Christians need Bible study. That may sound trite, obvious, or odd to say. However, I hear an alarming number of stories about churches that can't sustain a Bible study because people won't attend. Furthermore, when I review the materials for many Bible studies, they are often boring, filled with errors, and (did I say it already?) boring. The Bible is anything but boring, but we do a good job oversimplifying, complicating, convoluting, dumbing down, and drying out the rich, wonderful text of our faith.
I recently was looking for a short introduction to the Bible to teach in adult Sunday school. Curriculum mostly included role-playing (my folks won't do that), collaging, and reading. After culling through about five different written curricula and a few video based ones, I wound up putting together my own session.
This week we're going to have an introduction to Bible - both to the Bible in general and to our own Bibles in particular. People will spend time taking a look at their tables of contents, maps, book introductions, and appendices. We are going to explore the order of books, why they are ordered that way, and the history of the canon.
The Bible brings to us God's mystery, but the Bible itself should not be too mystifying. Christians need to know how to use their Bibles in order for them to find God's word in them.
If you have found good Bible studies (I already know about Disciple Bible Study), please let me know. We are moving to a study of the prophet Amos next...and, would you believe it, I couldn't find much user-friendly material so I'm writing this, too! So, I especially invite heads up to materials on Amos.
Just in case you are interested, Bible Basics includes: What is the Bible? What is the Old Testament (books, language, development)? How does the Old Testament compare to the Jewish Bible? What is the New Testament? When were the books written? How was the canon put together (Jewish Bible and New Testament)? What is the Apocrypha? Did the Reformation affect the Bible? What version is my Bible? What's in it? Are there special articles, explanations, or concordances?
If I've left out anything important, let me know!
Showing posts with label bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bible. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Thursday, January 18, 2007
praying for and with lutherans
Yet another clergy person is being brought to trial for expressing his authentic self. The twist is that this time it isn't a United Methodist. ELCA pastor Bradley Schmeling of St. John's Lutheran Church in Atlanta, Georgia will be undergoing a hearing beginning January 19. "On August 8, 2006, Bishop Ronald Warren of the Southeastern Synod filed formal charges with the ELCA against Pastor Schmeling because of his committed relationship with Rev. Darin Easler. Currently, the ELCA has a policy that excludes gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons in relationships from the ordained ministry" (St. John's website).
I have pledged to be in prayer for St. John's community, for Bradley Schmeling, and for the ELCA. Our communions are coming apart at the seams, bursting with the ignorance of many and the prejudice of some. I hear people raise up the Bible as a defense for their hurtful attitude toward and sometimes violent actions against GLBT people. While I could argue (and win, I must say) a prooftexting fight with these folks, what astounds me the most is the amount of weight they have given to seven scriptures that have been cherry picked from the Bible. I have to say that I've never seen a pastor on trial for encouraging her/his affluent church to remain aloof, bigotted, and segregated. And yet the Bible is clear, consistent, and unrelenting on the moral failure of those who oppress and refuse aid to people most vulnerable. I've never seen a denomination take a stance outlawing behavior that harms our environment. Yet the first thing that Adam and Eve are told to do is to tend to God's creation. I've never heard of someone being forced from office or removed from their orders for not loving their neighbor as themselves. So,while I heartily disagree with those who find GLBT folks in a state of sin just for being who God has made them to be, it is the unbelievable hyprocrisy of those who have made this so great a sin that it overshadows much more fundamental moral failings listed consistently in the Bible.
I pray that Lutherans will find their way to the light even if we Methodists are still living in shadow. I pray for bitterness to remain far away from the hearts of those who attend St. John's; it will be tempting to hate those who hate you, to hold in contempt those who hold you in contempt. I pray for strength and good humor for Bradley Schmeling, someone I have never met and who I consider my brother. I pray for all of us to stop manufacturing prejudice and exporting bigotry and to learn to struggle together toward full communion in God our Creator, our Redeemer, our Sustainer.
The world is vast. And in it we have many opportunities to grow in faith and life. Some of those opportunities are painful and are born from the womb of Injustice. Other opportunities, thank heaven, we welcome more easily. These arise from the womb of Joy. Both Injustice and Joy give birth every day. But won't heaven sing with delight when Justice and Joy are the mothers of this world? Until then I will continue to pray for Methodists, estranged from one another, and for Lutherans, who struggle this week to find a new path.
You, too, can sign up for the prayer vigil!
I have pledged to be in prayer for St. John's community, for Bradley Schmeling, and for the ELCA. Our communions are coming apart at the seams, bursting with the ignorance of many and the prejudice of some. I hear people raise up the Bible as a defense for their hurtful attitude toward and sometimes violent actions against GLBT people. While I could argue (and win, I must say) a prooftexting fight with these folks, what astounds me the most is the amount of weight they have given to seven scriptures that have been cherry picked from the Bible. I have to say that I've never seen a pastor on trial for encouraging her/his affluent church to remain aloof, bigotted, and segregated. And yet the Bible is clear, consistent, and unrelenting on the moral failure of those who oppress and refuse aid to people most vulnerable. I've never seen a denomination take a stance outlawing behavior that harms our environment. Yet the first thing that Adam and Eve are told to do is to tend to God's creation. I've never heard of someone being forced from office or removed from their orders for not loving their neighbor as themselves. So,while I heartily disagree with those who find GLBT folks in a state of sin just for being who God has made them to be, it is the unbelievable hyprocrisy of those who have made this so great a sin that it overshadows much more fundamental moral failings listed consistently in the Bible.
I pray that Lutherans will find their way to the light even if we Methodists are still living in shadow. I pray for bitterness to remain far away from the hearts of those who attend St. John's; it will be tempting to hate those who hate you, to hold in contempt those who hold you in contempt. I pray for strength and good humor for Bradley Schmeling, someone I have never met and who I consider my brother. I pray for all of us to stop manufacturing prejudice and exporting bigotry and to learn to struggle together toward full communion in God our Creator, our Redeemer, our Sustainer.
The world is vast. And in it we have many opportunities to grow in faith and life. Some of those opportunities are painful and are born from the womb of Injustice. Other opportunities, thank heaven, we welcome more easily. These arise from the womb of Joy. Both Injustice and Joy give birth every day. But won't heaven sing with delight when Justice and Joy are the mothers of this world? Until then I will continue to pray for Methodists, estranged from one another, and for Lutherans, who struggle this week to find a new path.
You, too, can sign up for the prayer vigil!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
the bible experience
Denzel Washington reading the Song of Solomon? Well, that might be enough to get The Bible Experience, published by Zondervan. This is a 70 hour dramatic reading of the Bible by an all African American cast - the only such project ever done. Dramatic readings of the Bible are not typically something I go for; it's even a little possible I would find a project like this, well, "hokey" or silly. However, the caliber of artists involved in this one makes me wonder just a little. I've heard a few excerpts and it's actually pretty interesting. Of course, I've only heard excerpts that lend themselves to performance. I wonder how riveting Deuteronomy will be...
A few things that are rolling around in my head are:
1. I believe that the Bible can be a performance piece. (Certainly the power of performance is missing in most of our churches! Maybe hearing good "productions" might help people remember there are feeling and meaning in the words. Some are humorous...some words are sarcastic...some are playful. Do we always have to read as though each word were serious and somber? But I digress...) As such, some license has to be made with the text. Therefore, a performance of the Bible should not be considered something for study. Rather, it's to learn the general stories, for devotion, and for pleasure...basic education, yes, okay.
2. This is the NIV or the tNIV...not particularly scholarly works, but then, if #1 above applies, this shouldn't matter. It is important, though. As dull as it sounds, textual variance and translation issues significantly impact (even make or fundamentally change) meaning.
3. A woman asked to play God and was denied. God is a dude in this play. Hmmm... This raises the age old issue of genderizing God and who has access to speak for God...
4. It's a great cast with really high production value.
5. What would someone do with 70 hours of the Bible? I mean, really, what would someone do?
6. Denzel Washington, Blair Underwood, Angela Bassett, Cuba Gooding, Jr, and 76 of your fave actors are in it...not shabby.
Is anyone going to buy or download this? Oh, just in time for Christmas, Angela Bassett telling the birth of Jesus is free from itunes.
UPDATE: I am almost finished listening to the story; I've not heard Angela Bassett yet...hmmm...not great advertizing...
Friday, November 03, 2006
i take the bible seriously, therefore i cannot read it literally - my testimony
Tonight I shared Shabbos dinner with friends. As is always the case when I spend time with them, conversation makes its way to Christianity and to perceptions of Christianity. Throughout the evening we talked about the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit that is currently in Seattle and Christian misappropriation of the scrolls. The resignation of the Rev. Ted Haggard from his church and from his leadershop role within the National Association of Evangelicals also came up. When things like this happen, I find myself having to explain that Christianity is not a monolithic institution and that the Evangelical Right and progressive Christianity share very little in common except a profession of faith in a God as revealed in and through Jesus of Nazareth. Here is where most of our commonality ends. And it is here that progressive Christians need to learn to proclaim who we are and not only what we we aren't.
Once I heard John Cobb say that he couldn't read the Bible literally because he took it seriously. That statement rung true for me in a profound way. As a progressive Christian, I take the Bible extremely seriously. In it I find stories of discovery, of wounded and searching people, of people trying to make sense of a world out of control, and of people's hopes and dreams. In it I find my ancestors' understanding of God, their world, and their life circumstances. In it I find themes that inform my life and my understanding of how the world ought to be and the realization that we are far from God's dream for us. In it I find the history and foundation of my faith. I don't find historical accuracy, news articles, or perfect people. I don't find a list of how-to's; it's not an instruction book. One of the greatest gifts of the Bible is found in the deeply flawed nature of my ancestors. They were doubters, murderers, adulterers, liars, cheaters, and connivers. They were also survivors, dreamers, builders, and revolutionaries. They were just like you and me and everyone alive today. A mixture of good and evil, greatness and disappointment brewed in them every day.
The Bible has a lot to say about the state of brokenness of the world and it presents a wonderful vision for a "new heaven and a new earth," the place in which God's dream for creation has become manifest among us, within us, and through us. This vision understands the goodness of creation, the importance of the Exodus, the harsh cultural and religious criticisms of the prophets, the Israelites' desperate need for home, the importance of extending radical hospitality to the stranger, the profound need for forgiveness, the power and witness of Jesus, corporate sin, the gift of healing (salvation), and the unfinished business that has been laid at our feet as disciples of Jesus. Such a vision takes the Bible very seriously. And because of this serious reading, I cannot read it literally as though there was ever one Bible, in English nonetheless, and that that Bible was written by God's finger. No. The Bible is the receptacle of many dreams and the preserver of many ills. It is my history; it has been handed down generation after generation and it has finally made it to me. It is my time to hold on to God's vision of a new heaven and a new earth, to believe as Isaiah did that we can be repairers of the breach and restorers of streets to live in (see Isaiah 58:6-12). It's time to end the poverty that breaks God's heart.
Progressive Christianity has a wonderful opportunity to deconstruct the assumptions about Christianity held by many Christians and non-Christians alike. Progressive Christians need to speak up about our serious reading of the Bible and how it determines our ethics, offers us hope, cautions us, and sets before us a vision of justice and compassion for God's good creation. We need to be relentless in educating our friends and communities about our beliefs and our deep and abiding commitment to God revealed in and through Jesus of Nazareth. Our hearts have been deeply affected by Jesus the Christ and we have been profoundly humbled by his example and life such that we dedicate our whole lives to him as our Way in the world. We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to sustain us and to inspire us each and every day to work for God's peaceable kin-dom. I believe that it is imperative for us to be relentless in our efforts to broaden our communities' perceptions of Christianity. We aren't all hypocritical, fear-based, and anti-intellectual. There are many of us who believe in evolution, the separation of Church and State, the work for a just and poverty-free world, and a nuanced and serious reading of our holy scriptures. We are neither superstitious nor are we atheists; we are serious followers of Jesus, and we believe in the powerful story of life overcoming the powers of death that conspire to rule this world.
I've been thinking about this since dinner. It saddens me when even my closest friends believe that I might want to convert them or condemn them. Christianity is not, in my opinion, the only pathway to the Divine; it is just the only way for me. God is bigger than my constructs, including my religion. I'm not drawn to Christianity because I'm afraid of some place called Hell. I'm a Christian because it is the framework that gives my life meaning and brings me closer to the Divine. I'm a Christian because I have found God most clearly revealed in and though the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I'm a Christian because the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sustainer lead me through each day of my life. In the myths, fables, legends, and stories of my faith I find a pathway to Heaven - that is for me complete union with the Divine. Hell is the state of not living in union with the Divine. I can experience it right now, and in those moments and times in which I have lived falsely in the world, I have found it. Christianity is not the alternative to something bad; it is the entirety of my being. It's just that Christianity as I understand, experience, and live is a far cry from the Christianity on television, in our government, and in the minds of even my closest friends.
Once I heard John Cobb say that he couldn't read the Bible literally because he took it seriously. That statement rung true for me in a profound way. As a progressive Christian, I take the Bible extremely seriously. In it I find stories of discovery, of wounded and searching people, of people trying to make sense of a world out of control, and of people's hopes and dreams. In it I find my ancestors' understanding of God, their world, and their life circumstances. In it I find themes that inform my life and my understanding of how the world ought to be and the realization that we are far from God's dream for us. In it I find the history and foundation of my faith. I don't find historical accuracy, news articles, or perfect people. I don't find a list of how-to's; it's not an instruction book. One of the greatest gifts of the Bible is found in the deeply flawed nature of my ancestors. They were doubters, murderers, adulterers, liars, cheaters, and connivers. They were also survivors, dreamers, builders, and revolutionaries. They were just like you and me and everyone alive today. A mixture of good and evil, greatness and disappointment brewed in them every day.
The Bible has a lot to say about the state of brokenness of the world and it presents a wonderful vision for a "new heaven and a new earth," the place in which God's dream for creation has become manifest among us, within us, and through us. This vision understands the goodness of creation, the importance of the Exodus, the harsh cultural and religious criticisms of the prophets, the Israelites' desperate need for home, the importance of extending radical hospitality to the stranger, the profound need for forgiveness, the power and witness of Jesus, corporate sin, the gift of healing (salvation), and the unfinished business that has been laid at our feet as disciples of Jesus. Such a vision takes the Bible very seriously. And because of this serious reading, I cannot read it literally as though there was ever one Bible, in English nonetheless, and that that Bible was written by God's finger. No. The Bible is the receptacle of many dreams and the preserver of many ills. It is my history; it has been handed down generation after generation and it has finally made it to me. It is my time to hold on to God's vision of a new heaven and a new earth, to believe as Isaiah did that we can be repairers of the breach and restorers of streets to live in (see Isaiah 58:6-12). It's time to end the poverty that breaks God's heart.
Progressive Christianity has a wonderful opportunity to deconstruct the assumptions about Christianity held by many Christians and non-Christians alike. Progressive Christians need to speak up about our serious reading of the Bible and how it determines our ethics, offers us hope, cautions us, and sets before us a vision of justice and compassion for God's good creation. We need to be relentless in educating our friends and communities about our beliefs and our deep and abiding commitment to God revealed in and through Jesus of Nazareth. Our hearts have been deeply affected by Jesus the Christ and we have been profoundly humbled by his example and life such that we dedicate our whole lives to him as our Way in the world. We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to sustain us and to inspire us each and every day to work for God's peaceable kin-dom. I believe that it is imperative for us to be relentless in our efforts to broaden our communities' perceptions of Christianity. We aren't all hypocritical, fear-based, and anti-intellectual. There are many of us who believe in evolution, the separation of Church and State, the work for a just and poverty-free world, and a nuanced and serious reading of our holy scriptures. We are neither superstitious nor are we atheists; we are serious followers of Jesus, and we believe in the powerful story of life overcoming the powers of death that conspire to rule this world.
I've been thinking about this since dinner. It saddens me when even my closest friends believe that I might want to convert them or condemn them. Christianity is not, in my opinion, the only pathway to the Divine; it is just the only way for me. God is bigger than my constructs, including my religion. I'm not drawn to Christianity because I'm afraid of some place called Hell. I'm a Christian because it is the framework that gives my life meaning and brings me closer to the Divine. I'm a Christian because I have found God most clearly revealed in and though the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I'm a Christian because the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sustainer lead me through each day of my life. In the myths, fables, legends, and stories of my faith I find a pathway to Heaven - that is for me complete union with the Divine. Hell is the state of not living in union with the Divine. I can experience it right now, and in those moments and times in which I have lived falsely in the world, I have found it. Christianity is not the alternative to something bad; it is the entirety of my being. It's just that Christianity as I understand, experience, and live is a far cry from the Christianity on television, in our government, and in the minds of even my closest friends.
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