Welcome

1 Apr 2021

My name is Christy Knockleby. I am a homeschooling mother, author, and obsessive bookworm. I’m the type of person who gets interested in something and then spends multiple years reading everything I can get my hands on about the topic, sharing random details about the topic with everyone I meet. You can follow my Facebook page to share in the fun.

I teach online classes through Outschool. I have a variety of short courses on history, mythology and looking at the Bible from a secular academic perspective. I have published two books, available online through various bookstores including my own little bookstore here:

A Secular Bible Study is a guide for homeschoolers who want to look at the Bible as a work of literature from an ancient time. Also available through Bookshop.org.
The Edge of the Circle is a novel about homeschooling teenagers in Alberta, exploring Shakespeare, forgiveness and Wicca. Also available through Bookshop.org.

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Christy's Houseful of Chaos

14 hours ago

This happened at my house just now. ... See MoreSee Less

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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.

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Christy's Houseful of Chaos

21 hours ago

There's a billboard apparently that has a picture of Trump with part of Isaiah 9:6. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders." I am very grateful to a friend for bringing the billboard to my attention.The second half of Isaiah 9:6 goes like this: " And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” I want to imagine even the billboard makers knew that would be too much a stretch to try to claim those titles for Trump.I've seen webpages critical of Trump's claim to that Bible verse saying that the Isaiah passage is a prophecy of Jesus. I want to take a moment to remind people that it is an extremely presumptuously Christian thing for people to say. The author of the prophecy might have been picturing Hezekiah (the king of Jerusalem at the time the text was likely written, when their kingdom was under attack) or a future leader.The billboard then says "Joint heirs / Romans 8:17." It is tempting to see the Bible verse as a mistake, like someone thought the verse quoted from Isaiah was actually from Romans. I don't think it was a mistake. I think it was a clever move by people who wanted those who would laugh at it to help spread the message, making the picture go viral. It also gives them a way of getting two Bible verses across instead of just one.Romans 8:17 goes: “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” I have to assume that billboard makers are implying that Trump shares in Christ's sufferings and thus should share with him in the glory of having the government on his shoulders. So it provides the option to view Trump not as Christ himself, but as someone who shares in his rule. This is a very dangerous message.There are people who won't see the billboard as a joke. They'll see it as a statement of fact. That scares me.In my last post here I quoted something talking about myth as a way of making the historical seem natural and inevitable. Portraying Trump in relations to Biblical texts does that. It tries to make his rule sound inevitable. It helps tell people not to question whether it would be morally right or even possible to make him president. It says those aren't relevant concerns. God has made the decision and go will provide the means. It says roadblocks are not really failure, just "suffering" that confirms the righteousness of what they see as inevitable.After Biden was elected but before January 6th we saw "Jericho marches" where people walked around government buildings in imitation of Joshua circling Jericho during the conquest of Canaan. People believe in supernatural powers and they believe those supernatural powers are on their side.I think we will make a mistake if we see things like the billboard as just jokes. I was tempted to see it as a joke at first, because there's so many horrifying things in the world and I seek out opportunities to laugh. However, the more I think about it, the less I see it as a laughing matter. ... See MoreSee Less

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Christy's Houseful of Chaos

23 hours ago

The book I'm reading right now starts off with a section about how we have to get beyond thinking that myth as the less evolved predecessor of modern ways of thinking. He takes aim also at those who would say that between 800 and 200 BCE there was an "axial age" which humans moved to more enlightened age away from myths.One of the many lines that caught my interest is this one: "[Roland] Barthes defined myth as a system of communication whose task is to give historical intention a natural justification and make contingency appear eternal." (17) The author of this book says he's skeptical of that definition, but I still find it interesting and useful to think about.For the past half a year I've been working on writing a historical fiction novel set in 722 - 701 BCE. The setting is a challenge. It is a challenge for me because I want to get the historic details right. I also want to get the way of thinking about the world right. How did the people of the time interact with their myths and stories? Sometimes I get tempted to have the characters discuss the myths as a modern people would, and I hold back. When a neo-Assyrian interacted with an Egyptian, how would they understand each other's religious beliefs? Did they understand the different storm gods as different aspects of the one storm god or did they think them totally separate gods? I have read things that answer those questions in different ways.The one thing I know is that I want to wrestle with ancient beliefs with respect. People talk about decolonizing education, and for me that includes being careful in how I approach ancient texts.The book I am reading is about ancient Ugaritic myths of Baal. Since Baal appears in the Bible as an example of apostacy (wrong worship) people originally approached it looking for how inferior it is. Or as a predecessor of Jewish and Christian beliefs, looking at how the traditions of Israel improved upon it. ... See MoreSee Less

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Christy's Houseful of Chaos

2 days ago

What courageous things have inspired you recently? Have there been times you've been courageous recently?The picture is of Millicent Fawcett who said: ‘Courage calls to courage everywhere, and its voice cannot be denied.’ ... See MoreSee Less

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Christy's Houseful of Chaos

3 days ago

My nine week secular Bible study class starts on Monday, September 20th. It is always fun to work through the course with a new group of students. ... See MoreSee Less

Biblical Studies for Secular Students (Ages 10 - 13) | Small Online Class for Ages 10-13

outschool.com

Study the Bible from a secular viewpoint, learning about the history of ancient Israel, Judah, Assyria and Babylon while exploring how Biblical interpretation has changed over time.

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