Monthly Archives: December 2023

Themes of the Psalms

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First Page of the Book of Psalms.

The Psalms are mostly imagery and metaphors, like most poems or songs. Mainly, the five themes are Sovereignty, Hierarchy, Law, Sanctions, and Future. 

In verses about Sovereignty, the Psalms say how God is still above all, but we have are own will and can choose to disobey him. In Psalm 18 verse 1-3, David writes that the Lord is his rock and his fortress, and God will deliver him from his enemies, who have chosen to disobey God so they will be smited. 

Hierarchy mainly focuses on how the kings of the earth are no match for the king of heaven and that the earthly ruler’s dominion is not theirs but the Lord’s since he created it. David explains in Psalm 2 that the kings of the earth will take counsel against God, but God will sit in heaven and laugh at them. Instead, David instructs them to be wise, serve the Lord with fear, and kiss the son, lest he be angry. 

Another important theme is Law. In verse 1 it states that he who has delight in the Law will bring forth good fruit and not wither. Wickedness will be judged by God and will come to an end. David proclaims his defense in God, who will save the upright in heart and Law. Emphasizing his point, David again states that the only people who are worthy to stand in the tabernacle are the ones who walk upright, worketh righteousness, speaketh truth, that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor do evil to their neighbor. Subsequently, the only people who follow God’s Law will enter heaven. 

In addition, David says we have a code with God, and if we break it, there will be sanctions for us. Defending himself, David notes that he has not sat with vain persons and he hates the congregation of evil and will not sit with the wicked. Washing his hands with innocence, he will compass the Lord’s altar and ask the Lord to gather not his soul with sinners because they have broken God’s sanctions. Those who give themselves to wine and debauchery will not be able to grow their corn due to their unrighteousness. 

The future is shown multiple times in the Psalms, mostly in examples of what will happen to the wicked. Psalm 9 tells that the sinners have ruined cities, and the destruction that the wicked have done will come to an end. David says the Lord’s name will endure forever and all nations shall call him blessed. The overall message of the Psalms is that God is sovereign: he rules men, even the rulers of the earth, he rules in terms of Law, he brings sanctions, positive and negative, and his inheritance will only be granted to those who keep the law. 

Two Profound and Prominent Civilizations

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Modern remains of the city of Knossos.

Two ancient Mediterranean civilizations were uncovered over the last 200 years. Previously, they were unknown to archaeologists but were found to have been powerful civilizations of their day. These are Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece. 

Discovered in 1899 when the city of Knossos was excavated, Minoan Crete was named for King Minos, the mythical king of Crete and son of Zeus in Greek mythology. The Minoans are thought to have been prominent around 2000 BC. Writings have been unearthed of an untranslated language that archaeologists have dubbed “Linear A” and another dialect that was also found on mainland Greece called “Linear B,” which has been somewhat translated. 

In Knossos, evidence of commerce with mainland Greece and Egypt was found. Frescoes depicting people leaping over bulls were discovered on Crete as well as Egypt, suggesting that the Minoans were more of a trading people and not warlike. Additionally, royal palaces had religious significance and housed the center of the economy. Palace officials instructed people what to produce, then it would be delivered to the palace for the officials to distribute to the people. The officials kept records, which were later found, of what entered and exited the palace.

While there’s not much evidence of a Minoan military, it wasn’t all peaceful. Piles of underage bones were unearthed, suggesting that the Minoans engaged in child sacrifice. Sometime around 1425 BC, the civilization was destroyed by either a natural disaster or invasion by the Mycenaean Greeks. 

Named for the city of Mycenae, which is located on the Peloponnesus of Greece, Mycenaean Greece is thought to have started around 1600 BC. A German archaeologist named Henrich Schliemann (1822-1890) discovered the ancient civilization. Before him, it was believed that Greek civilization had begun around 800 BC, but after reading “The Iliad,” Schliemann thought it couldn’t possibly be a work of fiction, so he set out to find the city of Troy referenced throughout the book. Eventually, he found Troy in modern-day Turkey with possible evidence of a Trojan War, which was thought to be a fictional conflict. He believed that he had uncovered the grave of Agamemnon, who was also thought to have been a mythical character. Unlike the Minoans, the Mycenaeans were a warlike people, with many military relics unearthed during Schliemann’s excavation. The Mycenaeans are considered to be the people who invaded and subsequently ended the Minoan civilization in 1425 BC. 

Due to the relentless inquiry of modern archaeologists, the massive ancient civilizations were uncovered. Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece are now known to us as two of the most profound and prominent civilizations of their time. 

Plato’s Worldview

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Plato: Biography, Greek Philosopher, Quotes, Platonic Academy
Plato the philosopher.

Inspired by Socrates, Plato was an extremely influential classical Greek philosopher. He lived in Athens from 427-347 BC, and wrote philosophy solely in the form of dialogues, many of which involved Socrates as a character. Interestingly, we get much of the information on Socrates from these dialogues, but it is debated how true this information is because of the fact that Plato based the character off of Socrates personality but didn’t actually tell us about his life. 

One of Plato’s most forward questions was wanting to learn the essence and form of different things. An example of this might be, what makes a dog a dog? Because some are small, some are big, and they are different in many ways. In other words, whatever an individual thing shares in common with something that shares its name, is its form. Like Socrates, Plato was concerned with questions of morals and believed that philosophers were only people who tried to find the forms of things. Continuing, he stated that forms are unchanging and eternal, and what is perfect and true. 

Remarkably, Plato established the first academy in Athens and offered the first detailed formation in Western thought of themes that would persist and be developed further by later philosophers. He believed that the “good life” was the true development of man’s personality as a rational and moral being, the right cultivation of his soul, and the general harmonious well-being of life. However, Plato did oppose atheism, relativism, hedonism, and materialism. 

His most famous work “The Republic” was of course a dialogue involving Socrates, where he raised the question: “What is Justice?” it should be pursued regardless of its consequences, even if it means you are punished for being a good person. Plato asserted that the soul has three parts: rational, courageous, and spirited or appetitive. Rational is the highest element of the soul, and is portrayed as a charioteer, with the spirited and appetitive elements as horses. The spirited element is the natural ally of reason, though shared by animals. Appetitive is a friend of riot and insolence. The spirited horse is good and loves honor and temperance, but the appetitive horse is bad, unruly, and follows passion. After this discussion, Plato asserted that the ideal state should be modeled after the ideal soul.