Friday, April 19, 2013

The divine touch

...the number and variety of creation names now known from epigraphic material clearly reveal that the divine creation of every human being constituted a primary tenet of family religion. The religious significance of birth also was emphasized to a much greater extent than we previously supposed. It was not only the elites who transcribed and collated the Hebrew Bible but also the masses of ordinary people, especially women, who considered birth a direct creative act of god rather than a generic, natural event.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 280

<idle musing>
And why not? For me, the greatest miracle I've ever witnessed was the birth of my kids. I considered it a direct creative act of God, even though I know the science behind it. More importantly, though, I know the creator behind the science!
</idle musing>

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