Shibboleth

Shibboleth - testing the "enemy".

The term originates from the Hebrew word "shibbóleth" (שִׁבֹּלֶת), which literally means the part of a plant containing grains, such as an ear of corn or a stalk of grain^[3] or, in different contexts, "stream, torrent".^[4][5]The modern usage derives from an account in the Hebrew Bible, in which pronunciation of this word was used to distinguish Ephraimites, whose dialect lacked a /ʃ/ sound (as in shoe), from Gileadites whose dialect did include such a sound.

In the Book of Judges, chapter 12, after the inhabitants of Gilead inflicted a military defeat upon the tribe of Ephraim (around 1370–1070 BC), the surviving Ephraimites tried to cross the Jordan River back into their home territory and the Gileadites secured the river's fords to stop them. In order to identify and kill these refugees, the Gileadites put each refugee to a simple test:

“	Gilead then cut Ephraim off from the fords of the Jordan, and whenever Ephraimite fugitives said, 'Let me cross,' the men of Gilead would ask, 'Are you an Ephraimite?' If he said, 'No,' they then said, 'Very well, say "Shibboleth" (שבלת).' If anyone said, "Sibboleth" (סבלת), because he could not pronounce it, then they would seize him and kill him by the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites fell on this occasion.	”

Every society has its test questions, not that tough, but real enough.  No exceptions.  In or out.  Liberal or conservative.  On every issue from racism to political preferences to secret handshakes, every society has the "us vs. them" tests.


When we're young, we're naive about that, maybe don't recognize it.  When we're adult, we sense it in advance, and find ways to deal with it.  


As a pastor, I've walked through fields of test questions.  In the 1960s, racism was the big test area.  By the 1970s, patriotism and Viet Nam were the tests.  Adoption, abortion, political conservative/liberal tests occur every day.  Being sophisticated, we learn how to "duck-in-advance" on many of these.  It's the only way to preserve the open conversation.


Do I have strong opinions?  Sure.  Would I like to persuade people to agree with me?  Of course!  Can I do any of that in the first test-question of the relationship?  Never.  Do I slide past the first one with high hopes?  Always!!


Jesus calls us to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves",  not swept away or pushed along by the current majority opinion in our society, choosing our time to speak, but NEVER being overwhelmed.  Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.  And this is the turf where that is tested.


Today's test questions?  Common knowledge;  we know them, and have decided how to manage them.  The best fighter knows absolutely that the first punch is NOT the battle.  Remember how in Revelation, over and over again, the reward is for "him who conquers".


The moral of the story?  Be strong and keep going in integrity!  God likes that!

The Great Freedom

Freedom of speech is fundamental to the preservation of our other treasured freedoms.  It is sometimes obnoxious, sometimes expresses opinions that are absolutely wrong, sometimes distorts.  The Westboro Church pickets offend, totally misrepresent the Bible and God, and stretch the limits of freedom of speech.  I like the recently publicized response of the Patriot Guard at one funeral:  stand between the hate-speech and the mourners,with flags blocking the view, and motorcycle engines drowning out the insults.  That is a classic free-society response to the offensive.

 But, putting up with THAT is part of the price of maintaining the  fundamental freedom.  The alternative?  No matter how offended we might be  by their opinions, or other opinions that are generated as a free nation and  free people argue their way toward decisions made by a democracy, we don't  want the only alternative to free speech and a free press.  The only  alternative, desired by almost no one, would be to control speech or  writing.  It's either free or it's not.  The defense of freedom is not only  done in military terms, it is also done in terms of simply putting up with and defending the rights of those speakers with whom we absolutely disagree.

Is there anyone so offended that they would actually prefer to have a governmental agency determine what speech, what opinions, what political statements are legal or permitted?


Given time, free speech sorts out the lie from the truth, weeds out the trivial, exposes the demagogue, and cures the denial of reality.  Do I disagree with a speaker?  Sometimes, and when I do disagree, I want that speaker to have full access to a wide audience, confident that poor ideas contain the seeds of their own destruction.  Fifty years ago, many were afraid that communism would subvert the world;  given time, communism collapsed, unable to sustain itself in the real world, because it was simply untrue.  Propaganda never conquers truth, given the free exchange of ideas involved in freedom of speech.



Bottom line:  truth wins, hate-speech self-destructs, and freedom allows
that to happen.  Let's maintain it.

Surprise!

Cleaning out old photos, you never know what you'll find.  Note-paper from the Rice Hotel in Houston caught my eye.   The paper was undated, but the rough poetry came from 1940, prior to Pearl Harbor, when the writer was thinking about enlisting, but not decided.  Pearl Harbor closed the deal, of course.  But the questions in his rough poetic attempt are clear.  And, somehow, begin to sound a bit like one consideration of today's conflicts.

What is lasting peace?
Will it in our generation be gained?
And should it be won,
Are we sure it will sustain?


Will the end of some government
that resembles a creed
be strong enough in itself
to abolish greed?


Will the passing of Hitler
stop the forward march of hate?
Or merely pause the tide
clamoring at freedom's gate?


The "war to end all wars", the "war to make the world safe for democracy", the "war to stop Asia's domino effect", the "war to abolish weapons of mass destruction", the "war to defeat terrorism" have had their historical moment.  But no battle within them, and no addition of all the impacts of all the wars has successfully  done battle with greed.

Governments compete, lie, bribe, maneuver, and march off to war at least in part because they have already lost the battle with human nature and greed.  Financial plans and reformations, heroic battles with personal, state, and national indebtedness all falter because they perpetually lose the battle with greed.

Armies push each other back and forth, incredible amounts of money are spent by all involved, thousands die, and all on the wrong battlefield, because greed, left unconquered, always trumps human skill and maneuvering.  

Hitler fell.  The Cold War began.  The arms race slowed to a crawl and never went away.  And the rest is current history.  Hitler fell, but the world did not become a safe place.

Individuals of faith can live triumphantly.  And should.  And do.  Nations have a very hard time doing that;  still do.  For today?  Pray for those who lead our nation, that they personally can win their battles with greed, and so be a blessing to so many who have not.

Influence

Amazing how influence works!  When I recall Jr. Hi school, there was one great influence on me, in the 8th grade.  Ed (9th grade) played clarinet, and organized a small, early-morning band to meet in the band hall and work through circus marches, K. L. King marches, Sousa marches, anything challenging.  His clarinet, my tenor sax, a baritone, drums, and a bass.  Not much band, but great fun.

Traveling to an out-of-town game on the band bus, Ed got out the first chromatic harmonica I'd ever seen, and launched into "Under the Double Eagle".  As he bounced through the tune, all quick and incredible, everybody listened.  Amazed.

Next Monday, the early-morning band took on a new intensity, played much more difficult music, challenged ourselves.  It was a short, but influential moment in my life, and in the lives of others.  Ed went on to become a band director, Roy played bass all the way into the top-of-the-line Navy band, and all of us enjoyed the music.

Ed never knew that for all these years, the whole feel of the early-morning band has been a definer of excellence for several of us.  A big deal?  Only in impact!

Every one of us has moments of interaction that can have influence on someone;  doesn't matter whether anyone thinks that moment is a big deal...... only matters if it becomes a big deal for one individual.