Job is an upright man. He feared the Lord. The narrator gives us this information and we cannot doubt it.
But The Satan (which means something like 'prosecutor' in Hebrew), he isn't so sure. He says to God that maybe Job is only upright because of how he's been rewarded. The only test of his faith is to take it all away. And so God does.
God takes away Job's cattle and wealth. God kills all of Job's children. God gives Job some kinda leprosy. And Job maintains his goodness.
Three of Job's friends show up and they don't even recognize Job, the poor guy has been through so much stuff. Job tells them what's happened, and they all try to figure out what sin he's committed. Maybe he did something without realizing it... Job says no. Maybe it wasn't something he did but something he did not do.... Job says no.
Job demands justice. He knows he has done no wrong. God shows up to defend himself. The only real words he says directly to Job are basically "I'm only gonna say this once, so you'd better listen."
God explains that he made hawks and falcons and snakes and alligators and hippos. Then he scolds Job's friends for misrepresenting Him, and cures Job and gives him even more wealth and children than he had before. And Job lives longer than anyone has since Moses.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
thoughts on Hong Kong
Hong Kong's a bit different than the mainland. I wasn't stared at even once, for one thing. Everyone I encountered had at least basic English, and the automatically decided to use English when talking to me, which was an interesting change.
HK also has better manners (sparing the guy who ran my hotel). Even towards one another. In Suzhou and Shanghai people like to get right up against the doors of the metro to get on/off. Even though there are signs and lines saying where they should queue up. Even though those doors are made of glass and they can see other people's noses just inches from their own. And everyone has to be first onto or off the bus here in Suzhou.
But in Hong Kong they seem to be more aware of everyone else. Or maybe they just care more. HK was a little more crowded, I think, than Suzhou or Shanghai. They even line up on the right side of the escalators so that people in a rush can walk up the left. They don't smoke inside, they don't spit inside -or- outside, and they use turn signals with some regularity. They also don't let their children urinate or defecate on the sidewalks or in bus trashcans.
HK also has better manners (sparing the guy who ran my hotel). Even towards one another. In Suzhou and Shanghai people like to get right up against the doors of the metro to get on/off. Even though there are signs and lines saying where they should queue up. Even though those doors are made of glass and they can see other people's noses just inches from their own. And everyone has to be first onto or off the bus here in Suzhou.
But in Hong Kong they seem to be more aware of everyone else. Or maybe they just care more. HK was a little more crowded, I think, than Suzhou or Shanghai. They even line up on the right side of the escalators so that people in a rush can walk up the left. They don't smoke inside, they don't spit inside -or- outside, and they use turn signals with some regularity. They also don't let their children urinate or defecate on the sidewalks or in bus trashcans.
Hong Kong!
I got off the plane in Hong Kong and after going through customs and all that business I ate at a Subway. I had a meatball sub and macadamia nut cookies.
I took a cab from the airport to the hotel I was staying at. And I had to lurk outside the door and wait for someone to come along because I didn't know the pin number to get through. I wrote it down.
From here I went up a flight of stairs and found the door to my hotel.
There was a post-it note on the door that had the name of the hotel -English and Chinese- and had a phone number on it. And a wire ran under the door and up the wall nearby to a pink plastic phone. I called the number on the post-it and after confirming my reservation I was given the pin code to get in.
I was in room five, which was on the left-hand side of a long hallway. My bed took up half of the room I had - fine, I didn't intend on spending much time there anyway - and my bathroom took up less space than the desk my computer is sitting on as a write this. It's not even a very large desk.
The bathroom's sink was probably the size of your average mouse pad. And the entire bathroom -was- the shower stall. One of those deals where there was a drain in the floor and the shower spicket on the wall above the toilet and the knobs right by the light switches. and I had made the mistake of assuming that 'hotel' meant that they would have towels. I had to dry off from my one brief shower with my hoodie.
On my second day there I called the number on the post-it again and explained that I need a receipt, or a bill, or some kinda paperwork, to show I was there, and what everything had cost. The man on the phone, who I suspect was in a bar or loud restaurant, told me that he had never done that before, and would not do that for me. I explained that it wasn't my money he was costing me, but a coworker's. And that if I didn't get some kinda bill then this coworker wouldn't get his money back.
I never saw him. Nor did I see any other human beings in the hotel.
I took a cab from the airport to the hotel I was staying at. And I had to lurk outside the door and wait for someone to come along because I didn't know the pin number to get through. I wrote it down.
From here I went up a flight of stairs and found the door to my hotel.
There was a post-it note on the door that had the name of the hotel -English and Chinese- and had a phone number on it. And a wire ran under the door and up the wall nearby to a pink plastic phone. I called the number on the post-it and after confirming my reservation I was given the pin code to get in.
I was in room five, which was on the left-hand side of a long hallway. My bed took up half of the room I had - fine, I didn't intend on spending much time there anyway - and my bathroom took up less space than the desk my computer is sitting on as a write this. It's not even a very large desk.
The bathroom's sink was probably the size of your average mouse pad. And the entire bathroom -was- the shower stall. One of those deals where there was a drain in the floor and the shower spicket on the wall above the toilet and the knobs right by the light switches. and I had made the mistake of assuming that 'hotel' meant that they would have towels. I had to dry off from my one brief shower with my hoodie.
On my second day there I called the number on the post-it again and explained that I need a receipt, or a bill, or some kinda paperwork, to show I was there, and what everything had cost. The man on the phone, who I suspect was in a bar or loud restaurant, told me that he had never done that before, and would not do that for me. I explained that it wasn't my money he was costing me, but a coworker's. And that if I didn't get some kinda bill then this coworker wouldn't get his money back.
I never saw him. Nor did I see any other human beings in the hotel.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Take Me With You
Yesterday on the way to work I was nursing this head cold thing that I've got right now (don't worry about it, mom) and carrying my umbrella without any good reason - It had rained the three days before, I got caught out everytime with no way to cover myself... The day I decide to invest in an umbrella and bring it with me...
It was my first real experience with "Chinglish."
This guy spotted me on the street corner on my way to work and followed me in.
"Hello, hello. Hi" He said and I said hello to him. Pleasantries were exchanged.
He told me that he looked like a nice man. My facial expression must have been lost on him, because he kept going. He said "I go with you." Meaning, I thought, up to the EF offices - that maybe he had a kid enrolled there but wasn't sure exactly where it was or something along those lines. But in the elevator he kept trying to talk about things. He said 'America' several times and 'Obama' one or two. He said "blablabla nations" where blablabla is some Chinese word I don't know, but which I would later learn meant 'United'
He followed me into the EF offices, and said we must get someone to listen and speak for us.
When we got to the secretary desk she translated for him.
"He wants to know when you leave."
"Leave work? What for?"
"No, he wants to know when you leave China."
"In about ten months."
<Chinese>
"This man, he says that... he must meet your Obama. That he is to have a meeting with him. He wants to know if you can get him to talk to Obama."
"No.
"He says he is a person from the United Nations, and that he must speak to Obama as soon as he can and he wants to know when you will go to America."
"Yeah, almost a year from now."
<Chinese>
<Chinese>
...
<Chinese>
"He says he will wait."
And then this man was escorted from the building.
It was my first real experience with "Chinglish."
This guy spotted me on the street corner on my way to work and followed me in.
"Hello, hello. Hi" He said and I said hello to him. Pleasantries were exchanged.
He told me that he looked like a nice man. My facial expression must have been lost on him, because he kept going. He said "I go with you." Meaning, I thought, up to the EF offices - that maybe he had a kid enrolled there but wasn't sure exactly where it was or something along those lines. But in the elevator he kept trying to talk about things. He said 'America' several times and 'Obama' one or two. He said "blablabla nations" where blablabla is some Chinese word I don't know, but which I would later learn meant 'United'
He followed me into the EF offices, and said we must get someone to listen and speak for us.
When we got to the secretary desk she translated for him.
"He wants to know when you leave."
"Leave work? What for?"
"No, he wants to know when you leave China."
"In about ten months."
<Chinese>
"This man, he says that... he must meet your Obama. That he is to have a meeting with him. He wants to know if you can get him to talk to Obama."
"No.
"He says he is a person from the United Nations, and that he must speak to Obama as soon as he can and he wants to know when you will go to America."
"Yeah, almost a year from now."
<Chinese>
<Chinese>
...
<Chinese>
"He says he will wait."
And then this man was escorted from the building.
Monday, March 16, 2015
Monday, March 2, 2015
Back to the Bible, briefly
I've been reading the bible, but I've also been making real legitimate efforts to understand what I'm reading, how it all came to be. So I thought real quick I'd make a post about the different sources I've found online.
http://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-145
Dr Christine Hayes teaches this Intro to the Hebrew Bible course, and you can audit it for free. From anywhere that you have an internet connection. She does a pretty solid job explaining the various sources, and provides clarification on translations when she thinks that it's necessary.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/course/hebrew-scriptures-in-judaism/id512201207?ign-mpt=uo%3D8
Another free class. You can sit down and listen at your leisure. This time it's from Harvard instead of Yale.
You can actually find a HUGE list of classes on the topic of religion on iTunes. I haven't listened to any other than this one, but the topics seem fascinating.
And I have to give a shout-out to www.reddit.com/r/askhistorians and www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBiblical
And in case you are wondering, I'm reading the "Fully Revised Fourth Edition New Oxford Annotated Bible New Revised Standard Version With the Apocrypha College Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible"
http://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-145
Dr Christine Hayes teaches this Intro to the Hebrew Bible course, and you can audit it for free. From anywhere that you have an internet connection. She does a pretty solid job explaining the various sources, and provides clarification on translations when she thinks that it's necessary.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/course/hebrew-scriptures-in-judaism/id512201207?ign-mpt=uo%3D8
Another free class. You can sit down and listen at your leisure. This time it's from Harvard instead of Yale.
You can actually find a HUGE list of classes on the topic of religion on iTunes. I haven't listened to any other than this one, but the topics seem fascinating.
And I have to give a shout-out to www.reddit.com/r/askhistorians and www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBiblical
And in case you are wondering, I'm reading the "Fully Revised Fourth Edition New Oxford Annotated Bible New Revised Standard Version With the Apocrypha College Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible"
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Water Town
My roommate woke me up this morning and said she was off to visit a little village place, did I want to come with and etc. and so I have more pictures for you. I hope you enjoy them.
This first batch comes from the water town village. There were a bunch of little shops and a bunch of homes tucked away behind them or on the second floor of some of these places.
What follows are pictures of fireworks shot off outside of my apartment. The bits of colored fire were actually hitting against people's windows. Pics taken at about 11 PM China time (it's all one single time zone, by the way)
And here's the cover of a notebook I bought today. I really like it.
This first batch comes from the water town village. There were a bunch of little shops and a bunch of homes tucked away behind them or on the second floor of some of these places.
Don't know what the deal is here, exactly. If the birds were tethered to their perches, or if they were trained, or if they just like getting rides like this.
Got turned around in the water town and ended up in what looks to be a shared backyard.
Here's some pictures of what were advertised as "yachts" Though not yachts, they are still really cool. One had yellow mop buckets in it, and the guy captaining it was wearing a neon yellow vest. So they have a special boat just for keeping the water clean of litter and etc.
Not really so important. But my roommate and I had a giggle. She suggested "Mannequin Massacre" as a band name. I would suspect it's an 8/10 band name, but I'll have to check it against the MFBNS (Matt Foudray Band Name Scale, obviously)
What follows are pictures of fireworks shot off outside of my apartment. The bits of colored fire were actually hitting against people's windows. Pics taken at about 11 PM China time (it's all one single time zone, by the way)
And here's the cover of a notebook I bought today. I really like it.
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