Isaiah 11:4a “…but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.”

This Hebrew parallelism has three pairs, with the second term being a related term that means not . . . → Read More: judging]]> One of many references that show that ‘judgment’ does not always mean (negatively) ‘to damn’ or ‘to punish’, etc., but can have positive connotations.

Isaiah 11:4a “…but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.”

This Hebrew parallelism has three pairs, with the second term being a related term that means not exactly the same thing and the first, but develops the meaning further, broadening the picture.

• ‘righteousness’ and ‘justice’
• ‘judge’ and ‘give decisions for’
• ‘needy’ and ‘poor of the earth’

A friend recently (and wisely) observed that this is unfortunately ‘heard’/'taken’ as a command rather than as a lamentation.  Which made me think about how much interpretation we can do even with simple sentences.  The above verse could be (mis)understood in the following . . . → Read More: reading]]> Proverbs 22:7 – “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.”

A friend recently (and wisely) observed that this is unfortunately ‘heard’/'taken’ as a command rather than as a lamentation.  Which made me think about how much interpretation we can do even with simple sentences.  The above verse could be (mis)understood in the following senses:

• That this is the way things are intended to be: ‘God wants the rich to rule over the poor and delights in the borrower being a slave to the lender.’
• A cold, apathetic, uncaring, indifferent (‘scientific’), and descriptive observation: ‘The rich have more power than (and often power ‘over’) the poor, and the borrower is indebted to the lender.’
• An implicit command: ‘Don’t be poor!  Don’t be ruled by the rich!  Don’t borrow money! Ever!  It’s is wrong!’
• A lament with an appeal to listen and live life accordingly: “Money quickly becomes a thing that is used to control and enslave people.  Large gaps between the rich and poor and large debts are all too real.  Please listen to this, and avoid doing that to others or yourself!’

I was just thinking last night about how deeply human or ‘anthropocentric’ music is. Whilst we can anthropomorphise and talk about the ‘song’ of the bluebird, or the rhythm of the cicadas or crickets, these animals are . . . → Read More: musical bodies]]> The following is not intended as a theistic proof, but it is yet another of countless points of ‘resonance’ with belief in a Creator.

I was just thinking last night about how deeply human or ‘anthropocentric’ music is. Whilst we can anthropomorphise and talk about the ‘song’ of the bluebird, or the rhythm of the cicadas or crickets, these animals are not truly doing ‘music’. It is a human activity.

I think of the vast pre-human time where there was no scales, chords, melodies, harmonies, minor or major keys, suspensions, arpeggios, triplets, modes, beats, resolutions, or tensions. What a breathtaking development for music to arrive on the scene!

I’m not going to speculate on what the first music sounded like, or whether music was before or after language, etc. What I was particularly thinking about last night was the way in which minor chords and keys and certain tensions, beats and rhythms can ‘move’ (and indeed, at times manipulate) us. The victorious flavour of ‘bright’ major chords and keys contrasts beautifully with the reflective shade of ‘darker’ minor chords and keys. It beautifully reflects the reality of the basic bifurcations of life as we experience it as humans.

The interesting thing for me is that from an evolutionary perspective, music would with little or no doubt have arrived on the scene after our most recent major physiological evolutionary step. Music, therefore, could not have been part of the environmental pressure shaping pre-human (and thus pre-musical) life. There could be no survival of the most musically moved, so to speak. So it would be hard for me to grasp how we could blame (or thank) evolution by natural selection for the effect that music has on us. I welcome corrections to my thinking here (both in musical and evolutionary theory), but from where I stand, it appears that the wonderful coherence between the bifurcation of major and minor chords and our bifurcated experience of life is yet another of many ‘coincidences’.

Two songs from Johnny Cash’s album, American IV, contrast a repentant person with an unrepentant person.  The contrast is striking – between the person who ‘hangs his head’ (eventually in prayerful repentance in the last verse) and the person who ‘damns’ everyone (or more particularly, their eyes!).

Lyrics presented below:

“I Hung . . . → Read More: cash for repentance]]> metanoia (Grk μετανοια) means literally “after-thought” or a change of mind or repentance.

Two songs from Johnny Cash’s album, American IV, contrast a repentant person with an unrepentant person.  The contrast is striking – between the person who ‘hangs his head’ (eventually in prayerful repentance in the last verse) and the person who ‘damns’ everyone (or more particularly, their eyes!).

Lyrics presented below:

“I Hung My Head”
Early one morning
With time to kill
I borrowed Jebb’s rifle
And sat on a hill
I saw a lone rider
Crossing the plain
I drew a bead on him
To practice my aim

My brother’s rifle
Went of in my hand
A shot rang out
Across the land
The horse, he kept running
The rider was dead
I hung my head
I hung my head

I set off running
To wake from the dream
My brother’s rifle
Went into the sheen
I kept on running
Into the south lands
That’s where they found me
My head and my hands

The sheriff he asked me
Why had I run
And then it came to me
Just what I had done
And all for no reason
Just one peace of lead
I hung my head
I hung my head

Here in the court house
The whole town was there
I see the judge
High up in the chair
Explain to the court room
What went through you mind
And we’ll ask the jury
What verdict they find

I felt the power
Of death over life
I orphaned his children
I widowed his wife
I begged their forgiveness
I wish I was dead
I hung my head
I hung my head

Early one morning
With time to kill
I see the gallows
Up on a hill
And out in the distance
A trick of the brain
I see a lone rider
Crossing the plain

And he’d come to fetch me
To see what they’d done
And we’d ride together
To kingdom come
I prayed for god’s mercy
For soon I’d be dead
I hung my head
I hung my head

and…

“Sam Hall”
Well, my name it is Sam Hall, Sam Hall.
Yes, my name it is Sam Hall; it is Sam Hall.
My name it is Sam Hall an’ I hate you, one and all.
An’ I hate you, one and all:
Damn your eyes.

I killed a man, they said; so they said.
I killed a man, they said; so they said.
I killed a man, they said an’ I smashed in his head.
An’ I left him layin’ dead,
Damn his eyes.

But a-swingin’, I must go; I must go.
A-swingin’, I must go; I must go.
A-swingin’, I must go while you critters down below,
Yell up: “Sam, I told you so.”
Well, damn your eyes!

I saw Molly in the crowd; in the crowd.
I saw Molly in the crowd; in the crowd.
I saw Molly in the crowd an’ I hollered, right out loud:
“Hey there Molly, ain’t you proud?
“Damn your eyes.”

Then the Sherriff, he came to; he came to.
Ah, yeah, the Sherriff, he came to; he came to.
The Sherriff, he come to an he said: “Sam, how are you?”
An I said: “Well, Sherriff, how are you,
“Damn your eyes.”

My name is Samuel, Samuel.
My name is Samuel, Samuel.
My name is Samuel, an’ I’ll see you all in hell.
An’ I’ll see you all in hell,
Damn your eyes.

Peter Hitchens Author Interview–The Rage Against God from Gorilla Poet Productions . . . → Read More: the ‘other’ hitchens]]>

Peter Hitchens Author Interview–The Rage Against God from Gorilla Poet Productions on Vimeo.

Two points: