Old Testament Berit, Typically Translated

Old Testament

Berit, typically translated into English as "covenant," "promise," or "pledge," is a Hebrew term that takes on far more than literally meaning within the Bible. Politically, it is a relationship between peoples, a way to describe that a level of responsibility is owed to a group from an entity (King, ruler, group, etc.) based on fealty, loyalty, and an agreement. Biblically, it is a way to describe that God chose the Jewish people through a covenant with Abraham. In that, Abraham and his offspring were special people who could have a land of their own and enjoy peace and good will through their own promise of relationship with God. The people must, in this example, give a pledge that Yahweh is the one and only god, and that the people will worship and serve that God above all others.

As a historical word, the term berit implies a special type of relationship between a lord and his servants. The lord takes on the role and responsibility to protect the servants; neither required nor expected by law, and in return, servants must make promises of their own to fulfil the bargain. A berit is a relationship agreement; two sided, and is valid only if both sides adhere to their part of the bargain.

Taken further, since Christianity arose out of Judaism, the promise between God and believers goes a step further. It becomes the doctrine of the Trinity, which is the basis of realization of the divinity of Christ, teaching that there are three parts to God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One basic idea of the Trinity, then, within the Torah is that of the covenant of God, the Jews, and the Promised homeland of Israel. That there is but one god is revealed many times, but the Judaic Old Testament belief is that God is one-being, split into three essences, but the same God, or one being. In the Old Testament, there are several proofs that there is but one God:

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is One Lord." (Deut. 6:4)

In the first of the Ten Commandments, 'Thou shalt have no other Gods before me." (Deut. 5:7).

Thus, the covenant of berit moves beyond the Ancient Jewish lands, to modern Christianity, as a continuation of the mutually agreed upon covenant with the Lord.

Part 2- Does the Noah's Ark story need to be 100% true for it to have meaning? Hardly, and the two (science and spirituality) can certain coexist and find common ground.

When one looks at creation stories from various cultures, one is amazed at the similarities one finds between cultural explanations. This is perhaps because there are certain common questions that people ask about the "big" questions in life, among which, creation is often predominant. It is in the nature of humans to wonder about the unknown and search for answers. At the foundation of nearly every culture is a creation myth that explains how divine inspiration created the world, nature, and humanity. Within each culture, creation mythology provides the very basis of fundamental structure -- who are we as a species? How and why were created? Is there a master plan?

One must then ask if a creation story must be factual to have meaning? Therein we come to a conundrum as well -- what is "fact" for one culture is magic for another. Arthur C. Clarke once commented that: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Imagine, if we can, how the Ancient Israelites might have described the telephone, cell phones, a flame thrower, a gun, or an aircraft? Similarly, the story of creation is told in a way that was understandable to those of the time it was told, probably as oral tradition.