Trying to curb my mirth at the idea of creative spiritual non fiction... Ahem!
Battles between champions were a long standing and very widespread means of
limiting casualties in many ancient cultures. David and Goliath fit
this scenario
exactly.
The sling is a much underrated weapon. The ancient sling stone was
about the size
of a tennis ball, weighed about 100 g (sometimes more) and was easily
accurate to a
range of 65 m (up to 130 m was possible). Sling stones cause severe
injury through
plate armour through shock, effective range against massed troops was
something like
340 m. Until the invention of the composite technology in the middle
ages the sling
was a more effective weapon than the bow, with great range, greater
lethality, similar rate of fire, and vastly cheaper.
Poor Goliath did not stand a chance. David did not play by the rules of single
combat by champion.
Jon
george murphy wrote:
> Robert Schneider wrote:
>
> > Bob DeHaan writes:
> >
> > > There is a new genre arising among Christian authors called "creative
> > > spiritual nonfiction." It is nonfiction because it has a historical
> > basis;
> > > it is based on fact, not pure imagination. It is creative because it
> > allows
> > > the author to deal with the facts of the case in a creative way, using
> > > his/her imagination. It is spiritual, rather than purely
>naturalistic, in
> > > that it allows the author to add a spiritual dimension or
>interpretation
> > to
> > > both facts and imagination.
> > >
> > > The authors of the gospels and other parts of the Bible seemed to have
> > > discovered this genre long before modern Christians writers
>reinvented it.
> > >
> > > Perhaps all nonscientific writers use the three elements of
>this genre in
> > > varying proportions.
> > >
> > > Bob
> > >
> > Bob's note has stirred a couple of thoughts. I agree with
>him entirely
> > that biblical writers combined historical tradition (the factual
>dimension)
> > with creative imagination and spiritual interpretation, and that this
> > quality of story-telling is universal and perhaps even an "innate"
> > characteristic of human communication. Two OT events come to
>mind. One is
> > the story of David and Goliath in I Sam. 17. Anyone who has studied
> > literary genres will recognize the numerous folktale elements in
>the story,
> > and it is these elements that give the story interest and
>delightfulness and
> > make it memorable.
>
> I agree with the basic point here: The story is clearly
>concerned with
> more than just historical report. But there are at least a couple
>of features
> which, wihile quite possibly historical, are very foreign to our way
> of thinking.
>
> 1) Challenges like those of Goliath and single combat "between the
> armies" was a fairly common feature of battles in the ancient world: This
> particular folktale element has its origin in real happenings of
>that sort. (&
> even in the 19th century we could note Bill Cody & Yellowhand.)
>But of course
> it's highly unlikely today.
> 2) As presented in Sunday School we think of David as a
> little kid with
> a child's rubberband slingshot. But trained slingers could be a
>major force in
> ancient armies & could be lethal: The Romans had auxiliaries from
>the Balearic
> Islands with this skill.
>
> Shalom,
>
> George
>
> George L. Murphy
> http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
> "The Science-Theology Interface"
-- "It is not easy to see how the more extreme forms of nationalism can long survive when men have seen the earth as a pale crescent dwindling against the stars, until at last they look for it in vain".Arthur C. Clarke
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