First Sunday of Advent (A)

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The Unknown Day and Hour   Lectionary: 1 Reading 1 -  Isaiah 2:1-5 Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 122: 1-9 Reading 2 -  Romans 13:11-14 Alleluia -  Cf. Psalm 85:8 Gospel -  Matthew 24:37-44 '... Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.' Introduction  As we gather on this First Sunday of Advent , we also mark the beginning of the Church’s new liturgical calendar and a four-week preparation period leading up to Christmas. The word Advent comes from either of two Latin words, which simply mean “to come” (Ad-venire) or “to arrive” (Ad-ventus), and as early as the fourth (4th) century, Christians have had this special time of preparation towards Christmas. Of course, Advent is not merely a countdown to Christmas; Even as we begin the material preparations for the social celebration of Christmas, the liturgical celebrations of these weeks invite us to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus. But what does the co...
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Review: What We Do Not Know About God and People in the Bible

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What We Do Not Know About God and People in the Bible What We Do Not Know About God and People in the Bible by Israel Drazin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a short and extremely interesting book that basically asks questions about scripture (specifically the Book of Genesis) and tradition to which we don’t have any specific answer (and may only speculate and/or presume). There are a few sections where the author provides some context, such as the etymology of some of the words substituted for the name God; however, the majority was simply questions without much exposition. An example from Chapter 2: “If the two trees were dangerous, why did God place then in the garden?” This continues for 22 chapters over nearly 100 pages (so the chapters are obviously very short). For the most part, I found the questions to be good and very thought provoking … and therein lies the primary appeal to this book … many religious communities force conformity to the point that questions are not tolerated; this book not only gives us permission to have questions, but it is also okay to be unable to answer them (or by extension tolerate the diversity of speculations born out of our own imaginations). It was a fun book and highly recommended.

Part One - Over 400 Examples of Obscurities in the Biblical Book Genesis
1. God’s Name
2. God’s Behavior
3. Adam and Eve
4. Cain and Abel
5. A Descendent of Cain
6. Abraham
7. Sarah
8. Visitors
9. The Description of Many Cites
10. New Focus on Abraham
11. Abraham’s Nephew
12. Isaac
13. Rebekah
14. Jacob
15. Patriarchs’ Religious Practices
16. Dinah
17. Judah
18. Rachel
19. Joseph
20. Biblical Chapters

Part Two - Mistaken Idea about Jewish Ethics and Behavior
21. Ethics over Law
22. Way to Worship God


I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#WhatWeDontKnowAboutGod #LibraryThing

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