Alice C. Linsley
Does the world really need another blog? Probably not. However, a blog dedicated to the study of the first book of the Bible might be useful. Genesis is the seed-plot of the entire Bible, containing in seedling form all the major doctrines in the Bible and the Proto-Gospel of Jesus, the Son of God. Detailed anthropological, linguistic, and archaeological study of the book reveals the origins of Messianic expectation among Abraham's Kushite ancestors.
Pastors, priests, seminary students, and interested lay people would find the material here helpful in making sense of the most controversial book of the Bible. Anthropologists, linguists and archaeologists might also find the data interesting and informative.
I've been writing for publication for 20 years. I share that flaw common to all writers: we believe that we actually have something important to say. This writer has had over 428 publications, including fiction, poetry, essays and scholarly articles. Very few of those publications have meant as much to me as what I will publish at this blog in the years ahead.
As I approach my 58th year, my thoughts have clarified. My mind no longer runs after white rabbits. My interests have distilled to this pot liquor. Some will not like the taste, but that’s okay. Thankfully, I’ve passed that time in life when pleasing people matters. What matters is sharing what I’ve learned about Abraham and his ancestors who believed in the resurrection of the body and lived in expectation of the fulfillment of a promise made to them (Gen. 3:15) that a woman of their ruler-priest lines would miraculously conceive the Son of God, and that her Seed would crush the serpent's head and restore perfect communion with God.
I was first asked to teach Genesis to a group of women in my church in 1983. I dutifully read, researched, produced a study guide and lead the class in a 15-week study. I tried to answer questions that the women asked, but found that many of the answers I offer from commentaries didn’t satisfy. They were the answers of men who didn’t know about the Horite beliefs of Abraham and his people.
As an anthropologist, I know how important it is to understand the culture. I’ve lived in the South Pacific, Spain, Greece, and Iran. The people I befriended would not have become my friends if I hadn’t attempted to understand their cultures. Likewise, the figures of Genesis have become flesh and bone as I’ve attempted to understand features of their culture, cosmology and religion.
When teaching Genesis that first time, my mind was teased by the unanswered questions:
“If Adam and Eve were the only people on earth, where did their sons find wives?”
“If the flood covered the entire surface of the earth, where did all that water go, seeing there is a fixed amount of water in the biosphere?”
"Did God wipe out Cain's line?"
Through hours of reading and re-reading, through reflection, research and a good number of serendipitous discoveries, I came to know enough about Genesis that I felt I could start this blog. It is dedicated to continued exploration of Genesis, a single book of the Bible. Such a narrow focus does not invite a wide readership, but I’m not concerned. Let there be even one inquisitive mind to mull over a single provocative fact, and I’ll be content. I hope to make friends with others who share my obsession with Genesis, a profoundly meaningful book with remarkable implications for the modern world.
Related reading: My Method; Genesis Has Strengthened My Faith; Alice C. Linsley's Research on Genesis
Does the world really need another blog? Probably not. However, a blog dedicated to the study of the first book of the Bible might be useful. Genesis is the seed-plot of the entire Bible, containing in seedling form all the major doctrines in the Bible and the Proto-Gospel of Jesus, the Son of God. Detailed anthropological, linguistic, and archaeological study of the book reveals the origins of Messianic expectation among Abraham's Kushite ancestors.
Pastors, priests, seminary students, and interested lay people would find the material here helpful in making sense of the most controversial book of the Bible. Anthropologists, linguists and archaeologists might also find the data interesting and informative.
I've been writing for publication for 20 years. I share that flaw common to all writers: we believe that we actually have something important to say. This writer has had over 428 publications, including fiction, poetry, essays and scholarly articles. Very few of those publications have meant as much to me as what I will publish at this blog in the years ahead.
As I approach my 58th year, my thoughts have clarified. My mind no longer runs after white rabbits. My interests have distilled to this pot liquor. Some will not like the taste, but that’s okay. Thankfully, I’ve passed that time in life when pleasing people matters. What matters is sharing what I’ve learned about Abraham and his ancestors who believed in the resurrection of the body and lived in expectation of the fulfillment of a promise made to them (Gen. 3:15) that a woman of their ruler-priest lines would miraculously conceive the Son of God, and that her Seed would crush the serpent's head and restore perfect communion with God.
I was first asked to teach Genesis to a group of women in my church in 1983. I dutifully read, researched, produced a study guide and lead the class in a 15-week study. I tried to answer questions that the women asked, but found that many of the answers I offer from commentaries didn’t satisfy. They were the answers of men who didn’t know about the Horite beliefs of Abraham and his people.
As an anthropologist, I know how important it is to understand the culture. I’ve lived in the South Pacific, Spain, Greece, and Iran. The people I befriended would not have become my friends if I hadn’t attempted to understand their cultures. Likewise, the figures of Genesis have become flesh and bone as I’ve attempted to understand features of their culture, cosmology and religion.
When teaching Genesis that first time, my mind was teased by the unanswered questions:
“If Adam and Eve were the only people on earth, where did their sons find wives?”
“If the flood covered the entire surface of the earth, where did all that water go, seeing there is a fixed amount of water in the biosphere?”
"Did God wipe out Cain's line?"
Through hours of reading and re-reading, through reflection, research and a good number of serendipitous discoveries, I came to know enough about Genesis that I felt I could start this blog. It is dedicated to continued exploration of Genesis, a single book of the Bible. Such a narrow focus does not invite a wide readership, but I’m not concerned. Let there be even one inquisitive mind to mull over a single provocative fact, and I’ll be content. I hope to make friends with others who share my obsession with Genesis, a profoundly meaningful book with remarkable implications for the modern world.
Related reading: My Method; Genesis Has Strengthened My Faith; Alice C. Linsley's Research on Genesis
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4 comments:
Mrs Linsley,
I've enjoyed and learned from your comments on other folks' weblogs over the years, and I am delighted to see you start your own. I'm looking forward to deepening my knowledge of Genesis.
Let me be the first to welcome you to the blogosphere. I've already added you to my blogroll.
Dear Alice,
I'm so glad you've decided to begin a blog. Here's "Welcome" number 2! I'm looking forward to reading what you have to offer to the world re "Breshit," Orthodoxy, and anything else you care to share! And you're added to my blogroll as well.
faithfully in Christ,
Thank you, friends. I'm honored to be included on your blogrolls.
Bravo. I look forward to following along.
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