{"id":272,"date":"2011-12-16T15:13:19","date_gmt":"2011-12-16T15:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/?p=272"},"modified":"2011-12-16T15:13:19","modified_gmt":"2011-12-16T15:13:19","slug":"var-_gaq-_gaq-_gaq-push_setaccount-ua-25646250-2-_gaq-push_trackpageview-function-var-ga-document-createelementscript-ga-type-textjava-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/?p=272","title":{"rendered":"<script type=\"text\/javascript\">    var _gaq = _gaq || [];   _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-25646250-2']);   _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);    (function() {     var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text\/javascript'; ga.async = true;     ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https:\/\/ssl' : 'http:\/\/www') + '.google-analytics.com\/ga.js';     var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);   })();  <\/script>  <\/heat> Session Eleven &#8211; Generations: Adam to Noah \u2013 Held on Sunday, December 11, 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Review of Session Ten<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Annette started us off by asking the meaning of Gen: 4: 20 \u2013 22.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/genesis\/4\">http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/genesis\/4<\/a>.\u00a0 Like so many questions that Genesis raises for us, the question itself has assumptions.\u00a0 These three verses state that all who \u201cdwell in tents\u201d and \u201ckeep livestock\u201d have a common ancestor; all those who \u201cplay the lyre and reed pipe\u201d or \u201cplay the harp and flute\u201d [which instruments depends on your version\u2019s translation of the bible] have a common ancestor; and all those who \u201cforge instruments of bronze and iron\u201d have a common ancestor.<\/p>\n<p>It is much easier for me to express what these verses don\u2019t mean.\u00a0 The author is not trying to tell us, to take one example, that everyone who dwells in tents had a single person who was their ancestor.\u00a0 Once I make this statement, though, a host of questions come flooding out based on what our assumptions are.\u00a0 Some in our group and many around the globe, and this is to state it quite simply, believe that the bible is the word of God, God doesn\u2019t lie, and therefore the bible is true.<\/p>\n<p>One of my favorite phrases goes something like this, may I push you on that.\u00a0 So here goes \u2026 If you think the statement in the last sentence in the previous paragraph is true, does that mean that in this one verse, Gen: 4:20, the true meaning of the bible is that all those who dwell in tents have a single person, named Jabal, as their common ancestor?\u00a0 Or does it mean something else.\u00a0 Please note that these are two questions that I have raised.\u00a0 They may be meaningful questions to you or they may not.\u00a0 If the questions are meaningful, select the one that you agree with and express your reason for holding that opinion.\u00a0 If they are not meaningful, express why they are not. Either you will participate or you won\u2019t.\u00a0 If you do participate, you will attempt to do the best according to your ability to makes sense based on the world in which you live. In doing this you will experience what it means, in part, to rise to the level of our times.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Generations: Adam to Noah.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Below is a modified version of a handout given to the study group which basically summarizes Genesis 5, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/genesis\/5\">http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/genesis\/5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table width=\"617\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" width=\"54\">\n<p align=\"center\">No<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" width=\"97\">\n<p align=\"center\">Father<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" width=\"80\">\n<p align=\"center\">Age at Birth of Son<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" width=\"185\">\n<p align=\"center\">Son<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" width=\"110\">\n<p align=\"center\">Remaining Years<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" width=\"89\">\n<p align=\"center\">Total Years of Fathers<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"54\">\n<p align=\"right\">1.00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"97\">Adam<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"80\">\n<p align=\"right\">130<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"185\">Seth \u2013 3<sup>rd<\/sup> Son [Shet]<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"110\">\n<p align=\"right\">800<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"89\">\n<p align=\"right\">930<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"54\">\n<p align=\"right\">2.00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"97\">Seth<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"80\">\n<p align=\"right\">105<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"185\">Enosh<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"110\">\n<p align=\"right\">807<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"89\">\n<p align=\"right\">912<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"54\">\n<p align=\"right\">3.00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"97\">Enosh<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"80\">\n<p align=\"right\">90<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"185\">Kenan<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"110\">\n<p align=\"right\">815<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"89\">\n<p align=\"right\">905<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"54\">\n<p align=\"right\">4.00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"97\">Kenan<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"80\">\n<p align=\"right\">70<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"185\">Muhalalel [Mehalalel]<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"110\">\n<p align=\"right\">840<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"89\">\n<p align=\"right\">910<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"54\">\n<p align=\"right\">5.00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"97\">Muhalalel<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"80\">\n<p align=\"right\">65<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"185\">Jared [Yered]<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"110\">\n<p align=\"right\">830<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"89\">\n<p align=\"right\">895<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"54\">\n<p align=\"right\">6.00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"97\">Jared<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"80\">\n<p align=\"right\">162<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"185\">Enoch [Hanokh]<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"110\">\n<p align=\"right\">800<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"89\">\n<p align=\"right\">962<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"54\">\n<p align=\"right\">7.00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"97\">Enoch<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"80\">\n<p align=\"right\">65<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"185\">Methuselah [Metushelah]<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"110\">\n<p align=\"right\">300<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" width=\"89\">365 &amp; God took him<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"54\">\n<p align=\"right\">8.00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"97\">Methuselah<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"80\">\n<p align=\"right\">187<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"185\">Lamech [Lemekh]<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"110\">\n<p align=\"right\">780<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"89\">\n<p align=\"right\">969<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"54\">\n<p align=\"right\">9.00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"97\">Lamech<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"80\">\n<p align=\"right\">182<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"185\">Noah<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"110\">\n<p align=\"right\">595<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"89\">\n<p align=\"right\">777<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"54\">\n<p align=\"right\">10.00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"97\">Noah<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"80\">\n<p align=\"right\">500<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"185\">Shem, Ham, &amp; Japheth<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"110\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"89\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"54\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" width=\"97\">\n<p align=\"center\">\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"80\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"185\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"110\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"89\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"54\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" width=\"97\">\n<p align=\"center\">Total Years of Offspring<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"80\">\n<p align=\"right\">1556<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"185\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"110\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"bottom\" nowrap=\"nowrap\" width=\"89\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>There are a few observations to make: first there are ten generations from Adam to Noah.\u00a0 Is that historical fact, just coincidental or is it a literary form? Note that Enoch is reported not as dying but as God taking him which may mean the same think as dying but why does the author change his words when it comes to Enoch.\u00a0 Third, note that Lamech [who is now a descendant of Seth and not of Cain] lives for a total of 777 years.\u00a0 Again does the 777 mean years or symbolic of some other meaning?<\/p>\n<p>We had quite a discussion on the meaning of these ages.\u00a0 As expressed earlier some members of our group believe that the ages are factual, that is historically true ages.\u00a0 To take one example, Adam had a child when he was 130 years old, lived another 800 years and died when he was 930 years old.\u00a0 Others think that the ages are symbolic but wondered what they could mean.\u00a0 Some wondered if the notion of a year meant the same thing at the time of the author as it does today.<\/p>\n<p>It seems clear to me that we have no experience of anyone living these kinds of years.\u00a0 Because that is true, we have to make sense of the numbers or dismiss them as none sense. To find their meaning, though, requires that these numbers are placed in a larger context of the stories told in Genesis.\u00a0 In that context we will find that the ages of individuals gradually lowers to become life spans that we are in the range of our experience.\u00a0 This age trajectory has a meaning, it\u2019s telling us something.\u00a0 From one point of view we could say that it points backwards to a more perfect time, ultimately to a perfect time, the Garden of Eden.\u00a0 Or it could be an effort to account for the personal, social, and political realities that are part of the Israelites past and present life.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately the bible is a story of salvation, of God&#8217;s interjection of his meaning into our world, and for Christians, of God&#8217;s interjection of His Spirit and His Son into human history. \u00a0It is an invitation to shape our understanding of the meaning of our lives in their totality and to live in the world that that understanding creates.\u00a0 This is why it is so important to come to grips with what the bible is telling us.<\/p>\n<p>Any comments, questions, observations, opinions are welcomed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Review of Session Ten\u00a0 Annette started us off by asking the meaning of Gen: 4: 20 \u2013 22.\u00a0 http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/genesis\/4.\u00a0 Like so many questions that Genesis raises for us, the question itself has assumptions.\u00a0 These three verses state that all who &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/?p=272\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=272"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":276,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions\/276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}