And On The Eighth Day There Were Blogs

(AP)

The blogging phenomenon has gone from mere curiosity to the over-analyzed topic du jour in near-record time. There is nearly as big a divide over the worth of blogs as there is in the political realm but I think there's one thing we can all agree on: Slate's "Blogging The Bible" is one good example of why blogs were invented. Slate deputy editor David Plotz has been blogging the bible for some time now and, having gotten through the Torah (the first five books of the Bible), is plowing straight ahead. You might want to check with the religious authority of your choice about some of the interpretations Plotz provides but it's probably more of the good book than most are familiar with – and it's fun to read. Here's Plotz's take on the first chapter of the Book of Joshua:

The most interesting moment in the chapter occurs during God's conversation with Joshua. The Lord instructs Joshua to read "the book of the law" that Moses prepared—that is, I suppose, the five books of the Torah we just finished reading. He tells Joshua: "You shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful." God never told Moses to read the law book, because Moses wrote the law book. This, in other words, marks the beginning of biblical scholarship. The Lord, like Justice Antonin Scalia, obviously believes in original intent. He certainly isn't telling Joshua to interpret laws, just to follow them. But without Moses to clarify, those laws must be discussed and analyzed. So let 4,000 years of argument begin!

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