I read
job interview tomorrow will decide my life, I’m reading my favorite books
have 2 Pynchon might not get to

[Anonymous No.12218291]

>>12218123
that’ll be a nice memory, anon
Smart mummy
Dosto:
“You must know that there is nothing higher and stronger and more wholesome and good for life in the future than some good memory, especially a memory of childhood, of home. People talk to you a great deal about your education, but some good, sacred memory, preserved from childhood, is perhaps the best education. If a man carries many such memories with him into life, he is safe to the end of his days, and if one has only one good memory left in one's heart, even that may sometime be the means of saving us.”

[Anonymous No.12218297]

>>12218291
Rosebud

[Anonymous No.12218454]

>>12217947
OP here, started with Joshua as an appetizer. Great stuff so far, enjoying the telling. Which edition did you read? I'm doing KJV because there isn't a lot of theology here and beauty of prose is preferred when reading for pleasure.

[Anonymous No.12218486]

Hyperion

[Anonymous No.12218488]

Grapes of wrath, wanted to read it for ages

[Anonymous No.12218529]

>>12217932
No shit, me too. I literally finished Joshua this morning.

And - genuine question - at what point is this meant to change my life and make me find God? So far it's just been a load of Jewish legends, followed by a load of Jewish laws, followed by a load of Jewish conquests. Don't get me wrong - I'm enjoying it - some bits are quite exciting, some bits are genuinely emotional (like Moses dying on Nebo and never entering the Promised Land), and even a lot of the laws and interesting from a historical point of view. (Although being told how EXACTLY to build the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle twice in a row was really boring, and for the tribal allotments what they really needed was a map).

But, like, at what point to I become convinced of the truth of all this? I know I've just been reading history so far, so I guess once I get to some of the prophetic and wisdom books, and especially once I get to the New Testament, it'll become more convincing. But so far it just seems like nothing more than a set of Levantine tribal myths about a Levantine tribal deity.

[Anonymous No.12218567]

>>12218529
Also, followup I guess. Am I really meant to believe that the God of the Israelites, who commanded them (and helped them) to destroy the cities of all the other Canaanite peoples, in many cases leaving literally no men or women or children or animals alive, is the same God who later came to earth in human form to bring salvation to all of humanity?

So far he's only concerned with enlarging and protecting his chosen people - as he promised to Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. There is no attempt to preach to and convert the Midianites, the Amorites, etc - instead they're put to the sword and their cities wholly burned.

This, of course, makes sense if one views this as a tribal religion - God favours his particular tribe over all others, and as long as they remain faithful to him, he will enlarge them and fight for them. The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name, etc.

But it just seems totally incompatible with the New Testament, and the message that Jesus brings. I don't know, like I said I'm only up to Judges (and the bits of the Gospels I've read the past), so perhaps it'll become clearer to me as a read more. But so far reading the Bible hasn't made me convinced of its truth or its wisdom, as I've been told it would. I guess I'll see as I read on.

[Anonymous No.12218943]

>>12218529
>make me find God?
Not entirely sure, but I think the NT does that better for modern readers.

>>12218454
Joshua was a good book, I liked that one. I'm also reading the KJV, as I'm more interested in the prose/story rather than the theology too.

[Anonymous No.12218948]

>>12217949
The bowl. Can you refute the bowl

[Anonymous No.12218957]

>>12218529
>>12218567
Just finished Joshua too. I think the new testament is meant to override the old testament in some cases; like imposing laws over already existing ones. Although I agree that there seems to be a split between the OT and NT God but maybe they are two different ways of becoming one with God.

Did anyone else panic when the Gadites built the altar?

[Anonymous No.12219104]

>>12218948
I cannot refute the bowl, it's clearly that cats sleeping place. Who am I to disturb the cute cat.

[Anonymous No.12219123]

going to try and settle down and read some more of Catch 22 or finish No Longer Human but i'm very sad today for no reason and having a hard time concentrating

[Anonymous No.12219131]

>>12217927
Wittgenstein's Tractatus and possibly Queer or something else by William Burroughs. Haven't read any Burroughs lately, checked out a few of his books from the lie berry yesterday.

[Anonymous No.12219138]

>>12218529
>>12218567
OP here. Yeah, the OT is formed of the Hebrew Bible. OT is exactly what you say: a creation myth, a book of law, books of prophecy, and a chronicle of tribal history. I was touched by the death of Moses, as well! It reminded me of the end of Battlestar Galactica, or the Ballad of Cable Hogue (which is really an inversion, he wasn't trying to go anywhere but where he was).

>But, like, at what point to I become convinced of the truth of all this?
When you read the New Testament, then Plato, Aristotle, then the New Testament again. God is the form of the highest good, the Creator who made the world (and saw it was good), and source of all of what we call goodness.

>Also, followup I guess.
>problem of evil
Read Job, specifically what God said out of the whirlwind. He is beyond mortal judgment because we literally do not have the faculties to understand Providence, or why things happen. We do not see the plan. Also do not forget that men are fallen and doomed to wrong action (Romans 11:32). Yahweh's actions may seem out of step with the God of the NT, but it's actually not incompatible. Read John 1; Christ is the Logos, the Word, a human of one essence with God (like the Father), and He was present with God at the creation of the world in Genesis.

>hasn't made me convinced of its truth or its wisdom
If you seek wisdom, read the books of wisdom. Ecclesiastes to start. Also, don't be too disheartened. This is a lifelong study.

[Anonymous No.12219204]

Previous post is a little unclear I guess. If you want to "get it" you have to actually get it first. That is, get after it. There are real subtle concepts involved and understanding doesn't come from a surface reading. After you figure out the relationships and get stuck on the mysteries, you'll recognize that after initiation into the text it really is a mystical journey into God. One either gives up early or becomes a believer.

[Anonymous No.12219205]

>>12218291
based Dosto.

[Anonymous No.12219643]

>>12219138
Well, yeah, I haven't got that far yet. My second post was a bit rambling, but in my mind I wasn't raising the problem of evil. What I meant was, how does God go from tribal God of the Israelites, enlarging them and raising them above everyone else, even (and sometimes literally) to the total annihilation of all other peoples, to Jesus Christ, bringing salvation to everyone, and inspirer of Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles. Moses and Joshua, it seems, would have laughed at the very idea of an Apostle to the Gentiles. The only thing the gentiles deserve in the Old Testament is the sword.