Sacrifice and Atonement

The themes for our study in the Spring 2009 semester are sacrifice and atonement. We will supplement Glenn M. Miller's seven-part study of sacrifice and redemption in the Old and New Testaments, "The Great Irruption--The Work of Christ on the Cross," with readings from Anselm, Søren Kierkegaard, Walter Brueggeman, and others. In addition to familiarizing ourselves with the rites in Leviticus and their revisions in Romans and Hebrews, we will revisit the familiar stories of Cain and Abel, Abraham and Isaac, and the Last Supper. We will also host a viewing of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2004) during Holy Week. The ultimate goal is for each of us to begin to discern the meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection for us, individually and collectively.

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.