Over the last few months and especially in the last few days I have been getting very heavy traffic all aiming at one particular file on another of my sites. The hits are geterated by multiple GET commands for the same file. This results in considerable bandwidth leaching. I have begun using IP Deny for those IP addresses, but they seem to change from day to day. I tried to contact my hosting company but they are a cheap one and seem uninterested. If anyone has an idea what is happening or has noticed something similar I would be glad to hear from you. tim@carey.ac.nz The IP addresses I traced were all in China, but in several different cities…

John Dyer’s book on technology and spirituality is available FREE today only for Amazon Kindles :)

Judging by his blog posts it will be a great read and a stimulating prompt for thought about what technology is doing to our lives. If I could get a Kindle in time this sort of free offer could prod me into buying one ;)

The biblical studies carnival(s) is(are) up at Scotteriology. Scot provides both smaller and larger versions, illustrating the dearth of nominations, and the work required to produce a good carnival from all the now huge number of blogs and podcasts dealing seriously with the Bible.

Enjoy both the results of nominations: September Biblioblog Carnival: The “Lesser”

And Scotts own selections: September 2011 Biblical Studies Carnival: The “Greater”

Either and both will point you to interesting material you’d have otherwise missed :)

The Thai websitePrachatai (English language section) often has humorous pieces on Thai political and social life by Harrison George. This time in “Frankly Sick” he has a brilliant comment that is more global in scope. Here’s the opening:

 British Prime Minister David Cameron was forced to return from his Tuscan holiday a second time to deal with the widespread turmoil in the financial markets. Night after night, mobs of out-of-control investors had been roaming the markets at will, looting and pillaging with impunity.

Television viewers were horrified at the sight of bankers and hedge fund managers calmly walking away with monthly pay-packets in 6 figures, leaving derelict and moribund economies behind them.

AP is reporting the death of John Stott the long-time father (then grandfather) figure of British Evangelicalism at age 90. This is a passing we shall all (at least Anglophone Christians) mourn.

Yet, of course, John Stott dedicated the royalties of his many highly popular books to the education of Evangelical scholars in places where resources for such scholars are scarce. Through scholarships, a library fund and the preaching initiatives John Stott will continue to impact wider and wider circles of humanity.

John Stott dies, John Stott lives!

This is not the first post in this series, so to understand “where I am coming from you might read these (if you have not) first:

• Biblical understandings of human gender: Part One: Beginnings
• Biblical understandings of human gender: How to read the Bible: Verses are meaningless

• Biblical understandings of human gender: How to read the Bible: Larger passages trump verses

• Biblical understandings of human gender: Part Two: The creation of human gender

In Parts One and Two I considered Genesis chapters One and Two asking what they taught us about God’s designs for gendered humanity. In Part Three we’ll move on to the next chapter (Gen 3) to consider “Gender in a fallen world”.

Martin van Heemskerck via Wikimedia Commons

On my reading this chapter begins:¹

The man and his wife were both naked,² and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:25)

So as we start to read the account of the fall/first sin we do so reminded that humanity is gendered (while I do not think their nakedness is a hint that their sin is sexual, I do think it draws attention to their gendered state).

Right at the start the smart talking serpent addresses himself to the woman. This choice, to speak to the woman rather than the man has been the subject of both serious and lighthearted discussion. Is she the target because she is weak, or because being stronger she will persuade the weaker male? But in fact the choice of the woman is only strange, and in need of comment, if we assume a society (like the ones we live in) where wives should be subordinate to their husbands.³ You take my point, I hope, commentators across the ages have felt that the serpent “ought” to have spoken first to the husband, but the narrator makes no such assumption. The choice is not remarked or commented in the text, because the narrator is aware that we have just heard Gen 1 & 2, and know that such a hierachical view did not describe human gender relations in this world still functioning as its creator designed it.

As we know, the woman and man sin.⁴ The snake has also sinned, since sin is rebellion against God, and not merely breaking his commands.⁵ Therefore, they and indeed the whole creation that they represent, recieves consequences. Among those consequences of sin the woman is told: “your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”⁶ Thus rule by one gender over the other is seen here as a consequence of human sin, just as the way in which weeds make farming bane as well as pleasure is a consequence of that sin, and neither is part of God’s design for the world.

1. You may choose to follow Stephen Langton and consider this the last verse of the previous chapter, in this case ch.3 is not as strongly introduced by the gendered nature of humans, but still the verse sets the scene for ch.3. Or you may think of it as a bridge between episodes, like the ones TV soaps offer, in which case it still introduces ch.3. [Such bridges are common in biblical narrative, Ruth chapters 1 & 2 are linked and separated by 1:22 which summarises ch. 1 and links to ch.2 with its mention of the barley harvest.] 
2. Nakedness is a motif of Gen 3, and the serpent’s cleverness puns with it for he was ‘arum.
3. I know, you can argue  that contemporary Western society does not assume that. Argue away! Most humans today, and across history, and certainly the firsdt hearers of this story, do live in such societies.
4. Yes, she sinned first, having been the one involved in the conversation about the fruit, but the simplicity of “she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.” [Gen 3:6b] makes clear there is little possibility of extra blame or “weakness” involved here.
5. The woman and man rebel perhaps as well as break the command because their motives for eating include: “as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
6. The claim that her “desire” is for some form of ruling over him seems difficult to sustain, the other two uses in Scripture of the word are clear, in Song 7:11 it refers to the man’s desire for his bride, and in Gen 4:7 to sin’s desire for Cain, like a wild beast desiring its prey. However, if Gen 3:16 does express a consequence of the fall that woman will desire to master man it equally and clearly expresses that man’s mastery over woman is such a consequence.

Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth after the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in April. Photo / AP (Taken from the article being commented here.)

I seldom post here about current affairs, I never post about popular culture. I am breaking all the rules here. But I have been thinking a lot recently about humour. Clearly timing is everything, and as part of timing fitting the words or actions to the context.

As far as I know, but what would I know, there is no official global celebration of humour. The physicists and the peaceniks have the Nobel prizes, American (and they are after all the Imperial Power) actors have the Oscars, plumbers have the plumbers guild awards. Indeed, even the common folk who do good works, like caring for the sick and afflicted have some form of honours ceremony, though admittedly most of the time they have to share theirs (on occasions like sovereigns’ birthdays, new years or the election of a different, or more often the same bunch of characters to rule our nation) with people whose only claim to making an outstanding contribution to humanity is shovelling money into corrupt politicians’ pockets. But as far as I know there is no globally recognised measure of achievement in the comic arts :(

So, I propose to announce the top ten funniest comedians of the 20th Century. There are some clear winners, in the Anglophone world:

• the Marx Brothers (to ensure that at least one Imperial candidate makes the short list)
• The Goons
• Montague Python Esq.

Until recently I had thought that those three would suffice the English speakers, leaving seven for speakers of ‘minority languages’ like Chinese… But I am sorry, our national daily has rocked the boat, and my republican leanings, publishing a short collection of gems from a little-known comic genius.

Until now, I had thought HRH the Duke of Edinburgh to be a mostly (unless you are a grouse, pheasant or polo pony) harmless old buffer who happened to be married to a British woman from a German Immigrant family who is our head of state. No longer, the man is revealed in a special 90th birthday celebration number: Prince Philip: Ninety gaffes in ninety years, to be one of the great comics of all time.

Considering the timing how could gems like these have been kept from us all these years?

“I have never been noticeably reticent about talking on subjects about which I know nothing.” Addressing a group of industrialists in 1961.

“People think there’s a rigid class system here, but dukes have even been known to marry chorus girls. Some have even married Americans.” In 2000.

An exchange at a press reception to mark the Golden Jubilee in 2002:
Philip: “Who are you?”
Simon Kelner: “I’m the editor-in-chief of the Independent, Sir.”
Philip: “What are you doing here?”
Kelner: “You invited me.”
Philip: “Well, you didn’t have to come!”

“Oh no, I might catch some ghastly disease.” On a visit to Australia in 1992, when asked if he wanted to stroke a koala bear.

“Damn fool question!” To BBC journalist Caroline Wyatt at a banquet at the Elysée Palace after she asked the Queen if she was enjoying her stay in Paris in 2006.

And at number 90 on their list, though by and large the quality improves as one reads:

“Well, that’s more than you know about anything else then.” Speaking, a touch condescendingly, to Michael Buerk, after being told by the BBC newsreader that he did know about the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Awards in 2004.

Photo from the Assyrian International News Agency site

The war that the West has been pursuing in the Middle East has produced largely debatable results (for the people, the results for the big oil companies may be clearer) but we overlook the “collateral damage”. In Iraq 66 churches have been attacked or bombed since June, 2004. The latest attack (on 31st Oct) cost 46 innocent lives.

How come I get to hear about this ongoing atrocity on Jim West’s blog and not in the “mainstream media”?

Jim West has some funny ideas. Not least about NZ, he really should visit us some time, that way his comments would not look like dilettantism ;)

Just the other day, you’ll find it only 39 pages back in his archives (at a mere fifteen posts per page), he posted a piece about New Zealand’s Hobbit Crisis… For anyone concerned that we have all taken leave of our senses comes timely news of the:

About the only puzzling feature of the table is that the Aussies beat us again, but we’re used to that and can always trot our Muldoon’s most often repeated quote like we always do…

PS: do notice that the category in which we topped the world was education. No wonder all the world’s best brains migrate down here :)

It has been years since I did one of those answer some daft questions and find out which great theologian you are like thingies, so since some of you have posted these:

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

I tried. But this is all I got :( Who or what IS a David Foster Wallace? I already knew I wrote like a total unknown – well until I hit the biblioblog top ten last month, that did wonders for my self-esteem. (Another of the things that is always bigger in the USA ;)