tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665035552034685656.post3514255484610488067..comments2020-10-25T05:56:29.229-04:00Comments on The Meekonomics Project: The Tower of Babel and the Real Modern Day BabylonLauren Sheilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14195946640778451563noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665035552034685656.post-45862626854576556072011-02-12T16:45:46.340-05:002011-02-12T16:45:46.340-05:00Very insightful, thanks for sharing:)Very insightful, thanks for sharing:)Toyin O.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08429675861306256504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665035552034685656.post-413523905429967222011-02-12T08:57:53.274-05:002011-02-12T08:57:53.274-05:00I maintain that pride and arrogance are behaviours...I maintain that pride and arrogance are behaviours that are driven by something else usually emotions like fear.Lauren Sheilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14195946640778451563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665035552034685656.post-43029517239168122242011-02-11T16:26:52.933-05:002011-02-11T16:26:52.933-05:00Lauren,
My apologies, if I misunderstood what you ...Lauren,<br />My apologies, if I misunderstood what you were trying to say. But I’m not so sure I did. I don’t think fear was all that much of a factor here within the story of the tower of Babel. I actually went back and read through the “Letter to America” blog again and all the comments. (I missed many of the comments after the Jimmy Carter comments due to a problematic internet connection the past two weeks)<br />That was interesting…Hmmm..<br />At any rate…<br />I do not see that their pride and arrogance was born of fear. The only thing clear to me in the reading of Genesis 11 is that God will not permit us humans to replace Him as the supreme entity of the universe; or allow us to become as gods, or think we are gods and worship our ourselves or our accomplishments. We have a place and purpose in Gods Creation and sitting on the Almighty’s throne, playing the role of the Almighty himself is not that place, weather it be in our beliefs that we know better or in hearts and minds; Etc. and I’m not so sure they knew or realized the repercussions of their actions of disobedience and or their pride and arrogance. If anything I think their pride and arrogance was born of resentment.<br />I will take you word for it that you did not mean to belittle the importance of the story. I guess I will have we will just have to disagree on that point above. And yes I did misunderstand the point about Nimrod not being a real person vs. not his real name…(that comment was funny as hell “like my father naming me shithead” {still laughing here})..Too funny.<br />In as far as Nimrod not being his real name (again I was wrong. And or misunderstood you) I did a little research since I posted my last comment and found some interesting reading about just who Nimrod may have been and or what his real name may have been. (very fascinating and thought provoking)<br />http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=295&letter=N<br />One school of thought is that Nimrod may have been the person of Gilgamesh. ( I do not agree with this theory as Gilgamesh was not the fist king nor is he listed in the list of kings…But fascinating reading just the same…) check it out.<br />At any rate all that being said I must admit I am a little confused as to how the story of the tower of Babel fits into the theme of the “letter to America” blog and I did not comment on that blog for a couple reasons; one being I wasn’t sure what to say or where exactly I stand on how much or how little the US should be involved in the movement toward a one world government. That is way out of my league and is a very; very deep (and scary {yep there’s that “F” word…Fear) thought and discussion. (One could fill a library with writings on this topic) but generally speaking I disagree but then again we need to in order to protect our nation, and our rights and values; but any way the other reason was a very temperamental and unreliable internet connection.The Wired Journalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04038615553661279539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665035552034685656.post-12623991897264342052011-02-10T06:38:20.243-05:002011-02-10T06:38:20.243-05:00Wired
I think you are missing the key motivating ...Wired<br /><br />I think you are missing the key motivating factor behind the pride and arrogance here; fear. It is clear to me from my reading of the text that the people knew what was going to happen and tried to delay the inevitable, their pride and arrogance was born of fear. When you strip it all way, fear is often the motivator behind a lot of prideful and arrogant behavior in the world today <br /><br />I didn't mean to belittle the importance of the story but I did seek to put in it's place in the broader arc of Genesis. Genesis follows a pattern; creation, fall, restitution, restoration - over and over again. It starts with Adam and Eve, then Noah and finally Abraham. Nimrod's story fits in as the fall after the restoration/creation of the flood. <br /><br />I did not say that Nimrod may not have been a real person, I said it may not have been his real name. Who names their child, fresh out of the whom Rebel? That would be like my father naming me Shit-head before I took my first breath, he called me that a few times when I did something stupid but it's not my name. The Bible is full of stories that refer to people only in terms of nick-names or titles, "the rich young ruler", the "good Samaritan" etc who's true identity has been masked by their actions. I am merely postulating that this may have been one of those instances, I don't know for sure and I never will.Lauren Sheilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14195946640778451563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665035552034685656.post-43546426580551246542011-02-09T15:04:35.878-05:002011-02-09T15:04:35.878-05:00Lauren,
I think the various stories in the bible c...Lauren,<br />I think the various stories in the bible can be interpreted in a number of ways (obviously). But there is always a basic truth and lesson involved. I guess I also think there is no harm in sometimes straying from the main point and message in order to attempt to give others some incite and understanding but at the same time we must never lose sight of the main point and message being conveyed by the author; nor should we ever misrepresent it. We must use extreme caution when doing so; so as to not mislead others.<br /><br />That being said…<br /><br />Whatever analogy you or the readers and commenters’ wish to use here in reference to the story of the Tower of Babel; I think we need to understand first and foremost the true message being conveyed. Which is the pride and arrogance of man and the ultimate seventy of the Lord God almighty.<br /><br />Furthermore I think for you to state that Mosses felt this story to be unimportant and to want to move on with his writing is a grave mistake and misrepresentation of the importance of “all scripture”…to say it has little importance merely because it is a short story is a classic example that parallels the arrogance of the those that were attempting to build the Tower of Babel. <br /> <br />Your quote below…<br /><br />(At just nine verses, the story of The Tower of Babel [Genesis 11:1-9] is a relatively short account, a mere foot note in the broader arc of Genesis. That fact alone should give readers an idea of how much importance the author wanted to give it. It’s as if the he was saying, “yes this happened but it isn’t really that important so let’s move on.”)<br /><br />You summed up the whole story perfectly with the Hebrew meaning of Nimrods name meaning Rebel but then crashed and burned by stating Nimrod may not have been a real person…. He was!!! His name is in the genealogy thus he was real flesh. I don’t think Moses was attempting to protect his identity or family.<br /><br />At any rate their refusal to disperse throughout the earth and stay in that land was a direct act of disobedience. The motives of the people and their decision to built a city and tower is clearly visible… “Pride” and “arrogance” they placed themselves and their knowledge above God. They wanted recognition as god’s (so to speak). <br /><br />Rick has an interesting spin on his analogy and some very good points.<br /><br />I like to think of this story in term of this…<br />Bricks could represent inflated egos and the slime they used for mortar could represent pride.The Wired Journalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04038615553661279539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665035552034685656.post-87811668253650375312011-02-07T09:45:36.933-05:002011-02-07T09:45:36.933-05:00While I like your post, especially as it stands in...While I like your post, especially as it stands in opposition to the reader's comment, I'm not so sure it's based on a completely accurate interpretation. It seems that you probably have the motivations behind the tower building correct, but behold, God's response to this in Genesis 11:5-7:<br /><br />But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." NIV<br /><br />This is not about being insular, or about being materialistic, or about the need for diversity.<br /><br />God thought that a mankind united in one common language could do absolutely anything. In God's words: "nothing they plan to do will be impossible."<br /><br />This might be worth some meditation... :-)TWFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06016277303703254572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665035552034685656.post-67702820202607106032011-02-06T16:04:23.692-05:002011-02-06T16:04:23.692-05:00I never thought of it that way Aharon, thanks for ...I never thought of it that way Aharon, thanks for the insight. I like the ideal Babel as the gift of diversity. I'll think about that...Lauren Sheilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14195946640778451563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665035552034685656.post-16922263112730002012011-02-06T09:03:56.153-05:002011-02-06T09:03:56.153-05:00I once heard a Rabbi (Reform) explain Babel not as...I once heard a Rabbi (Reform) explain Babel not as a punishment, but as a gift, namely diversity. When all speak the same language and are of the "same things" you get young men in some colored shirt marching the streets of Rome, Madrid and others cities shouting Unidad or Unita behind the rule of a Fascist leader. So let us hear a cheer for the scattering and the freedom to be different!Aharon Eviatarhttp://www.tau.ac.il/~arkeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665035552034685656.post-54417771463560755802011-02-06T08:33:26.603-05:002011-02-06T08:33:26.603-05:00You could be right. It's fun trying to interpr...You could be right. It's fun trying to interpret the Bible. I've always heard it described this way (of course I couldn't possibly word it as nicely as those who study the Bible for a living):<br /><br />"They used brick instead of stone, and slime instead of mortar." Rather, they had their priorities in the wrong order. They put materialism before virtues. Stone represents oneness with God, and they used brick (which represents stuff). To bind the brick they used slime instead of mortar. Slime represents materialism. Thus, they had their priorities in the wrong order. They lacked virtues and values. The tower was representative of an attempt to get to Heaven without God. Those who follow God are virtuous and have their priorities in the right order. Everything will work out right. If you put your stuff before your God, you are doomed to repeat the Tower of Babel; you are thus confused. If you as a person spend all your time on riding your motor cycles and snowmobiles and spending your time and money on more and more material items, and you put all that "stuff" or "slime" before your wife, your marriage won't work. If you put your stuff before God, your life won't work. You will end up losing not only your God but your wife. Your life will be all confounded. I describe it in more detail <a href="http://respiratorytherapycave.blogspot.com/2011/02/lessons-of-tower-of-babel.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>Rick Freahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01132949384071592216noreply@blogger.com