Sunday, February 22, 2009
Historical/Hermeneutical Sleuthing
C. Stephen Evans, “Introduction,” in Fear and Trembling, ed. C. Stephen Evans and Sylvia Walsh, trans. Sylvia Walsh (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), pp. vi-xxx.
Søren Kierkegaard, “Tuning Up” and “A Tribute to Abraham,” in Ibid., pp. 7-20.
This week Michael will lead our discussion of Kierkegaard's idea of "faith like Abraham." I was drawn to these readings for two reasons: the first is that the scholarly introduction sets Fear and Trembling in its historical context, and I'm a historian, so I think it's neat to think about the ubiquitously Christian society and culture in which Kierkegaard/Johannes De Silentio wrote this challenging little book. The second is that sometimes we Moderns have a hard time relating to the figures and stories in the Bible. That all happened so long ago. But I believe the Bible contains truths for every generation, through the Holy Spirit. So this extended essay is an example of one person in history trying to find truth in a story that is compelling despite its lack of details. Or is it compelling because of its lack of details? Even though Kierkegaard's method of imputing internal motives to the characters may remind us of psychoanalytic history, we've brought up a number of times this semester already how the original writer(s) may have thought their point was obvious, but that since times, they are a'changing, and we don't get the original message anymore. So what message do you get out of this story, today? In other words, we're practicing a bit of hermeneutics this week, in trying to interpret both Kierkegaard/Johannes and Genesis 22.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Faith of Our Church Fathers
Genesis 15, 17, 18:1-15, 22
Rachel Barenblat, “Silence,” Velveteen Rabbi (11 Nov 2008). Accessed 31 Dec 2008: http://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com/blog/2008/11/this-weeks-portion-silence.html.
Hebrews 11
“Story of Abraham,” Islamia. Accessed 31 Dec 2008: http://www.islamia.com/abraham.htm.
This week we get to one of the really fascinating stories about sacrifice in the Bible: God has promised great things to Abraham through his younger son, Isaac, and then God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. It nearly came to pass, but God (or an Angel) intervenes, and a ram is offered up instead.
Because Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all claim to be Abrahamic faiths, I thought this was a great opportunity to examine this familiar story from these different perspectives. Here are some questions our readings suggest:
Abraham is often held up as a paragon of faith (e.g. Hebrews 11): does Rachel Barenblatt's poem make you think more, or less, highly of him?
How is the story different if we remember that Isaac wasn't Abraham's "one and only son" (Hebrews 11:17) (even though we know God make specific promises about Isaac)? Does it matter whether it's Isaac or Ishmael that Abraham nearly sacrificed? Or whether the almost-sacrificed son was in on the plan? (The fact that Isaac is kept in the dark in Genesis 22 always left an impression on me as a child.)
Going a little farther afield: Do you admire the role models the author of Hebrew has enumerated? Why or why not? What do you make of the assertion that "Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing" (Hebrews 11:13, Peterson)?
Check back before Tuesday, after I get a chance to read up on God's claim on first born (sons, of course). I will also bring the book with illustrations this week.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The uniqueness of ancient Jewish sacrifice
Glenn M. Miller, “Sacrifice in the Old Testament,” The Great Irruption: Christ’s Work on the Cross
This week we are getting a broader perspective on the sacrificial rites we read about in Leviticus last week. For instance, I had a chance to talk with an egyptologist friend, who told me the ancient Egyptians didn't sacrifice sacrifice as much as the ancient Hebrews, and when they did it was mostly a royal prerogative. (Also, they preferred large animals--no doves or grain!) Remember too that God calls the Israelites to sacrifice in the temple and not in the fields:
This is so the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the LORD, at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings. ~Leviticus 17:5 [emphasis mine]
That got me thinking about how important sacrifice must have been in ancient Judaism, that it was something for all Jews to do to have relationship with God and with other Jews--kind of how everyone is welcome at the Communion table in the United Methodist Church.
Have you ever considered how modern Christian "sacrifices" or rites build community?
Or coming from a different angle, which of the three Old Testament approaches to sacrifice most closely aligns with your own?
- The legal/cultuc prescriptions in the Pentateuch
- The worshipper's contrite and thankful heart in Pslams
- The prophetic rebuke and challenge to abuses in the Prophets
Sunday, February 1, 2009
"The Blood of the Covenant"
"The Blood of the Covenant from the Bible to the Eighteenth Century"
David Biale
Emanuel Ringelblum Professor of Jewish History in the Department of History of University of California Davis
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 7:30pm
Levis Faculty Center, 3rd floor (919 W. Illinois St., Urbana)
If people are interesting in attending this talk, perhaps we could go together. Presumably it wouldn't take more than about an hour, and we could just start our discussion of Glenn Miller's chapter on redemption in the New Testament slightly late. Please post here whether or not you'd want to do this.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Now Entering: the Holy of Holies
Leviticus 1-7
Walter Brueggeman, “Atonement,” “Death,” “Forgiveness,” “Redemption,” “Resurrection,” “Retribution,” “Sacrifice,” in Reverberations of Faith. A Theological Handbook of Old Testament Themes (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002).
What was it that sacrifice was supposed to accomplish for the ancient Hebrews? I'm hoping to have a rabbi or other Jewish leader come in to talk with us about sacrifice in modern Judaism later in the semester, but barring that, what do these legalistic and ritualistic chapters have to say to modern Christians? Eugene Peterson suggests that Leviticus is a study in how to be holy. What does that look like in an increasingly secular society?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
That 5000 BCE Murder
Genesis 1-4
Meyer Schapiro, “’Cain’s Jawbone That Did the First Murder’ (1942),” in Late Antique, Early Christian and Medieval Art: Selected Papers (New York: George Braziller, Inc., 1979), pp. 249-265.
Glenn M. Miller, “Introduction,” The Great Irruption: Christ’s Work on the Cross (optional)
This week we start at the very beginning: Cain and Abel gave the first sacrifices. (In Jewish oral tradition, Adam told his sons to do so.) The intention is to focus not just on the first murder but on the nature of the sacrifice(s) God expects. We're reading the first 4 chapters of Genesis in order to include the Creation and the Fall. After all, Christ's death on the cross is often interpreted as a guilt or sin offering for the world. So we need to talk about (original) sin.
I assigned the Schapiro reading because I couldn't find an explanation of the usual arguments about Cain and Abel's sacrifices that I liked. Plus, I wanted to do something with some visual interest. So I will also be bringing another book which has ancient, medieval, and modern artistic interpretations of this famous story.
Why does God prefer Abel's first lamb to Cain's grains?
1. Maybe God's choice is entirely arbitrary. Remember that in Exodus God says he will bless whom he will bless.
2. Abel gave the best of his flock and with the right intentions. Cain just brought "some" of his produce, instead of the best. This is why God speaks to him, telling him to do better next time.
3. God requires blood. Remember that at this time God has provided "everything that grows from the Earth" for humans to eat. Only after the Flood does God allow humans to eat meat:
1Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.2The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands.3Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
4“But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.5And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.
6“Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made man.
~ Genesis 9:1-6
The Miller reading was optional, but consider the argument he lays out at the beginning:
There is some point to the Universe.
There was some situation that needed "re-work."
There was some point to Christ's coming to earth.
There is some reason Christ's death [and resurrection] has seemed more[?] important than his earthly life.
So the reason we're going back to Old Testament sacrifice is to understand the contexts of Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection in order to better understand their importance to our own lives.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Sacrifice and Atonement
Most readings will be available in a packet, free of charge. Please bring it and your Bible(s) to each discussion. Hopefully we can rotate leading discussion each week.
Tuesday, January 20, Meet N Greet, 8:30-9pm, Student Lounge
Come to the Student Lounge at the Wesley Foundation to get in touch with the Grad Study group over snacks. Find out about the semester's study, pick up a reader, and sign up to lead discussion one week.
Tuesday, January 27 – Cain and Abel
Genesis 1-4
Meyer Schapiro, “’Cain’s Jawbone That Did the First Murder’ (1942),” in Late Antique, Early Christian and Medieval Art: Selected Papers (New York: George Braziller, Inc., 1979), pp. 249-265.
Glenn M. Miller, “Introduction,” The Great Irruption: Christ’s Work on the Cross (optional)
Tuesday, February 3 – Sacrificial Rites
Leviticus 1-7
Walter Brueggeman, “Atonement,” “Death,” “Forgiveness,” “Redemption,” “Resurrection,” “Retribution,” “Sacrifice,” in Reverberations of Faith. A Theological Handbook of Old Testament Themes (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002).
Tuesday, February 10
Glenn M. Miller, “Sacrifice in the Old Testament,” The Great Irruption: Christ’s Work on the Cross
Tuesday, February 17 – Abraham and Isaac
Genesis 15, 17, 18:1-15, 22
Rachel Barenblat, “Silence,” Velveteen Rabbi (11 Nov 2008). Accessed 31 Dec 2008: http://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com/blog/2008/11/this-weeks-portion-silence.html.
Hebrews 11
“Story of Abraham,” Islamia. Accessed 31 Dec 2008: http://www.islamia.com/abraham.htm.
Tuesday, February 24 – Faith like Abraham
C. Stephen Evans, “Introduction,” in Fear and Trembling, ed. C. Stephen Evans and Sylvia Walsh, trans. Sylvia Walsh (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), pp. vi-xxx.
Søren Kierkegaard, “Tuning Up” and “A Tribute to Abraham,” in Ibid., pp. 7-20.
Tuesday, March 3
Glenn M. Miller, “Sacrifice in the New Testament,” The Great Irruption: Christ’s Work on the Cross
Tuesday, March 10
Glenn M. Miller, “Redemption in the Old Testament,” The Great Irruption: Christ’s Work on the Cross
Tuesday, March 17 – Law and Righteousness
Romans 2:12-8:17
Matthew 5:17-19
Saturday, March 21-Sunday, March 28 – U of I Spring Break
Tuesday, March 31
Glenn M. Miller, “Redemption in the New Testament,” The Great Irruption: Christ’s Work on the Cross
Tuesday, April 7
Glenn M. Miller, “Reconciliation,” The Great Irruption: Christ’s Work on the Cross
Friday, April 10,
Wesley UMC Sanctuary, 7pm
Tenebrae Service
Wesley Movie Theater, 8pm
Mel Gibson, The Passion of the Christ (2004). Discussion to follow.
Sunday, April 12 – Easter Sunday
You are cordially invited to Michael and Kristen’s house for a potluck Easter dinner, 5:30-8pm. We will provide drinks and the main meat course (TBA); please the separate thread to sign up for sides and desserts.
Tuesday, April 14 – Christ as Priest and Lamb
Leviticus 21-22
Hebrews 1-10, 12-13
Bruce Chilton, “Epilogue: Two Priesthoods of the Absent Temple,” The Temple of Jesus: His Sacrificial Program Within a Cultural History of Sacrifice (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1992), pp.155-159.
Tuesday, April 21 – Atonement
Leviticus 16-17, 23: 26-32
“Atonement,” The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (2006)
Claude Beaufort Moss, “The Atonement in History,” Part I, Chapter 30 in The Christian Faith (London: The Chaucer Press, 1965, 1943). Prepared for katapi by Paul Ingram, 2004. Accessed 28 Dec 2008: http://www.katapi.org.uk/ChristianFaith/XXX.htm.
Robb McCoy, “’With,’ not ‘For,’” The Fat Pastor (20 Oct 2008). Accessed 28 Dec 2008: http://fatpastor.wordpress.com/2008 /10/20/with-not-for/.
Tuesday, April 28 – Why God Became Man
Anselm, “Cur Deus Homo,” Anselm of Canterbury: The Major Works, ed. Brian Davies and G.R. Evans (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. vii-x, xvii-xviii, 260-267, 270-271, 274-286, 300-307, 313-315, 318-352.
Tuesday, May 5 – Christus Victor
Glenn M. Miller, “Christus Victor,” The Great Irruption: Christ’s Work on the Cross
Tuesday, May 12 – “Living Sacrifice”
1 Cornithians 11:12-34
Romans 12:1-8
Bruce Chilton, “The Sacrifice of Jesus,” The Temple of Jesus: His Sacrificial Program Within a Cultural History of Sacrifice (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1992), pp. 100-111, 137-154.
United Methodist Church Communion Liturgy
We will celebrate Communion this evening with Pastor Rob Kirby.