Second post of the day (pictures)

Yes, sad but true. I am posting two blog entries in one day. Tsk tsk. However, I've been meaning to post pictures on here for a while. So i hope you enjoy. :-)

Robbie giving Tim a massage... well, we thought it as out of the goodness of his heart, but maybe some revenge was being exacted. J/k. :-)

A group get-together at our Professors house. This was the goofy group picture.

Playing "Crocpong" or "Pongigator"... not sure how that happened but we all decided it would be a good idea to play ping-pong in a crocidile type way... showing only our eyes above-surface.

At another get-together, Robbie and me listening to someone expounding on something important. Don't we look enthralled. :-)

Me and a cute baby at Church.

These three photo's are from when Laura, Allison and I were at the hotel for the Pioneer Bible Translator's conference. Okay so we had been mature, responsible and adult-ish all day. We needed to let our true natures loose. :-)

And again, us three Amiga's at the professors get-together.

Robbie's version of romance: Ask to hold the lady's hand when the 'gentleman's' hands are covered in barbecue sauce. Be still my beating heart. :-)

~Princess Ouch~

City of God, City of Satan

This semester I am taking Urban Missions for one of my classes. One of the books, "City of God, City of Satan: A Biblical Theology of the Urban Church," has given me some interesting food for thought. The following excerpt is from my reading for the week:

"An even more graphic portrayal of this urban biblical theme is expressed in the etymology of the word Jerusalem. The traditional interpretation given to the name is "city of peace." But biblical scholars such as Millar Burrows have pointed out that the name actually means "foundation of Shalem." The traditional interpretation, "city of peace," is etymologically unfounded.
The first references to Jerusalem in the Bible are found in Genesis 12:18 and Psalm 76:2, where it is called in Hebrew Shalem (in English, "Salem"). Melchizedek is referred to in Genesis 14:18 as "king of Salem" and "priest of God Most High." In this story Abraham obviously considers Melchizedek a superior because he was the conveyor of God's peace (and thus his attributes are assigned to the city of which he was king). But there is nothing to support that contention in Scripture itself. Both in Genesis 14 and in Psalm 110 he is called simply a priest, and in the former, "king of Salem."
The earliest known names for Jerusalem were Urushalim (the Egyptian Execration Texts, c. 1850 B.C) or Shalem. Apparently the city received the name Jerusalem only after King David annexed it to Israel and made it his capital (2 Sam. 5:6-12).
Since the root name for Jerusalem is Urushalim or Shalem, we have to ask the question, "Who or what is Shalem?" Shalem was the local god of pre-Israelite Canaan. It was the god symbolized in the planet Venus, the evening star. After the Israelite conquest, Shalem was identified with the Canaanite gods Ashtar and Molech. These gods were in reality the Canaanite manifestations of the "international" deity - Baal.
Does the name JErusalem have anything to do with peace? Obviously, the HEbrew words shalem and shalom ("peace") are virtually identical. Is there a relationship? Apparently there is. In the Canaanite language, the god's name Shalem actually meant "completion." This meaning evolving from the Canaanites' perception of Shalem as Venus, the evening star - which completed the day. Therefore, as time went on and language evolved, the word shalemcame to be identified with a place - Jerusalem - and with the concept of "completion" or "fulfillment." This became the base for the later Israelite word shalom or "peace." But one should not then make the mistake of assuming that the name of David's ciy was Jerushalom. It was not. It was Jerushalem.
If the city of Urushalim or Shalem means "foundation of Shalem," or the city of Shalem, what, then, does the prefix Je mean? It is the anglicized version of the Hebre word Yah and thus an abbreviation for the word Yahweh! When King David conquered Jerusalem, he added the name of his and Israel's God to the name of a city that previously had been named for the god Shalem. The name Yahweh as not substituted for the name of Shalem; it was added to it!
In the very name Jerusalem is expressed the tension of every city. It is Je-rusalem - the city of Yahweh, of God. It is Jeru-salem - the city of Baal (or Satan). Jerusalem is the city of Yaheh. Jerusalem is the city of Baal. It is a city that contains the pwoer and influence of both forces within its walls. The very name of Israel's primary (and idealized) city expresses the foundational urban message of the Bible. Jerusalem - and every city - is the battleground beteen God and Satan for domination of its people and their structures.

Happy New year!!!

Well, the new year is here! I've been in a week-long intensive class for Pioneer Bible Translation (go to their website at http://www.pioneerbible.org/cms/tiki-index.php)this last week (thanks to the Stephens family for sponsoring me to do that!!!) and it was AMAZING. This was after Mom drove me three hours one-way to meet my friend Amy who then drove with me the rest of the 14 hours back to college-ville. It was good but we both got a little cabin fever and at a few points were just plain silly. Like we passed this exit for a place called "Dubuque" in Illinois. Well, of course it's probably a French word originally, and so pronounced "doo-BECK." However, we decided we would see how many different ways we could pronounce it whenever we saw it on a sign or map, and occasionally made fun of any other bizarrely named township. We came up with "DOO-bee-cue", "doo-BECK-ee", "dubbuck", "Dew-beck-QUEE", and of course lapsed into peals of semi-hysterical, cabin-fevered, 'been-in-the-car-too-long' giggles after each rendition.
After arriving here I stayed at my friend's Rachel and Stacey and caught up to speed with friends and Robbie about how Christmas had gone, etc.
Pioneer was that next week, and then I moved into my new apartment with room mate from Nagaland, India, named Priskali. Our second room mate - also from Nagaland - Tadong, will arrive tomorrow. We're waiting for another girl to move out on February 1st before we get our furniture all moved in and arranged.
I only have classes on Mondays and Thursdays this semester, which I'm kind of excited about, but we'll see how crazy this semester goes.
Anyhoo, that is all for now. My New Years Resolution (again) is to try and update this more regularly, but as I ALWAYS say that and ALWAYS don't follow through, don't hold your breath.

~Princess Ouch~