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.

Lamentations and Tisha B'Av

The book of Lamentations is the song and response of the Hebrew people to the fall of Jerusalem. Not surprisingly, this book has continued as part of the liturgical tradition of the Jewish people, as they grieve the losses of many generations. It is traditional for the Jewish people to read the book of Lamentations on both the evening and the morning of Tisha B'Av, the 9th of Av, an annual day of mourning to commemorate the many tragedies the Jews have endured. Several painful events are said to have happened on this day:

• The spies returned from the land of Canaan, and only Joshua and Caleb had faith that God could bring the people into the land. God, therefore, declared that the Israelites would continue to wander in the desert until the older generation died, and this generation would not see the promised land. 
• The destruction of the first temple. (586 BC)
• The destruction of the second temple. (70 AD)
• A massacre of the Jewish people at the battle of Betar. (133 AD)
• The temple mount was ploughed under. (134 AD)
• The Jews were forced out of England.  (1290 AD)
• The Jews were forced out of Spain. (1492 AD) 
• Germany declared war on Russia, setting the first World War into motion, then the second, and eventually the Holocaust. (1914 AD) 

(Dates and info from: What Happened on the Ninth of Av?) 

The Jewish people observe a 3 week period of mourning leading up to Tisha B'Av and an intense period of mourning for the 9 days prior, beginning with the 1st of Av, which is traditionally held to be the day that Aaron, the priest and brother of Moses, died. Tisha B'Av then marks the beginning of a time of reflection on the previous year as the people prepare for the high holy days of Rosh Hashanah (New Year), Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.

The Christian people have embraced this tradition of reading portions of Lamentations during set periods of grief and mourning, namely Lent. Liturgical Christian churches commonly read from Lamentations on the Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week and on Good Friday, prior to Easter.

In the midst of Lamentations, we find this poignant and piercing gem of hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.” (from ch3)

John Parsons, at Hebrew For Christians, describes the book of Lamentations as God's cry for the people, the tears of Jeremiah as symbolic of "God's compassionate love" for the people. God is not absent from the book, despite the depth of the suffering. The covenant endures. (The Fast of Tammuz and the Three Weeks o Sorrow)

Who is Linda M. Day?

Linda M. Day is the guest speaker for Episode 20 of the Covenant Bible Study on Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Ezekiel. Here are some quick facts about her:

1. She received a BA in English Literature from Harvard University, an MA in Religious Studies from Palmer Theological Seminary, a PhD in Biblical Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary, and an EdD in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania.
2. She has been a professor at Anderson University, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and Hiram College.
3. She was the General Editor for the Catholic Biblical Quarterly for 8 years. 
4. She has written a commentary on the book of Esther (2005)
5. She was one of the editors for the book: Engaging the Bible in a Gendered World: An Introduction to Feminist Biblical Interpretation. (2006)

Perspectives on the story of Job

I am not inclined to offer commentary on the following articles, but I do want to offer some perspectives from familiar voices (Rachel Held-Evans, Greg Boyd, Nadia Bolz-Weber) on the story of Job and the problem of pain/evil. If you have some time this week, these articles may inform your thoughts on this week's study.

Rachel Held-Evans wrote a blog post in 2013 called "The abusive theology of deserved tragedy..." In this post she tackles the particular evangelical response to suffering that declares, "Bad things happen because God is angry. This is God’ judgment on undeserving, sinful people. Repent. We brought this on ourselves." In her words,

This theology is, in a word, abusive, for it blames the victim for whatever calamity, abuse, or tragedy she suffers and says it is deserved.

And:

...the story of Job stands as an ancient indictment on those who would respond to tragedy by blaming the victim. That’s exactly what Job’s friends did, and the text is not kind to them for it, because Job is described as "blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

Greg Boyd gets into the particulars of the story of Job in his article The Point of the Book of Job. (It's a detailed article and worthy of a careful reading!) Boyd expresses a similar sentiment to Rachel Held-Evans here:

Sounding remarkably like many Christians today when they confront people in pain, and illustrating perfectly the complaint that satan originally raised against God, his friends insist that since God is perfectly just, Job must deserve what God is dishing out to him.

But also...

This is not to say that everything Job's friends say about God is incorrect. This book is far too subtle to paint everything in either-or terms. It artfully paints a thoroughly ambiguous picture of the cosmos...

In another article, Boyd responds to The 35W Bridge Collapse and the Book of Job. Here he draws our attention to how closely related the problem of evil/pain is to the question of free will/predestination:

If God was controlling everything, then there obviously would be no point for God to bring up the unfathomable complexity of creation or his warfare against powers of chaos. If God is controlling everything, such matters are utterly irrelevant.

Instead,

God’s appeal to the complexity and war-torn nature of the cosmos is significant precisely because it shows that God is not an omni-controlling deity, and that because we humans have next to no understanding of this complexity or the spiritual battles that engulf it, we should not be quick to attribute catastrophes to God.

Nadia Bolz-Weber, perhaps not surprisingly, suggests that perhaps we're not asking the right questions at all in response to the story of Job (from an interview with Religion and Politics).

This is what we see at the end of Job. Throughout Job there’s basically what we call theodicy: If God’s all good, why are we suffering? And Job’s friends end up going, “Well, either you did something wrong, you know, you’re bad and God’s good, and that’s why you’re being punished, or you’re good and God’s bad, and that’s why.” You know, there are just really simple categories. It’s either black, or it’s white...

We like black and white, dualistic categories, and we love nothing more than to project those onto God...

We’ve been struggling with this sort of dualistic thinking since the very beginning. You know what’s really weird? To be human and God. It kind of has to be either-or, right? No, it’s queer. It’s like being sinner and saint. Like Martin Luther said, imul justus et peccator. We’re 100 percent of both all the time.

And here's where I'll insert just a few of my own thoughts. One of the things that has guided me in my studies of theology, especially when it comes to questions of evil and suffering in the world, is the idea that if I find myself faced with an idea about God that is just too horrific to believe, it's actually ok to not believe it. Instead, I believe that there's something that I'm not understanding. There's a truth or a mystery that is beyond my grasp. But it simply does not make sense to believe evil of God. Rachel Held-Evan says it this way (in her article The Scandal of the Evangelical Heart):

It’s not enough for me to maintain my intellectual integrity as a Christian; I also want to maintain my emotional integrity as a Christian. And I don’t need answers to all of my questions to do that. I need only the courage to be honest about my questions and doubts, and the patience to keep exploring and trusting in spite of them.

*****************
For more of Greg Boyd's thoughts on Job, listen to his sermon here: Twisted Scripture: The Book of Job.

Sounding remarkably like many Christians today when they confront people in pain, and illustrating perfectly the complaint the satan originally raised against God, his friends insist that since God is perfectly just, Job must deserve what God is dishing out to him. - See more at: http://reknew.org/2008/01/the-point-of-the-book-of-job/#sthash.7eVHmz2Q.dpu

Sounding remarkably like many Christians today when they confront people in pain, and illustrating perfectly the complaint the satan originally raised against God, his friends insist that since God is perfectly just, Job must deserve what God is dishing out to him. - See more at: http://reknew.org/2008/01/the-point-of-the-book-of-job/#sthash.7eVHmz2Q.dpuf

Amy Erickson on Psalm 1

The speaker for this week's Covenant Study episode on Job, Amy Erickson, has also done a little writing about the Psalms! In light of our discussion last week about the passages in Psalms about enemies and how the Psalms might move us toward action in the world, her article from the Huffington Post, Psalm 1: Putting Evil in Its Place, seems particularly apropos. Her discussion of Psalm 1 centers around its relevance to the students of New York Theological Seminary (NYTS) at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Yes, you read that right!

Since 1982 New York Theological Seminary has been one of the most unusual programs in theological education in the nation.  Each year up to fifteen students who are currently incarcerated in New York State enroll in the Seminary’s accredited Master of Professional Studies (MPS) degree offered inside the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York.

Amy Erickson makes clear that, although Psalm 1 is a prayer and a song to God, it is also a word of direction and encouragement for the faith community:

Armed with something that looks a lot like a Psalm 1 worldview, the graduates of Sing Sing seminary go out into the world committed to serve their communities, bringing a message of hope and responsibility back to the place where they once walked on the path that sinners tread and followed the advice of the wicked. There on the streets of New York, sustained by streams of unseen waters, most of these seminary graduates “yield their fruit” and “their leaves do not wither” (v. 3).

The Psalms turn our attention to God, to the covenant, to the laws of God. And, in that way, they proclaim the way to live and work in our lives and in the world.

Who is Amy Erickson?

 Amy Erickson is the guest speaker for Episode 19 of the Covenant Bible Study on the book of Job. Here are some quick facts about her:

1. She is associate professor of Hebrew Bible and the director of the Masters of Theological Studies program at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. The courses that she teaches include: The Body and Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible, (Re-)Constructing Identity in the Persian Period, and The Afterlives of Jonah.
2. She received her BA from Bates College, her MDiv from Columbia Theological Seminary, and her PhD in Old Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary.
3. She has written articles on Jonah, Job, the Psalms, Zechariah, and Amos. She is a regular contributor to The Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, workingpreacher.org and the Huffington Post ON Scripture.
4. She is an active member of the Society of Biblical Literature and co-chairs the section Megilloth (“Scrolls,” which includes the book of Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther). 
5. She is said to be currently writing a commentary on the book of Jonah and a book on the metaphor of God as enemy in Job's speeches.

Bonhoeffer on Psalms

This week's readings for the Covenant Study (episode 18) are from the Book of Psalms, and I am enjoying re-reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible. For a synopsis of Bonhoeffer's book check out this article by Carson Reed: Bonhoeffer and the Psalms.

In the article Carson notes that Bonhoeffer's book is an "attempt to place this rich prayer resource on the table of the twentieth century church."  Bonhoeffer writes that the book of Psalms is a "school of prayer," which teaches us what prayer means, what we should pray, and how we should pray together in community.

Perhaps not surprisingly, there are a number of resources on how to use the Psalms as part of the daily practice of prayer. I am particularly interested in how these ancient words provide a history and a continuity of prayer all the way from early Israel to the current times. Looking forward to a great discussion with all of you on the power and richness of this book!

Who is William P. Brown?

William P. Brown is the guest speaker for Episode 18 of the Covenant Bible Study on the Psalms. Here are some quick facts about him:

1. He is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Georgia.
2. Dr. Brown earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Whitman College in Washington, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and Doctor of Philosophy in Old Testament Studies from Emory University. 
3. He studied as a Princeton University exchange fellow in Germany from 1985-1987.
4. He is the author of several books, including Wisdom's Wonder: Character, Creation, and Crisis in the Bible's Wisdom Literature (2014), The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder (2010), Character in Crisis: A Fresh Approach to the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament (1996), and many others. 
5.  He was a founding member of Earth Covenant Ministry, which later became part of Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, whose mission is to engage "communities of faith in stewardship of Creation as a direct expression of our faithfulness and as a religious response to global climate change, resource depletion, environmental injustice, pollution, and other disruptions in Creation." (GIPL: Connecting Faith, Community and Planet)

Who is Jaime Clark-Soles?

Jaime Clark-Soles is the guest speaker for Episode 17 of the Covenant Bible Study on the Gospel of John and 1st, 2nd, & 3rd John. Here are some quick facts about her:

1. She is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University and is an ordained American Baptist minister.
2. She received her B.A. from Stetson University where she studied Philosophy and Russian Studies.  She earned her M.Div. from Yale Divinity School and her Ph.D. in New Testament from Yale University. 
3. She is the author of Reading John for Dear Life: A Spiritual Walk with the Fourth Gospel (2016), Engaging the Word: The New Testament and the Christian Believer  (2010), Death and Afterlife in the New Testament (2006), and Scripture Cannot Be Broken (2003). And
   she is currently working on a book entitled Women in the Bible for the Interpretation commentary series.
4.  She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Religion, Disability & Health, and her essay covering Disability in the Johannine Literature will appear soon in a new commentary entitled Disability and the Bible: A Commentary.
5. She is married to Thad Clark-Soles, and they have 2 children: Chloe and Caleb.

You can check out Jaime Clark-Soles website here: http://www.jaimeclarksoles.com/. And listen to her TEDx Talk entitled, "Dying to Live" here: https://youtu.be/gcHNqv0mR44.

Who is Francisco García-Treto?

Francisco García-Treto is the guest speaker for Episode 16 of the Covenant Bible Study on Isaiah and the Minor Prophets. Here are some quick facts about him:

1. He is Professor of Religion Emeritus at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas and an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church.
2. He was born in Cuba and became an American citizen in 1967.
3.  He originally wanted to be a chemical engineer but eventually ended up studying theology and received his Masters (1962) and PhD (1966) from Princeton Theological Seminary. 
4. He has written two commentary books, both in Spanish. One is on Psalms and the other on Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.
5. He is married to Bonnie Flake, former Director of Alumni Relations at Trinity University. They have a blended family, each having 2 children of their own, and they have 7 grandchildren.

Who is David L. Bartlett?

David L. Bartlett is the guest speaker for Episode 15 of the Covenant Bible Study on James, Jude, and 1&2 Peter. Here are some quick facts about him:

1. He is Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary and Lantz Professor Emeritus of Preaching at Yale Divinity School, where he also served for eleven years as Academic Dean. He has also worked as a professor at Union Theological Seminary, Pacific School of Religion, University of Chicago, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, and American Baptist Seminary of the West.
2. He received his BA from Swarthmore College in 1962, a Bachelor of Divinity from Yale Divinity School in 1967, and a Doctor in Philosophy from the Department of Religious Studies in New Testament at Yale Divinity School in 1972.
3. He is an ordained minister of the American Baptist Churches and is the Theologian in Residence at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. He has previously served as Senior Minister of Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland, Senior Minister of Hyde Park Union Church in Chicago, and Senior Minister of University Baptist Church in Minneapolis.
4.  He is a significant contributor and co-editor of the Feasting on the Word commentary series, which serves as a resource for pastors, teachers, and individuals studying the lectionary readings. He has also written enough books, articles, and essays that it would take several pages to list them all. 
5. He is married to Carol Bartlett, a retired social worker and Christian educator, and they have two sons. He and his wife co-authored a book on children's sermons for the Feasting on the Word Commentary Series!

Who is Michael J. Brown?

Michael J. Brown is the guest speaker of Episode 14 of the Covenant Bible Study on Philemon, Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians. Here are some quick facts about him:

1. He is the President of Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce, Ohio. 
2. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and a Master of Divinity, and Doctor of Philosophy degree, specializing in the New Testament and Christian Origins from the University of Chicago.
3. Prior to joining Payne, Dr. Brown was Associate Professor of New Testament and Christian
   Origins at Emory University in Atlanta for 12 years. He then served as Associate Dean of Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana and was the Director of the Malcolm X Institute on Black Studies from 2011-2013.
4.  He has written four books: What They Don’t Tell You: A Survivor’s Guide to Academic Biblical Studies (2000), Blackening of the Bible: The Aims of African American Biblical Scholarship (2004), The Lord’s Prayer through North African Eyes: A Window into Early Christianity (2005), and The Lord’s Prayer and God’s Vision for the World: Finding Your Purpose through Prayer (2014). 
5. He comes from FIVE generations of ministers!

Who is Christine Roy Yoder?

Christine Roy Yoder is the guest speaker of Episode 13 of the Covenant Bible Study on Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Here are some quick facts about her:

1) She is the professor of Old Testament Language, Literature and Exegesis, as well at the interim Dean of Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, at Columbia Theological Seminary.

2) She received her BA from Swarthmore College, an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary and a PhD in Old Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary.

3) She has written several books on the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, including Wisdom as a Woman of Substance: A Socioeconomic Reading of Proverbs 1-9 and 31:1-31 and The Senses in Israelite Wisdom Literature.

4) She is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian church.

5)  She was named by the Association of Theological Schools and The Henry Luce Foundation, Inc. as a Henry Luce III Fellow in Theology for her book project tentatively titled Contours of Desire in Israelite Wisdom Literature.

Christians and Civil Disobedience

This past week, we discussed leadership and government and the role of Christians in resisting a corrupt government, especially in light of Romans 13 which says,

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

1 Peter 2 also says,

Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

Does this mean that Christians ought to acquiesce to a corrupt government? At first glance, it seems so. However, the Scriptures also offer up a number of examples of what might certainly be called "civil disobedience." There were the Hebrew midwives in Exodus 1:

"...But the midwives feared God and did not do as the King of Egypt commanded them. ... So, God dealt well with the midwives. ...And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families."

In Joshua 2, Rahab defies the King of Jericho and refuses to give up the Israelite spies. In 1 Kings 18, Obadiah hides the prophets from Jezebel, a clear defiance of the queen. And there were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3:

Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.

Daniel himself defied the king's command in Daniel 6. And many hundreds of years later, in Acts 5, we read:

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men."

The case for civil disobedience seems clear when the authorities are directly defying God or endangering the people of God. What does this mean for us today? What kind of resistance is permissible? Are there times to go beyond a refusal to obey the orders of the government? Are there times for active resistance?

For an example of this, many turn to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a well-known and revered Christian theologian, who is thought to have been part of a conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Some quick research, however, reveals that Bonhoeffer was somewhat removed from the assassination plan, though he must certainly known of it. It is unclear whether or not he approved and exactly how involved he was. His own words seem unclear on whether he would consider such an action right before God. From his book, Ethics:

"Before other men he is justified by dire necessity; before himself he is acquitted by his conscience, but before God he hopes only for grace.”

Are there other examples we might turn to? Other passages of scripture? Other examples among the saints and theologians of the past? I look forward to hearing more responses, thoughts and ideas on this over the coming weeks as we continue to explore Living the Covenant. 

Who is Audrey L. S. West?

Audrey L. S. West is the guest speaker of Episode 12 of the Covenant Bible Study on 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy and Titus. Here are some quick facts about her:

1) She is an adjunct professor of New testament at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

2) She received a master of divinity and master of sacred theology from Yale Divinity School and a doctor of philosophy degree in New Testament from Duke University. Her minor fields of study included ethics and feminist philosophy.

3) Prior to her theological studies, West was national executive director for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Volunteers for Youth, where she administered a program for at-risk junior high school youth. She has also worked as a consultant with non-profit organizations in the areas of group dynamics, conflict resolution, fundraising, and decision-making.

4) She has written a 9-session Bible Study series called "Gathered by God," which was published in Gather, the ELCA women's magazine.

5) Her current research interests include ancient Greco-Roman conventions of friendship and the intersection between the New Testament and contemporary ethics.

Storytelling and Compassion

In this week's study we hear how the Prophet Nathan told a story to King David in order to call the King out on his sinful behavior. Nathan's story had a much more powerful effect than confronting King David about his behavior. It made David step outside himself and see the situation from another point of view.

Stories are incredibly powerful tools. According to education and neuroscience studies, stories facilitate leaning and memory, and they help people organize their world. Check out this article featuring Michael Gazzaniga: Your Storytelling Brain.

Gazzaniga suspects that narrative coherence helps us to navigate the world – to know where we're coming from and where we're headed. It tells us where to place our trust and why. One reason we may love fiction, he says, is that it enables us to find our bearings in possible future realities, or to make better sense of our own past experiences.

Not only does storytelling help us to navigate the world, hearing the stories of others build empathy and compassion in us. Researchers at Staffordshire University in England have been studying the Superpower of Storytelling.

Our findings suggest that arts and culture can convey stories that have a superpower to connect people by striking a chord, enabling us to identify with individuals and challenge stereotypical ideas of the ‘other’ – a truly remarkable thing in a world that sometimes seems overwhelmed by social and racial tensions.

In fact, stories are so effective that they're used in marketing all the time, and businesses are capitalizing on the power of storytelling. Leadership Story Lab teaches business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs how to tell effective stories to run successful businesses and market their products:

Using only classical storytelling elements, we blend our creative coaching, training, and consulting with cutting edge social science insights. The results? You are able to translate your data, relate your ideas, and persuade your audience to act.

We call it: storytelling with business impact.

What this tells us is that stories are possibly the most effective tools at our disposal for teaching and learning, for correcting, for changing attitudes/behaviors, and for building compassion. Have you ever heard of Humans of New York? It began as a photography project and morphed into a storytelling project...and, as a storytelling project, it has become wildly popular all over social media. And then there's Upworthy, whose byline is: Because we're all part of the same story. From their website:

We believe that stories about important issues can and should be great stories — stories for everyone, stories that connect us and sometimes even change the world.

"...even change the world." Nathan's story changed David's world. When we stop to listen to the stories of others, those stories change us. I look forward to hearing about the stories that have shaped your life, the stories you tell again and again.

Who is Roy L. Heller?

Roy L. Heller is the guest speaker for Episode 11 of the Covenant Bible Study on the books of 2nd Samuel and 1st & 2nd Kings. Here are a few quick facts about him:

1) He received  a B.S. from Houston Baptist University, a Master of Arts and a Master of Philosophy from Yale University Graduate School,  an M.Div. and a  a Master of Sacred Theology from Yale University Divinity School, and a PhD in Hebrew Bible and Old Testament from Yale University.

2) He is an Associate Professor of Old Testament at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX.

3) He is the author of 3 books: Conversations with Scripture: The Books of Judges (2011), Power, Politics, and Prophecy: The Character of Samuel and the Deuteronomistic Evaluation of Prophecy (2006), and Narrative Structure Discourse Constellations: An Analysis of Clause Function in Biblical Hebrew Prose (2004).

4) He has special interests in Hebrew grammar and syntax, and using the Bible in ethics.

5) He is a fifth generation Texan. He, his wife Amy, and their two children, Annie and Noah, have been living in Dallas since 1999.

Who is Matthew L. Skinner?

 Matthew L. Skinner is the guest speaker in the 10th Episode of the Covenant Bible Study, "Luke and Acts: The Spirit-Led Community." Here are a few quick facts about him:

1) He is a professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN.  Although Luther is an ELCA seminary, Skinner is ordained as a teaching elder by the Presbyterian Church.

2) He has an M.Div. and a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary and an A.B. with a concentration in philosophy from Brown University.

3) He is a prolific writer, and his writing include two books of his own (Intrusive God, Disruptive Gospel: Encountering the Divine in the Book of Acts, and The Trial Narratives: Conflict, Power, and Identity in the New Testament), some co-authored books, contributions to commentaries, dictionaries, and encyclopedias, articles for Huffington Post, small group materials, blog articles, and material for EnterTheBible.org (a resource mentioned just a few posts back in this blog as an excellent resource for study).

4) He co-hosts a podcast called Sermon Brainwave, which is intended to help pastors interpret sermon texts and prepare for sermons.

5) He does a fair amount of public speaking: for conferences, congregations, colleges, seminaries, retreats, and continuing education for pastors.

To learn more about Matthew L. Skinner, visit his website here: http://www.matthewskinner.org/.  I especially appreciate this statement from his site:

When people read scripture together, they learn about the foundations of their religious beliefs, yet they also learn about one another and the God they follow. The conversations we have around the Bible can transform us, informing our hopes and propelling us to serve and love the wider world.

Revenge in the Book of Esther?

Many troubling questions arise as the story of Esther concludes with two bloody days of revenge. Chapter 9, verse 16 says, " Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king's provinces also gathered to defend their lives, and got relief from their enemies and killed 75,000 of those who hated them..." Despite searching through various commentaries and articles on the subject, it seems that there are very few satisfactory explanations for such wholesale violence. I invite you to "listen in" on a conversation among Jewish rabbis discussing this issue here: Rabbi Dev Noily and others on the Book of Esther and to take some time reading various understandings of the passage here: A Violent Ending by Rabbi Jill Jacobs. Though neither of these sites provides a definitive "answer," they offer various interpretations, concerns, and discussion points.

Briefly, the various interpretations include the possibility that Esther is an allegory, or at the very least, an exaggerated story. It is the closest thing to a Shakespearean drama that can be found in the scriptures - full of drama, courts, and plot twists. It is a story of danger and deliverance. The deliverance is swift and total. Perhaps the purpose is to communicate God's total love for the people, God's fury against those who mistreat the people of Israel, and the intent of God to deliver the people completely one day? Other commentators look carefully at the verses and draw the conclusion that only those who had directly oppressed the Israelites were killed. The text says, "The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them." This is taken to mean that they did not kill the rest, only plundered and humiliated them. Still, 75,000 seems like an awfully large number. Still others commentators deal with the story as just a story. Just because the story is in the Bible doesn't make every action in it right, though we can certainly learn something.

Who is Judy Fentress-Williams?

Judy Fentress-Williams is the guest speaker for episode 9 of the Covenant Bible Study, "Ruth, Esther, Song of Songs: Faithful Love, Committed Relationships." Here are some fast facts about her:

1) She is Professor of Old Testament at Virginia Theological Seminary.

2) In backwards order: She received her Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from Yale University in 1999. She earned her M.Div. from Yale Divinity School in 1990 and her A.B. in English from Princeton University with certificates in African-American Studies and American Studies in 1984.

3) She was the director of the Black Ministries Program at Hartford Seminary in the years she spent teaching there. She is currently a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, is an active participant in the Bakhtin and Biblical Studies Group, and she serves on the Advisory Board for the Office of Religious Life at Princeton University.

4) She has a number of published essays and most recently published a commentary on the book of Ruth.

5) She is married to Kevin Williams, M.D. and they have two children, Samantha and Jacob.

(Info from the Virginia Theological Seminary website.)

Resources for Reading through the Bible - Covenant Study

Hello everyone! We're getting ready to begin book 2 of the Covenant Bible Study (Living the Covenant), and we'll be working our way through books 2 and 3 before summer. A number of resources have been mentioned to me that can help to enrich our reading through scripture together, and I wanted to pass them on to you!

First, Joanna let me know about The Bible Project. From the website:

The Bible Project is a Portland based non-profit that utilizes short-form, fully animated videos to make the biblical story accessible to everyone, everywhere. We create videos, podcasts, and study guides that explore the Bible’s unified story by focusing on its overarching themes and each book’s literary design. We are committed to understanding the Bible in its historical context and communicating its wisdom for the modern world.

The Bible Project videos can also be found on their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/jointhebibleproject. These videos are excellent for engaging kids, as well as adults. They help scripture readers (that's use and me) grasp the larger concepts and see the stories as a unified whole. I am looking forward to learning my way around their website and using their resources in the coming months.

Then, I spent some time with the librarian at the Resource Center for Churches, and she shared a few other resources with me:

First, there's The Text This Week, which provides resources for study based on the lectionary reading from the Revised Common Lectionary. Specific scripture passages can be looked up in the scripture index, and resource pages include links to commentaries, journal articles, sermons, blog posts, video, music, movies, and artwork related to the specified passage. It's a little overwhelming, but it's a great starting point for finding additional information on scripture passages, aside from just the commentary in the Covenant Study. The Text This Week also has a facebook page and a mobile app!

Next, there's Enter The Bible by Luther Seminary. On this website, you can look up specific scripture passages also, just as you can on The Text This Week. clicking on a book of the Bible takes you to a resource page with a summary and links to information on the time period, people, places, and maps. There are also external links to other resources on the passage.

Hopefully these resources will add depth and meaning to your readings as we continue to work our way through the Covenant Series. I look forward to hearing about what you learn! 

...more to come...