Notes: Joshua 1-4

Joshua 1-4

Bible Narrative Project

Readings to discuss:
Conquest of Canaan
Did God Command Genocide in the Old Testament?

Chapter one. It’s go time. Be strong and courageous. The two and half tribes are reminded of their obligation to help fight.

Chapter two. Rahab. Sort of reminds me of Tamar. It’s interesting how such women make it in to this grand narrative, isn’t it? Also reminds me of the deliverance of Lot (and Noah)–and Israel’s firstborn. It’s so cool to hear that Israel and her God’s reputation precedes her.

Chapter three: The waters of the Jordan are stopped and the ark stands in the way for Israel to pass on dry ground. As if Jericho weren’t terrified enough. Does wonders for Israel’s confidence in God’s choice of Joshua as they head toward Jericho.

Chapter four: A more correct translation would be “the twelve stones that had been in”.

It’s interesting. We have Rahab and the scarlet cord, parallel to Israel’s Passover. This is followed by crossing the Jordan the way they crossed the Red Sea.

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Notes: Deuteronomy 32-34, Psalm 91

Deuteronomy 32-34Psalm 91

Bible Narrative Project

The song of Moses, God telling Moses how he would soon die, the blessing (final words) of Moses (compare with Jacob’s blessings on his sons in Gen 49), and the death of Moses. Like Aaron and Jesus, he just goes and breathes his last seemingly at will (though his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated). Like Aaron the people mourn for him thirty days. Again, Moses cannot go into the Promised Land because he struck the rock twice to get water out of it, instead of speaking to it, as God had commanded. But check out the last three verses.

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Notes: Deuteronomy 30-31

Deuteronomy 30-31

Bible Narrative Project

The continued very long goodbye of a very great man. He prophecies restoration, he urges them to choose life, he gives further counsel, he prophecies that Israel will fall away, and writes a song about it to remind them when it comes to pass. Seems like 31:23-29 should go at the end of 33.

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Notes: Deuteronomy 28-29

Deuteronomy 28-29

Bible Narrative Project

Blessings opposite the cursings of the previous chapter, followed by still more warnings of (downright horrible) consequences if they go their own way. Also, the covenant in Moab.

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Notes: Deuteronomy 25:17-ch27

Deuteronomy 25:17-ch27

Bible Narrative Project

Amalek is in for it, the offering of the first fruits is set up, and 12 curses are proclaimed from Mount Ebal. Next up…blessings opposite from the curses.

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Hume’s is-ought, Plato’s true-justified, Euthyphro’s dilemma and Gettier’s problem

Hume‘s is-ought (fact-value) distinction is the same as Plato‘s true-justified distinction.  When is/true/fact and ought/justified/value are not kept distinct, the Euthyphro dilemma as applied to epistemology ensues:  Are we justified in believing (ought we believe) merely because our belief is true (can truth justify belief without evidence?), or is our belief true because we are justified in believing (because we ought to believe)(does evidence make belief true?)?

The solution:  Our belief is 1) justified (we ought to believe) by the evidence, and 2) true by correspondenceGettier’s problem examples, though meant to challenge Plato‘s justified-true-belief theory of knowledge, show that just because a belief is true (is), does not make it justified (ought), and just because a belief is justified (ought), does not make it true (is).  Gettier’s problem and Euthyphro’s dilemma only arise when we get is/true and ought/justified tangled together (Hume’s is-ought problem), when we forget to keep them distinct, as Plato kept them in his requirement that belief be “both” justified “and” true, in order to count as knowledge.

Draw a Venn diagram. In the top circle write, “What we want to be true,” in the bottom left circle write, “What we acknowledge is true,” and in the bottom right circle write, “What we recognize is true.”

[Note on belief scales:  There can be degrees of justification, but truth is either/or.  This means that beliefs cannot be “more or less” true (known), only “more or less” justified (believed)–that is why apisticism (lack of belief) is the mid-range (or ‘on the equator’) between polar beliefs (like atheism/theism), not agnosticism (lack of knowledge, as a conclusion–as opposed to Huxley’s process of questioning, pre-conclusion).]

Relevant posts which go into more detail on the above:
The New, New Theism
Replacing Agnosticism with Apisticism
Is-ought fallacy and knowledge as justified-true-belief
Norris, Gettier, Euthyphro, Hume and Plato: Is knowledge justified true belief?
Answering Gettier
Atheism and agnosticism (really, apisticism) as belief
Natural law, divine command and Euthyphro’s dilemma resolved using Hume’s is-ought distinction

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Notes: Deuteronomy 11

Deuteronomy 11

Bible Narrative Project

A preview of how awesome the land is that they will be entering, how awesome things will be for them if they stay under the Lord’s wing, and how not awesome they will be if they don’t.

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Notes: Deuteronomy 8-10

Deuteronomy 8-10

Bible Narrative Project

Moses reminds Israel how God helped them, how they provoked him but he loved them anyway and they are to do the same.

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Notes: Deuteronomy 5-7

Deuteronomy 5-7

Bible Narrative Project

What would you tell your children if they had to go on through the rest of your life without you? That is what Moses is doing here. He is repeating the 10 Commandments, he is reminding them of how God used him to rescue them out of Egypt and be God’s prophet for them so they would not be terrified. He is reminding them that God loved them not because of anything they did or how awesome they were, because they weren’t awesome. He is warning them to stick close to God. He is reminding them of God’s promises and that he will keep them.

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Notes: Deuteronomy 3-4

Deuteronomy 3-4

Bible Narrative Project

The history review is caught up to the then-present and Israel is urged to obey the God who brought them out of Egypt. “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.” (Deut. 4:29)

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