Showing posts with label Brian Godawa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brian Godawa. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 02, 2019
Friday, March 09, 2018
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Friday, September 29, 2017
Wednesday, March 08, 2017
Friday, November 11, 2016
Sunday, August 21, 2016
A Resource For Christian Analysis Of The Paranormal
ANNOYED PINOY recently directed my attention to a new podcast on paranormal phenomena that's hosted by Christians.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Friday, January 15, 2016
Friday, January 08, 2016
The Book of Jashar
The ancient Book of Jasher was a source text for both Joshua and David’s stories (Josh. 10:13, 2 Sam. 1:18). The extant version we have of the Book of Jasher, though dubitable, tells of two different stories that contain hybrid creatures that may be similar to the lion-men of Moab or the satyrs of Banias.
http://godawa.com/theology/myth-bible-part-10-lion-men-moab/
I don't follow Brian's logic on this point. He begins by referencing the ancient book of Jasher, then switches to "the extant version" which, by his own admission, is "dubitable."
So why does he proceed to quote it? To my knowledge, the ancient book of Jashar (or Jasher) doesn't exist at all. We don't have any extant copies or versions. What we have, instead, are fabrications.
According to one standard reference work:
An ancient writing, no longer extant, mentioned twice in the OT (Josh 10:13; 2 Sam 1:18)…The uncertain and mysterious character of the missing Book of Jashar has led to attempts to reproduce, imitate, or falsify it. An example is a late writing also entitled Book of Jashar, one of the last compositions of the haggadic literature of Judaism…Much of the material is invention, interpolated between Biblical texts, in the author’s desire to reconstruct the original book of Jashar. Many legends are added to the Biblical narrative. The account of Abraham is given in elaborate detail, including stories of his two journeys to see his son Ishmael, and of an apparition of a star. It contains a detailed explanation of the murder of Abel by Cain.
It is believed by some scholars that this attempt to reconstruct the OT Book of Jashar originated in southern Italy. The author was familiar with Italian place names, and the Arabic names in the book are due to the strong influence of Islamic culture in that region. The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible (Zondervan, rev. ed., 2009), 3:469.
Brian references a self-published edition by some guy named Ken Johnson, whose credentials are elusive. This source has zero credibility.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Monday, December 14, 2015
Skinwalkers
Brian Godawa has a provocative post on werelions:
Several issues:
i) I appreciate Brian's commitment to supernaturalism. And no doubt some commentators prematurely dismiss certain interpretive options due to their explicit or implicit naturalistic bias.
ii) Since, to my knowledge (not having read them), Brian's novels are midrashic versions of Bible stories, a degree of literary license is permissible.
That said, there's the danger of making Scripture look foolish by populating his midrashim with critters from Hollywood horror flicks.
iii) His exegetical justification for identifying werelions in Scripture is tenuous and dubious. Begin with a rare, obscure word in 2 Sam 23:20.
He supplements that by appeal to a synoptic passage in 1 Chron 12:8: "whose faces were like the faces of lions."
That, however, is naturally understood as a simile, like Richard the Lionheart.
He then appeals to a passage from the Gnostic Nag Hammadi literature. That's glossing a description from about the 10C BC (David's time) by reference to a text from the 4C AD. And, of course, Gnosticism didn't exist in any form in David's time. Not even close. To my knowledge, Gnosticism is a Christian heresy.
His best bet is the Mesha Stele. Of course, theriomorphism is commonplace in ANE paganism–as well as Hinduism.
iv) However, let's explore this line of thought. To my knowledge, legends of shapeshifters are widespread in folklore–in North and South America, Africa, and elsewhere. Werewolves, werejaguars, werelions, &c. How do we account for that?
a) Many of these cultures are oral cultures, so its impossible to gauge the antiquity of their legends. And oral transmission can undergo legendary embellishment that's far removed from whatever originally inspired it. Moreover, shapeshifting motifs may be widespread, not due to the extent of their experience, but cultural diffusion.
In our own time, there's cross-pollination as shapeshifting legends inspire horror films, which in turn embellish the original legends.
b) It's not surprising that pagans wish to absorb the spirit of a respected animal, to acquire its special abilities. Shapeshifting is a projection or representation of that desire.
c) Sometimes, these might be bedtime stories or campfire stories to spook little kids. Deter them from venturing into the woods unaccompanied.
d) (a-c) are naturalistic explanations. A supernaturalistic explanation that falls short of actual metamorphosis would be animal possession. Can the soul of a witchdoctor possess an animal? Can the spirit of an animal (assuming animals have spirits) possess a witchdoctor? Perhaps.
e) Finally, can those who practice witchcraft actually shapeshift? Perhaps.
v) But if werewolves and other suchlike actually exist, why have they never been shot or captured? In Hollywood lore, a werewolf that's killed reverts to human form. So there'd be no evidence that it was or wasn't a werewolf. Likewise, a captured werewolf could shift back to human form. In that respect, the theory is unfalsifiable. Lack of direct evidence is consistent with their existence. But you pay a price for that move: there's no positive evidence for their existence.
There are, of course, reported sightings. How we assess that depends on the usual considerations. Was it seen under conditions of low visibility? Were observers in an agitated state that clouded their perception? Are they just telling telltales?
vi) Assuming, for the sake of argument, that shapeshifters exist, imagine a paleontologist discovering a fossilized shapeshifter. That would be a "transitional form"! A "missing link"!
Monday, November 23, 2015
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Jesus Was a Giant Killer
So long as you can mentally screen out his Nephilim hobbyhorse, there's some good material here on the Angel of the Lord as an OT Christophany:
http://godawa.com/movieblog/jesus-was-a-giant-killer/#more-1806
http://godawa.com/movieblog/jesus-was-a-giant-killer/#more-1806
Friday, February 20, 2015
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Friday, February 06, 2015
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
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