Violence Against Women in the Torah

As we begin our study of Cross Vision, we are faced immediately with the "elephant" in the Christian living room. Violence is ubiquitous in the Old Testament stories, and, even more alarming, much of the violence is sanctioned or even perpetrated by God. Our Old Testament scriptures were part of the Jewish tradition long before they became a part of ours. So, it seems prudent to also keep our eyes and ears out for Jewish interpretations of the same texts. With that in mind, this article seems relevant: Violence Against Women by Judith Plaskow from The Torah: A Women's Commentary. Of note:

It is striking that throughout the portion, God is implicated in the violence in the text. Except in the case of Lot’s willingness to sacrifice his daughters, God carries out or commands the violence (Sodom and Gomorrah; Isaac) or supports it (Abraham and Sarah; Sarah and Hagar). The representations of violence that the text holds up to us are ones on which the human and divine levels mirror each other. There is no cosmic relief, so to speak, from the reality of violence.

"There is no cosmic relief..." It's hard not to feel the weight of that after reading the first chapter of Boyd's book. We are faced with a very real question, one that has caused honest and educated theologians to lose their faith.  It takes both humility and courage to face this issue. Let us hold one another in prayer as we read and study and discuss.

Cross Vision: Guiding Questions

Because we do not have a participant or leader guide for our study of Cross Vision, Joanna developed a list of guiding questions for us to use as we read through each chapter. We are going to become very familiar with these questions! I suggest writing them in the front of a notebook or binder (or even in the front cover of the book) and journaling your answers each week. As we take turns facilitating the discussion, these will also be the guiding questions. Here they are:

Cross Vision: Study Questions

How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence

Greg Boyd

• What was the main point or ideas of this chapter? What stood out to you? What do you have questions about?
• How does this chapter build on “la idea grande” of the whole book?
• Is there a scripture from this chapter that you want to highlight?
• What questions, concerns or comments do you have about about God’s role in the Old Testament narrative?
• What is your current image of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and does this chapter challenge, clarify, or confuse this image?
• Is your understanding of Jesus and the purpose/role of his crucifixion changing?
•  What is your current view of scripture and does this chapter challenge, clarify, or confuse that view?

Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence

What's brewing at Morning Blend? 

Starting January 10th, 2018 we will begin reading Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence by Greg Boyd. We'll be taking this book at the slow pace of one chapter a week until the end of our study year in June. 

From the Fortress Press website:

Renowned pastor-theologian Gregory A. Boyd tackles the Bible’s biggest dilemma.
The Old Testament God of wrath and violence versus the New Testament God of love and peace—it’s a difference that has troubled Christians since the first century. Now, with the sensitivity of a pastor and the intellect of a theologian, Gregory A. Boyd proposes the “cruciform hermeneutic,” a way to read the Old Testament portraits of God through the lens of Jesus’s crucifixion.

In Cross Vision, Boyd follows up on his epic and groundbreaking study, The Crucifixion of the Warrior God. He shows how the death and resurrection of Jesus reframes the troubling violence of the Old Testament, how all of Scripture reveals God’s self-sacrificial love, and, most importantly, how we can follow Jesus’s example of peace.

John Wesley on Prayer

Last week we discussed some of John Wesley's thoughts on prayer. Here's a link to that article on the United Methodist Church website: John Wesley on Prayer. 

Wesley gets at some of our questions about whether prayer is a "doing" or a "being:"

All that a Christian does, even in eating and sleeping, is prayer, when it is done in simplicity, according to the order of God, without either adding to or diminishing from it by his own choice.

This, perhaps, helps us to think about how it is possible to "pray continually" or to live our lives in prayer.

John Parsons on Prayer

Tesha passed this article along in email, but I wanted to be sure that it was posted here, too. In our study last week, Philip Yancey mentioned the words, "Be Still," from Psalm 46. He gave us the Latin translation, "Vacate." John Parsons, of Hebrew For Christians, gives us the Hebrew translation, "Rapha," and offers some thoughts in the following article: Surrender...God's Irrepressible Care for the World.

Parsons offers additional thoughts on the same passage here: Surrender to Peace...Knowing the Divine Presence.

Both articles are excellent if you're looking for more thoughts on surrender and being still.

Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference?

What's brewing at Morning Blend? 

Starting September 13th, 2017 we will begin the first session of a study on Philip Yancey's book Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference. From Philip Yancey's website: 

Prayer can be frustrating, confusing, and fraught with mystery.  I probe such questions as: Is God listening? Why should God care about me? If God knows everything, what’s the point of prayer? How can I make prayer more satisfying?  Why do so many prayers go unanswered? Do prayers for healing really matter?  Does prayer change God?

I began with a list of such questions, then   I studied all 650 prayers in the Bible and interviewed scores of people about their own experiences with prayer.  The process of writing caused a revolution in my own conception and practice of prayer.

The study has six DVD sessions and a participant guide. The first session can be viewed here: 

The first session of the participant guide is also available online here: Prayer Study Guide. 

For more information about Philip Yancey or to follow his blog, you can visit: https://philipyancey.com/

Who is Thomas B. Slater?

Thomas B. Slater is the guest speaker for Episode 24 of the Covenant Bible Study on the book of Revelation. Here are some quick facts about him:

1. He is professor of New Testament Language & Literature in the James & Carolyn McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University. 
2. He received his B.A. in journalism from Arkansas Tech University, his Master of Theology and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, and his Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from King's College London at the University of London.
3.  He has written a commentary on the book of Ephesians and a book called Christ in Community: A Socio-Historical Study of the Christology of Revelation. 
4. He has been a pastor or an associate pastor of ten congregations in the United States and in the United Kingdom and is an ordained minister in full connection in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
5. He is the first African American to receive a Ph.D in biblical studies in the United Kingdom.

Who is Daniel L. Smith-Christopher?

Daniel L. Smith-Christopher is the guest speaker for Episode 23 of the Covenant Bible Study on the book of Daniel. Here are some quick facts about him:

1. He is professor of Theological Studies and director of Peace Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. 
2. He received his B.A. from George Fox University, his M.Div. from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, and his D.Phil. from Oxford University in England. 
3. He is the author of several books, including Jonah, Jesus, and Other Good Coyotes: Speaking Peace to Power in the Bible, A Biblical Theology of Exile (Overtures to Biblical Theology) and Introduction to the Old Testament: Our Invitation to Faith and Justice.
4. He recently began teaching on the role of Scripture in African-American Gospel and Blues musical and lyrical traditions, and he has consulted on many television and multimedia projects in these areas. 
5. Fortress Press Publishing in Minneapolis named him Undergraduate Theology Teacher of the Year in 2006.
   
   

Who is Melody D. Knowles?

Melody D. Knowles is the guest speaker for episode 22 of the Covenant Study on 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Here are some quick facts about her:

1. She received a B.A. from Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Canada in 1991, an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1994, and a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2001.
2. She is the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Old Testament at Virginia Theological Seminary. 
3. She was previously Associate Professor of Hebrew Scriptures at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.
4. She has been involved in archaeological excavations at various sites in Israel, and worked to make McCormick’s rich archaeological collection a visible and well-used educational resource for students.  
5. Her published works include Centrality Practiced: Jerusalem in the Religious Practice of Yehud and the Diaspora in the Persian Period (2006), and Contesting Texts: Jews and Christians in Conversation About the Bible (2007). She was the lead translator of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah for the Common English Bible (CEB), and wrote the notes for the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles in the study edition of the CEB.

Who is Patricia K. Tull?

Patricia K. Tull is the guest speaker for Episode 21 of the Covenant Bible Study on the book of Isaiah. Here are a few fast facts about her:

1. She is a retired professor of Old Testament at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary where she taught required courses in Hebrew, Hebrew exegesis, and the introduction to the Hebrew Bible for Master of Divinity and Master of Arts (Religion) students. She also offered elective courses such as Biblical Interpretation after the Holocaust, Interpreting the Exile, Preaching Biblical Narratives, Teaching the Bible: Wisdom Literature, Scripture’s Memories, Portraits of God, and Exegesis of Psalms, 1-2 Samuel, and Isaiah.
2. She earned her degrees at the University of Texas in Austin (B.S. Ed.); Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (M.Div.); and Emory University (Ph.D.).
3.  She is passionate about developing interfaith relations among Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the United States and abroad.
4. She is the author of several books including, most recently, Inhabiting Eden: Christians, the Bible, and the Ecological Crisis (2013).  
5. She keeps a blog at: https://inhabitingeden.blogspot.com/ where you can learn more about her and read her thoughts on Christians and Ecology.