Blogging the Bible part 11

Ah, the Tower of Babel. And the inconsistencies start with the very first line of chapter 11.

Verse one:

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. (GEN 11:1)

 And here the confusion begins because chapter 10 implies that the descendants of Noah's sons all had their own languages. Chapter 11 also states it was God who scattered the tribes of Noah's sons around the world (GEN 11:9), but chapter 10 implies that they just spread that way - no mention of God doing the scattering is made in chapter 10. Bit of an oversight. There also seems to be some confusion over whether the clans had many languages (GEN 10) or just one (GEN 11). I guess being kind we can say that they started with one language and then ended up with many - but that doesn't deal with the confusion that chapter 10 implies the clans developed their own language and chapter 11 clearly states God simply confused the one language into many.

Jimmy's Rants: Complementary/alternative/quack medicine

Let me make one thing clear right before I start - this is not meant to be a fair or scientific appraisal of complementary, alternative, holistic, whatever new age term people use for non-science based, medicine. There's so much of that out there it is frankly baffling that people still try it or claim it works. Try looking on Pub Med or any of the many skeptical and critical thinking websites (Steven Novella's NeuroLogica blog, Science Based Medicine and Orac's Respectful Insolence being some of the best) that have over many years carefully demolished the claims of the alt-med crowd.

This is just me, ranting about alt-med nonsense.

No really. Your thoughts don't guide, control or create the Universe

There are people out there who think that astronomical objects control or create their destiny and/or personalities. There are people out there who think their thoughts shape the Universe. There are people out there who think that what they experience is created (not 'percieved' or 'interpreted', 'created') by their thoughts. There are people out there who think that their thoughts somehow guide or control what happens in the Universe. There are even people who think that the Universe will align with their thoughts and desires and give them what they want. There are people out there who treat the Universe like it is some sort of sentient being that pays attention to them. There are people out there that think a combination or variation of all of these things. Most of them can be found believing in any form of astrology, The Secret or the Law of Attraction, or all of them, or something resembling any of them.

They're all idiots. Well alright. I'll concede that some of them might just be nuts. Fine, I might even concede that some of them might just be really uninformed. Maybe even just guilty of lacking imagination.

Jimmy's Rants: Is modern society really so ridiculous?

So a person who plays golf for a living and endorses a few products has been found to be knobbing a few women who weren't his wife. Who cares? Well, everyone. If the media is anything to go by.

So I have to ask, is modern society really so pointless that the sexual goings on of a guy who hits small balls around fields for a living seems to be earth shatteringly important? Because I am quite sure there are much more important things we should be concerned about. Yet here we are, three weeks later, still hearing about Tiger Woods.

Just some randomness

Just wanted to point everyone who might read this over to a mate's blog. I think you might like it.

Notes from the Right Side of the Bed

Also wanted to bring to the attention of anyone who leads a sheltered internet life the existence of the awesomeness (it's my blog, I'll invent words if I want to) that is Where the Hell is Matt? If you haven't seen this yet, why the hell not? I defy you not to smile when watching his videos. If you don't, then yes everyone is right. You are a humourless uptight tool.

Justice, politics or bollocks?

OK, now the media furore has died down and this has slipped back beneath the short attention span of the American population I wanted to bring this up, the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others in New York.

Is it just me that thinks this is nothing more than political grand standing by President Obama's administration? This strikes me as more of a sop to the 'liberal' side of American life and politics than anything else. It seems like an attempt to look like the current administration is making amends for the fuck ups of the previous one but without actually doing that much.

Blogging the Bible part 10

Genesis chapter 10 now, The Table of Nations. Basically a worthless chapter, unless you like stuff about the made up origins of tribes and cities. There are a few things worth commenting on however.

GEN 10:2 begins "The sons of Japheth:" but we are also told in the footnotes that 'sons' could also be 'descendants', 'successors' or 'nations' in this and many of the other verses of this chapter. Now call me a dirty unbeliever if you will, but when one pretty insignificant word can be interpreted or translated in such a wide way, in fact so widely that the meaning of the sentence can be utterly different with every differing interpretation, how is one supposed to take something in the Bible literally and not look like a drooling idiot?