To Be Fair, Jacob DID Stop Bathing A Month Before The Match
In Gen. 32:24-32 Jacob wrestles with God! During this bizarre incident God touches Jacob’s thigh and dislocates it. But Jacob still prevails over God! God pleads with Jacob to release him but Jacob will only release him after God blesses him. As a result of this incident, Jews will not eat of “the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh.” Are the Jewish people insane? How do they justify such a bizarre reasoning?
Doubting Thomas' Weblog 
February 6, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Fundamentalists and atheists have no imagination. The little bit of etiological folklore is charming and moving. I agree with you, the reasoning from the wrestling match to the rules of Kashrut are a bit of a stretch to me–I’m not a Jew. But since diet is an important part of their religion–it must have made sense to a Jewish way of thinking 2500 years ago.
But the other part, about God taking on a human form to make himself known to a human being–the ancestor of the Jewish people–and God making himself vulnerable.–I find that moving. Maybe it’s because I’m a father, and I have had the experience of wrestling with my young son and letting him win.
It is also moving in that the whole story of Jacob’s life is that of trying to take by force or deception what God wanted to give him as a gift. And so, since Jacob doesn’t “get it,” God condescends to let him do it his way.
I can imagine how you would read Shakespeare: What a stupid story. Two people in love have to die just so the adults can get over their stupid feud. That’s not fair. And the whole sleeping potion thing–come on, I’m not buying it. And then Juliet just happens to wake up a minute too late and find Romeo dead–give me a break. And then, the whole story glorifies suicide. Get real–every teenager gets a broken heart, but you get over it, you don’t kill yourself . . .
February 7, 2008 at 2:42 am
Mark, thanks for your comment. But I must clarify something for you. I am an Atheist and a bible literalist. The reason for this is because I can’t accept the idea of an all powerful god allowing the book that represents him and his religion to be filled with misconceptions, lies, fairy tales and errors. I do appreciate what you are trying to say regarding the above passage of the bible but you must understand, this is YOUR interpretation of this story. How many of the 80+ sects of Christianity would agree with your particular viewpoint? Why should I accept YOUR interpretation over theirs? What makes yours more legitimate? And I don’t get the Shakespeare comparison. How does my accepting the stories depicted in the bible as truth make me such an unromantic buffoon?
DoubtingThomas