tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post4461799825070613118..comments2024-03-27T00:38:51.570-07:00Comments on Left Behind and Loving It: Unbinding the Unbindable Bound ManD. Mark Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016377712982292924noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-36498968433762697722022-06-15T12:33:50.392-07:002022-06-15T12:33:50.392-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Bruce MacKayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12186107910368395860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-55047880467143415712019-06-20T13:33:28.060-07:002019-06-20T13:33:28.060-07:00Though the pigs are taboo in Jewish society, they ...Though the pigs are taboo in Jewish society, they would not have been in the Gentile societies. <br />Perhaps its a reflection of the clean/unclean of the Older Testament, could it also be a precursor to Acts 10?Hoosier Pastorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901610726657770761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-68789583288339132262019-06-18T12:16:41.897-07:002019-06-18T12:16:41.897-07:00of course you are more familiar with your own gree...of course you are more familiar with your own greek as to someone elses but it is all greek to me which is why I so greatly appreaciate your hard work every week thanks<br />Ken Wellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15677335230634184445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-80132104604922591962016-06-19T13:47:51.094-07:002016-06-19T13:47:51.094-07:00Thanks, Caryn. I find myself really empathizing wi...Thanks, Caryn. I find myself really empathizing with these demonized persons, filled with some kinds of power, but subject to other kinds of power - really a heart-breaking story sometimes and all to familiar. D. Mark Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12016377712982292924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-90980976691341521882016-06-19T13:46:39.723-07:002016-06-19T13:46:39.723-07:00I don't know enough about 1st century demonolo...I don't know enough about 1st century demonology to respond to that, Paul. Maybe they can die. Maybe they just go from one place to the other. D. Mark Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12016377712982292924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-15051942200503273632016-06-19T11:43:18.754-07:002016-06-19T11:43:18.754-07:00I really identified with your description of the p...I really identified with your description of the person with demons not being able to separate his own identity from the demons. I have MS, and before it was controlled by medication, I remember telling someone that I felt like "a disease walking around." I can certainly understand how the person with demons would feel that way. Thanks, as always, for your insightful posts.CarynWhttps://carynw.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-3598990400620224752016-06-17T21:16:26.200-07:002016-06-17T21:16:26.200-07:00I wondered too about the death of the pigs, the sp...I wondered too about the death of the pigs, the spirits are surely not killed by drowning, so are they loosed yet again?pvcann.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17084516830138438823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-16064901620474514332016-06-15T06:33:22.092-07:002016-06-15T06:33:22.092-07:00Hi Kaherington, you ask a great question for someo...Hi Kaherington, you ask a great question for someone who claims not to be a scholar. <br />I've seen some commentaries interpret the pigs to show that there were many Gentiles in the region, but population studies seem to question that assumption.<br />If pigs were a popular market for Roman soldiers, then it may be a symbol of Rome's presence and domination - which might also explain why the people asked Jesus to leave afterward. <br />I think any story that has a collective demon under the name of "Legion" wants us to be attentive to the influence of the Roman Empire. <br />Warren Carter, for example, in Matthew and Empire, draws attention to a Roman Legion that was stationed north of Syria, which had a wild pig as its symbol. Carter also has a provocative essay on Mark's account of this story - provocative even in its title - "Cross-Gendered Romans and Mark’s Jesus: Legion Enters the Pigs." The arguments in the latter essay seem a little forced to me, but he goes back to the symbolism of the pigs and the name Legion. <br />I want to think this mad herd of pigs might have been a very apt way of describing the people's experience of the Roman military. The idea that they rush to their deaths might have been a popular wish as well. D. Mark Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12016377712982292924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-67182034999438641192016-06-14T10:53:43.968-07:002016-06-14T10:53:43.968-07:00I am not a Greek (or any other kind of ) scholar, ...I am not a Greek (or any other kind of ) scholar, but I am intrigued by pigs being the recipients of the demons, given their taboo status in Jewish society. Is there something to be inferred by this? have not seen any commentary regarding the pigs' status.kaheringtonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-60722430589961690582016-06-12T14:46:44.761-07:002016-06-12T14:46:44.761-07:00Paul Neuchterlein's collations at http://girar...Paul Neuchterlein's collations at http://girardianlectionary.net/reflections/year-c/proper_7c/ just blew me away. Classic Girardian indeedAndrew Priorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17953070416035991746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-11345797846469466842013-06-19T08:37:48.415-07:002013-06-19T08:37:48.415-07:00The next step in my process would be to follow thr...The next step in my process would be to follow through with some of the word studies that the exegesis began.<br /> With that, I would also look for intertextual echoes in this story. Is the rush off the cliff and into the lake an echo of Pharaoh's army getting drowned? <br /><br />I'm also interested in the socio-political context. Is the name "legion" strictly a numerical reference, or is it indicative that this army of demons represents Roman oppression? Likewise, the pig industry would be onerous to Jews. Is this hog lot also an indicator of Roman influence? One of my text study friends cited a commentor who said they were for Roman sacrifices, but he couldn't locate the reference because the wi-fi was down. If this is coded language about the Roman Empire, would that strengthen the case of an echo of Pharaoh's army being drowned? What does that say about the people of the Gerasenes, who are afeared and who ask Jesus to leave? <br /><br />Finally, is there a Girardian perspective here that merits attention? The demonized man might be a scapegoat figure, but certainly by the end of this story Jesus is the scapegoat, blamed for disrupting the pig industry and sent away as a way of keeping the peace. That seems classically Girardian. From Mark Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08343191370740534861noreply@blogger.com