Tackling the Quran

Last year I set out to read the New Testament from a Gideon pocket version that they were giving away at the Delaware State Fair.  Pacing four chapters a day, I got through it largely on or slightly ahead of my anticipated schedule.  It was very clear that reading this on my own in the absence of a teacher limited my comprehension or ability to select highlights, though the popularized segments seemed to appear early in the opening Gospel of Matthew.  By now I've read all the Old Testament, much of it as a similar initiative.  Torah had external guidance, though Prophets and Writings were read and paced similar to what I had done for the New Testament. For some of the Megillot I read a version that had commentary beneath the text.  Chronicles I and II remain to be read.

The Quran comes next.  I've embarked on this before but get hung up in Chapter 2, The Cow, which only really includes a small segment on the Biblical sacrifice of atonement, which I assume is the Red Heifer though not explicitly identified that way in the Quran text.  This chapter has 286 verses, the longest in the Book, followed by another of 200 verses on a founding family's statement of obligations.  That's each about the length of our longest double Torah portions, which manage to get publicly recited in a morning.  With a timer, I've finished that, proceeding to a slightly shorter discussion of the Quran's laws of women, which so far seem a little more equitable than what's in Torah.

Even in the early sections Muhammed targets the Jews of his day and his era largely for resistance to his message though with an element of respect for their adherence to their tradition.  He cites non-belief or remaining external to what he was trying to assemble, not for misconduct.  By then, the Jews worldwide were being marginalized, even condemned by the Christian church.  The early parts of the Quran seem to take the view that they deserved what they got, though a theme of the early chapters seems to be that Allah metes out just deserts to everyone.

There are a lot of chapters to go.  The Prophet seems to stack the longer ones at the beginning, perhaps hoping for a commitment to completion with the task becoming easier once the longer sections have been mastered.  Finishing those 286 verses of The Cow offered some real accomplishment.  Like the New Testament, the basic principles of Islam that reach universal familiarity to Westerners like me seem to be incorporated at the beginning.

Should Do Instead

FB Twitter have been dormant for a week now.  I feel less distracted, less likely to interrupt something I'm doing to check what's new.  I've not had anxiety withdrawal or FOMO.  I also don't really care if anyone's missed my absence or even noted.  Did I do things that I wouldn't have done had the distraction continued?  So far probably not.  I have engaged in some drawing, visiting a couple of parks, returning to my colored pencils with an adult style coloring book, retrieved my putter and good driver, and made my bicycle suitable for riding though I might have done these anyway. On the other hand, I hadn't even though some have been on my task list daily.  A book came to my attention so I started reading it, but I've taken books from the Hoopla service before while still engaged in social media.  What may be different is that so far I've not timed my session with it to maintain a pace to completion.  I downloaded an English translation of The Quran which I always wanted to read.  The longest chapter, 286 verses, comes right after the short introduction.  With pacing I got through it, understanding why some of the references now viewed as Anti-Semitic appear upfront, but also why some of the most basic Islamic requirements such as Hajj and the annual Ramadan fast appear in the same chapter.  Don't know if I'll get through the rest of this.  For sure, FB would have distracted my progress on this long chapter, probably a little longer than our most lengthy double Parsha.

Those are the accessories, though, as is FB and Twitter.  The really substantial initiatives, other than gardening which has gone very well, still languish.  I have a Social Security appeal to prepare, writing that has not progressed from ideas to paragraphs, two trips I'd like to take but haven't, and a course by DVD on electronics that has not moved forward as well as it could have.  FB was not the distraction that inhibited progress on these.  My real degree of commitment to them might be.

At one week, it's been a good week off, something akin to a cyberspace vacation.

Tackling the New Testament

When I go to the state fair there is usually an exhibit by the anti-abortion lobby or a church that has that as its primary initiative.  I do not engage them in conversation but listen to the spiel politely and on occasion take one of the pocket New Testaments that they give out.  I have a handful around the house.  While under restricted activity, I read much of the Prophets on Sefaria.  My attempt at the Quran got me about as far as the chapter about the cow, which isn't very far into it. 

Time to read the freebie from the state fair, pocket size but very thin paper and small print.  It starts with the Gospel of Matthew which took me about a week to read its 28 chapters.  Well written, easy to read from the Gideons translation.  Largely written in the manner of history or biography, not a lot of theology.  Many of the often cited passages and parables originate there.  It was not really The Jews who had it in for Jesus but their Machers.  We have Macher swoops today.

Next in order is the Gospel of Mark.  My pace would require four days.  So far it reads as more goyish than Matthew, many of the same historical citations repackaged but I've only read about a third of it so far.  The other two Gospels and Acts are fairly lengthy, the rest fairly short epistles or commentary.  Will try to stay on pace.