Don't Break the Chain: Bible Style.

I started reading Luke yesterday because of something I started doing called "Don't Break the Chain." I learned it from YouTuber charlieissocoollike in his video, where he learned it from a video that learned it from Jerry Seinfeld. Charlie explains it in the video, but basically what I'm doing is reading the Bible/writing about it/praying or meditating about it for 30 minutes every day. I pick one of those three to do, and I get to make a chain on a calendar when I do it. ... Just watch the video. It'll make more sense.

At first, I was only going to read the Bible. But as I was reading it, I remembered what I'd learned from Dr. Baloian's class for Exo/Deut, and I realized that simply reading for half an hour wasn't going to do anything. The Bible isn't like an anthology where you get to pick a chapter and start reading. Well, you can do that. I do that. But if you do, you won't get the whole point of it. You need to think. Mediate, like Bruner's Lectio Divina that he likes talking about. So I realized that I needed to think about it and draw conclusions, and what better place to draw conclusions than in a blog that nobody reads?

I remember Baloian saying that when the books or chapters of the Bible repeat themselves, like Jesus's life four times over, it is like adding an exclamation point to the topic, but it also reframes it.
For instance, there are two creation stories in Genesis because the second one, chapter two, focuses on the creation of Adam and Eve. It's exclamation-pointing Man as the most important element of the creation story (because God freaking loves us, man!). And Deuteronomy restates the laws and history that were in parts of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Why do we need the laws so many times? They're boring (mostly; some of them are really obscure)! But the books of Deuteronomy reframes the laws to focus on love. In Deuteronomy, the key to understanding the law is love, because love is the reason that you obey and the reason that God gave the laws. Deuteronomy also happens to be Moses's farewell address because he's going to die soon. But that's another story.

And so this is going to be what the next blogs are mostly going to be about. There will be some oddballs, but mostly not. I hope. Whatever happens, happens. Maybe God'll tell me what to say. ;)

btw, if anyone wants to read more, just buy From Creation to Cross by Baylis. Or sneak a peek of pages 146 to 158 on Amazon.