In the intriguing book Purity and Danger, the late anthropologist Mary Douglas explores the idea of the monstrous and boundaries. She argues that what we understand to be “monstrous”are those things liminal that blur clear, distinct categories. For instance, a werewolf is a monster because it is neither human nor animal and a creature whose existence straddles both categories (liminality). Further, we have to understand that monsters are always metaphors for internal feelings rather than expressions of objective reality. With this in mind, read the selections for this week and consider what makes the Nephilim monstrous. Also, consider how they (as metaphors) relate directly to the material for last week.
Assignment 6 Instructions: Making use of the Social-Epistemic reading model, use part one of your theme to characterize and explicate the Nephilim. In part two, as you characterize and explicate Adam and Eve, compare and contrast their moral intentions and immoral inclinations. In part three, I would like you to explore the question of how these monsters and humans are directly related to the material you read for last week. In other words, how does being an image of God both sacred and dangerous? Finally, in part four, what do these stories tell us about ourselves now what lessons can we take from Enoch and Genesis to protect our fragile moral intentions?
Part one: characterize and explicate the Nephilim as they appear in Chapter 6 of Alter. Remember, in the Social-Epistemic model, “things” are defined by their actions. So, pay attention to what the “Giants” do, how they act and extract from that your characterizations. In addition, The Book of Enoch (handout in the weekly folder) really explicates the actions of these beings. Think about their actions in terms of spiritual (psychological/personal) development and material production. The Giants, like the people of Babel, seem to be hung up on outward symbols of power rather than real power. Here is a hint, the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) agree on one thing…real power is power over the self and never power over another.
Part two: we return to Adam and Eve—the template for ideal intention and bad acts. Look back at the “Fall” that occurs in the Garden of Eden. Characterize and explicate Adam and Eve’s acts (especially Eve’s rational about physical appearance of the fruit and desire) and compare and contrast their moral intentions (what do they want that is “good”) and immoral inclinations (how they go about it).
Part three: I would like you to explore the question of how these monsters and humans are directly related to the material you read for last week. In other words, how does being an image of God both sacred and dangerous? For this, make use of the Navajo article that deals with “Sacred Evil.” That is the real paradox we are looking at this week. Although humans are capable of great good, we can just as quickly turn away from those moral intentions. For example, Henry Ford invented the “assembly line” system to maximize production in order to increase wages for his workers and also their leisure time. The Nazi’s used the same system to murder millions of people.
Part four: what do these stories tell us about ourselves now? What lessons can we take from Enoch and Genesis to protect our fragile moral intentions?
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