tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317520052024-03-17T22:03:15.631-05:00DETDET (Die Evangelischen Theologen) is the theological version of a digital news magazine. The DET authorial team provides insightful, thought-provoking content on a wide range of theological, religious, and even political subjects from current events and culture as well as from the Christian and other religious traditions. W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.comBlogger1349125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-30740664503880066762024-01-07T16:54:00.000-06:002024-01-07T16:54:41.038-06:00George Hunsinger’s gloss of the Christ Hymn in Philippians 2I’ve been reading George Hunsinger’s (my <i>doktorvater</i>, for anyone who might be new around here) entry in the Brazos Theoloical Commentary on the Bible series on Philippians. Anyone who has studied with George will find this book to be a compendium and application of many of his most characteristic and beloved analytical tools and patterns, and I’ve been enjoying it immensely. But one of the things that really stood out to me was how he glossed the so-called “Christ hymn” of Philippians 2. </br></br>
<a href=https://amzn.to/3S4EjjO><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFGF5XumLItvzw9YNuukq5ovi_2DhDSADCaXTJQpblq5V_Jaj9SqaAoaI_NntK5KmxQIj2j3P2tk_l2wqde1Q41qtA7jIeNrY4ljK4pA42oz6oXwpjcmOl4QWbVt828n_l_sZeGFQvZfB2BD7CEwWcg6v51tbpegdjw32f5NAseymZHicegRUNWw/s2048/image10.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFGF5XumLItvzw9YNuukq5ovi_2DhDSADCaXTJQpblq5V_Jaj9SqaAoaI_NntK5KmxQIj2j3P2tk_l2wqde1Q41qtA7jIeNrY4ljK4pA42oz6oXwpjcmOl4QWbVt828n_l_sZeGFQvZfB2BD7CEwWcg6v51tbpegdjw32f5NAseymZHicegRUNWw/s320/image10.jpg"/></a></div></a><center><a href=https://amzn.to/3S4EjjO>George Hunsinger, <i>Philippians</i>, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible (Grand Rapids: BrazosPress, 2020).</a></center></br></br>
The gloss that Hunsinger provides is not a historical-critical interpretation. Rather, it is an ecclesial, ecumenical, and theological interpretation that attempts to fill in the blanks for how to understand this proto-liturgical formulation in light of the later formulations of the ecumenical creeds. In order to achieve this gloss, Hunsinger engages in “ecclesial hermeneutics” and makes “use of a complex exegetical/hermeneutical feedback loop” (p. 69–70). Additionally, he provides this gloss in four segments as he works his way through, but I think it’s also helpful to pull them all together. </br></br>
All the formatting is in the original: bold (the text from Philippians), italics (technical vocabulary, creedal quotations, etc.), and brackets (Hunsinger’s expansions / elaborations). I’ve inserted the page numbers. Enjoy!</br></br>
<blockquote><b>Christ Jesus</b> [the incarnate Son], <b>who being in the form of God</b> [belonging to the divine <i>ousia</i> as the eternal Son] <b>did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped</b> [did not regard the outward form of the divine glory, along with the normal exercise of its prerogatives, which he shared equally with God the Father, as a fixed mode of existence that could not, in all generosity and humility, be relinquished for the good of others]. (pp. 45–46)</br></br>
<b>But emptied himself</b> [the eternal Son, in becoming flesh, divested himself of the outward trappings of his divine glory as well as of the normal exercise of his divine prerogatives], <b>taking the form of a slave</b> [fulfilling his act of self-emptying in a correspondingly radical act of self-abnegation as the incarnate Son], <b>being born in the likeness of human beings</b> [the eternal Son, having assumed Jesus’s human nature into hypostatic <i>union</i> with himself—without separation or division, without confusion or change—<i>by the power</i> of the Holy Spirit (<i>conceptus de Spiritus Sancto</i>), was <i>born</i> like any other human being, yet of the Virgin Mary (<i>natus ex Maria Virgine</i>), so that in his humanity he was <i>like</i> us in all respects except without sinning]. (p. 53) </br></br>
<b>And being found in human form</b> [the form of Adam], <b>he</b> [the incarnate Son] <b>humbled himself</b> [putting the interests of others ahead of his own] <b>by becoming obedient</b> [as the suffering servant] <b>to the point of death</b> [for our sakes and in our place], <b>even death on a cross</b> [in the shameful form of a crucified slave, by which his divine glory and lordship were concealed]. (p. 57) </br></br>
<b>Therefore</b> [for this reason, i.e., on account of his faithful obedience in love] <b>God</b> [the Father] <b>has highly exalted him</b> [the incarnate, crucified Son] <b>and bestowed on him the name that is above every name</b> [the ineffable divine name], <b>so that at the name of Jesus</b> [now equal to the ineffable name] <b>every knee should bow</b> [in a supreme act of worship], <b>in heaven and on earth and under the earth</b> [in a way that is universal in scope], <b>and every tongue confess</b> [by the power of the Holy Spirit] <b>that Jesus Christ is Lord</b> [one of the earliest Christian confessions], <b>to the glory of God the Father</b> [because the Father is not glorified without the Son, nor is the Son glorified without the Father]. (p. 68)</blockquote>
<br /><br />==================================<br /><br />
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<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /><meta name="twitter:site" content="@wtmcmaken" /><meta name="twitter:title" content="Hunsinger on Philippians 2" /><meta name="twitter:description" content="George Hunsinger glosses the 'Christ Hymn' of Philippians 2" /><meta name="twitter:image" content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFGF5XumLItvzw9YNuukq5ovi_2DhDSADCaXTJQpblq5V_Jaj9SqaAoaI_NntK5KmxQIj2j3P2tk_l2wqde1Q41qtA7jIeNrY4ljK4pA42oz6oXwpjcmOl4QWbVt828n_l_sZeGFQvZfB2BD7CEwWcg6v51tbpegdjw32f5NAseymZHicegRUNWw/s2048/image10.jpg" />W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-86217911307497157542023-12-30T16:35:00.001-06:002023-12-30T16:35:44.840-06:00What Am I Reading? David Congdon’s “Varieties of Christian Universalism”Wondering what to do with that gift card you received for Christmas? Wanting to start the year off right with a compelling read about rethinking everything you thought you knew about the doctrine of salvation? Have I got a book for you!</br></br>
<a href=https://amzn.to/48gxQYo><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia15Lt434B41WKpbam0TnTjQtEpjyYxWsxmOUSkYkagK6Zitv_spWozl7VVpfZC9P7BI1BVI4AcFn3AUcVeAjlzkfH4vgFes1i_nVOPCHLq9Ej8OsCr_VpV2IES7kN0iy_aBCRWCef9LzTDzJAvzwGtvYmUYFLWW5URvpr1Gb1vHGuva7YGRWCkg/s4000/20231119_081700.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia15Lt434B41WKpbam0TnTjQtEpjyYxWsxmOUSkYkagK6Zitv_spWozl7VVpfZC9P7BI1BVI4AcFn3AUcVeAjlzkfH4vgFes1i_nVOPCHLq9Ej8OsCr_VpV2IES7kN0iy_aBCRWCef9LzTDzJAvzwGtvYmUYFLWW5URvpr1Gb1vHGuva7YGRWCkg/s320/20231119_081700.jpg"/></a></div></a>David Congdon’s (ed.) <a href=https://amzn.to/48gxQYo><i>Varieties of Christian Universalism: Exploring Four Views</i> (Baker, 2023)</a> will not disappoint. David and his collaborators present a reliable and excellent roadmap to the primary varieties of Christian Universalism. Those who have never considered universalism before will benefit from the careful and ordered tour, and those who have long considered it will be delighted by the clarity and detail of the positions exhibited. This volume is well worth engaging.</br></br>
I tweeted some quotes from this book as I read it, and I’m going to link those in below for your consideration. But I also must say that Congdon’s contributions to this volume are more than worth the cost of picking up a copy in and of themselves, and the chapters from Greggs, Ludlow, and Parry also do not disappoint. It’s a lot of great and accessible theology packed into a short and affordable volume. </br></br>
David’s articulation of “Existential Universalism” is the most innovative material in the book. As the chapter builds toward it’s conclusion, he not only weaves a rigorous and compelling logical argument, but he also packages that argument in highly engaging rhetoric. You don’t want to miss out on his references to multilevel marketing schemes, cryptocurrency, and time-shares! But here is the real payoff for what existential universalism is all about (emphasis in the original): </br></br>
<blockquote>Everyone is already saved, and this account aims to provide Christians with a way to understand why—not because this is something each person needs to understand about themselves (far from it!), but because Christians need to see each person as saved and not as an object of their conversion and ministry. <i>It is Christians who need a doctrine of universal salation</i> (159).</blockquote>
If you need further convincing, here are the tweets I promised: </br></br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Expecting <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/God?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#God</a> to swoop in as history's deus ex machina to fix what humankind has messed up assumes a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SantaClaus?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SantaClaus</a> deity that is little more than the projection of our unfulfilled wishes for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/justice?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#justice</a>" - <a href="https://twitter.com/dwcongdon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dwcongdon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Christmas?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Christmas</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HappyHolidays?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HappyHolidays</a> <a href="https://t.co/HTkF538ZAv">https://t.co/HTkF538ZAv</a></p>— W. Travis McMaken (@WTravisMcMaken) <a href="https://twitter.com/WTravisMcMaken/status/1731309309685006538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></br></br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Theologically speaking, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Christ?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Christ</a> is not some substance, material or immaterial, but rather a mode of existing." - <a href="https://twitter.com/dwcongdon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dwcongdon</a> <a href="https://t.co/HTkF538ZAv">https://t.co/HTkF538ZAv</a></p>— W. Travis McMaken (@WTravisMcMaken) <a href="https://twitter.com/WTravisMcMaken/status/1730943650371445031?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></br></br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"What is needed is an account of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/salvation?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#salvation</a> that is concretely related to each person without requiring their conscious participation or the mediation of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/church?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#church</a>" - <a href="https://twitter.com/dwcongdon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dwcongdon</a> <a href="https://t.co/HTkF538ZAv">https://t.co/HTkF538ZAv</a></p>— W. Travis McMaken (@WTravisMcMaken) <a href="https://twitter.com/WTravisMcMaken/status/1730577990940246136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></br></br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Salvation?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Salvation</a> does not mean we are saved *from* this life but rather that *this* particular life is saved." - <a href="https://twitter.com/dwcongdon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dwcongdon</a> <a href="https://t.co/HTkF538rKX">https://t.co/HTkF538rKX</a></p>— W. Travis McMaken (@WTravisMcMaken) <a href="https://twitter.com/WTravisMcMaken/status/1730218119560319126?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></br></br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Existential universal <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/salvation?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#salvation</a> is not a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/doctrine?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#doctrine</a> of who is redeemed at the end of history but rather a doctrine of where <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/God?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#God</a> is present in the midst of history" - <a href="https://twitter.com/dwcongdon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dwcongdon</a> <a href="https://t.co/coPLqUTP6P">https://t.co/coPLqUTP6P</a></p>— W. Travis McMaken (@WTravisMcMaken) <a href="https://twitter.com/WTravisMcMaken/status/1729492588669874407?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></br></br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"The universal horizon of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/God?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#God</a>'s redemptive <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/grace?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#grace</a> is a thoroughly <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/political?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#political</a> horizon meant to provoke and sustain political action in view of God's coming reign." - <a href="https://twitter.com/dwcongdon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dwcongdon</a> riffing on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Moltmann?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Moltmann</a><a href="https://t.co/coPLqUTP6P">https://t.co/coPLqUTP6P</a></p>— W. Travis McMaken (@WTravisMcMaken) <a href="https://twitter.com/WTravisMcMaken/status/1729131710887956942?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></br></br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Attempting to parse what is <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Christian?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Christian</a> and what is not is an impossible task when <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Christianity?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Christianity</a> has been a syncretistic, hybrid affair from the start." - <a href="https://twitter.com/dwcongdon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dwcongdon</a> <a href="https://t.co/coPLqUUmWn">https://t.co/coPLqUUmWn</a></p>— W. Travis McMaken (@WTravisMcMaken) <a href="https://twitter.com/WTravisMcMaken/status/1728874082064842819?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></br></br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Spent a bit of the morning with <a href="https://twitter.com/dwcongdon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dwcongdon</a><br><br>The brief survey of universalism in the last ~150 years of theology is worth the price of admission all by itself. You'll want to get this book!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/universalism?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#universalism</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/theology?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#theology</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/salvation?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#salvation</a> <a href="https://t.co/4EX6Jqiiok">pic.twitter.com/4EX6Jqiiok</a></p>— W. Travis McMaken (@WTravisMcMaken) <a href="https://twitter.com/WTravisMcMaken/status/1726244303171694665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /><meta name="twitter:site" content="@wtmcmaken" /><meta name="twitter:title" content="Congdon and Existential Universalism" /><meta name="twitter:description" content="What Am I Reading? David Congdon’s 'Varieties of Christian Universalism'" /><meta name="twitter:image" content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia15Lt434B41WKpbam0TnTjQtEpjyYxWsxmOUSkYkagK6Zitv_spWozl7VVpfZC9P7BI1BVI4AcFn3AUcVeAjlzkfH4vgFes1i_nVOPCHLq9Ej8OsCr_VpV2IES7kN0iy_aBCRWCef9LzTDzJAvzwGtvYmUYFLWW5URvpr1Gb1vHGuva7YGRWCkg/s4000/20231119_081700.jpg" />W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-83784811999809612042023-12-16T14:32:00.001-06:002023-12-16T14:33:00.058-06:00Karl Kautsky’s Notebooks: Insight into a Writer’s Methods<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span">Karl Kautsky
was a leading German-language democratic socialist politician and theoretician at
the end of the 19th century and in the early decades of the 20th century. He wrote an interesting text called <i>The Foundations of Christianity</i>
(Ger: <i>Der Ursprung des Christentums</i>) in 1908. I haven’t read it at this
point, though I’d like to remedy that someday.</span></p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: RIGHT; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Karl_Kautsky_01.jpg/800px-Karl_Kautsky_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 2em; margin-right: auto;"><img border="2" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Karl_Kautsky_01.jpg/800px-Karl_Kautsky_01.jpg" width=300 height=500 /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kautsky; George Grantham Bain Collection<br /> (Library of Congress)<a href=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Karl_Kautsky#/media/File:Karl_Kautsky_01.jpg></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span">However,
I was reading about Kautsky and came upon a passage that described his “notebook”
method of research and reflections, especially in regards to his work on the above-named
volume, and I found it fascinating. This jumped out at me because, as someone
who researches and writes, I’ve tried various methods to keep my materials
organized and productive, and I don’t feel like I’ve found a way that really
works for me yet. This frustrates me. Additionally, I recently read a post by <a href="https://twitter.com/elissacutter">Elissa Cutter</a> about <a href="https://womenintheology.org/2022/12/06/journaling-as-a-means-of-research/">“Journaling
as a Means of Research”</a> that I found interesting. So I was primed when I
came across this passage.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span">So,
for any of you who are also interested in this sort of thing, I present James
Bentley’s description of Karl Kautsky’s notebooks and research methods. And for
a bonus, you’ll get some of his analysis of communism in the <i>Didache</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><a href=https://amzn.to/3HlQdA7>James Bentley,
<i>Between Marx and Christ: The Dialogue in German-Speaking Europe, 1870–1970</i>
(London: NLB, 1982), 45–46</a>.</span></p>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span">These
notebooks display both his lifelong interest in the phenomenon of Christianity
and how remarkably he qualified himself to write about it (and much else, too).
One notebook in particular, containing analyses of only three books, reveals
the peculiar quiddity of his mind. Seven pages of notes on Strauss’s notorious <i>Life
of Jesus </i>are immediately followed by forty-eight pages analysing the second
volume of <i>Capital</i>, which precedes another seven pages on G. F. Daumen’s <i>Secrets
of Christian Antiquity</i>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"> It is not always possible to assign
a single date to each notebook, for although he was invariably systematic in
his notes and references, Kautsky used several volumes at different times over
several decades. Thus one notebook begins with a seventeen-page analysis of the
<i>Historie de Thomas More</i> by Thomas Stapleton. … Kautsky began this
analysis in August 1886. This is followed by an eleven page summary of G. T.
Rudhart’s <i>Thomas More</i>, and three pages of quotations from Gilbert Burnet’s
<i>History of the Reformation in England</i>. In September of the same year Kautsky
started at the other end of the notebook with a page on Thomas Carlyle’s <i>Chartism</i>,
followed by a quotation on <i>Utopia</i> from Erasmus. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"> Thirty years later he took up this
notebook again and filled the middle pages with an analysis (almost seventy
pages long) of Otto Pfleiderer’s history of the primitive church. He was now
working intently on his <i>Foundations of Christianity</i>. In November 1906 he
used the same notebook for a seventeen-page analysis of Wünsche’s edition of
the <i>Didache</i>, carefully hunting down quasi-communistic elements in this
early Christian document. (He found them in cap. I: ‘Give to everyone that
asketh of thee, and ask not again; for the Father wishes that from all his
gifts there should be given to all’, and in cap IV: ‘Thou shalt not turn away
from him that is in need, but shalt share with thy brother in all things, and
shalt not say that things are thine own; for it ye are partners in what is
immortal, how much more in what is mortal?’)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"> This is followed by an important section
on the second edition of a work by Bruno Bauer from whose subtitle Kautsky took
the title of his own book on Christianity. Next come detailed analyses of
Seneca’s religion, of Christianity under Trajan, of Hadrian and gnosis, of the
age of Marcus Aurelius, and of the formation of the New Testament literature.
Finally, Kautsky set down a summary of the article on angels in the <i>Dictionnaire
de Théologie Catholique</i>, a page on Seutonius and thirty pages drawn from
volume 7 of <i>The Romans under the Empire</i> by Charles Merivale. The last page
of this is written upside-down. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"> Thus the leading Marxist of his time
industriously prepared his analysis of primitive Christianity. </span></p></blockquote>
<br />==================================<br />
<a class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" href="https://twitter.com/WTravisMcMaken">Follow @WTravisMcMaken</a> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br />
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<meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"><meta content="@wtmcmaken" name="twitter:site"><meta content="Karl Kautsky’s Notebooks" name="twitter:title"><meta content="Gain insight into a writer's methods, and also learn something about communist interpretation of early Christianity." name="twitter:description"><meta content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Karl_Kautsky_01.jpg/800px-Karl_Kautsky_01.jpg" name="twitter:image">W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-7657167833285233722023-09-03T09:59:00.001-05:002023-09-03T13:17:31.458-05:00Do We Need A Pentagon? Reconsidering the Wesleyan Quadrilateral<p class="MsoNormal">If one spends enough time in the United Methodist Church,
they’ll eventually hear something about the “Wesleyan Quadrilateral”—a
four-fold hermeneutic of authority John Wesley utilized in his development of
the movement that would later become known as “Methodism.” The four components
of Wesley’s quadrilateral are 1) scripture, 2) tradition, 3) reason, and 4)
experience. These, for Wesley, were the authoritative lenses through which the
Christian faith is fostered in each person. And while he engaged extensively
with each of these components in his writings and sermons, he never explicitly
laid out the organized concept of the quadrilateral as we know it today. That language
came much later from American theologian, Albert Outler.<a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Documents/Working/From%20Quadrilateral%20to%20Pentagon%20-%20Updating%20Wesley.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54aac079e4b010b9ae36b72d/1572197069549-P748G6QJ7JHQ1LB43Z5J/Slide7.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54aac079e4b010b9ae36b72d/1572197069549-P748G6QJ7JHQ1LB43Z5J/Slide7.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, while for many Methodists the
quadrilateral feels relatively specific to our tradition, it’s actually not
something unique to Wesley. Coming from an Anglican context, Wesley would have
been more than familiar with the “Anglican Triad.” This is the same kind of hermeneutical
framework that exists within Methodism with one notable exception: <i>experience</i>.
This final component of the Wesleyan quadrilateral was incorporated by Wesley himself
as a result of his famous Aldersgate experience where he found his heart to be
“strangely warmed.” Experience became, and remains, an important part of the
Christian life for Methodists, thus rounding out the hermeneutical architecture
that Wesley had deemed incomplete.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What I’d like to recommend, though,
is we do the same thing to Wesley’s quadrilateral that he did to the Anglican
triad. In the same way that Wesley “updated” the triad, so I suggest it’s time
to “update” the quadrilateral by adding an additional point: <i>liberation</i>.
Methodism—like most Protestant traditions—falls into the <i>prima scriptura</i>
camp, taking scripture as its primary point of departure when considering the
Christian faith. The question we must contend with, then, is how we differentiate
between two different <i>prima scriptura</i> churches or denominations who both
are utilizing the same hermeneutic towards contradictory ends. The easiest
illustration of this might be found in the days of American slavery when
scripture was being used both as a tool of oppression by some <i>and</i> a tool
of liberation by others. The same could be said of German Christianity during
the perpetration of the holocaust.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One way we can further distinguish
between these is to affix an additional hermeneutical layer to Wesley’s method
and take <i>that</i> as our primary point of departure rather than scripture <i>as
such</i>. Womanist biblical scholar and theologian, Renita Weems, suggests as
much when she encourages people to <span style="font-family: "TimesNewRomanPSMT",serif;">“judge
biblical texts, to not hesitate to read against the grain of a text if needed,
and to be ready to take a stand against those texts whose worldview runs
counter to one’s own vision of God’s liberation activity in the world.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Documents/Working/From%20Quadrilateral%20to%20Pentagon%20-%20Updating%20Wesley.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span>[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> By allowing
our responsibility to the liberation of the oppressed to dictate our use of
scripture, tradition, reason, and experience, we already approach the Christian
faith from a preventative posture that doesn’t allow for any of those four
components to be utilized for oppressive or unjust purposes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "TimesNewRomanPSMT",serif;">If
Wesley could update and rearrange the Anglican triad for the purposes of his
context, then why can’t we do the same for our quadrilateral? Using Wesley’s
own framework suggests that these tools aren’t above reproach; they’re not
immutable or inerrant. It’s possible they can be improved upon, and I contend
that incorporating another element under which everything else is subsumed will
not only update Wesley in a necessary and important way, but aid Methodists in
living into their vow of accepting “</span>the freedom and power God gives them
to resist evil, injustice and oppression.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<div><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Documents/Working/From%20Quadrilateral%20to%20Pentagon%20-%20Updating%20Wesley.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
See Albert C. Outler, “The Wesleyan Quadrilateral in John Wesley,” <i>Wesleyan
Theological Journal</i>, 20.1 (1985), 7-18. <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Documents/Working/From%20Quadrilateral%20to%20Pentagon%20-%20Updating%20Wesley.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span> Renita Weems,
“Re-Reading for Liberation: African-American Women and the Bible,” <i>Womanist
Theological Ethics: A Reader, </i>eds. Katie Geneva Cannon, Angela D. Sims, and
Emilie M. Townes, (Louisville, KY: WJK Press, 2011), 61.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span>*Note: image credit to <a href="https://www.hillsdalenjumc.org/podcast/2019/10/27/john-wesley-the-quadrilateral" target="_blank">Hillsdale United Methodist Church</a>.</span></p>
<br />==================================<br />
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<meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta><meta content="@wtmcmaken" name="twitter:site"></meta><meta content="Do We Need A Pentagon?" name="twitter:title"></meta><meta content="JT Young reconsideres the Wesleyan Quadrilateral." name="twitter:description"></meta><meta content="" name="twitter:image"></meta></div></div>J.T. Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07216436175777453954noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-25494512269176498312023-08-26T16:25:00.001-05:002023-08-26T16:25:30.752-05:00§1 Approaching Galatians (session 4, part 1)—Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[The
series continues and now commences the fourth in-person session. </span></i><a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/07/1-approaching-galatians-session-3-part.html"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Find the last post here</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.]</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">: Welcome, faithful remnant of our study together. We are
fewer today—thanks to all the ice, I'm sure. I’d like to begin with a quick
recap. We’ve talked about the date of
the writing and the audience to whom Paul was writing. We also worked our way
through some key sources that I'm using to fuel reflection. We talked about
Luther: his two kinds of righteousness, his two kingdoms, his two uses of the
law, and his ideas about justification by faith. We talked about Calvin: his
work on his biblical commentaries and how he has similar but different focuses
from Luther. Then, last time, we talked about J. Louis Martyn—who has done a
lot of work on reading Paul through an apocalyptic lens—as well as some of the
history of scholarship around research into Jesus and Paul. Today, we have one
last book to talk about before we get into the text!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipeQc9-QpEoeIdycDEKayz5ivBWlF3kxfnP0TrrGK6uik_m6FHpBK32G2LfDdA6hbqpuZPBHU8zX9FXrZwo8Mxw_YxU_rqGJZuwJVUnDNG3zgex5MgA7dZ94Y_l9PzLB-iWkpMBudC4JglhnjrIAX3NH6uYcKTXpd_rRGaCjlHoHTXNH2w91g/s3008/Galatians.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2256" data-original-width="3008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipeQc9-QpEoeIdycDEKayz5ivBWlF3kxfnP0TrrGK6uik_m6FHpBK32G2LfDdA6hbqpuZPBHU8zX9FXrZwo8Mxw_YxU_rqGJZuwJVUnDNG3zgex5MgA7dZ94Y_l9PzLB-iWkpMBudC4JglhnjrIAX3NH6uYcKTXpd_rRGaCjlHoHTXNH2w91g/w640-h480/Galatians.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">e.
Nancy Bedford and <i>Galatians</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This last book is Nancy Bedford’s
book on </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3OsP2mB"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Galatians</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in the Belief: A Theological
Commentary on the Bible series.<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
If you want to read one of the books that I’m using in this series, then this
is the one you should pick up. It's written for as broad an audience as
possible, so it is more accessible than some of the others. Bedford also has
some interesting scholarly contributions, including how she thinks about the
outline of the book of Galatians, which we'll get to in a bit. Her approach is
to think broadly about how the different Christian traditions of interpreting
Galatians fit together and what it can mean for us today, including some of
those more practical applications for us in our lives. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How does
Bedford understand the Galatians, the recipients of this letter? She speaks
about the letter in terms of intra-Christian debates. Paul is arguing with his
opponents, and the Galatians are stuck in the middle. It isn’t a situation of
Christians on one side and Jews on the other—everyone involved in the argument
is a “Christian.” We've been over this idea a few times already. Bedford
basically agrees, although she speaks in terms of “intra-Christian” debate.
Strictly speaking, that suggests a highly developed concept and identity of
“Christian” in distinction from the Jewish community that wasn’t around in
Paul’s day. It’s later language pushed back in time, as it were. But Bedford is
getting at the right idea. If we wanted to be more technical, as we’ve done
before, we’d say that we're talking about some Jewish-Jesus followers arguing
with other Jewish-Jesus followers about what to do with Gentile-Jesus
followers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bedford
thinks that these intra-Christian debates, these debates among different groups
of Jesus-followers, are serious debates. They are more serious, for example,
than Calvin's way of framing it about differences in customs between churches,
where one church expects another church to do things the same way they do them.
The question at stake is: How are Jewish Jesus-followers going to incorporate
Gentile Jesus-followers into the Jesus-following community?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This wasn’t
a totally new or surprising question at the time Paul wrote Galatians. The
question has new inflections because it’s all now centered on Jesus, but the
Jewish community had been interacting with Gentiles, and with Gentiles who were
interested in the whole Jewish religious thing, for quite a while. Versions of
this question are all through the Hebrew scriptures. Even more recently, there
was Jewish contact with what we called Hellenism—the cultural environment that
comes out of Greece and the Greek colonies and cities all around the Eastern
Mediterranean. Alexander the Great’s empire in the 4th century BCE was a large
part of the story of Greek culture expanding throughout the Eastern
Mediterranean, including Palestine. When he died, his kingdom splintered into
different pieces. He was Greek, so you've got Greek control of all these
different sections of his empire. One piece of that previous empire was run out
of Syria and included Palestine. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fast forward
a few centuries and you get to a king named Antiochus the 4th Epiphanes. An “epiphany”
is like a revelation, an experience of God, a knowing of God. Basically,
Antiochus thought he was literally God's gift—well, not “God’s” gift; more like
“a god’s” gift, but you get the idea. Antiochus was all about the superiority
of Greek culture, and he tried to impose this throughout his kingdom in a new
way. Suddenly, you've got the situation in Jerusalem where Antiochus expects
the Jewish temple not to be devoted only to the one Jewish God, but to be
devoted to all the Greek gods as well. And in some ways, Antiochus wanted to be
treated like a god as well. The way this played out in Jewish areas was predictable.
It wasn't a very popular move, although many—or, at least, some—of the more
urban and well-off Jewish folks seem to have been on board and wanted access to
the benefits of Hellenization. But then Antiochus and his soldiers barged their
way into the temple and sacrificed the pig in the inner precincts. This added
insult to injury, as it were, because the Jewish tradition regards pigs as
unclean animals. It was at that point that a minor house in the priestly
lineage in Judea arose. They were called the Maccabees. Scholars aren’t
entirely sure what “Maccabees” means but the best guess is that it means “hammer.”
So Judah Maccabee, Judah the Hammer, raises an army in rebellion. Have we all seen
the movie <i>Braveheart</i>? That how I always picture what’s goeing on here.
They're out in the hills among the shepherds, putting together a ragtag army,
until – eventually – the meet Antiochus' forces in a pitched battle.
Surprisingly, Antiochus loses, and the Maccabees end up establishing their own
rule. That lasted from about 160 BCE to 63 BCE, when Rome marched in and took
over. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All through
this period, however, there are intense debates about how much Greek-ness, or
Hellenism, Jews are willing to tolerate. With the Maccabees in control in
Palestine, things tend to be more conservative with less Hellenization. But out
in the diaspora, among the Jewish communities outside of Palestine, things look
different. The diaspora is made up of Jews who left Palestine for one reason or
another, whether voluntarily or through forced emigration, throughout the first
millennium BCE. There are Jewish communities in many Greek cities throughout
the eastern Mediterranean, for instance. There are also significant Jewish
communities in Babylon and Egypt. They had synagogues where they gathered,
prayed, and read their Scriptures, whether in Hebrew or in Greek translation. And
in the Greek-speaking diaspora, there was not sharp conflict between Jewish and
Greek culture. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From the Hellenistic
perspective, there are lots of gods and lots of different people worshiping
them, so what’s the problem with one more? Additionally, Hellenistic culture
had a high regard for things that were old and, of course, the Jewish people
and their beliefs are very old. Hellenistic folks saw a venerable old tradition
maintained by a particular group of people who weren’t harming anyone. They
figure that just means there’s one more god invested in the success and safety
of their city, which is a good thing. And there was a lot of fluidity between
Jewish communities in these cities and the Hellenistic communities on the side
of Jews in diaspora, even to the point where there seems to be attestation in
the records of Jewish folks being involved in all kinds of different civic
organizations. Think if groups like the Knights of Columbus, the Masons, or the
Better Business Bureau—but with different rituals and observances tied to pagan
gods. These organizations help make the community function well by making sure
that the city’s gods help it to prosper. People who disrupt that function are
bad. But Jewish folks were able to fit into this social situation without
causing any of those kinds of problems because they didn’t seem to think it
somehow compromised their devotion to the Lord. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Part of the
conceptual world that helped make sense of all this religious intermingling is
monotheism. The idea of monotheism, that only one God exists, wasn’t common in
the ancient world. Each group of people thought their god was the best god and
the high god, but everybody accepted that all the gods existed. So, for Jewish
folks, the other gods ultimately answered to their God, but that doesn't mean
they don't exist. The world is full of these kinds of spiritual powers and
forces, like we talked about with apocalyptic thought. From the perspective of
diaspora Jewish, what’s the problem with being associated with other gods that
exist so long as their ultimate allegiance is to the Lord, whom they believe is
the high god? Nothing. Given this kind of perspective, Jewish folks in these
communities could be good citizens right along with the Hellenistic folks. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> So,
there’s a long tradition and broad spectrum of how Jewish folks in different
contexts think about their interactions with Gentiles and Greek culture. In Palestine—in
the Promised Land, so to speak—these boundaries are much more strictly
maintained than in the diaspora, where the boundaries are very fluid. One
question that then arises for the Jewish communities is: what do you do with
Gentiles who become interested in and devoted to the Jewish God, the Lord?
Ultimately, there are two levels of interest or involvement here, and reference
to both comes up from time to time in the New Testament. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“God-fearers”
are the first category. These are Gentiles who became impressed with the Jewish
god and added that god to the other gods that they worshiped. Many folks in the
ancient world thought that you can never have too many gods on your side. So
these Gentiles spent time with the Jewish communities gathered around the
synagogues, listened to the scriptures read and prayers said, and generally
learned about what devotion to the Lord means. But all the while they are still
worshiping their families’ and cities’ gods. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The second
category of Gentiles interested in the Jewish god is “proselytes.” Proselytes
are full-blown converts who leave their other family ties and the gods that go
with them and become, for all practical purposes, Jewish. The main way that
they do this is through circumcision, which is why circumcision shows up in
Galatians and becomes such a big deal in Paul's letters. The idea here is that
someone who was a Gentile now becomes a Jew, and therefore is no longer a
Gentile. And this involved changing your allegiance to deities. Now, as far as
we can tell, this was a rare occurrence because it meant such a dramatic change
in one’s life: completely new religious and ethical commitments, completely new
social locations, the loss of family ties, etc. God-fearers were more common,
but proselytes were rare. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Does this mean that only men are Jews? How did Women
become Jews?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Your husband. That's really your only option. Or you could
marry a Jewish man, but your Gentile family probably wouldn’t allow that. Women
didn’t have much, if any, say over who they married. But, if you’re a woman who
was a Gentile and is now a Jew, either that’s because your husband converted or
you married in.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: I would imagine they're not thinking about this as
individualistically as we do. There's an individual element to salvation. But
if you convert from Judaism to Christianity, you're probably doing so as a
household. Not necessarily just this one person.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: It would depend on your status in the family. If the <i>paterfamilias</i>
changed, then everybody changes. But if you’re the second son, for instance, you're
probably not taking many people with you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, here is
something that is really interesting. There seems to have been a minority
position within the Jewish conversation at the time that said it was impossible
for Gentiles to become Jews, even if they do the whole proselyte thing. Paula
Fredricksen, whom I’ve talked about before, thinks that Paul might have been
part of this group.<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> I
think that makes a lot of sense, and we’ll come back to that topic as we go
along. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So, if that’s
how Gentiles could become part of the Jewish community apart from any consideration
of Jesus, then what happens when you add Jesus to this dynamic? Well, on the
one hand, you have the people Paul is arguing with in Galatians who seem to
think that if Gentiles want to participate in the Jesus thing, then they need to
take the steps that Gentile proselytes take to become Jews—they need to be
circumcised. And since they are becoming Jewish through circumcision, they also
need to observe the Jewish law and keep what we would today call a kosher diet.
Folks who answered the question this way drew on a pattern that was already in
place, especially outside of Palestine in the diaspora Jewish communities
around the Roman Empire. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But Paul has
a very different idea of how this should go. He argues that Gentiles don't have
to become Jewish proselytes in order to follow Jesus. He thinks that there is a
Gentile way of following Jesus that does not require them to become Jews. Fredriksen
talks about “eschatological Gentiles”<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
because, as part of that apocalyptic expectation, as part of the Jewish
traditions of thinking about what's going to happen when God makes everything
right, there is this idea that Gentiles are going to be included in what God
does. You see this especially in Isaiah, which Paul draws on through the Book
of Romans when he's thinking about these things. This is Isaiah 2:1–5:<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The word
that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2 In days to
come<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> the mountain of the Lord’s house<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">shall be
established as the highest of the mountains<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and shall be raised above the hills;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Have you ever read in the Psalms and
noticed a heading on one of them calling it a Psalm of Ascent? That means it is
a Psalm of “going up.” They have this name because in the Jewish mind, both
geographically and in terms of elevation, you always went “up” to Jerusalem. Jerusalem
and the temple are up on the top of a hill, so when you go there, you have to
go “up” the hill. And this takes on symbolic meaning as well with the idea that
the temple is where God lives, and it is the high, central point where heaven
and earth touch. So you always go “up,” an this passage in Isaiah predicts a
time when—literally, or at least symbolically—this becomes true for the whole
world and not just for Jews. The passage continues: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">all the
nations shall stream to it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Nations” here refers to the folks
we’ve been calling “Gentiles.” So the Gentiles are streaming to the Lord’s
house. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3 Many peoples shall come and say,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Come, let
us go up to the mountain of the Lord,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> to the house of the God of Jacob,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">that he may
teach us his ways<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and that we may walk in his paths.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When we read this passage from our
contemporary Christian perspective, we make a mental substitution in our mind
so that we take “many peoples” to mean “many people.” We assume that this means
a large group of individuals, a large group of people. But what the text is
really talking about is all the many “nations” that we just read about. These
are all the different kinds of Gentiles that exist in the world, and they are
all streaming to the Lord’s house. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For out of
Zion shall go forth instruction<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4 He shall
judge between the nations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and shall arbitrate for many peoples;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">they shall
beat their swords into plowshares<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and their spears into pruning hooks;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">nation shall
not lift up sword against nation;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> neither shall they learn war any more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5 O house of
Jacob,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> come, let us walk<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in the light
of the Lord!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So, as reflected in and developing
from this passage in Isaiah, there was this expectation that when God shows up
to set the world right in the end, all the Gentiles are going to get really interested
in Israel's God. And, in this passage: do the Gentile nations ever stop being
the nations? Does it say they're going to come and become Jews? No. The nations
stay the nations. Sure, they stop fighting each other. They stop engaging in
typical Gentile behavior. But they are still Gentiles. All the Gentiles are
coming to Zion, to Jerusalem, and God is judging among the Gentiles—basically,
what we see here is the idea that the sovereignty of Israel’s God over all
things will be real and effectual in a new kind of way. It is what you might
expect if you prayed for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done, and
then it very straightforwardly was! But all of these different kinds of Gentiles,
these nations, are listening, learning, and obeying the God of Israel while
remaining Gentiles. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This seems
to be the way of thinking that Paul works within and adapts to the new
situation, the new time on God’s clock, that he sees as the result of Jesus. Paul
sees Gentiles getting in on the Jesus thing and thinks of them in terms of
these “eschatological gentiles” (to circle back to Fredriksen).<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
And, just like the nations in Isaiah 2, Paul doesn’t think that the Gentiles have
to stop being Gentiles in order to worship and obey the Lord. Thanks to Jesus,
thse Gentiles are now involved with God, they are part of God’s work in the
world, and they are part of a people of God that still has Israel at its core
but has now expanded beyond Israel to the nations. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Importantly,
for Paul, if you make these Gentiles become Jews then you’re getting in the way
of what God is doing in this new “age,” this new time on God’s clock. If you
make Gentiles become Jews, then they can’t be these eschatological Gentiles.
For Paul and this tradition he follows—which, again, seems to have been a
minority report in his day—Israel is supposed to say Israel, the Gentiles are
supposed to stay Gentiles, and the Lord is Lord over all of them. And that’s
why it would make sense if Paul didn’t think a Gentile could really become a
Jew through conversion as a proselyte. Why? Because, building on this sort of
tradition we see in Isaiah, the Gentiles aren't supposed to become Jews: they
are supposed to become eschatological Gentiles. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is
important to understand this to understand all the negative comments Paul makes
about circumcision in his letters. Whenever he does that, whether in Galatians
5 when he wishes his opponents might castrate themselves, or in Phillians 2 when
he talks about the “dogs…who mutilate the flesh”<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>—Paul
is not talking about Jewish people who are circumcising their sons on the eighth
day. He's talking about those giving and receiving proselyte circumcision and
he’s denigrating the fact that they think they can turn Gentiles into Jews by
circumcising them. That's what he rejects and that’s what he’s criticizing. His
criticism of proselyte circumcision and of following the Jewish dietary guidelines
is not a rejection of Judaism or Jewish ways of following Jesus. Paul’s point
is that these things don’t apply to Gentiles because Gentiles, based on this
tradition out of Isaiah, don't need to become Jews in the last days. God will deal
with them precisely as eschatological Gentiles. To come back to Bedford, she
has a nice turn of phrase that sums this up: “In Christ, there is ample room
for difference.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[This is an edited transcript from an adult
spiritual formation group that met at </span></i><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.scpcusa.org/"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">St.
Charles Presbyterian Church in St. Charles, Missouri</span></i></a></span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">. It was transcribed and edited with the help of
a student worker at </span></i><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.lindenwood.edu/"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lindenwood
University</span></i></a></span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">
who wishes to remain anonymous, but who was also a big help. </span></i><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/p/serials-index.html"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Click here to find an index of the
full series</span></i></a></span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">.]</span></i>
<div><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/3OsP2mB">Nancy
Elizabeth Bedford, <i>Galatians</i>, Belief: A Theological Commentary on the
Bible (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2016)</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/3SUdqxM">Paula
Fredriksen, <i>Paul: The Pagan’s Apostle</i> (New Haven: Yale University Press,
2017)</a><span class="MsoHyperlink">, 129</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/3SUdqxM">Fredriksen,
<i>Paul</i>, 165</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202&version=NRSVUE">Isaiah
2:1–5</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/3SUdqxM">Fredriksen,
<i>Paul</i>, 165</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+5&version=NRSVUE">Galatians
5:12</a>; <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%203&version=NRSVUE">Philippians
3:2</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3OsP2mB">Bedford, <i>Galatians</i>, 7</a>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div><br />==================================<br />
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<meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"><meta content="@wtmcmaken" name="twitter:site"><meta content="§1 Approaching Galatians (session 4, part 1)" name="twitter:title"><meta content="Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series" name="twitter:description"><meta content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXiCXRzvZJAMzUvD63oC12ygcbUWL9f1_e3MmrGD-qOHIyON-vZty9gl3giC2M52OzD5_e76RT16YyZSFMDSpKzodb-tr9v0CSZ01cMsT0Sy_4RWJpcfA10PThlfxhCAahDEU50MUt7vKVdp8pRuE8fHQiNTXcCffUb6cAD61eQZkZ4SukS4/w640-h480/Galatians.jpg" name="twitter:image">W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-91785236416275098162023-08-15T22:30:00.002-05:002023-08-15T22:33:05.751-05:00Two Recent Podcast AppearancesDear Gentle Readers, <br /><br />
I would usually save this sort of news for the next updates post, but <a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/08/meanwhile-back-at-ranch-20230805-ed.html>an updates post was literally the last post</a> and I wanted to share this with you sooner rather than later. <br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizlDCn_qhgRSQOwlTIlRpbzwrP7CIr2GGBM94TzdeV9U3rCql3wq7dS1M9VW1hLPOctf0Gvk2CzZL9AfdNGWxYxmYSYcfGWogM3lSzQxQbnvWHz8hgjd2nfHE5PwEHr3MEhMglJMnxst2_DMP_ok8V-b84jr0Iplya4QhFzB1ajxG1bC2K-0e7LA/s499/mic.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" width="200" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="499" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizlDCn_qhgRSQOwlTIlRpbzwrP7CIr2GGBM94TzdeV9U3rCql3wq7dS1M9VW1hLPOctf0Gvk2CzZL9AfdNGWxYxmYSYcfGWogM3lSzQxQbnvWHz8hgjd2nfHE5PwEHr3MEhMglJMnxst2_DMP_ok8V-b84jr0Iplya4QhFzB1ajxG1bC2K-0e7LA/s200/mic.jpg"/></a></div>I was privileged to appear on two podcasts recently. <br /><br />
First, Quique Autrey was kind enough to have me on his <a href=https://www.quiqueautrey.com/podcast/episode/26a8234e/dr-w-travis-mcmaken-karl-barth-and-the-political><i>Psyche</i> podcast to talk about Karl Barth and politics</a>. Along the way he induced me to tell a bit of my own story as well as Barth's story, and we even squeezed some Helmut Gollwitzer in there before we were done. <br /><br />
Second, Corey Tuttle, Ash Cocksworth, and I got together to talk <a href=><i>Karl Barth's Spiritual Writings</i> on Corey's <i>The Karl Barth Podcast</i></a>. It's always a pleasure to chat about how Ash and I connected around this project, as well as the ostensible oddity of putting together a book on Barth's spirituality. My conviction that this is the way to introduce Barth to church folks and seminarians continues to grow. And to all my professorial colleagues out there, if you assign this book in your class as a way of introducing Barth, I'd love to hop on a video call with you and your class sometime! <br /><br />
So, there you have it. Surf on over and have a listen to one or both! You have the links above but I'll embed them below as well. And remember, if you enjoy listening along rather thna reading, you can check out my McKrakenCast feed and YouTube channel (or <a href=https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZCiMy5uTLvXUUgXSAnuQs5SyP3XUcY4S>my YouTube playlist of when I've appeared on other folks' channels</a>) below as well. <br /><br />
Enjoy! <br /><br />
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<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/0gPn0JNGD0aFHc1Y6j9eUf?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe><br /><br />
<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1592649591&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-742079162" title="The Karl Barth Podcast" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">The Karl Barth Podcast</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-742079162/dr-ashley-cocksworth-dr-travis-mcmaken-karl-barths-spiritual-writings" title="Dr. Ashley Cocksworth & Dr. Travis McMaken - Karl Barth's Spiritual Writings" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Dr. Ashley Cocksworth & Dr. Travis McMaken - Karl Barth's Spiritual Writings</a></div>
<br /><br />==================================<br /><br />
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<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /><meta name="twitter:site" content="@wtmcmaken" /><meta name="twitter:title" content="Two Recent Podcast Appearances" /><meta name="twitter:description" content="Hear about McMaken appearing as a guest on two podcasts recently." /><xmeta name="twitter:image" content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKqZKapbst-oUlO_5vj8gQWbGYjLEM4NE8pEpaTPgjtqdzU2RRi3MF5aXgXaOInw_64FX07OS-nS61t9pXVJi0iMycfqbZmeeCx0GroX7CfCjwnluJkwHG1guDTQ8MJ2ClvcRS6Q/w499-h416-s-no/?authuser=0" />W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-89779785714823043602023-08-05T14:29:00.004-05:002023-08-05T14:29:33.404-05:00Meanwhile, back at the ranch… (2023.08.05 ed.)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlXmalM4gsGBJuPvZz-stX3lAJDDqWDBWHPJNsYUUPF-GmoMUGub1v9zFzDay_8g5Qp7ceFsomu-QdJKfltrOAHUumnjYex5k1REA11nXpCGOoX_lUhPT7GlHnAsRtbeHTR8Na8A/s1600/Cowboys_at_Lunch_%2528NYPL_b12647398-68229%2529.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlXmalM4gsGBJuPvZz-stX3lAJDDqWDBWHPJNsYUUPF-GmoMUGub1v9zFzDay_8g5Qp7ceFsomu-QdJKfltrOAHUumnjYex5k1REA11nXpCGOoX_lUhPT7GlHnAsRtbeHTR8Na8A/s640/Cowboys_at_Lunch_%2528NYPL_b12647398-68229%2529.tiff" width="640" height="432" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1081" /></a></div></br>
…or, Something to keep you busy over the weekend…</br></br>
…or, The Past Fortnight in the Theoblogosphere. </br></br>
Ok, ok – so it’s been more like five months since the last <a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/03/meanwhile-back-at-ranch-20230312-ed.html>updates post</a>. I think I’ll finally go ahead and update the standard preamble on these post. They will become more strictly update posts with less of a focus on curated sets of links. </br></br>
In any case, I hear you, gentle readers, asking within your hearts: “But, what are the updates?!” Well, I’ll tell you! </br></br>
<b>First</b>, <a href=https://www.buzzsprout.com/257204/12907923>I appeared on an episode of the Bad Calvinists podcast</a> to teach those bad Calvinist something about Calvin. It was time. Overdue, in fact. And we had a lot of fun talking about Calvin in general but also his theology of the Lord’s Supper / Eucharist / Communion and his pastoral side. I hope you check it out. </br></br>
<b>Second</b>, I published <a href=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00209643231166702?journalCode=intc>a review in <i>Interpretation</i></a> on Paul J. DeHart’s book, <a href=https://amzn.to/3KtatBh><i>Unspeakable Cults: An Essay in Christology</i> (Baylor, 2021)</a>. It’s an interesting book. I hope you check it out along with my review. </br></br>
<b>Third</b>, Ash Cocksworth and I <a href=https://trippfuller.com/2023/06/29/the-spirituality-politics-of-karl-barth-travis-mcmaken-ash-cocksworth/>appeared on an episode of the Homebrewed Christianity podcast</a> to talk about our book, <a href=https://amzn.to/3rYTiB2><i>Karl Barth’s Spiritual Writings</i></a>. It’s always a pleasure getting together with Ash to talk about this project, and I always enjoy spending time with Tripp as well. So this was a lot of fun. You won’t want to miss it. </br>
<a href=https://trippfuller.com/2023/06/29/the-spirituality-politics-of-karl-barth-travis-mcmaken-ash-cocksworth/><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUypnGjZsVDDD0KJbJ4qhcdElKKWFT-EXgU2NUCONRlxLXlaJJOdRnXZmFyObGBBlQlgjGU8MMqSkqD3eDlPbYM35k_nzYWGOq4QFiFnnw0hEIC37iHtITUat8FgOahAbYGJS9sApF32Mk9dkCuRG2ARyOwXVfwfrhF_G-lou2qD9zCNXyhlicZA/s1080/2023.06.29%20-%20Homebrewed%20Christianity,%20%27Spirituality%20&%20Politics%20of%20Karl%20Barth%27.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUypnGjZsVDDD0KJbJ4qhcdElKKWFT-EXgU2NUCONRlxLXlaJJOdRnXZmFyObGBBlQlgjGU8MMqSkqD3eDlPbYM35k_nzYWGOq4QFiFnnw0hEIC37iHtITUat8FgOahAbYGJS9sApF32Mk9dkCuRG2ARyOwXVfwfrhF_G-lou2qD9zCNXyhlicZA/s320/2023.06.29%20-%20Homebrewed%20Christianity,%20%27Spirituality%20&%20Politics%20of%20Karl%20Barth%27.png"/></a></div></a>
</br>
<b>Fourth</b> and finally, and speaking of Tripp, he’s organizing another Theology Beer Camp – this time in Springfield, Missouri! I’ll be there, along with a bunch of other interesting people, to hang out and talk about theology and other interesting subjects (rumor has it that I might spend some time talking about Star Wars and religion…). <a href=https://homebrewedchristianity.lpages.co/theobeercamp23/>Be sure to check out all the information and I hope you’ll be able to join us!</a></br>
<a href=https://homebrewedchristianity.lpages.co/theobeercamp23/><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHbw4fZyGWZge6LRuW41cFqBF4DgS6DWvQQ-0DgL65JLLUnV6nD1Lc3RP3hEgTnMF0z2L86txfCvQ23BAP43vj5MLu-F2xf9fPm9-m9i8M5nyBVbSMoqhKEI8BHy-ksLpPFS1EcZblGWSqe1LBphs8SMlbgtHmrFsRTTnMwItQ7FL69DA34A66-A/s1080/God%20Pod%20with%20Monk%20-%20Instagram%20with%20Info%20%281%29.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHbw4fZyGWZge6LRuW41cFqBF4DgS6DWvQQ-0DgL65JLLUnV6nD1Lc3RP3hEgTnMF0z2L86txfCvQ23BAP43vj5MLu-F2xf9fPm9-m9i8M5nyBVbSMoqhKEI8BHy-ksLpPFS1EcZblGWSqe1LBphs8SMlbgtHmrFsRTTnMwItQ7FL69DA34A66-A/s320/God%20Pod%20with%20Monk%20-%20Instagram%20with%20Info%20%281%29.png"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdkF4AkrICrSV5_l8SbrmWRfEYR8MB73mKUEk_Ch7nXAotAiyibms6vx_nkabTh-N-mlsXYndFVTDePU785qw3yhZR6rRuvc8iNMSr0cbYAT3MTzKLhe1gPz7AVTZ7Ec4kpNKjyVDROxm0BaMNh9UU8UNwHLfLHiCLIzot352fmCBmimfkiUHng/s1480/Travis%20SW.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="1480" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdkF4AkrICrSV5_l8SbrmWRfEYR8MB73mKUEk_Ch7nXAotAiyibms6vx_nkabTh-N-mlsXYndFVTDePU785qw3yhZR6rRuvc8iNMSr0cbYAT3MTzKLhe1gPz7AVTZ7Ec4kpNKjyVDROxm0BaMNh9UU8UNwHLfLHiCLIzot352fmCBmimfkiUHng/s320/Travis%20SW.png"/></a></div></a></br>
And now, here’s what’s we’ve been up to at DET since the last <a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/03/meanwhile-back-at-ranch-20230312-ed.html>updates post</a>: </br></br>
<ul><li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/03/twenty-years-later-thoughts-on-war-and.html>Twenty Years Later: Thoughts on War and the Powers</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/05/church-ethics-case-against-neutrality.html>Church Ethics: The Case Against Neutrality</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/06/authoritarian-logic-and-transition-from.html>Authoritarian Logic and the Transition from Aquinas to Ockham</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/07/1-approaching-galatians-session-3-part.html>§1 Approaching Galatians (session 3, part 2)—Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-fault-not-in-our-stars-berrigan-on.html>The Fault Not in Our Stars: Berrigan on the Mystery of Evil</a></li></ul>
<br /><br />==================================<br /><br />
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<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /><meta name="twitter:site" content="@wtmcmaken" /><meta name="twitter:title" content="Meanwhile, back at the ranch… (2023.08.05 ed.)" /><meta name="twitter:description" content="Get the latest updates about what's going on at DET!" /><meta name="twitter:image" content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlXmalM4gsGBJuPvZz-stX3lAJDDqWDBWHPJNsYUUPF-GmoMUGub1v9zFzDay_8g5Qp7ceFsomu-QdJKfltrOAHUumnjYex5k1REA11nXpCGOoX_lUhPT7GlHnAsRtbeHTR8Na8A/s1600/Cowboys_at_Lunch_%2528NYPL_b12647398-68229%2529.tiff" />W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-72161666178751230742023-07-16T17:03:00.003-05:002023-07-16T17:03:27.114-05:00The Fault Not in Our Stars: Berrigan on the Mystery of Evil<table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/International_Space_Station_after_undocking_of_STS-132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/International_Space_Station_after_undocking_of_STS-132.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"NASA/Crew of STS-132, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons</td></tr></tbody></table>
“I haven’t even said anything yet!” quipped Capt. Scott Kelly, striding onto stage, bedecked in his NASA jacket, as he greeted a crowd of hundreds, standing and applauding. The retired astronaut, who spent nearly a year aboard the International Space Station in 2015-2016, recounted his past life as the underachiever who, through pluck and persistence, aimed high – literally – overcoming inertia and self-doubt to obtain his dream job. The talk, sponsored by the Springfield (Massachusetts) Forum, was winsome, wise, witty, and well-received. Space travel, it so happens, is a life-long obsession of mine, and I’ve been known to drag my hapless teenage son out on cold, clear nights to glimpse the ISS zipping by, 248 miles overhead at 18,000 miles per hour. So all this stuff is grist for my mill. Capt. Kelly’s speech – though engaging – was, in many ways, a conventional motivational talk, lauding the rewards of working hard and persistently, of taking risks and making mistakes, to achieve arduous goals.<br/>
<br/>A bit of pathos, though, seeped through the captain’s wry, warm-hearted optimism as he struggled to extend these personal life lessons to our fraught geopolitical situation. The ISS, Kelly plausibly claimed, is perhaps the most complex and difficult project humankind has ever attempted. Unlike, say, the Apollo missions, during which the U.S. flexed its Cold-War-toned nationalist muscles so impressively, the ISS is an intrinsically <i>international</i> effort entailing trust and cooperation among 15 partner nations. Kelly ruefully noted, though, his estrangement from his erstwhile partner, the cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, in the wake of the war in Ukraine. What’s more, in the five years between Kelly’s two stints on the ISS, he could discern the progressive devastation of the Amazon rainforest. As remarkable as Capt. Kelly is, there are millions of skilled, plucky, and decent people like him around the globe, striving to build a better world. So why can’t the human species get its collective act together?
<br/>
<br/><a href=https://amzn.to/3yc2aDb><i>Daniel Berrigan: Essential Writings</i>, Selected with an Introduction by John Dear (Orbis, 2009).</a><br/>
<br/>In the mid 1960s, smarting from a public rebuke, the poet-priest and peace agitator Daniel Berrigan penned a provocative journal entry in Cuernavaco, Mexico. In November 1965, Berrigan had been ordered by his Jesuit superiors to leave the United States after he offered a funeral homily for Roger LaPorte, a young Catholic Worker who had immolated himself in front of U.N. Headquarters to protest the war in Southeast Asia (pp. 65-73). Dispatching this left-leaning priest to tour Latin America, it turns out, was a grave miscalculation – an exile ideally suited to further radicalizing him. In the face of overwhelming public backlash, including a full-page call-out in <i>The New York Times</i>, his superiors relented, allowing Berrigan to come home the following year.<br/>
<br/>Berrigan distinguishes between evil as <i>problem</i> (the grist of theodicies and projects) and evil as <i>mystery</i>. The former term names social issues inasmuch as they are the object of practical and technical interventions – that is, challenges to be faced with the skills, grit, and intentionality that Capt. Kelly extolled. The problem of evil, Berrigan writes, “is a product of history, explainable to history, assuaged to a degree, within history” (ibid., p. 76). The latter term, by contrast, gestures towards the uncanny, the inexplicable – those aspects of existence the human mind can neither conceptualize nor, assuming it’s awake, ignore. This is the nature of suffering as embraced and encompassed with the very mystery of life itself. Berrigan writes:<br/>
<br/><blockquote>A will exists, which declares itself in a Human Being like us, to be a Will of Love, of concern. This Will has its design in the world, is immanent in the world. But it is not subsumed, not seized on by the world. Indeed, this Will brings the world to a term that no confluence of history, no concentration of energy or genius or human love could imagine – much less bring about (ibid.).</blockquote><br/>
Human striving must continue, to be sure. After all, I note, it was Zeus, not the God of Israel, who condemned Prometheus. As Berrigan puts it:<br/>
<br/><blockquote>So the end of the problem is, at least in degree, an “arrival”; a human being is in outer space; a disease is controlled; a theory is vindicated. But before mystery, we stand perpetually before an invitation so merciful, in fact, that our submission before it as well as our powerlessness to possess it is our greatest dignity (ibid., pp. 76-77).</blockquote>
<br/>After Capt. Kelly’s talk, I recalled the shock and rage I felt in 2011 when I heard that his sister-in-law, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, had been shot in the head by a gunman at a Safeway store in Casas Adobes, Arizona. Six people were murdered on that terrible day, but Rep. Giffords, amazingly, survived – enduring numerous, drastic medical procedures and many months of recovery to emerge, upon retiring from the Congress, one of this nation’s most respected, tireless, and indomitable agitators against the gun violence epidemic. (Ms. Giffords, of course, is married to Scott Kelly’s twin brother Mark, also a retired astronaut, who just last year fended off a challenge to his seat representing Arizona in the U.S. Senate. This is not a family to trifle with!). Giffords’ inspiring story is a tribute to the incessant power of life and love triumphing amid a culture enthralled to violence and death. Theologically speaking, her struggle is an icon of the power of resurrection – the redemption of creation in God’s coming kingdom.<br/>
<br/>Still, from the standpoint of passing legislation and stemming the tide of gun violence, the yield for now might seem meager (though that’s no excuse to stop trying). After all, <i>our powerlessness to possess it is our greatest dignity.</i> For all of us on this Big Blue Marble – indeed, for the very Earth itself – this side of the Resurrection is the time of waiting – waiting under the shadow of the Cross, in hopeful anticipation for the One who comes to make all things new.
<br /><br />==================================<br /><br />
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J. Scott Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689056473295120103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-6725522970450581842023-07-05T21:39:00.003-05:002023-07-05T21:39:41.773-05:00§1 Approaching Galatians (session 3, part 2)—Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series<div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[The
series continues and now concludes the third in-person session. <a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/02/1-approaching-galatians-session-3-part.html">Find the last post here</a>.]</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />d. J. Louis Martyn, Apocalyptic, and 20<sup>th</sup> c.
Historical Scholarship<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">: Now that we’ve had a chance to
look at Luther and Calvin, let’s talk a bit about more recent trends in New
Testament interpretation and, especially, how it comes together in J. Louis
Martyn’s commentary on Galatians. This will give us a sense of how we interpret
Paul today differently than our forebears did during the Reformation. My own
way of reading is decisively shaped by the Reformation, and I find many
important theological connections there. But there are also some very important
corrections that we need to keep in mind that more recent historical
scholarship has made to those Reformation approaches. For example, we’ve
already tried to be very aware of the supersessionism embedded in how the
Reformation read Galatians and how it developed into antisemitism. That is part
of this story of more recent critical biblical scholarship.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZnT0w09Cb6ta8scS0fsJZgNhhZ13Ryon4Dj5Wl8N3euzdW6F6wdUR6nE9jh_vzcmU7u_wYjkx_RiUYzwCnI2voeZlpJDAlqK93HWdL5TPTilNkvIVCrgqebstsioNL7cUfHULRvPvkBB5-l4dHcEegvD4KOfASYpCzTbmhefA09021z3zeO8/s3008/Galatians.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2256" data-original-width="3008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZnT0w09Cb6ta8scS0fsJZgNhhZ13Ryon4Dj5Wl8N3euzdW6F6wdUR6nE9jh_vzcmU7u_wYjkx_RiUYzwCnI2voeZlpJDAlqK93HWdL5TPTilNkvIVCrgqebstsioNL7cUfHULRvPvkBB5-l4dHcEegvD4KOfASYpCzTbmhefA09021z3zeO8/w640-h480/Galatians.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">That story starts with Jesus, as everything does in
Christianity. Scholars were focused on understanding and interpreting Jesus
before they focused on Paul. Through the 18th and 19th centuries—the
Enlightenment period—there was a great deal of research being done on Jesus. It
seemed like everybody wrote a book on “The Life of Jesus,” in which they
presented their way of understanding Jesus. However, in retrospect, it was all
rather boring because they all tended to see Jesus as a moral teacher. They
found his significance in the notion that he taught people to be morally
upright and civilized. This was a result of the Enlightenment’s focus on
rationality and historical awareness (or historical consciousness), which meant
that you couldn’t take miracles very seriously. And if you aren’t going to
focus on Jesus’s miracles, what’s left to focus on? His teaching. And if you
aren’t going to conclude that Jesus is important because he is a divine worker
of supernatural miracles, where are you going to find his importance? His being
an outstanding moral teacher. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">To put an even finer point on it, this idea of Jesus
being an outstanding moral teacher dovetailed with the European cultural
superiority complex, which they used to justify their colonialism by insisting
that they were civilized and everyone else was not. In this environment, Jesus
became a teacher of the value system—or, morality—that Europeans equated with
their civilized culture, and Christianity became a collection of rituals,
practices, and institutions that upheld those values and that civilization. Consequently,
Europeans outside of Europe could look at indigenous populations and say that
they are uncivilized because they are not Christian and they are not Christian
because they are uncivilized. Colonialism and Christianity was all tied up in a
big, unfortunate mess. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">But there was also a minority report. This began in
some important ways with Johannes Weiss (1863–1914) and William Wrede (1859–1906),
and culminated in the work of <b>Albert Schweitzer</b> (1875–1965). What set
them apart was their sensitivity to the historical context of the Gospels and,
especially, the importance of eschatology in getting the interpretations of
these texts right. They saw that there’s more to these stories about Jesus than
just his teachings. Jesus seems to think that the world is about to end. What's
going on with that? These scholars picked up on some of this weirdness, and
they didn’t just discount and ignore it as supernatural nonsense. They said: “If
we’re going to understand this guy, we probably should think about how he seems
to be seeing the world. Maybe that’s going to lead us to some different
insights.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">As a result, Schweitzer wrote this hugely influential
book called <a href="https://amzn.to/3IfSEDE"><i>The Quest for the Historical Jesus</i></a> in 1906.</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> I can’t remember
if he uses this metaphor himself or if it is a metaphor that gets used to
describe the central argument of his book, but—Schweitzer argues that it’s as
though all those people who have been writing “Life of Jesus” books were
looking down a deep, dark well to try to see Jesus, but all they see is their
own reflection looking back up at them. We bring all these preconceptions and
commitments with us when we read the biblical texts that the danger is that
we’ll find exactly what we expect to find. Schweitzer thought Jesus was a lot
weirder than people were willing to admit because Jesus is from 2000 years ago
and people lived in a very different world back then. How was the world
different? Well, for starters, they had this eschatological expectation—this
end-of-time or end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it expectation. So if we really want
to understand Jesus, Schweitzer tells us that we have to understand him as an
eschatological prophet. He’s a prophet of the end-of-time. And Schweitzer’s
book ends up being so compelling, and so enduringly correct in key ways, that
biblical scholarship had to shift and start running along some different
tracks. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now we can fast-forward to another scholar named <b>Ernst
Käsemann</b>, who was born in the year Schweitzer’s book was published, 1906.
He died in 1998. He was a German scholar and in the 1960’s he was part of the
shift to being looking at Paul through some of the same lenses that had been
used to study Jesus, and he was especially interested in tracking the eschatological
side of Paul. He saw Paul as the beginning of Christianity, which was not a new
idea, but Käsemann focused on the experience of Easter and what that did to the
early Jesus followers. Paul isn’t part of that, of course, but then he has that
subsequent experience of encounter with the risen Jesus. Käsemann’s question
is: How does this shift their expectations? And how does understanding this
help us understand how they shifted from Jesus preaching that the kingdom of
God is going to come at any time to what Paul seems to preach—that the kingdom
of God came in Jesus and is going to come again, and completely, very soon? In
a theological language, we call this future return of Jesus the <i>parousia</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Let’s think about the dates. The Easter experiences
occur around CE 30. Do you remember when we said Galatians is probably written?
The early 50s. So they’ve spent 20 years waiting for something that they
thought was going to happen pretty quickly. Then there’s another decade of Paul
writing letters and it still hasn’t happened. But he still seems to have this
expectation that, probably in their lifetimes, it’s going to happen. For
instance, you don’t have to worry about having children to produce another
generation of Christians. If you’re not married, try to stay that way (1 Cor 7).
But Paul and others increasingly had to deal with the embarrassment that came
from the delay as the years went by, and people had to try to figure out why things
aren’t playing out like they expected. One place we see this in Paul is Romans
9–11, which we discussed before. Paul talks about Israel and about how God is bringing
the Gentiles in to be part of God’s people. Then, as soon as enough of the
Gentiles come in, the end will come. That’s Paul’s explanation, but there are other
explanations that seem to be kicking around as well. You see different
explanations in the Deutero-Pauline letters—the ones that say they are from Paul,
but we don’t think they really were. Each of those has their own way of
explaining why the end hasn’t come. That seems to be the key issue those
letters are grappling with.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">So, taking a step back: we see that as they moved
through the first 100 years or so after Jesus, the Jesus-following communities
had this problem of an eschatological delay—a delay at the end of the world—and
the need to try to explain and make sense of that jump-started what would
become Christian theology. This was Käsemann’s key insight. What we today would
call Christian theology comes out of this community trying to make sense of why
the consummation of Jesus’s work hasn’t happened yet. And that goes on, down
through the years, until it gets to us 2000 years later—and it still hasn’t
happened. We’re still here, on a Sunday morning, praying and worshiping Jesus.
So, apparently they were successful in coming up with a compelling explanation.
But that’s what gets theology off the ground. As Käsemann put it: apocalyptic
eschatology is “the mother of all Christian theology.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">And just to pause again over some of these words: we sometimes
use the words “eschatology” and “apocalyptic” interchangeably. “Eschatology” reflects
a frame of mind that focusses on the end of the world. It’s a mental
orientation where you expect the end to come, so that’s where your mind lives.
But “apocalyptic” is a specific way of thinking about the end of the world
where you think it’s going to happen at any moment and in a very dramatic way.
You think it’s going to be an event of conflict, like some big battle. I’ll go
into more detail here soon. But apocalyptic is one way of being
eschatologically oriented.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Schweitzer develops a way of studying Jesus that pays
attention to eschatology and apocalyptic, and Käsemann applies it to Paul. Of
course, I’m brushing over a lot of other figures who are important in the story
and just hitting the main check-points. All of this fits really well into late Second
Temple Judaism. Second Temple Judaism is what we call the period beginning when
Jewish folks come back from exile in Babylon toward the end of the 6th century
BCE. This is where you read Ezra and Nehemiah in the Hebrew Scriptures / Old
Testament. This period ends when the Romans destroy the temple in 70 CE. Why do
we call this the “second” temple? Because the temple that Solomon was supposed
to have built way back when was destroyed when Jerusalem was conquered and the
people sent into exile. But they came back and built a new temple, the “second”
temple. “Late” Second Temple Judaism covers the last century or so before the
temple was destroyed. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Judaism at that time had a lot of variety in it, but
there was also this deep current of apocalyptic expectation. These folks who
gave us the Dead Sea Scrolls, which came out of the Qumran community. They thought
that this was going to happen at any moment and they wrote texts about the kind
of battle that's going to happen when it happens, and about which people would
be on which side of the battle. They thought they’d get to help fight and kill
all the Romans and other bad people for example. And this apocalyptic
expectation is just kind of in the water. So thinking about Jesus and Paul in
these terms really fits well into the larger Jewish context at the time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A scholar named <b>E. P. Sanders</b> provided another
watershed moment in scholarship along these lines when he wrote a book called <a href="https://amzn.to/3STVnrh"><i>Paul
and Palestinian Judaism</i></a> in 1977.</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> He argues that
Paul sees Jesus as a new thing that God is doing to restructure what it means
to be part of God's people. So that now, Gentiles can get in on being part of
God’s people without having to become Jewish by fully converting. And all of
this fits into the broader Jewish eschatological expectations. This helps us
understand the early Jesus following Jewish movement as a renewal or revival
movement <i>inside</i> Judaism, which makes a lot of sense. Sure, most Jewish
folks weren’t convinced, but Jesus-following Jews understood themselves as
operating within their broader Jewish commitments. And, as far as we can tell
based on what we know about Judaism at that time, they were. They were just
restructuring things to make sense of the experience they had of Jesus and the
idea that what God is supposed to be doing at the end has started happening
already and will soon be completed in Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Moving forward from Sanders, you have people like J.
Christiaan Beker, Martinus C. de Boer, and other people working on
understanding Paul through the lens of apocalyptic eschatology. Much of this
work is done through the 1980s and the 1990s. <b>J. Louis Martyn</b>’s <a href="https://amzn.to/3kGLAsc"><i>Galatians
</i>commentary</a>
published in 1997</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is, in many ways,
a culminating exemplar of that work. Building on the preceding decades of work,
Martyn gives us something like the definitive articulation of Paul’s thought in
Galatians according to that interpretive approach. I've also been reading a more
recent book by <b>Paula Fredriksen</b> called <a href="https://amzn.to/3SUdqxM"><i>Paul: The Pagan’s Apostle</i></a>,</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> which is also
very good. She stands more firmly in the interpretive line of understanding
Paul within his Jewish context, but she is also very attentive to apocalyptic
eschatology as part of that context. Her argument is that Paul understood
himself as an apocalyptic apostle to the Gentiles—that is, the Pagans. As she
puts it: Paul understood himself “as God's prophetic messenger, formed in the
womb to carry the good news of impending salvation to the nations, racing on
the edge of the end of time.”</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> I think this is a
great image. The end of time is crashing down on us and Paul is surfing on the
crest of the wave. I really like that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now I’d like to spend some time talking more
specifically about what “apocalyptic” eschatology is, and I’ll be drawing on
MartYn for much of this. The word “apocalypse,” or “apokálypsis” in Greek, means
“revelation.” The book of Revelation in the Bible has the more full title of
“The Apocalypse of John.” But this is not revelation just in the sense of
knowledge. It’s an occurrence. And, in that sense, revelation is an unveiling. You
whip the cover off something and you see what's really there. Furthermore,
because now you see what’s really there, apocalypse is also a fundamental
reorientation of the world. It’s an event that teaches you something about the
way the world is that you never understood before, and that helps you see it in
a completely different way. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Part of that new way of seeing the world is
understanding that there are two “ages.” There’s the current age and there’s the
coming age. Furthermore, these two ages are fundamentally incompatible. They
don’t fit together and cannot peacefully coexist so their basic relationship is
one of conflict. The current age is evil and the coming age is good. The
current age is dominated by the powers of sin, death, and the Devil—as Martin
Luther might say—and the coming age is one in which God’s rule is uncontested.
The current age is about slavery and sin, and the coming age is about freedom
and peace. So one of the key questions that Paul asks, as Martyn puts it, is
“what time is it” (p. 104)? Which age are we living in? For Paul, the problem
people have is they don’t understand what time it is. They can’t read where the
hands are pointing on God’s cosmic clock. And at the end of the day, it isn’t
the time that people think it is. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">What's going to happen at the end? For Paul, it’s
already happening. And what’s already happening is God’s invasion of our world.
The new eon is breaking in, and will fully and dramatically break in, and there
will be a large scale conflict with the old eon and its powers. There's
discontinuity, warfare, cosmic struggle between spiritual powers—and earthly
powers too. The power of God in the coming age will have a show-down with the
power of sin, the power of evil, the present age. It's a war between God and
God's forces on the one side, and all the demonic beings and powers on the
spiritual side of the world that we currently live in. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">As Fredriksen says, “Apocalyptic eschatology corrects
history.”</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “History” is the world
that we live in. If you're Jewish in this context, there’s something
fundamentally wrong about the world you're living in. Why? Because you're
oppressed by Rome. You're not free, and don't feel free to worship your God the
way you think you should. Especially if you're out in the countryside with the
kinds of Jewish folks that Jesus was hanging out with, the Pharisees, you think
the people running the temple are collaborating with Rome and making it all
worse. So, there's something fundamentally wrong with the world right now.
Apocalyptic eschatology says that, at any moment, God's going to roll back the
heavens and show up with an army and fix things. There’s a gap between what <i>is
</i>and what <i>should be</i>, but God’s going to show up and close that gap. But
the expectation is that this violent conflict and cosmic reckoning could happen
any moment. For Paul, the fight is already happening. It started with Jesus. And
when Jesus comes back, that's going to be the end of the battle.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">To close this section, and to bring things back around
and tie together some different friends, I want to talk about a friend of mine
named <b><a href="https://twitter.com/dwcongdon">David Congdon</a></b>. He does really great work on a
variety of topics, but he's done a lot of work on interpreting Paul,
understanding the apocalyptic interpretation, and tying that into the sort of
theological orientation that he and I share. He writes that “Apocalyptic [is] a
radicalizing of the Lutheran interpretation.”</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> What does this
mean? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Remember that the Lutheran interpretation of Paul
emphasizes that salvation is by grace through faith and it's not something you
do. Congdon’s point is that there’s a basic continuity between that conviction
about how salvation works and understanding Paul’s apocalyptic frame of
reference. Why? Because we can't change the clock. We can't wind it forward or
back. Only God can do that. God is going to show up at any moment to save us
from the disordered, upside-down mess that is the present age and set things
right. This is just like how we can't save ourselves in Lutheran accounts of
salvation. We can't remove our own sin; we need God to show up and do that for
us. There’s a basic similarity between believing that God is about to unroll
the scroll of heaven, come back, and fix things on the one hand, and believing that
God has forgiven our sins through Jesus on the other. There’s also a
difference, of course. On the apocalyptic side, you've got the human
predicament writ large across the heavens. It's about cosmic spiritual forces.
For Luther, or at least for what becomes the Lutheran tradition, it's something
much more like a legal transaction: we've got sin, Jesus has grace, and we need
to get things moved around in the accounting book. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The real question is: what if we demythologize Paul's
apocalyptic language? What are we left with at an existential level if we take
out all those spiritual forces and all the cosmic warfare? How do we understand
what it means to be human and to lead a good life as a human being? How do we
stay true to the true, authentic being we're supposed to have, the being that
God made us to have? Well, you end up with the idea that this is a question
that’s too big for any one of us to tackle. Ultimately, we need one another, we
need to live in community with one another, because none of us can do
everything by and for ourselves. If we try, we just end becoming curved in on
ourselves and our lives are distorted even further by self-centeredness. And that’s
the way we all are if left to ourselves in this disordered and broken world. If
we’re ever going to get straightened out, to have our lives reorientated, we
need to encounter the God and Father of Jesus Christ in the midst of our lives
together in community—and especially in solidarity and community with the ones with
whom Jesus was concerned: those who are imprisoned, oppressed, and exploited by
the very real powers that be in our world today.</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> That’s what pulls
us out of ourselves and sets us on the path to finding meaning in our lives.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">That’s a rough sketch
of what an existential approach to the doctrine of salvation (soteriology) is
about. You take the basic pattern shared by Paul’s apocalyptic vision and the
Lutheran tradition’s way of thinking about salvation, and you start pulling out
all the old parts that don’t really make sense to us anymore. We drop the legal
or accountant-oriented ideas of ledgers and balances, and we drop the cosmic
spiritual forces. But we can maintain their shared continuity, that basic
pattern of how we can think about what it means to follow Jesus, and what it
means that Jesus is the person who helps us understand what time it is on God's
clock.</span></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">[This is an edited transcript from an adult spiritual formation group that met at </span></i><a href="https://www.scpcusa.org/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">St. Charles Presbyterian Church in St. Charles, Missouri</span></i></a><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">. It was transcribed and edited with the help of a student worker at </span></i><a href="https://www.lindenwood.edu/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lindenwood University</span></i></a><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> who wishes to remain anonymous, but who was also a big help. </span></i><a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/p/serials-index.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Click here to find an index of the full series</span></i></a><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">.]</span></i></span></p></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></i></span></div><div><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3IfSEDE"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Albert
Schweitzer, <i>The Quest for the Historical Jesus</i>, translated by W.
Montgomery (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2005)</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/430ecNL">Ernst
Käsemann, “Die Anfänge christlicher Theologie [1960],” in <i>Exegetische
Versuche und Besinnungen</i>, 2 vols. (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,
1960–1964)</a>, 2:100.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3STVnrh"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">E.
P. Sanders, <i>Paul and Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison of Patterns of
Religion</i>, 40<sup>th</sup> anniversary edition (Minneapolis: Fortress Press,
2017)</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3kGLAsc"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">J.
Louis Martyn, <i>Galatians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary</i>,
The Anchor Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1997)</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<a href="https://amzn.to/3SUdqxM"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Paula
Fredriksen, <i>Paul: The Pagan’s Apostle</i> (New Haven: Yale University Press,
2017)</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3SUdqxM"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Fredriksen,
<i>Paul</i>, xii</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">.</span>
<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/3SUdqxM">Fredriksen,
<i>Paul</i>, 9</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn8">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3WtbLAW">David W. Congdon, “Kerygma and History:
Bultmann’s Hermeneutical Theology in North America Today,” <i>Rudolf Bultmann
und die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft der Gegenwart</i>, edited by Lukas
Bormann and Christof Landmesser (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022): 94.</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn9">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+4%3A16-21&version=NRSVUE">Luke
4:16-21</a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">==================================</p></div><br />
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<meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"><meta content="@wtmcmaken" name="twitter:site"><meta content="§1 Approaching Galatians (session 3, part 2)" name="twitter:title"><meta content="Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series" name="twitter:description"><meta content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZnT0w09Cb6ta8scS0fsJZgNhhZ13Ryon4Dj5Wl8N3euzdW6F6wdUR6nE9jh_vzcmU7u_wYjkx_RiUYzwCnI2voeZlpJDAlqK93HWdL5TPTilNkvIVCrgqebstsioNL7cUfHULRvPvkBB5-l4dHcEegvD4KOfASYpCzTbmhefA09021z3zeO8/w640-h480/Galatians.jpg" name="twitter:image">W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.com0St Charles, MO, USA38.7881062 -90.497435910.477872363821156 -125.6536859 67.098340036178854 -55.3411859tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-35414339719015443712023-06-12T19:02:00.001-05:002023-06-12T19:14:32.158-05:00Authoritarian Logic and the Transition from Aquinas to OckhamI'm not generally the sort to be found reading spiritual texts. Hence it is somewhat surprising that I've recently co-edited a volume on <a href=https://amzn.to/43Hp9o0>Karl Barth's spiritual writings</a>. But, as luck / fate / providence would have it, I recently dug out of the to-read pile this volume on <i>acedia</i>. <br /><br />
<a href=https://amzn.to/43Bpbxp><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiaQ002oKd21HAAejG8vT2s0ZqdzZg18kXsCTOpMz0B6uESh_tCi4biSxYNtgDJYkHgG-L6lBcmACFlhs1HN6O2Bgj_HSvujze9y5uTvO6goOwYcxkyLvSo6hsiFAu7Jc7eT9iznS48bqt9pY0q4TALD3rbGXQVozKFsl1veupmY8ftWntpqY/s500/41svk7GwCqL._AC_SY780_.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0em 2em 2em 2em; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="2" height="400" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiaQ002oKd21HAAejG8vT2s0ZqdzZg18kXsCTOpMz0B6uESh_tCi4biSxYNtgDJYkHgG-L6lBcmACFlhs1HN6O2Bgj_HSvujze9y5uTvO6goOwYcxkyLvSo6hsiFAu7Jc7eT9iznS48bqt9pY0q4TALD3rbGXQVozKFsl1veupmY8ftWntpqY/s400/41svk7GwCqL._AC_SY780_.jpg"/></a></a></div>Demythologized (as it were), we're really talking about reflections on the meaningfulness of life and especially about how it can be challenging to find it meaningful. For whatever reason, I read this in the space of two afternoons with temperatures hanging around triple digits in Central Missouri while in the middle of a week of outdoor living at Boy Scout camp. What follows is a passage that jumped out at me. As usual, italics are original to the text and bold is mine. <br /><br />
<center><a href=https://amzn.to/43Bpbxp>Jean-Charles Nault, O.S.B., <i>The Noonday Devil: Acedia, The Unnamed Evil of Our Times</i> (Ignatius Press, 2015), pp. 99–101.</a></center><br /><br />
Ockham views freedom as the exercise of spontaneous and arbitrary will out of a posture of true indifference. Anything that gets in the way of that indifference consequently short-circuits freedom, even one’s natural inclinations toward this or that. In order to combat this arbitrariness, <br /><br />
<blockquote>an external, extrinsic element is necessary… This element is the law. But what law? Ockham replies: God’s law. In fact, <b>confronting human freedom there is another freedom, divine freedom</b>, which is <b>the epitome of indifference</b>. Ockham pushes his argument still further. <b>God decreed the commandments in the Decalogue ‘by indifference’</b>. He could have decreed something else. He could have said: ‘thou shalt kill’, ‘Thou shalt commit adultery’, and then that is what would have been (99) necessary to do! This gives rise to <b>the morality of obligation, legalism</b>. … Man acts in terms of a law that is no longer inscribed within him but is totally external and foreign to him, <b>a law that is totally arbitrary</b>, which man can carry out only by God’s decree.<br /><br />
… What changes…is the <i>reason</i> why we do this. We no longer obey the Decalogue because there is some goodness intrinsic to the commandment. We obey the Decalogue simply because God commands it, independently of any value that is good in itself.* As you can guess, once God’s authority is called into question, everything will collapse. People will go so far as to ask: ‘Who is God to impose that on me?’ In rejecting God’s authority, they will end up rejecting the cogency of the divine law and, finally, they will call into question the goodness and relevance of God’s commandments. <b>They will then turn to the law of men or, more precisely, to the law of the strongest</b>. <br /><br />
<b>This is the rise of <i>authoritarianism</i></b>. From now on every authority will be tempted to think that whatever it requires is good, by reason of the very fact that it requires it. The authority will then have great <b>difficulty in calling itself into question</b>. The risk of a sectarian or dictatorial trend is significant. <b>If the law of the strongest is the criterion for the good, dictatorship is practically inevitable</b>, and any (100) questioning of the law in terms of a superior Law is considered by the authority to be a threat or even a crime.</blockquote><br />
*[WTM note--see this post: <a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2011/01/ellen-charry-on-two-types-of-divine.html>Ellen Charry on Two Types of Divine Commands</a>.]<br /><br />
For further reading, see “The Church and Totalitarianism” (242–45) in <a href=https://amzn.to/43Hp9o0><i>Karl Barth: Spiritual Writings</i></a>.
<br /><br />==================================<br /><br />
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<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /><meta name="twitter:site" content="@wtmcmaken" /><meta name="twitter:title" content="Authoritarian Logic and the Transition from Aquinas to Ockham" /><meta name="twitter:description" content="Reflections on authoritarianism and the meaning of life." /><meta name="twitter:image" content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiaQ002oKd21HAAejG8vT2s0ZqdzZg18kXsCTOpMz0B6uESh_tCi4biSxYNtgDJYkHgG-L6lBcmACFlhs1HN6O2Bgj_HSvujze9y5uTvO6goOwYcxkyLvSo6hsiFAu7Jc7eT9iznS48bqt9pY0q4TALD3rbGXQVozKFsl1veupmY8ftWntpqY/s400/41svk7GwCqL._AC_SY780_.jpg" />W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.com0St Charles, MO, USA38.7881062 -90.497435910.477872363821156 -125.6536859 67.098340036178854 -55.3411859tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-39312041122673809932023-05-22T10:58:00.000-05:002023-05-22T10:58:13.114-05:00Church Ethics: The Case Against Neutrality<p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><i>We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence </i></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><i>encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.</i></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">– Elie Wiesel</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">No church I’ve ever been affiliated with ever claimed a position of moral neutrality (of course murder is immoral - Duh). And also, at least in my experience, these same churches were usually all-too-willing to declare political neutrality. But my question is this: </p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">When politics affect peoples’ ability to procure basic human rights, </p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><i>what’s the difference</i> between moral and political neutrality? </p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwLL-gR4UI4GZVA7k9fWGvdxfwQ484zZyn-gNwCZa7L_tGvv1F35bIeLzuM2xvXq8uVvQSJPliSkw_qswTr5h6_k91OIl4ryhilUdaZl0GFwLK1dy0kBY6qWbN8wMeeN9c6p_pAUWFY3iKTXAlteWtUKahV7EHpx6vLIRENHYsi0L4CtaiwY/s4608/Kalona_United_Methodist_Church.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwLL-gR4UI4GZVA7k9fWGvdxfwQ484zZyn-gNwCZa7L_tGvv1F35bIeLzuM2xvXq8uVvQSJPliSkw_qswTr5h6_k91OIl4ryhilUdaZl0GFwLK1dy0kBY6qWbN8wMeeN9c6p_pAUWFY3iKTXAlteWtUKahV7EHpx6vLIRENHYsi0L4CtaiwY/s320/Kalona_United_Methodist_Church.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="text-indent: 36px;">It’s an incredibly privileged position to be in to try to claim political neutrality, but not moral neutrality. That one would do so tells me that they don’t have to worry about where their next meal is going to come from; what will happen to them if they get sick; where they will find shelter. In other words, one is afforded the luxury of being apolitical when status quo politics don’t have any chance of affecting them negatively.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But what about everyone else? </p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The single parent raising their kids on food-stamps and the minimum wage; the homeless war veteran with nothing to their name but that addiction they can’t seem to shake; the sex worker who fears for their life every time they meet a client: for these, neutrality isn’t something to be debated – it’s a death sentence. And yet many churches who claim to be disciples of Jesus – the anarchy-inspiring, anti-slut-shaming, banker-whipping, free-healthcare-giving, free-food-providing, political-agitating, first-century Jew – don’t seem to care about them.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="text-indent: 36px;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="text-indent: 36px;">Not really, anyway. </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="text-indent: 36px;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="text-indent: 36px;">Of course, they would never say that. That would earn them some bad P.R. Instead, they say things like “we believe in the separation of church and state,” or “Politics don’t belong in the pulpit.” But don’t be fooled, friends. Neutrality isn’t a form of courteous professional impartiality: it’s indifference to suffering. And this isn’t merely a modern problem. Pilate attempting to wash his hands of Jesus’ fate debunked the myth of neutrality 2000 years ago. There’s nothing new under the sun, I suppose.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="text-indent: 36px;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="text-indent: 36px;">If the church wants to be more than a corpse at the end of the century, it needs to stop trying to be neutral. Whether they like it or not, they’re directly on the hook for the suffering of the poor and oppressed. Blood is on their hands and no matter how much they try, they can’t wash their hands of it. To do so would merely make them modern-day Pilates, pretending to be innocent when the people they’re responsible for are dying.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="text-indent: 36px;"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="text-indent: 36px;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="text-indent: 36px;">It doesn’t matter much what it looks like. It could be a humanist community, an ethical society or a bible-preaching/hymn-singing/sacrament-celebrating <i>bona fide</i> church. But it must take the suffering of the poor and oppressed as the fundamental point of departure. Such is the event that manifests the true Church in the lived embodiment of the world.</span></p><br />==================================<br />
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J.T. Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07216436175777453954noreply@blogger.com0St Charles, MO, USA38.7881062 -90.497435910.477872363821156 -125.6536859 67.098340036178854 -55.3411859tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-22642696265098783952023-03-21T07:43:00.001-05:002023-03-21T08:14:48.264-05:00Twenty Years Later: Thoughts on War and the Powers<table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Type_69_Iraq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Type_69_Iraq.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Sgt. Paul L. Anstine III, U.S. Marine Corps, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons</td></tr></tbody></table>
Monday marked the 20th anniversary of the start of the U.S. war in Iraq. (One might better put it: Not the start, but the escalation of a longer running war.) Without trying to analyze geo-political complexities, I invite us to ponder how the world might be different today if that invasion had not happened.<br/>
<br/>
The anniversary caught me off guard. As it happened, I had been reading some passages from William Stringfellow’s classic tract on discipleship and resistance, <i>An Ethic for Christians and Others in a Strange Land</i> (1973). He writes of the ubiquity and myriad proliferations of the principalities and powers that vie with each other for survival and ascendency as they afflict and oppress living human beings. Somehow, mysteriously, all these powers that be, great and small, serve one overarching force, which Stringfellow names as Death.<br/>
<br/>
<blockquote>[A]gain and again, with nations no less than other powers, history discloses that the actual meaning of such human idolatry of nations, institutions, or other principalities is death. Death is the only moral significance that a principality proffers human beings. That is to say, whatever intrinsic moral power is embodied in a principality – for a great corporation, profit, for example; or, for a nation, hegemony; or for an ideology, conformity – that is sooner or later superseded by the greater moral power of death (Quoted from <a href=https://amzn.to/3LGTFYY><i>A Keeper of the Word: Selected Writings of William Stringfellow</i>, Ed. Bill Wylie-Kellerman, Eerdmans, 1994</a>, p. 207-208).</blockquote><br/>
I paused to fix breakfast, catching the headlines on public radio, wherein I heard Stringfellow’s insights into our world’s malaise verified empirically: Vladimir Putin is meeting with Xi Jinping. The Navaho nation is suing the federal government to procure its rightful water allotment from a dying Colorado River. Financial analysts fret over the stability of our banking system (the same system the Congress has in recent years worked to deregulate). My Congressman, Jim McGovern, is criticizing the Biden administration’s plan to expand oil drilling in Alaska <a href=https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/>(NPR's Morning Edition, March 20, 2023)</a>. Principalities all, struggling to survive and thrive amid chaos and scarcity – collective powers representing real people, to be sure, but also something more.<br/>
<br/>
Then I was stopped cold by a story comprised of personal reflections from people who have witnessed first-hand the costs of the war in Iraq (I couldn't find a link to this piece on NPR's website): A man who lived in Fallujah still struggles with a seared conscience for lying to a wounded boy, claiming the youth’s parents were still alive, to persuade him to go to the hospital. A U.S. Army interpreter recounts the mutual disillusionment as relationships between occupiers and occupied soured. An Iraqi man laments how U.S. troops secured the building of the oil ministry while looters had open season on the priceless antiquities of the national museum in Baghdad.<br/>
<br/>
In a later piece, reflective (if perhaps overly sanguine) comments from retired Admiral Mike Mullen (who, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, helped oversee the troop surge in Iraq) confirm my view that those who prosecuted this conflict were not, <i>tout court</i>, intrinsically evil people with a callous disregard for the human consequences (<a href=https://www.npr.org/2023/03/20/1164641676/after-iraq-mullen-wants-to-prevent-future-presidents-from-launching-a-war-of-cho>"After Iraq, Mullen wants to prevent future presidents from launching a war of choice")</a>. Like you and me – and like everyone else – they were caught in a complex web of forces beyond direct human control, though I wouldn’t wish to dismiss questions of human agency and accountability either. As furious as I was at the likes of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Secretary Rumsfeld, it is crucial, from a Christian standpoint, to draw a distinction between the individuals who (ostensibly) “hold” power and the much more potent, if more elusive principalities they represent (e.g., the Presidency, the Pentagon, the military-industrial complex). Reading Stringfellow has taught me to appreciate this distinction. Indeed, as he notes, the scope of a principality can so utterly overwhelm its human subject or representative that that person’s humanity can be virtually swallowed up by it.<br/>
<br/>
I remember those early days of the war – the several dozen protestors holding vigil on the Amherst, Massachusetts town commons, the classroom of otherwise somnolent undergrads in a religion class who came alive and tinned my ear when I opened up a convo about the conflict; above all, the pervasive feelings of shock, outrage, doom, and resignation as events unfolded. My wife Leah and I had just gotten married that fall. She joined some Marxists and other protestors from a local community college at a protest in DC. My idealistic and energetic young cousin was living with us during his AmeriCorps year of service with <a href=https://www.bpsos.org>Vietnamese immigrants and refugees.</a>
<br/>
<br/>Arrogant and revved up, I was prepping a parish adult ed intro course on Christology. Leah put in my hands some book of Stringfellow’s, my first encounter. I don’t recall exactly, but I think it might have been his 1963 work, <a href=https://amzn.to/3LEnhpx><i>Free in Obedience</i></a>, a book that NT scholar and activist Walter Wink would later admit inspired his own trilogy on the principalities and powers. In this slim tract, Stringfellow resets the drama of fall and redemption in a new key – the context of U.S. churches overwhelmed by post-war urbanization, wealth inequality, white supremacy, and increasingly radical agitation for racial justice. In the face of crisis and confusion, he offers this word of hope, apropos of the drama of Holy Week:
<br/>
<br/><blockquote>Christ’s resurrection is for human beings and for the whole of creation, including the principalities of this world. Through the encounters between Christ and the principalities and between Christ and death, the power of death is exhausted (ibid., p. 203).</blockquote><br/>
How can these things be? Clearly, Stringfellow posits a cosmic mystery reason cannot plumb. Still, a central piece of the matter seems to be the exposure of the religious and political powers and their false claims to supremacy unmasked in Jesus’ passion. I think this comports with the (deutero)Pauline insight: “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col. 2:15, NIV). Stringfellow continues:<br/>
<br/>
<blockquote>The reign of death and, within that, the pretensions to sovereignty over history of the principalities, is brought to an end in Christ’s resurrection. He bears the fullness of their hostility toward him; he submits to their condemnation; he accepts their committal of himself to death, and in his resurrection he ends their power and the power they represent (ibid., p. 203).</blockquote><br/>
Frankly, I don’t know what the practical import of Stringfellow’s words might be for those who strategize and struggle for peace, nor how (if at all) such views might impact policies. Perhaps his words do lend insight and support for those of us who pray for peace and the advent of God’s reign. But without trying to analyze theological complexities, I ask you to ponder how our lives might be different if you and I believed his insights were true.
<br /><br />==================================<br /><br />
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J. Scott Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689056473295120103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-59908391736104897772023-03-12T11:37:00.001-05:002023-03-12T11:37:38.483-05:00Meanwhile, back at the ranch… (2023.03.12 ed.)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlXmalM4gsGBJuPvZz-stX3lAJDDqWDBWHPJNsYUUPF-GmoMUGub1v9zFzDay_8g5Qp7ceFsomu-QdJKfltrOAHUumnjYex5k1REA11nXpCGOoX_lUhPT7GlHnAsRtbeHTR8Na8A/s1600/Cowboys_at_Lunch_%2528NYPL_b12647398-68229%2529.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlXmalM4gsGBJuPvZz-stX3lAJDDqWDBWHPJNsYUUPF-GmoMUGub1v9zFzDay_8g5Qp7ceFsomu-QdJKfltrOAHUumnjYex5k1REA11nXpCGOoX_lUhPT7GlHnAsRtbeHTR8Na8A/s640/Cowboys_at_Lunch_%2528NYPL_b12647398-68229%2529.tiff" width="640" height="432" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1081" /></a></div></br>
…or, Something to keep you busy over the weekend…</br></br>
…or, The Past Fortnight in the Theoblogosphere. </br></br>
Well, I’m getting back into the swing of these I think. It’s only been two months since <a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/01/meanwhile-back-at-ranch-january-4-2023.html>the last updates post</a>, which is much better than the nearly two year gap that preceded it. DET has been pretty active once again, as you will no doubt have noticed. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the series – and it’s primarily been series, the past couple months – that we’ve been working through. The links to all these recent posts are below but, as always, you can also access these and other DET series on <a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/p/serials-index.html>the Serials Index page</a>.</br></br>
If you want to keep up to date on DET goings on, and you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to use the box at the top of the left menu to subscribe to DET and receive updates in your email inbox whenever we get something posted. </br></br>
And now, without further ado, here’s what’s been happening at DET:
<ul><li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/01/1-approaching-galatians-part-1pauls.html>§1 Approaching Galatians (session 1, part 1)—Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/01/1-approaching-galatianspauls-letter-to.html>§1 Approaching Galatians (session 1, part 2)—Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/01/storied-witness-theology-of-black-women.html>"Storied Witness: The Theology of Black Women Preachers in 19th-Century America"—by Kate Hanch</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/01/1-approaching-galatians-session-2-part.html>§1 Approaching Galatians (session 2, part 1)—Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/01/1-approaching-galatians-session-2-part_28.html>§1 Approaching Galatians (session 2, part 2)—Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/01/read-reflect-28-days-with-martin.html>Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin (Installment #1)</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/02/read-reflect-28-days-with-martin.html>Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin (Installment #2)</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/02/1-approaching-galatians-session-3-part.html>§1 Approaching Galatians (session 3, part 1)—Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/02/read-reflect-28-days-with-martin_12.html>Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin (Installment #3)</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/02/read-reflect-28-days-with-martin_0104866499.html>Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin (Installment #4)</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/02/read-reflect-28-days-with-martin_26.html>Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin (Installment #5)</a></li>
<li><a href=https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/03/a-peace-that-disturbs-berrigans.html>A Peace that Disturbs: Berrigan's Restless Spirituality</a></li></ul>
And here are some interesting links from elsewhere around the interwebs:
<ul/><li><a href=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/marriage-college-status-meritocracy/618795/>How College Became a Ruthless Competition Divorced From Learning</a></li>
<li><a href=https://religiondispatches.org/why-mike-lindell-and-the-majority-of-white-evangelicals-cant-give-up-the-big-lie/>Why Mike Lindell and the Majority of White Evangelicals Can’t Give Up on ‘The Big Lie’</a></li>
<li><a href=https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/>Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves </a></li>
<li><a href=https://www.thedailybeast.com/bravehearts-warped-history-has-been-suckering-evangelicals-for-a-quarter-century>Braveheart’s Warped History Keeps Suckering Evangelicals</a></li>
<li><a href=https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/dead-poets-society-goes-online>Dead Poet’s Society Goes Online</a></li>
<li><a href=https://slate.com/human-interest/2022/02/giorgio-agamben-covid-holocaust-comparison-right-wing-protest.html>What Happened to Giorgio Agamben?</a></li>
<li><a href=https://religionnews.com/2022/02/24/next-year-in-kyiv/>Next year in Kyiv?</a></li>
<li><a href=https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/selected-negative-teaching-evaluations-of-jesus-christ>Selected Negative Teaching Evaluations of Jesus Christ</a></li>
<li><a href=https://laurenrelarkin.com/2022/03/06/our-stories-this-story-the-youth/>Our Stories This Story: The Youth</a></li>
<li><a href=https://religionnews.com/2022/02/14/in-two-years-this-mainline-denomination-has-paid-off-100-million-in-medical-debt/>In two years, this mainline denomination has paid off $100 million in medical debt</a></li>
<li><a href=https://www.episcopalchurch.org/jesus-in-america/>Jesus in America is a national study released in March 2022 in a partnership between The Episcopal Church and Ipsos</a></li>
<li><a href=https://aeon.co/essays/writing-essays-by-formula-teaches-students-how-to-not-think>The five-paragraph fetish</a></li>
<li><a href=https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/bad-history>Bad History: Evangelical histories and the development of Christian nationalism</a></li>
<li><a href=https://www.christiancentury.org/article/features/quiet-rise-christian-dominionism>The quiet rise of Christian dominionism</a></li>
<li><a href=https://jacobin.com/2022/10/texas-fence-cutting-wars-enclosures-cowboys>When Texas Cowboys Fought Private Property</a></li>
<li><a href=https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/if-the-forbidden-fruit-were-a-red-delicious-apple>If the Forbidden Fruit were a Red Delicious Apple</a></li>
<li><a href=https://proteanmag.com/2022/11/28/pruitt-igoe-a-black-community-under-the-atomic-cloud/>Pruitt-Igoe: A Black Community Under the “Atomic Cloud”</a></li>
<li><a href=https://kristindumez.substack.com/p/on-why-i-dont-think-im-illiberal>On Why I Don't Think I'm Illiberal...or authoritarian, or possessing a delirious desire to exercise coercive power, and the like</a></li>
<li><a href=https://evandeneykel.medium.com/on-citing-monsters-or-not-827b91398208>On Citing Monsters. Or not.</a></li>
<li><a href=https://reflections.yale.edu/article/audacious-odysseys-charting-future-theological-education/imagining-best-future-we-can>Imagining the Best Future We Can</a></li>
<li><a href=https://nerdflow.substack.com/p/didsaintaugustineownslaves>Did Saint Augustine Own Slaves? The African bishop's ties to slavery have been overlooked.</a></li>
<li><a href=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/06/red-and-blue-state-divide-is-growing-michael-podhorzer-newsletter/661377/>America Is Growing Apart, Possibly for Good</a></li>
<li><a href=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/religion/article/88590-three-religion-presses-name-new-directors.html>Three Religion Presses Name New Top Executives</a></li>
<li><a href=https://manuscriptworks.com/blog/intro-template>How to Write an Introduction for an Academic Book</a></li>
<li><a href=https://womenintheology.org/2022/12/06/journaling-as-a-means-of-research/>Journaling as a Means of Research</a></li>
<li><a href=https://contingentmagazine.org/2023/01/07/a-profession-if-you-can-keep-it/>A Profession, If You Can Keep It – on the academic field of History</a></li>
<li><a href=https://thelampmagazine.com/blog/how-to-write-english-prose>How to Write English Prose – by David Bentley Hart</a></li>
<li><a href=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/the-objectively-objectionable-grammatical-pet-peeve>The Objectively Objectionable Grammatical Pet Peeve</a></li>
<li><a href=https://womenintheology.org/2022/12/30/pope-francis-and-mother-angelique-a-feminist-historical-theology-issue/>Pope Francis and Mother Angélique: A Feminist Historical Theology Issue</a></li>
<li><a href=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/jul/14/fiction.jamesbaldwin>The price of the ticket – on James Baldwin</a></li></ul>
==================================<br /><br />
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<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /><meta name="twitter:site" content="@wtmcmaken" /><meta name="twitter:title" content="Meanwhile, back at the ranch… (2023.03.12 ed.)" /><meta name="twitter:description" content="DET updates and the latest installment of your favorite currated theology, religion, and current evets links list." /><meta name="twitter:image" content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlXmalM4gsGBJuPvZz-stX3lAJDDqWDBWHPJNsYUUPF-GmoMUGub1v9zFzDay_8g5Qp7ceFsomu-QdJKfltrOAHUumnjYex5k1REA11nXpCGOoX_lUhPT7GlHnAsRtbeHTR8Na8A/s640/Cowboys_at_Lunch_%2528NYPL_b12647398-68229%2529.tiff" />W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-83351781012603214652023-03-04T12:50:00.002-06:002023-03-07T14:54:48.305-06:00A Peace that Disturbs: Berrigan's Restless Spirituality<table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Theodoor_Rombouts_-_Christ_Driving_the_Money-changers_from_the_Temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Valentin_de_Boulogne%2C_Christ_Driving_the_Money_Changers_out_of_the_Temple.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Christ Driving the Money-Changers from the Temple,”</br> by Theodoor Rombouts, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons</td></tr></tbody></table>
So Lent (for those who observe it) is about getting one’s inner spiritual house tidied up first so that one might be a more effective disciple and social justice warrior, right? <br />
<br/>Wrong! Daniel Berrigan, at least, would have demurred.<br/>
<br/>I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve never really read this notorious Jesuit poet and radical peace activist, so I’m trying to rectify this neglect and make a fresh start during this penitential season of new beginnings by engaging this anthology from Orbis’ superb <a href=https://orbisbooks.com/collections/series-modern-spiritual-masters><i>Modern Spiritual Masters Series</i></a>. Berrigan (1921-2016), a critically acclaimed poet and biblical interpreter who wrote around 50 books, earned international notoriety -- and FBI surveillance! -- in the 1960s through his trenchant critiques and prophetic actions against the war in Southeast Asia. In 1968, the tumultous year that witnessed the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy, Berrigan travelled to Vietnam with historian Howard Zinn, where they managed to secure the release of several U.S. prisoners of war. Several months later, he joined eight other activists in Catonsville, Maryland, in burning draft records with home-made napalm, a deed for which he served two years in federal prison. In 1980 he was arrested with his brother Phillip and other members of "Plowshares Eight" group who defaced an unarmed nuclear warhead at a federal facility in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Throughout the following decades, both brothers were arrested many times for such acts protesting and resisting the military-industrial complex. For Daniel Berrigan, matters of conscience brooked no compromise.<br/>
<br/><a href=https://amzn.to/3yc2aDb><i>Daniel Berrigan: Essential Writings</i>, Selected with an Introduction by John Dear (Orbis, 2009).</a><br/>
<br/>In his warm and bracing introduction to the life and thought of his friend, John Dear shares a few provocative Berrigan quotes, on the topic of "spirituality," culled from a 25-year-old article (“Daniel Berrigan on Contemporary Developments in American Spirituality” <i>Tikkun</i> 13, no. 5, Sept./Oct. 1998, p. 48). (Unfortunately, the article is not available on the magazine’s online archive, so for now I’ll have to be content with quoting it at one remove.) In this passage, Berrigan offers strong tonic against any conception of the spiritual life that strives for inner harmony through mute passivity or solipsistic navel-gazing:<br />
<br/><blockquote>”Some people today argue that equanimity achieved through inner spiritual work is a necessary condition for sustaining one’s ethical and political commitments,” Dan writes. “But to the prophets of the Bible, this would have been an absolutely foreign language and a foreign view of the human. The notion that one has to achieve peace of mind before stretching out one’s hand to one’s neighbor is a distortion of our human experience and ultimately a dodge of our responsibility.” (p. 30).</blockquote>
<br/>Here’s my gloss: It’s high time for believers to count the inner turmoil that comes from identifying with the hopes and struggles of an often brutal and violent world, a brutality and a violence that we confront <i>inside</i> ourselves every bit as much as it is <i>out there.</i><br/> <br/>Berrigan continues:
<br/><br/><blockquote>”Life is roller coaster, and one had better buckle one’s belt and take the trip. This focus on equanimity is actually a narrow-minded, selfish approach to reality dressed up within the language of spirituality” (ibid.)</blockquote>
<br/>Is Berrigan being a bit too harsh here? After all, it seems to me, the desire for inner peace is not intrinsically wrong per se. Still, the Jesuit poet eschews the still-current fashion of retrieving this or that bit of the contemplative tradition – or, at least, some of the more facile and commodified appropriations from that spiritual heritage. Moreover, in addition to rebuking our penchant for individualism, Berrigan takes on another sacred cows of our North American religious heritage – namely, our results-oriented pragmatism. In other words, sometimes you have to do what’s right simply because it’s right, no matter the consequences.
<br/><br/><blockquote>”I know that the prophetic vision is not popular today in some spiritual circles,” he continues. “But our task is not to be popular or to be seen as having an impact, but to speak the deepest truths that we know. We need to live our lives in accord with the deepest truths we know, even if doing so does not produce immediate results in the world” (p. 31).</blockquote>.<br/>
These comments remind me of the final book (or, if you prefer, screed) published by William Stringfellow, one of Berrigan's very close friends -- <a href=https://amzn.to/3EYUbgu><i>The Politics of Spirituality</i></a> (1984), which tackles some of the spiritual kitsch and idolotries of the Reagan years. But, as I don’t want to wear out my welcome any further here, I’ll defer taking up that book for another day.
<br /><br />==================================<br /><br />
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J. Scott Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689056473295120103noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-50479766613149201342023-02-26T15:49:00.006-06:002023-02-26T15:50:16.218-06:00Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin (Installment #5)<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Welcome to the fifth and final installment
of this series! </span><a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/01/read-reflect-28-days-with-martin.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Click
here for the first installment</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">One
of the ways I’m encouraging my congregation to learn about the social roots of
black oppression in modernity is through an educational series called Read +
Reflect: 28 Days with Martin. Everyday in the month of February, I will publish
a brief excerpt of Martin Luther King Jr.’s writing and a short reflection
question on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConcordTrinity" target="_blank">my church's Facebook account</a> and via email to those
who subscribe to our Social Justice Team. My hope is that these short, regular
exposures to King’s words—which often expand beyond then-current race relations
and into theology, philosophy, economics, and militarism—will stir something in
people to become more educated, advocate for justice, and carry on King’s
dream.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Martin_Luther_King_-_March_on_Washington_colorized_photo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="739" height="640" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Martin_Luther_King_-_March_on_Washington_colorized_photo.jpg" width="591" /></a></div><br /><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">27 February 2023</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Read:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I still believe that
standing up for the truth of God is the greatest thing in the world. This is
the end of life. The end of life is not to be happy. The end of life is not to
achieve pleasure and avoid pain. The end of life is to do the will of God, come
what may.” (<i>The Most Durable Power</i>, 1957)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In this passage, King is
implicitly pushing back against popular philosophies of the day, primarily
“Utilitarianism” which claims the purpose of life is to maximize pleasure and
avoid suffering. Instead, King contends that life’s goal is to do the will of
God with little-to-no regard for the sacrifices we may need to make. What do
you think God’s will is for the world at this current moment in history? What
can you do to be in service of God’s will in this moment? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">28 February 2023</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“And when we allow
freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and hamlet, from every
state and city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s
children—black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Catholics and
Protestants—will be able to join hands and to sing in the words of the old
[Black]* spiritual, ‘Free at last, free at last; thank God Almighty, we are
free at last.” (<i>I Have a Dream</i>, 1963) <i>[*Outdated or offensive term
omitted and replaced]</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">King’s dream for a just,
equitable, liberated world still lives on. As our month-long journey with
Martin Luther King Jr. comes to an end, how can we, as a church, carry on his
dream and work to make it a reality? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">[Unless
otherwise noted, all quotations are taken from </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3XLcai4">A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and
Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.</a><i>, ed. James M. Washington, (New York:
HarperCollins, 1991).]</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<br /><br />==================================<br />
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J.T. Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07216436175777453954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-35517694274072787612023-02-19T13:35:00.001-06:002023-02-19T13:35:00.243-06:00Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin (Installment #4)<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Welcome to the fourth installment of this
series! </span><a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/01/read-reflect-28-days-with-martin.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Click
here for the first installment</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">One
of the ways I’m encouraging my congregation to learn about the social roots of
black oppression in modernity is through an educational series called Read +
Reflect: 28 Days with Martin. Everyday in the month of February, I will publish
a brief excerpt of Martin Luther King Jr.’s writing and a short reflection
question on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConcordTrinity" target="_blank">my church's Facebook account</a> and via email to those
who subscribe to our Social Justice Team. My hope is that these short, regular
exposures to King’s words—which often expand beyond then-current race relations
and into theology, philosophy, economics, and militarism—will stir something in
people to become more educated, advocate for justice, and carry on King’s
dream.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Martin_Luther_King_Jr_NYWTS_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="596" height="800" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Martin_Luther_King_Jr_NYWTS_4.jpg" width="596" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">20 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Let
us be dissatisfied. Let us be dissatisfied until every state capitol houses a
governor who will do justly, who will love mercy and who will walk humbly with
his God. Let us be dissatisfied until the day when the lion and the lamb shall
lie down together, and every man will sit under his own vine and fig tree and
none shall be afraid. Let us be dissatisfied.” (<i>Where Do We Go From Here?</i>,
1967)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
civil rights movement was constantly criticized for moving too fast or
demanding too much. King, though, insists that anything short of full freedom
and liberation from oppression is insufficient. What issues in our current
context, especially those currently being celebrated for having made
“progress,” do we need to be dissatisfied with? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">21 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“We
will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and
actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.
Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the
tireless efforts of men willing to be coworkers with God…” (<i>Letter from a
Birmingham Jail</i>, 1963)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
his doctoral work at Boston University, King was influenced by theologians who
shared the sentiment that inaction in the face of injustice is just as
dangerous and damaging as overt endorsement of it. How can we, as individuals
and religious communities, move away from silence and embrace advocacy?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">22 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“It
is time that we stopped our blithe lip service to the guarantees of life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These fine sentiments are embodied in the
Declaration of Independence, but that document was always a declaration of
intent rather than of reality. There were slaves when it was written; there
were still slaves when it was adopted; and to this day, black Americans have
not life, liberty nor the privilege of pursuing happiness, and millions of poor
white Americans are in economic bondage that is scarcely less oppressive.” (<i>A
Testament of Hope</i>, published posthumously in 1969)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
one of his most radical critiques of America’s foundations, King points out the
historical fact that these words from Thomas Jefferson were written and adopted
at a time when slavery was still alive and well in our nation. That being said,
though, the <i>vision</i> itself is pure enough and wide enough for
all to find a place in it. How can we advocate for the full inclusion of both
the poor and oppressed in the American ideal? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">23 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“So
we are here because we believe, we hope, we pray that something new might
emerge in the political life of this nation which will produce a new man, new
structures and institutions and a new life for mankind. I am convinced that
this new life will not emerge until our nation undergoes a radical revolution
of values. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are
considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, economic
exploitation and militarism are incapable of being conquered. A
civilization can flounder as readily in the face of moral bankruptcy as it can
through financial bankruptcy.” (<i>The Three Evils of Society</i>, 1967,
sourced from mlkglobal.org/martin-luther-king-speeches)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">King
strongly believed that racism didn’t develop in a vacuum, but grew alongside
other sources of evil and injustice, here named as economic exploitation and
militarism. In order to deal with one, you have to deal with all three. How do
you see these three “giant triplets” in society today, and what ways can we be
actively resisting them? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">24 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Power
without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and
anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice and
justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.” (<i>Where
Do We Go From Here?</i>, 1967)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Love
and power, for King, become fully actualized only when they interpenetrate one
another. Where in your life or our society do you see love in need of power and
power in need of love?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">25 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“This
belief that God is on the side of truth and justice comes down to us from the
long tradition of our Christian faith. There is something at the very center of
our faith which reminds us that Good Friday may reign for a day, but ultimately
must give way to the triumphant beat of the Easter drums.” (<i>Nonviolence and
Racial Justice</i>, 1957)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Both
in training and family descent, King was a product of the Christian tradition.
Easter, for him, was a symbol of the eternal triumph of good over evil, life
over death. How can we embody that triumph in the way we relate to society and
injustice?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">26 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Though
I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I
continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of
satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist in love: ‘Love your
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for
them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.’” (<i>Letter from a
Birmingham Jail</i>, 1963)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Though
influenced by several different sources (including, most famously, Mahatma
Ghandi), King derived much of his nonviolent philosophy from Jesus in the
gospels, whom he here calls an “extremist in love.” How can we be extremists in
love in our lives? In society? At work? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[Unless otherwise
noted, all quotations are taken from </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3XLcai4">A Testament of
Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.</a><i>, ed.
James M. Washington, (New York: HarperCollins, 1991).]</i></span>
<br /><br />==================================<br />
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J.T. Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07216436175777453954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-66171742952021089142023-02-12T15:40:00.001-06:002023-02-18T15:04:38.114-06:00Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin (Installment #3)<div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Welcome
to the third installment of this series! </span><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/01/read-reflect-28-days-with-martin.html"><span style="color: #0070c0;">Click here for the first installment</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">One
of the ways I’m encouraging my congregation to learn about the social roots of
black oppression in modernity is through an educational series called Read +
Reflect: 28 Days with Martin. Everyday in the month of February, I will publish
a brief excerpt of Martin Luther King Jr.’s writing and a short reflection
question on </span><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConcordTrinity" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0070c0;">my church's Facebook account</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and via email to
those who subscribe to our Social Justice Team. My hope is that these short,
regular exposures to King’s words—which often expand beyond then-current race
relations and into theology, philosophy, economics, and militarism—will stir
something in people to become more educated, advocate for justice, and carry on
King’s dream.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Martin_Luther_King%2C_Jr._Montgomery_arrest_1958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="800" height="541" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Martin_Luther_King%2C_Jr._Montgomery_arrest_1958.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">13 February 2023</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“God is interested in the freedom of the whole human race
and in the creation of a society where all men can live together as brothers,
where every man will respect the dignity and the worth of human personality.” (<i>The
American Dream, </i>1968)<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">King was weary of his movement being misinterpreted as
promoting <i>black supremacy</i> and not <i>black
equality, </i>so he often went to great lengths to clarify that freedom
for the black community meant freedom for <i>all</i> oppressed
people. How can we seek justice for all oppressed people while also focusing on
the kinds of oppression and injustice unique to American society? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">14 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“…freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it
must be demanded by the oppressed.” (<i>Letter from a Birmingham Jail</i>,
1963)<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the last ten years, we’ve seen a nationwide cultural
reckoning with racism and violence against the black community, resulting in
countless protests and social movements demanding freedom from oppression for
people of color. What would it look like for predominantly white individuals
and communities to join in this chorus of demand alongside the black community?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">15 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I’m very happy that he didn’t say like your enemies,
because it is pretty difficult to like some people…But Jesus says love them,
and love is greater than like. Love is understanding, redemptive, creative,
good will for all men.” (<i>Love Law, and Civil Disobedience</i>, 1961)<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">King often rejected a sentimental, superficial concepts of love
in favor of one that is concrete and other-oriented. Think about the people in
your life that you struggle to get along with due to their social or political
convictions—despite how you feel about them, how can you <i>love</i> them
in the way King describes it here? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">16 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Along the way of life, someone must have <i>sense</i> enough
and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and evil. The greatest way to
do that is through love. I believe firmly that love is a transforming power
that can lift a whole community to new horizons of fair play, good will and
justice.” (<i>Walk for Freedom</i>, 1956)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For King, hate and evil were vicious cycles; endless
feedback loops from which it was impossible to escape so long as hate and evil
were continually reciprocated. The only way to break that cycle is love. What
sources of hate and evil in our society and culture do we need to tear down
with love?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">17 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“To cure injustices, you must expose them before the light
of human conscience and the bar of public opinion, regardless of whatever
tensions that exposure generates.” (Interview with <i>Playboy</i>, 1955)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">King’s movement of nonviolence was greatly helped along by
the advent of television in the American home, allowing violence committed
against peaceful and nonviolent protestors to be seen unedited and objectively
for the first time by people around the country. What is our responsibility, as
Christians, to expose injustice to the “light of human conscience and the bar
of public opinion”? If we see injustice in our society, how can we go about
exposing it? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">18 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before.
If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early
church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and
be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth
century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has
turned into outright disgust.” (<i>Letter from a Birmingham Jail, </i>1963)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Though written 60 years ago, this sentiment still rings true
today. Much of the modern disillusionment with Christianity comes from the
Church’s unwillingness to take sides, reject neutrality, and stand in
solidarity with the oppressed. If we desire the Church to continue being a
meaningful institution for the foreseeable future, how might we need to change
the way we do ministry and approach the intersection and religion and society?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">19 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It may be that the salvation of the world lies in the hands
of the maladjusted. The challenge to us is to be maladjusted…as maladjusted as
Jesus who could say to the men and women of his generation, ‘Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them
that despitefully use you.’” (<i>The Current Crisis in Race Relations</i>,
1958)<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Society is adjusted to particular norms and cultural
expectations. King’s solution, then, is to be <i>maladjusted: </i>unwilling
to adhere to said social norms and expectations. Jesus, he proposes, is a model
for this unwillingness. What are some of the norms and expectations of our
current context and how can we, like Jesus, approach them as people
“maladjusted”?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[Unless otherwise noted, all quotations are taken from </span></i><span style="background: white; color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3XLcai4"><span style="color: #0070c0; text-decoration-line: none;">A
Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King
Jr.</span></a></span><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">, ed. James M. Washington, (New York: HarperCollins, 1991).]</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></div>
<br />==================================<br />
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<meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"><meta content="@wtmcmaken" name="twitter:site"><meta content="Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin" name="twitter:title"><meta content="The third intsallment in a series by JT Young to help us reflect on MLK Jr and the ongoing struggle for social justice." name="twitter:description"><meta content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Martin_Luther_King%2C_Jr._Montgomery_arrest_1958.jpg" name="twitter:image">J.T. Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07216436175777453954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-80210647612359270932023-02-05T15:09:00.007-06:002023-05-22T15:22:37.413-05:00§1 Approaching Galatians (session 3, part 1)—Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[The
series continues and now commences the third in-person session. <a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/01/1-approaching-galatians-session-2-part_28.html">Find
the last post here</a>.]<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Welcome back, everyone. You may recall that we’re talking
about the history of interpretation. We talked last time about some 2nd century
stuff, with texts that seem to have come out of the Jewish Jesus-following
community, as well as Marcion and his problematic ideas. Then, we skipped ahead
and talked a lot about Luther—which of course, for us as Protestants, is a kind
of theological baseline for how we’ve been taught to think about salvation and
our relationship to God. Today, let’s shift focus and talk about Calvin a
little bit. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">c.
John Calvin<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Many of you know how much I love
talking about Calvin. Calvin is one of the folks that I always read when I’m trying
to interpret the Bible. He’s a very insightful biblical interpreter because he
was a very highly trained humanist. He understands rhetoric, so he can figure
out not only what the text is trying to <i>say</i> in a logical sense, like
making arguments and things like that, but also what the text is trying to <i>do</i>
to you—how it’s trying to convince you and shape you, your thoughts and your
feelings. Calvin reads scripture at that level. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq98Vu8iuIixNYWlCJaNUwxmCieCJMH6HYmYGasXnsHtWf18cgH4-BvehQku8xDDGfMP-atofFTKgD9QYdCwuKwe0zzCXJC3ZQCnAAHnJXIgXngJuKkQ8Yp_q727yInO5Z0C7Qjz_Yz5b-RwyItR4mbY6pC6ZyKwVOuOlTSIYdiH-G8U12SMA/s3008/Galatians.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2256" data-original-width="3008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq98Vu8iuIixNYWlCJaNUwxmCieCJMH6HYmYGasXnsHtWf18cgH4-BvehQku8xDDGfMP-atofFTKgD9QYdCwuKwe0zzCXJC3ZQCnAAHnJXIgXngJuKkQ8Yp_q727yInO5Z0C7Qjz_Yz5b-RwyItR4mbY6pC6ZyKwVOuOlTSIYdiH-G8U12SMA/w640-h480/Galatians.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I remember
how when I was in the first year of being a graduate student, I was working on
one particular interpretive project. There's a passage in the Gospel of
Mark—Mark 12:34—where Jesus is talking to a scribe. The scribe asks Jesus,
“Which commandment is the first of all?” (v. 28). Jesus answers, and the scribe
says that it’s a good answer. Then Jesus says to the scribe: “You are not far
from the kingdom of God.” When I looked at commentaries on this verse, interpreters
argued on and on trying to figure out whether that meant this scribe was
“saved,” or what Jesus meant by saying this. But then I read Calvin. Calvin says
that Jesus was trying to encourage the scribe, as opposed to making some claim
about his eternal mailing address. It takes Calvin, Calvin the humanist, to see
what Jesus is actually doing in that conversation with that particular human
being. Ever since then, I’ve been committed to reading Calvin whenever I’m
interpreting the Bible because he helps me see things like that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Calvin
published his Galatians commentary in 1548. Luther's Galatians commentary was published
in 1535, so we’re jumping forward 13 years for Calvin’s. He first wrote his
first commentary on Romans in 1540. Then he moved on to 1st and 2nd
Corinthians, which he finished in 1546. Then he went to Galatians. Does anyone
know what order is Calvin was following?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: I’m guessing the order that churches were established.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Good thought. And I’d have to check to be sure. But
there’s a simpler explanation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Is that the order they appeared in the cannon?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Exactly He’s following the order of books in the New
Testament. You go through the Gospels, Acts, Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians,
Galatians, and on from there. Calvin is just working through the canonical
order, but he starts with Romans. Do you have any guesses as to why, based on
what we talked about last week? I'm testing recall. This is an important pedagogical
technique where you remind students of key information so that they remember it
better moving forward.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Because that’s how Paul expanded on Romans and Galatians?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: That’s a great thought and it is definitely something we
talked about last week. It’s not the exact answer, though.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Is it because Romans is talking about non-Jewish Jesus followers?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: That’s another great thought that ties into what we talked
about last week, but not the answer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: It’s the first book since the Gospels?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken: Well, that would fit with
the canonical order, so that does make sense. But, even more specifically, it’s
because Luther did a commentary on Romans when he had his reformation
breakthrough. Think back to our discussion about Luther, and that he was
working on his commentary on Romans in 1515–16 leading up to his writing of the
<i>95 Theses</i> in 1517. So, Luther developed what gets called his reformation
breakthrough, his insight that leads to the whole thing, while interpreting
Romans. He actually cribs this insight from Augustine. And he actually cites
Augustine, so Luther knew where he got it and gives Augustine credit. But it
came while he was studying Romans. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a result,
for Protestants, the way that you established yourself as a top-notch thinker was
to do a commentary on Romans—to show that you could hack it. In the medieval
universities, folks had to write a commentary on the <i>Sentences </i>by Peter
Lombard in order to become doctors of theology. The Protestant version of this
became writing a commentary on Romans. So Calvin writes a commentary on Romans.
Then he keeps going with his commentaries, working through them in the canonical
order. He works all the way through the epistles by 1551, and then he does what
we call a “harmony” of the Gospels. He takes all four Gospels and tries to put
them into a single chronological order, a single coherent narrative, moving
things around to try and make it all fit. He tells and interprets that story,
as a whole, finishing up in 1555. Then he goes to the Old Testament and starts
working his way through that. As a result, Calvin gave us commentaries on the
majority of the Bible; over 40 of the 66 books and pretty much all the New
Testament except for the Book of Revelation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: That would have been helpful.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Yes, it would have been. But I don’t think Calvin cared
for it very much. He’s not an apocalyptic thinker, at all. If you were to ever
visit my office, you’d see a shelf and then three quarters of another shelf
that are just his commentaries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Field trip!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Yeah, field trip! That would be fun.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Interpreting
scripture was one of the main things that Calvin did in his work, considered as
a whole. He preached a lot and he gave us all these commentaries. His
day-to-day work varied over time depending on which decade he was in. The 1530s
looked one way, the 1540s looked another way, and so on. One historical
snapshot of his work on the commentaries says that, at the height of his
expository work in the 1550s when he was working on the Old Testament
commentaries, he lectured three times a week for 1 hour each time.<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Us professor types know that this is roughly equivalent to a three-credit
course. But he had only about half an hour to prepare for each of those
sessions. I can do this if I’ve taught the class two or three times, but not if
it’s brand-new material—which it was for Calvin. He’s just plowing forward
through his interpretation with half an hour to prepare. He would arrive at the
lecture hall, stand at the lectern, and begin by reading the text in the
original language. Then he translated it on the fly into Latin. Naturally.
Then, he does the rest of the lecture extraneously, without substantial notes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: In what language?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken: Great question. I don't
know for sure, but my bet would be that he delivered his lectures in Latin. It
could have been French, but I think he would have had to use Latin because he
had people from a lot of different native languages in Geneva to learn from
him—especially in the 1550s—and Latin was still the scholarly language. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: That makes sense.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken: So there’s Calvin just
going at the task of biblical interpretation in these lectures. He’s going in,
he’s translating, and giving us these commentaries, all while also writing
other things, preaching 20 times a month, and carrying out various duties for
the government. He was a fully trained lawyer, so the Genevan government used
him for a lot of legal things. They had him reviewing contracts, treaties, participating
in negotiations. Calvin also spearheaded continuing education for the other
ministers in Geneva. His biblical interpretation lectures—his commentaries—were
part of that, but he was doing other things such as a session they had every
Friday called The Congregation. All the pastors in Geneva would gather and one
of them would preach on a topic. Then, they would all discuss the subject—kind
of like a discussion group or book club gathered around a text only, in this
case, the “text” is a sermon they just heard. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Calvin also
participated in the Consistory, which was the church discipline group. This was
a group of pastors and other elders who dealt with church discipline issues,
such as people engaging in superstitions or in immoral behavior. For instance,
one of my favorite stories of the Consistory is of when a guy picked up a woman
in a tavern and made promises to her, whispered sweet nothings in her ear, and
so on to the point where she believed they were engaged. The woman then allowed
this man to, let us say, take certain liberties. But it then become clear that
the man had no intention of following through on the engagement. So, they
hauled this guy in front of the Consistory. Usually,
the Consistory would first try to ascertain the facts of the case, and then one
of the members would “remonstrate” with the person they held responsible for
whatever the issue was. This means they would basically give them a tongue
lashing to motivate them to improve. They could also prescribe things, like
making them go to class to learn their catechism, or work with a pastor to
learn the Lord’s Prayer in their native language, and so on. In any case, when
he was present and not called away on some government business, Calvin usually
did the remonstrating.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: He’s one of those.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Oh, yes, he definitely was. And Calvin also kept up an
extensive correspondence with folks across Europe. He’s doing all kinds of
stuff and that’s why, when it came to getting to his biblical interpretation
lectures, he basically just gets in the lectern and goes. It’s incredibly
impressive.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Another
point I want to touch on is the relationship between Calvin’s commentaries and
his <i>Institutes of the Christian Religion</i>.<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
We’re all Presbyterians here, or at least Presbyterian-adjacent. The <i>Institutes</i>
is Calvin’s theology book. He first publishes it in 1536 and, if you ever read
the preface, he refers to it as a handbook. But if you go look for a copy
today, you’ll see it comes in two volumes and is about 1800 pages long. That’s
much too big to be a “handbook”! But Calvin wrote that preface for the 1st
edition, and it really was a handbook at that time. I think there’s one copy of
the 1st edition in the Western hemisphere, and it lived in the special
collections of Princeton Theological Seminary’s library. I used to work there
and so I’ve held it in my hands, and I can confirm that it’s the size of a
handbook. You could stick it in a suit jacket pocket. It isn’t very big when it
begins, but the <i>Institutes </i>grows and expands. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Calvin
revises the <i>Institutes </i>every few years. It lives primarily in Latin but
he also issues a number of French translations that he does himself. And each
time he works it over, he also adds more material. A lot of that material comes
from or is connected to things he’s working through in his commentaries. When we
see biblical references in the <i>Institutes</i>, we’re tempted to think: “Oh,
he’s proof-texting. He’s telling me what Bible verses support what he’s
saying.” Yes, that’s true to some extent. But Calvin is also telling you to go
read that section of his commentaries, because that will give you a fuller
discussion or some more detailed explanation. He viewed his commentaries and
the <i>Institutes </i>as working hand in hand. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the <i>Institutes</i>,
Calvin gives you all the tools he thinks you need to be able to go read
Scripture: all the theological and conceptual tools. Then, when he’s working on
his commentaries, he doesn’t have to get distracted by all that. He can focus
on just trying to help you interpret the tex. He’s trying not to weigh that
interpretation down with a bunch of extensive theological conversations. Why?
Because people like Luther do that, and it takes forever to get through their
commentaries. Calvin’s trying to write much more concisely with a focus on the
interpretive bit. He sets the goal for himself in the preface of his Romans
commentary: he wants his commentaries to be characterized by “lucid brevity”—clear
and short.<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
And they are, especially compared to Luther. Calvin’s commentaries can be clear
and short because his theology is in another book. He doesn’t feel the need to
rehash theological topics every time they come up in a passage. He can cross
reference back and forth between the commentaries and the <i>Institutes</i>. That’s
a neat feature of how he structured things.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> What
does Calvin think the book of Galatians is about? Luther was focused on the
salvation issue and, as we saw, the different types of righteousness—active
righteousness and passive righteousness. There were three sub-sets of passive righteousness:
political, ceremonial, and legal. The active righteousness is the righteousness
of faith. That’s the main lens that Luther is bringing to it. Calvin has read
Luther. He knows that lens is out there, and he doesn’t disagree with the basic
picture of salvation that Luther paints. But Calvin highlights some different
things in the way that he talks about Galatians. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For Calvin,
the thing that really floats to the surface is the idea of observing
ceremonies. Calvin says this of the teachers that Paul is arguing with: “They
taught that the observation of ceremonies was still necessary” (p. 14).<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
We see some supercessionism coming in here with the idea that Judaism observed
ceremonies but Christianity doesn’t have to now. Calvin certainly thinks within
that broad supercessionist pattern. The Reformed tradition is generally better
than other Protestant traditions at taking the Hebrew Scriptures or Old
Testament into account and including it in their theology, preaching, and so
on. But our tradition still saw the basic picture as Israel going along, then
they fall out, and Gentile Christianity gets plugged into the gap, and the
story continues on. That replacement idea is still very much there. But, in
Reformed Christianity, you see all of Christian scriptures and God’s history
with God’s people as a whole much more so than with the sharp distinctions that
Luther tends to draw. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The way that
the Reformed tradition looks at this whole is by tracking the development of different
“covenants” that God makes with God’s people. There’s one covenant with Noah,
one with Abraham, one with Moses, one with David, and a new covenant with Jesus,
and there are more besides those depending on which theologian you read. But
the story is all tied together in this way and has a certain overall coherence,
even though you can also distinguish between how the relationship between God
and God’s people worked under each covenant. We can think about this like a
country that moves through different constitutions. We’ve only ever had one constitution
in the United states, but France—for example—had, I think, four constitutions
in the 20th century and more if you go further back. Changing constitutions
means restructuring the laws and how things operate. This “covenant” frameworks
says that it’s a similar kind of thing in that God’s relationship with God’s
people gets restructured from time to time. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Calvin’s
complaint about Paul’s opponents in Galatians is that they taught the
observation of ceremonies was still necessary. For Calvin, this loses the focus
on justification by faith. He calls justification “a fundamental article of the
Christian faith” (p. 14). If you don’t have a proper understanding of justification
by faith, you don’t really have Christian faith or true Christianity. Calvin
made the same point in his commentary on Galatians: “if the doctrine of
justification is lost, the whole of Christian doctrine is lost” (p. 9). Calvin
and Luther are singing from the same hymnal on this. But then Calvin highlights
Paul’s rhetoric. We talked about it being a dynamic letter, even a volatile
letter. Calvin says that it’s fitting that Paul should speak harshly because
the Galatians are erring “by lightness and folly” (p. 15), by not taking things
seriously enough. Paul is picking them up and shaking them rhetorically, saying:
“Y’all need to pay attention and take this more seriously.” The reason it has
to be taken so seriously is because, if you lose this piece, you lose
everything. Calvin’s Reformation commitments shine through clearly in this
interpretation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This was
also one of Calvin’s pressing concerns. He constantly criticized people he
called “Nicodemites” after the biblical character of Nicodemus. These are
people who thought Protestantism was correct, but who still pretended to follow
Rome and even outwardly participated in church services that were not
Protestant because they feared persecution or couldn’t bring themselves to go
into exile and find a place to live among other Protestants. Calvin thought that
these Nicodemites weren’t taking things seriously enough. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Calvin
says Paul emphasizes his credentials as an apostle. Those of you who sat down
and read it through in one go, which is most of us, will recall where he did
that. We’ll talk about it more when we get to the text. But Calvin says that
this emphasis is not about Paul. Paul is not emphasizing his credentials
because his credentials are somehow the point. It isn’t about him personally. Calvin
says: “in the person of Paul, the truth of the Gospel was assailed” (p. 16). By
undermining Paul, these other teachers are undermining the Gospel. The false
teachers emphasize their connection with other apostles, but they don’t
recognize Paul’s authority and therefore they argue that they don’t have to recognize
the authority of Paul’s teachings. Calvin’s point is that it may seem like Paul
is talking about himself, but it’s really all about Paul’s teaching of the
Gospel or the message that Paul proclaimed to the Galatians. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When Calvin
is interpreting this text in the 1540s, he is very much caught up in political
struggles within Geneva. He’s not from Geneva. He’s French, and Geneva is in
Switzerland. There are lots of refugees from France, who are Protestant but can’t
practice in France due to persecution, who are coming to Geneva because Calvin
is there. The locals who were born and raised in Geneva, and to leadership
roles and “nobility” in Geneva, aren’t necessarily happy to have all these
refugees and foreigners flooding the city. We’re talking about substantial
demographic shifts. Tension develops between the natives and the immigrants,
and Calvin becomes a lightning rod for this tension. Many negative things get
said about Calvin and other pastors in Geneva, who are also not native-born
Genevans, and that becomes part of the kind of political fighting. In that
context, Calvin argues that the question isn’t about respecting him and the
other pastors as people, but about respecting the office because they’re
preaching the gospel. The pastors are also government employees, so if you
don’t respect them pastors then you disrespect the government. This is the
context that Calvin brings to his interpretation of Galatians. He says that it
isn’t about Paul, but the Galatians need to respect him to respect his message.
Even if Paul is talking about himself, it isn’t about him. It’s about the
fundamental core of Christian faith that will be lost if you must continue
observing ceremonies. Consequently, they aren’t “assailing” Paul; they’re
assailing the gospel. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Speaking
of the observation of ceremonies, it is important to know that Calvin is
probably the major thinker of his time who sees most clearly that customs are
contingent. The customs and culture of any particular people in any particular
time and place are not absolute or necessary. They could all be very different.
This is Calvin’s humanism shining through. He understands history and
historical development and how things change over time. He has a broad enough
perspective to know that the way things are done in one place—say, in his home
of Picardy, a province of France—are going to be different than how they happen
in Asia Minor. And there’s nothing wrong with that. This is what it means to
say that customs and cultures are contingent. Calvin’s interpretation is that
the Galatians are being foolish: they are not being serious about important
things, and they are in danger of losing sight of justification by faith. The
problem with the false teachers is that they are being “peevish,” in the sense
of taking unimportant things too seriously. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Calvin has
some different people in mind here. He’s thinking about his Catholic opponents
who have all the specific ceremonies that they want everybody to do, and other
teachings that Calvin doesn’t find in scripture. He thinks they’re taking
unimportant things too seriously. But there are other Protestants in his mind
as well. Nearby Geneva, there was an even larger city called Berne. Geneva wasn’t
big enough to really defend itself militarily, especially because it was right
next to a principality within France that was governed by a Catholic Bishop. At
any moment, that bishop could launch an army and it would be at Geneva’s walls
by the afternoon. Geneva is in this little arm of Switzerland that sticks out
into France. They’re very close to the border, and they didn’t have enough
power to be deterrents to invasion all by themselves. So they needed this
political alliance with Berne, the next big Protestant city over, to let people
know that if they marched against Geneva, Berne was going to be marching over
as well and it would be a thing. Calvin was often involved in the treaty
negotiations between Geneva and Berne because the Bernese wanted Geneva to
adopt all their church policies as part of the deal. Calvin argued that Berne
can do church how they want, but that Geneva should get to do that as well—because
custom is contingent. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here's a
longer quote from Calvin:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">This peevish
manner becomes highly pernicious, when the custom of a single church is
attempted to be enforced as a universal law. We are sometimes so devoted to an
instructor or a place, that, without exercising any judgment of our own, we
make the opinion of one man the standard for all men, and the customs of one
place the standard for every other place. Such attachment is ridiculous</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">” (p. 17).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This quote makes me laugh
considering how some more conservative Presbyterian and Reformed types treat Calvin.
Some of these folks want to do everything exactly the way that Calvin did it,
or the way they did it with the Westminster confession nearly 400 years ago, or
the way they did it in the 1950s. For his part, Calvin thinks you have to
exercise judgment. You can’t just take things from other times and places without
thinking about how it fits and works in your time and place. For Calvin, church
order, the way you set up the functions of your church, the way you set up your
church services, etc.—all of this is contingent. It can look different; it
doesn’t always and everywhere have to be the same. Calvin also makes a
theological distinction between what he considers theologically essential and
theologically nonessential. The word for nonessential theological things is <i>adiaphora</i>.
There’s one point in the <i>Institutes </i>where Calvin lists what he considers
theologically essential, and that list boils down to basically the doctrine of
the Trinity and justification by grace through faith.<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Everything else you can argue about. Now, Calvin will argue with the best of
them that he’s right on any given theological point, but he doesn't think that
you stop being Christian for disagreeing with him. You can be wrong and still
be a Christian. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So, Calvin
has this distinction between essential things and nonessential thing (<i>adiaphora</i>),
and he’s very well aware that things don’t have to be exactly the same in every
time and place. That’s one important reason why we in the Reformed tradition don’t
have one authoritative confession of faith. In our own Presbyterian Church USA,
for example, we have a whole Book of Confessions from different times and
places.<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
The confessions in this book are snapshots to help guide us, shape our
thinking, and inform us. But we don’t have to adhere to just one of them all
the time. We can also come up with new ones, if we think we need a new one. And
we did that a few year back when we added the Belhar Confession. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This idea that
culture and custom is contingent is not just a marginal thought for Calvin. It’s
deeply built into how he thinks as a whole, and that includes how he thinks
about ethics and justice. Calvin says, “When custom is forthwith converted into
a law, injustice is perpetrated” (p. 18). We see this often in our own day. One
example that you might have noticed if you have been following the news comes
from our own state of Missouri, which recently updated its rule to institute a
stricter dress code on women lawmakers.<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
It sounds to me like a particular set of customs about gender norms has been
transformed into something like a law, at least in that context.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(frustrated over this rule change): Don’t get me started on
all that...<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Also, think about dress codes in the missionary context
over the past few centuries. Christian missionaries from the West go out to the
various non-Western peoples around the world and see that they dress very
differently. Maybe neither the women nor the men wear tops, and they certainly
don’t wear linen trousers and shirts. Oh, the scandal! So you’ve got to change
that. Soon, anybody associated with the Christian mission is dressing like they’re
a Western European because anything else must be immoral. Here are more contingent
customs translated into laws. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As if that
isn’t bad enough, the last quote I read from Calvin continues: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“When
a custom is forthwith converted into a law, injustice is perpetrated. But a
more serious evil was involved in the wicked and dangerous doctrine, which held
consciences to be bound to them by religious considerations, which made
justification to depend on the observation of them” (p. 18).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Calvin is thinking about the law not
just in a civil sense, even though he thinks translating customs into civil law
is an injustice. But it is even worse when you tell people that they can’t be
saved unless they observe this ceremony or align with that custom. Then the
problem is even more serious and wicked because you shouldn’t try to ‘bind’
consciences like that. And that’s the language Calvin, Luther, and the whole
tradition will use to talk about when you try to put a spiritual or religious
burden on somebody that God doesn’t put on them. You’re binding their
conscience, and that’s the worst thing you can do. On Calvin’s reading, that’s one
of the most important themes in Galatians. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[This is an edited transcript from
an adult spiritual formation group that met at </span></i><a href="https://www.scpcusa.org/"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">St. Charles
Presbyterian Church in St. Charles, Missouri</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. It was transcribed and edited with the help of a student
worker at </span></i><a href="https://www.lindenwood.edu/"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lindenwood University</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> who wishes to remain anonymous, but who was also a big
help. </span></i><a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/p/serials-index.html"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Click here to find an index of the full series</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.]</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> For an entry point into this
biographical information, see Willem van 't Spijker, <a href="https://amzn.to/3DCvLZB"><i>Calvin: A Brief Guide to His Life and Thought</i></a>
(Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), 110; see also my blog post
here: <a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/2017/11/reckoning-with-john-calvins-brain.html">https://derevth.blogspot.com/2017/11/reckoning-with-john-calvins-brain.html</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/3DndxLo">John
Calvin, <i>Institutes of the Christian Religion</i>, </a><span class="MsoHyperlink">Library of Christian Classics, 2 volumes, edited by John T.
McNeill, translated by Ford Lewis Battles (Louisville: Westminster Press, 1960)</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom38.iii.html#fnf_iii-p2.1">John
Calvin, <i>Commentaries on the Epistle of Paul to the Romans</i>, translated
and edited by John Owen (Grand Rapids: Christian Classics Ethereal Library)</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom41/calcom41.iii.ii.html">John Calvin,
“Commentaries on the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians,” in <i>Commentaries
on the Epistles of Paul to the Galatians and Ephesians</i>, William Pringle,
trans. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003)</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/3DndxLo">Calvin,
<i>Institutes</i>, 4.1.12</a>: “For not all the articles of true doctrine are
of the same sort. Some are so necessary to know that they should be certain and
unquestioned by all men as the proper principles of religion. Such are: God is
one; Christ is God and the Son of God; our salvation rests in God's mercy; and
the like. Among the churches there are other articles of doctrine disputed which
still do not break the unity of faith.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/3lb3m6G">Presbyterian
Church USA, <i>Book of Confessions: Study Edition</i>, revised edition
(Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2017)</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/13/politics/missouri-dress-code-lawmakers-house/index.html">Shawna
Mizelle, “Missouri lawmakers adopt stricter dress code for women in state House,”
<i>CNN.com</i> (January 14, 2023)</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div><br />==================================<br /><br />
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<meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta><meta content="@wtmcmaken" name="twitter:site"></meta><meta content="§1 Approaching Galatians (session 3, part 1)" name="twitter:title"></meta><meta content="Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series" name="twitter:description"></meta><meta content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXiCXRzvZJAMzUvD63oC12ygcbUWL9f1_e3MmrGD-qOHIyON-vZty9gl3giC2M52OzD5_e76RT16YyZSFMDSpKzodb-tr9v0CSZ01cMsT0Sy_4RWJpcfA10PThlfxhCAahDEU50MUt7vKVdp8pRuE8fHQiNTXcCffUb6cAD61eQZkZ4SukS4/w640-h480/Galatians.jpg" name="twitter:image"></meta>W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-53874545768104039482023-02-05T12:58:00.001-06:002023-02-18T15:04:58.102-06:00Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin (Installment #2)<div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Welcome to the second
installment of this series! <a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/01/read-reflect-28-days-with-martin.html">Click
here for the first installment</a>. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">One of the ways I’m
encouraging my congregation to learn about the social roots of black oppression
in modernity is through an educational series called Read + Reflect: 28 Days
with Martin. Everyday in the month of February, I will publish a brief excerpt
of Martin Luther King Jr.’s writing and a short reflection question on </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConcordTrinity" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">my church's Facebook account</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">and
via email to those who subscribe to our Social Justice Team. My hope is that
these short, regular exposures to King’s words—which often expand beyond
then-current race relations and into theology, philosophy, economics, and
militarism—will stir something in people to become more educated, advocate for
justice, and carry on King’s dream.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Dr._Martin_Luther_King%2C_Jr.%2C_speaking_at_an_AFL-CIO_event_(5279611540).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="742" height="400" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Dr._Martin_Luther_King%2C_Jr.%2C_speaking_at_an_AFL-CIO_event_(5279611540).jpg" width="371" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’ll be posting further
installments in this series each Sunday in February. I encourage you to make
use of these however you’re able for your churches and ministries, whether
that’s social media, email, small groups, or something else. It’s a joy to join
together with you in the work of justice.</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">“At times, life is hard, as hard as crucible
steel. It has its bleak and painful moments. Like the ever-flowing waters of a
river, life has its moments of drought and its moments of flood. Like the
ever-changing cycle of the seasons, life has the soothing warmth of the summers
and the piercing chill of its winters. But through it all, God walks with us.”
(<i>Eulogy for the Martyred Children</i>, 1963)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is an excerpt from a eulogy King gave at
the funeral of the children killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in
Birmingham, AL. In what ways have you see God walking with the oppressed and
downtrodden in our current historical moment? What are some ways <i>you</i> bear
the presence of God to oppressed communities and walk alongside them in their
sufferings? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">7 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">“You may well ask: ‘Why direct action? Why sit
ins, marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?’…Nonviolent direct
action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community
which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It
seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.” (<i>Letter
from a Birmingham Jail</i>, 1963)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">King is probably most famous for his endorsement
of nonviolent resistance as a method to force society to confront issues of
injustice. What are methods that we can employ today (or we’ve seen others
employ) to force our society to confront modern issues of injustice?<br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">8 February 2023</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">“I have the audacity to believe that peoples
everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture
for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for the spirits. I believe
that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up.” (<i>Nobel
Peace Price Acceptance Speech</i>, 1964)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">King’s vision of justice was “intersectional,”
meaning it understood that several different areas of human life necessarily
overlap and are affected by one another. What issues in our current context do
you see “intersecting” with one another? <br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">9 February 2023</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">“The innate worth referred to in the phrase the
image of God is universally shared in equal portions by all men. There is no
graded scale of essential worth; there is no divine right of one race which
differs from the divine right of another. Every human being has etched in his
personality the indelible stamp of the Creator.” (<i>The Ethical Demands of
Integration</i>, 1962)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">King believe that both the oppressed
community <i>and</i> their oppressors all bore this “stamp of the
Creator.” How can we affirm this divine image in both the people who are the
objects of injustice, as well as those who are the subjects? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">10 February 2023</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">“A voice out of Bethlehem two thousand years ago
said that all men are equal. It said right would triumph. Jesus of Nazareth
wrote no books; he owned no property to endow him with influence. He had no
friends in the courts of the powerful. But he changed the course of mankind
with only the poor and the despised.” (<i>A Testament of Hope</i>, published
posthumously in 1969)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">How can the Christian community today affirm
that “all men are equal” in the same spirit Jesus did 2000 years ago?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">11 February 2023</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Privileged groups rarely give up their
privileges without strong resistance. But when oppressed people rise up against
oppression there is no stopping point short of full freedom. Realism compels us
to admit that the struggle will continue until freedom is a reality for all the
oppressed people of the world.” (<i>Nonviolence and Racial Justice</i>, 1957)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Privilege exists for different groups with
different qualities in our modern society (wealth, race, gender, etc). How can
those of us who fall into the “privileged groups” sacrifice our privilege in
service to the freedom of oppressed people?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">12 February 2023</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">“I don’t think of love, in this context, as
emotional bosh. I don’t think of it as a weak force, but I think of love as
something strong and that organizes itself into powerful direct action.”
(Interview with Kenneth B. Clark, 1963)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reflect:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">King draws a correlation between love and
“direct action”—the kind of frontline resistance against injustice seen in
moments of social unrest against injustice. What might “direct action” against
injustice, rooted in the love of Christ, look like for us today? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[Unless otherwise
noted, all quotations are taken from </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3XLcai4">A Testament of
Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.</a><i>, ed.
James M. Washington, (New York: HarperCollins, 1991).]</i></span></div>
<div><br /></div><br />==================================<br />
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J.T. Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07216436175777453954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-2114122935047846142023-01-30T08:05:00.014-06:002023-02-18T15:05:06.941-06:00Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin (Installment #1)<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dear Gentle Readers,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I,
like many of you, am a white pastor ministering to a predominantly white
congregation in a predominantly white suburb (a suburb of St. Louis in my case)
who is, nonetheless, always striving to push myself and my flock into the work
of antiracism, liberation, and critical consciousness. And this, I will often
contend to my parish, should hit close to home specifically for us given our
geographical proximity to the killing of Michael brown and the resultant
Ferguson riots—the event that launched the Black Lives Matter movement into the
national spotlight. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Martin-Luther-King-1964-leaning-on-a-lectern.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="580" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Martin-Luther-King-1964-leaning-on-a-lectern.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
believe that predominantly white churches should always be reflecting on the
ways in which we can be standing in solidarity with the Black community and
ways we can make an impact in the fight for racial justice. The rub, though, is
how to move our often-apathetic white congregations into a space of care and
concern for issues of injustice that don’t affect them. Luckily for you, gentle
readers, this is exactly the question my doctoral work is examining, so
(hopefully) there will be more articles forthcoming on this question. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
any case, one of the ways I’m encouraging my congregation to learn about the
social roots of black oppression in modernity is through an educational series
called Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin. Everyday in the month of February,
I will publish a brief excerpt of Martin Luther King Jr.’s writing and a short
reflection question on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConcordTrinity" target="_blank">my church’s Facebook account</a> and via email to those who
subscribe to our Social Justice Team. My hope is that these short, regular
exposures to King’s words—which often expand beyond then-current race relations
and into theology, philosophy, economics, and militarism—will stir something in
people to become more educated, advocate for justice, and carry on King’s
dream. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
series will be published in five parts, with the first installment listed below
for this week, February 1-5. Subsequent weeks will be published on Sundays for
the following weeks. I encourage you to make use of these however you’re able
for your churches and ministries, whether that’s social media, email, small
groups, or something else. It’s a joy to join together with you in the work of
justice.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">1 February 2023<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Injustice
anywhere is a threat to injustice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable
network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one
directly, affects all indirectly.” (<i>Letter from a Birmingham Jail</i>, 1963)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reflect</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Think
critically about 21st century America: What are some examples we can point to
where injustice in one context affects injustice in another?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">2 February 2023<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“We
can never forget that there is something within human nature that can respond
to goodness, that man is not totally depraved; to put it in theological terms,
the image of God is never totally gone.” (<i>Love, Law, and Civil Disobedience</i>,
1961)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reflect</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">King
believed that no matter who someone is, there is something inside of them that can
be appealed to for the cause of love and justice. Think about the people in
your own life; how might you appeal to that “something” inside of them that
they might take the side of the oppressed and help the cause of liberation? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">3 February 2023<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Any
religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not
concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle
them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund
religion awaiting burial.” (<i>Pilgrimage to Nonviolence</i>, 1960)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reflect</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">How
can we, either as individuals or as a community of faith, ensure that our
religious commitments find an external, social expression and not merely an
internal, spiritual one? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">4 February 2023<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“True
peace is not merely the absence of some negative force—tension, confusion, or
war; it is the presence of some positive force—justice, good will and
brotherhood.” (<i>Nonviolence and Racial Justice</i>, 1957)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reflect</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">There’s
a difference between being free “from” something and being free “for”
something. As Christians, in what ways are we uniquely free “for” the works of
justice and liberation? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">5 February 2023<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“We
will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness
like a mighty stream.” (<i>I Have a Dream</i>, 1963)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reflect</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Take
a moment and mediate on King’s imagery here: What do you, personally, think it
would look like for justice and righteousness to saturate contemporary society?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><i>[</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">Unless otherwise noted, all quotations are taken from </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3XLcai4">A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and
Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.</a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">, ed. James M. Washington, (New York:
HarperCollins, 1991).</span><i>]</i></p><br />==================================<br /><br />
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<meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"><meta content="@wtmcmaken" name="twitter:site"><meta content="Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin" name="twitter:title"><meta content="The first intsallment in a series by JT Young to help us reflect on MLK Jr and the ongoing struggle for social justice." name="twitter:description"><meta content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Martin-Luther-King-1964-leaning-on-a-lectern.jpg" name="twitter:image">J.T. Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07216436175777453954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-54655755704696757522023-01-28T22:52:00.001-06:002023-02-18T15:05:18.768-06:00§1 Approaching Galatians (session 2, part 2)—Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[The
following resumes, in medias res, the same session as recounted in <a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/01/1-approaching-galatians-session-2-part.html">the
most recent post in this series</a>.]<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In Luther’s
2nd Galatians commentary—and this is common in Calvin, too—he has a section at
the beginning summarizing what he thinks the book is all about. Luther talks
about types of righteousness. His interpretation of Galatians is that it is
teaching us about different types of righteousness. On the one hand, you have
political righteousness and political justice. This is the complicated thing
with the word “righteousness,” in German but also in Greek. It’s righteousness
in what we would call a religious sense, and it’s also “justice” in what we
would call a political sense. Luther also talks about ceremonial righteousness.
He’s thinking here about the sacrificial system in the Hebrew Scriptures. There’s
also legal righteousness or justice, and he’s thinking here specifically about
the 10 Commandments, the “ethical law.” Luther says all
these things are gifts of God: “As are all of the things we have” (p. 4).<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
He characterizes these kinds of righteousness as <i>active</i>. They are things
you have to do. You have to
do political justice. You have to do ceremonial
justice. You have to do legal justice. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The other
kind of righteousness is <i>passive</i>. It is <i>not </i>something that you do.
This is faith—the righteousness of faith, or Christian righteousness. To quote
him: “For here we work nothing, we do nothing, we render nothing to God; we
only receive” (p. 5). This is our familiar phrase about salvations by grace
through faith, which isn’t anything you have to do.
Luther will still use language like “grasp” or “take hold of.” You have to grasp, with faith, the righteousness that
Christ offers you. You have to take hold of it.
But, in his mind, these are fundamentally passive things. This righteousness smashes
into you, as it were. You grab onto it like a little kid running and jumping
into your arms for a hug. But you’re receiving. You’re not producing something
as in the other kinds of righteousness. As Luther puts it, we “do not perform
but receive.” We “do not have but accept.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChvaKoTKXRXAk9cTV2oW3G4WbyxEqRNU6a7gKbTCHoRMDBybXBpta5GYefolihg9ElkAD8w5WeGXcn-SKFesz6bB0d-iNpEbRPtfP9MkMC0MjWJXAiWOUr0PXOLqn0xgEwRiBNJHJkMRSIEPjhyxeNVUD7ZqCVuhaLX1iAL24PCtdkA8LtOk/s3008/Galatians.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2256" data-original-width="3008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChvaKoTKXRXAk9cTV2oW3G4WbyxEqRNU6a7gKbTCHoRMDBybXBpta5GYefolihg9ElkAD8w5WeGXcn-SKFesz6bB0d-iNpEbRPtfP9MkMC0MjWJXAiWOUr0PXOLqn0xgEwRiBNJHJkMRSIEPjhyxeNVUD7ZqCVuhaLX1iAL24PCtdkA8LtOk/w640-h480/Galatians.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><br /> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This gets at
the idea that grace or salvation is not something that belongs to us. It’s
something that we get from somewhere else. Luther uses language of “free
imputation” (p. 6). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a finance or
accounting term. The early modern period saw important developments in
financial instruments and book-keeping, including the development of
“double-entry”—which tracks currency coming in and commodity going out—right at
the turn of the sixteenth century.<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
The idea that “imputation” trades on is the idea of a divine accountant keeping
track of our spiritual liquidity on the one hand and Jesus’s spiritual
liquidity on the other. Since none of us can produce more righteousness, or
spiritual currency, Luther’s idea is that God—the divine accountant—transfers
that currency from Jesus’s ledger to ours. That’s “free imputation.” It all comes
from God’s side. There is nothing we can do to earn it. It’s just there because
God says it’s there. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s
important for reformational theology that this righteousness of faith is there
just because God says it’s there. It is not become embedded in us or a part of
us. In Luther's mind, if it became part of us, it would be something we have.
We would no longer need to get it from God. And some significant debates develop
on this point. The other side of this argument talks about essential righteousness.
This idea is that, through the reception of grace and through the good works
Christians do, they develop an essential righteousness—a righteousness attached
to or residing in their own essence, nature, or being. The basic idea here is
to say: “Once God gives you righteousness, it gets into your soul and you
become righteous to some extent.” Andreas Osiander created a debate about this
in the 1550’s, to which Calvin provided a thorough reply.<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Much more recently, way of reading Luther that tends in the same direction as
Osiander developed in Finland.<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
In fairness, my read is that there are statements that Luther makes especially
early on in his reformational journey that can lend themselves to this kind of
interpretation, but I don’t find it at all a convincing reading of his 1535
Galatians commentary. As Calvin succinctly puts it: “our righteousness is not
in us but in Christ, that we possess it only because we are partakers in Christ.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Again, it’s no essential righteousness?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Correct, as opposed to free imputation<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: And essential righteousness says you receive righteousness
by doing things?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: It’s the idea that righteousness comes into you and turns
you righteous inside. For Luther, we always remain sinners. We always need the
gift of righteousness from God. For essential righteousness folks, we might
always remain sinners but not as much. It becomes a question of “how much.” Parts
of us have stopped being sinful, or at least they become less and less sinful. Righteousness
is in our essence and we’re getting better. Calvin—an I think he’s being very
faithful to Luther here—argues that if that’s the case, then you need God less.
And he says “No!” to that idea.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Where does that come from? Were there ideas or examples in
Luther’s time that he was looking at and using to think about these things? Maybe
the relationship between lords and vassals in feudalism? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: I can't think of anywhere I have seen him say: “God freely
gives righteousness just like lords freely give to their vassals.” But that
doesn’t mean those passages aren’t there. Luther wrote so much. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant 1</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: It would make sense if he did say that. We all use our
culture and our moment in time to explain what we think. So, if that’s what you’re
experiencing at that time, you would use that to explain what you’re
experiencing spiritually. I'm thankful we do that now.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant 2</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: What happened to the Jewish people in Germany and other
countries at that time? We talk about Catholics and Protestants, but what about
the Jewish people?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: There weren’t many and the ones that were there were increasingly
sequestered in specific districts and “ghettos,” which became far more
widespread of a practice in the early modern period. Jewish folks were
disproportionately involved in the financial side of trade, which is what
generates the antisemitic stereotypes today of Jewish folks being rich and
secretly running the world. During the medieval period, Christians had laws
about how much and what kind of interest they could charge one another. But
those laws didn’t apply to Jews. They could charge steeper interest, which
meant that they could take on different kinds of financial risks and
potentially reap significant rewards. At the same time, Jewish folks in
Christian kingdoms didn’t posses the same legal rights as Christians did. Luther
seems to have started out fairly optimistic that Jews would convert to Christianity
because he had rediscovered the proper pure preaching of the Gospel. Then that
didn’t happen. Later in his life, he says nastier and nastier things about
Jews. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Luther’s not the first person to do this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: No, he’s not.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: “Look, Jews! We fixed Christianity for you. You’re saved
now, right? You’re not? We’re not friends anymore.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken: He said super nasty things
and they got repeated for centuries around Germany, which undoubtedly
contributed to the social situation that produced the <i>Shoah</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: It’s so pertinent because what we think and what we
believe is so influenced by other people. We obviously see the ramifications
from that looking backwards.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: That’s very true. Well, in any case, Luther says there are—broadly
speaking—two kinds of righteousness. There’s the kind that you do for yourself:
political, ceremonial, legal. And there’s the kind God does for you: the
righteousness of faith. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>Luther also
develops two uses of the law. They parallel the two kinds of righteousness. The
first use of the law is to constrain the wicked. This is when you use the law
to set up rules to make sure people can’t hurt one another. The basic idea is
that we’re all wicked and if we were left with our own devices, without being
constrained, we would all hurt one other. Some days it feels hard to argue with
this point. That’s the first use of the law. The second use of the law is to
drive people to the gospel. The basic idea is that the law sets up a standard that
nobody can meet so that you go into despair about your relationship with God
and how you can never satisfy God. Then God can say: “No worries. Jesus took
care of it.” It’s part of what the Lutheran </span>tradition<span> calls the </span></span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">ordo
salutis</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>—the order of salvation. This describes the process that one goes
through on the way to salvation. The first part of this process is realizing
that you can’t do it yourself. The law helps you do that. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However,
it’s important to have some perspective here. This is a particular way of
understanding the law, especially the Jewish law, that Luther finds in Paul but
that doesn’t accurately reflect Paul himself. We know from Philippians, for
instance, that Paul doesn’t think that he had any trouble keeping the law as a Pharisee.
There’s no good reason to think he ever changes his mind about that. Even
though Luther sets it up like this, Luther is giving us a particular
interpretation that fits in with how he understands salvation more broadly. He
brings this understanding with him to his interpretation of Paul, and that
colors his interpretation. When scholars talk about a “Lutheran interpretation
of Paul,” they are referring to al this. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Building on
the two kinds of righteousness and the two uses of the law, Luther also has two
kingdoms. This is the idea that there are Two spheres in which humans live out
their lives. The first kingdom is the earthly kingdom, the bodily kingdom, the
political kingdom. This is where active righteousness lives. This is our
day-to-day, walking around world that we live in. Then there’s also the
heavenly, spiritual kingdom, the kingdom of faith, the kingdom of passive
righteousness, the Kingdom of the gospel. In keeping with this, there are
certain ways that you live just because you’re a human being, and there are
other kinds of ways that you live because you’re Christian. Luther thinks these
things overlap, but they are also very distinct in his thinking. And that
produces some issues. For instance, we have the 10 Commandments telling us not
to kill and Jesus said things that seem to suggest violence is something for
Christians to avoid. But what if you’re in Christian political community and
you need an executioner? How are you going to get an executioner? Luther says:
“If you’re a good Christian, you should go ahead and be the executioner. It’s
not about you and you wanting to kill somebody. It’s about what’s good for the
political community. It’s necessary and you’re serving your neighbors, so go
ahead and be an executioner.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: That’s scary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: What happens is you end up with your private Christian
morality on the one hand, and then your public political “morality” on the
other. And they don’t always align. Why? Luther says it’s because, in the
public sphere, you’ve got a mixed group. It would be great if everybody were
Christians and living according to the Christian morality, but not everybody is
a Christian. Not everybody is living a good Christian life. So you need to take
certain precautions. Luther theorizes all this in terms of the two kingdoms. You’ve
got active righteousness and the use of the law as a constraint for the wicked
in the political kingdom. Then you also have the kingdom of faith, where
passive righteousness lives and where the law drives you to despair so stop
thinking that you can do it all yourself and are prepared to receive God’s gift
of saving grace. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There’s a quote
from Luther that I want to spend a little bit of time taking apart. He writes: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">This distinction
is easy to speak of; but in experience and practice it is the most difficult of
all, even if you exercise and practice it diligently. … Therefore I admonish
you, …exercise yourselves by study, by reading, by meditation, and by prayer,
so that in temptation you will be able to instruct consciences, both your own
and others, console them, and take them from Law to grace, from active
righteousness to passive righteousness, in short, from Moses to Christ.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">” (p. 10)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>Notice how Luther says “exercise.” He’s
talking, primarily, about the distinction between the two kinds of
righteousness and the two uses of the law. Luther’s point is that it’s hard to
grasp this distinction existentially. We can wrap our minds around it but, when
the chips are down and you have that gut-level reflex with respect to your
relationship with God, it’s hard to internalize the idea that your salvation doesn’t
depend on anything that you do. We keep reverting back to the idea, in Luther's
mind, that we have to do something, and that there is something we </span></span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">can </i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>do.
In order to overcome that, Luther says that we have to exercise. I love this
metaphor, and Luther isn’t the only one who uses it. It comes out of the
monastic tradition. Just like we exercise our bodies and our minds, we need to
exercise spiritually. We have to pump up our spiritual muscles to become
spiritual Arnold </span>Schwarzeneggers<span>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How do we do
that? Luther tells us: by study, by reading, by meditation, and by prayer. Scripture
is front and center here. We need to study, read, meditate, and pray scripture.
That’s how we internalize these things and shape our imaginations in new ways. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why must we
do that? “So that in temptation you will be able to instruct consciences.” This
is that guilty conscience, that troubled conscience, that conscience convinced
it has to do something. For Luther, this troubled conscience is at the root of
all of this existential dread that people experience. By exercising yourself
spiritually, you get yourself in a position where you can instruct that
conscience. Then he says: “both your own and others.” You have to be able to
instruct your own conscience when these thoughts come up. You can say: “No.
That's not it. Let’s go back, remember, and put that to the side.” But when
other people come to you with these troubles, you have to be able to help them
work through it. He wants us to be able to “console them.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now we will
see how his thinking comes together but in a more problematic way. He says we
must “</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">take
them from Law to grace, from active righteousness to passive righteousness, in
short, from Moses to Christ</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.” This is
the anti-Judaism, supersessionism thing that we’ve been talking about long the
way. Why? Because Luther is talking to a bunch of Germans. They’re all
Gentiles. What did they ever have to do with Moses? In Luther’s mind, the law
and Moses get associated with the Pope. When he looks around and tries to find
folks that he thinks are acting in his own time like Paul’s opponents were
acting in Paul’s time, he thinks it’s the Pope. He wants folks to move from
siding with the Pope to siding with him, but he describes this in terms of
moving from Judaism to Christianity, which is just ridiculously over simplistic
and misleading. And what’s worse, this pattern of thought becomes deeply
ingrained in Protestant theology—most especially in in Lutheranism, for obvious
reasons, but also in our own Reformed tradition. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is why
you have to stay alert when reading Luther. You can be going along, hearing
nice things about exercising your spiritual muscles and helping folks with
their troubled consciences, hearing about how our relationship with God depends
on God’s free grace. Then—bam! You get hit with some anti-Judaism and
supersessionism. We need to call this out when we see it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let’s look
now at another quote: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">In short, whoever
knows for sure that Christ is his righteousness not only cheerfully and gladly
works in his calling but also submits himself for the sake of love to
magistrates, also to their wicked laws, and to everything else in this present
life – even, if need be, to burden and danger. For he knows that God wants this
and that this obedience pleases Him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”
(p. 12)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For Luther, the idea of “calling” is
tied up with medieval culture. Much more than today, people followed in the
professions of their parents—well, your father, really. If your dad was a brewer,
the you were a brewer. If your dad was a serf woodcutter, you were a serf woodcutter.
That’s your calling. Luther said everybody’s calling is equal. People who are
clergy aren’t necessarily better. People who are nobles aren’t necessarily
better. As far as God’s concerned, everybody's equal even though everybody has
different social roles or callings. And Luther has a conservative streak in
that he thinks everyone should stay in their calling. He also thinks that
having the proper understanding of Christ being your righteousness makes it
better for you in your calling because now you can live out whatever calling
you have as part of your obedience to God and Christ. If your job is to muck
out all the sewage, you can do that to the glory of God. You don't have to feel
any less “called”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or “holy” than Martin
Luther, sitting away in his study reading Greek. So, one “gladly works in his
calling.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then it gets
interesting, and we have to look back to what we said about Luther’s two kingdoms
idea: “but also submits himself for the sake of love to magistrates.” This
refers to following the law and dictates of your political authorities. We all
generally agree that it's a good thing for Christians to do, yes?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participants</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Right, that’s our general outlook. But he keeps going: “but
also submits himself for the sake of love to magistrates, also to their wicked
laws, and to everything else in this present life – even, if need be, to burden
and danger. For he knows that God wants this and that this obedience pleases
Him.” So we’re to submit even to wicked laws, as a form of obedience to God.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Who’s saying this?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Luther is saying this. I think it’s problematic too! This
is a strand you find in Luther and the Reformation more broadly. Calvin is not immune
to saying things like this, either. They’re terrified of being labeled as
subversive to the political order because then everybody will be after them.
Luther has an elector, a high-level prince in Germany, who is his benefactor—John
Frederick the Magnanimous. So Luther isn’t interested in destructing or
disrupting the political order. So even if there are wicked laws, it’s better
to follow those than to assume authority that God hasn’t given you and that is
not part of your calling. You do your thing, your calling, your duty, no matter
how much it hurts, as a form of obedience to God.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Do you recall that, at some point, there were peasant
uprisings that Luther spoke out very strongly against? Is that a context for
this?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: That was the German Peasants’ War back in the mid-1520s. The
result was that the nobles—including bishops who had political jurisdiction in
different parts of Germany—sent in their soldiers and killed hundreds of
thousands of people. Luther called for the authorities to restore order by
means of violence if necessary. He was shocked that people could take the idea
of freedom of conscience in religion as a foundation for wanting more political
freedom, more political stake, more political involvement and political
fairness. But with Luther’s two kingdoms idea, Christians are supposed to obey
political authorities—even the wicked stuff. On top of this, Luther, Calvin,
and others would add that when you find yourself under the authority of a
wicked ruler or government, that’s because God is either punishing you or
testing you by making you go through these things. Today, we call this “victim
blaming,” perhaps with a side of gaslighting thrown in, too. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Can you define gaslighting?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Gaslighting is making somebody doubt themselves and their
sanity. It would be like if somebody came and said, “The sky is blue,” but I
said, “No, it’s not. It’s green. Why on earth would you think it’s blue?” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: It’s somebody making you feel like you’re crazy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: Right. For Luther, all of this is part of how the two
kingdoms idea plays out. And he builds his two kingdoms idea on his ideas about
two different kinds of righteousness. This is one of those places where we can
connect the theological dots and see real life consequences. We start out with an
idea about how salvation works and how to take care of our conscience as we
struggle with our relationship with God. But, before taking all that many steps
down the logical road, we end up hearing that we need to submit to wicked laws.
Theological ideas always have practical, political consequences. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[This is an edited transcript from
an adult spiritual formation group that met at </span></i><a href="https://www.scpcusa.org/"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">St. Charles
Presbyterian Church in St. Charles, Missouri</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. It was transcribed and edited with the help of a student
worker at </span></i><a href="https://www.lindenwood.edu/"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lindenwood University</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> who wishes to remain anonymous, but who was also a big
help. </span></i><a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/p/serials-index.html"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Click here to find an index of the full series</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.]</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
</span><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><!--[endif]-->
</span><div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3XKKmu7">Jaroslav Pelikan, ed., <i>Luther’s Works, Volume
26: Lectures on Galatians 1535, Chapters 1–4</i> (Saint Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1963)</a>.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/3WGDrAF">Jane
Gleeson-White, <i>Double Entry: How the Merchants of Venice Created Modern
Finance</i> (New York: W. W. Norton, 2011)</a>. For an overview, see David
Kestenbaum, “The Accountant Who Changed the World,” <i>NPR.org</i>, October 4,
2012: </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/10/04/162296423/the-accountant-who-changed-the-world"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/10/04/162296423/the-accountant-who-changed-the-world</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/3DndxLo">See
Calvin, <i>Institutes</i>, 3.11.5–12</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/3Y4bxzJ">For
a leading example, see Tuomo Mannermaa, <i>Christ Present in Faith: Luther’s
View of Justification</i> (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005)</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/3DndxLo">Calvin,
<i>Institutes</i>, 3.11.23</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><br />==================================<br /><br />
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<meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta><meta content="@wtmcmaken" name="twitter:site"></meta><meta content="§1 Approaching Galatians (session 2, part 2)" name="twitter:title"></meta><meta content="Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series" name="twitter:description"></meta><meta content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXiCXRzvZJAMzUvD63oC12ygcbUWL9f1_e3MmrGD-qOHIyON-vZty9gl3giC2M52OzD5_e76RT16YyZSFMDSpKzodb-tr9v0CSZ01cMsT0Sy_4RWJpcfA10PThlfxhCAahDEU50MUt7vKVdp8pRuE8fHQiNTXcCffUb6cAD61eQZkZ4SukS4/w640-h480/Galatians.jpg" name="twitter:image"></meta>W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-61461569966165717342023-01-26T08:03:00.003-06:002023-01-26T08:03:00.190-06:00§1 Approaching Galatians (session 2, part 1)—Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series<div><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[The
series continues and now commences the second in-person session. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/31752005/6146156996616571734?hl=en" target="_blank">Find the last post here</a>.]</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></i></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">x. Excursus on the NRSVue<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span><i style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken: </span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was talking to Ronnie<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span></span></a>
ahead of time about how I only learned about a month or so ago that there is a
new NRSV translation. It came out in 2021 but, somehow, I missed it. Ronnie told
me he knew all about it. He’s very happy to have
known something that I didn’t know. So tell him “well
done.” Give him some praise for that.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I noticed that. Isn’t it something at the end, like the
“anglicized version” or something? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It says UE, “updated edition,” at the end. I upgraded all my
“working” Bibles just the last couple of weeks. This is one of the new ones. Ronnie
and I were looking in the front trying to figure out what changed. I found this
statistic in the preface. It says that the NRSVue “presents approximately
12,000 substantive edits and 20,000 total changes, which include alterations in
grammar and punctuation.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
There wasn’t punctuation in the original languages, so that’s always an
interpretive question. Anyway, this update is kind of exciting and I’m looking
forward to digging into it. I've been using the NRSVue as I’ve worked on
Galatians. When we get to the actual text—and I promise you that we will—we’ll work
off of the NRSVue text. That will be my
introduction to it, so I’m looking forward to that. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXiCXRzvZJAMzUvD63oC12ygcbUWL9f1_e3MmrGD-qOHIyON-vZty9gl3giC2M52OzD5_e76RT16YyZSFMDSpKzodb-tr9v0CSZ01cMsT0Sy_4RWJpcfA10PThlfxhCAahDEU50MUt7vKVdp8pRuE8fHQiNTXcCffUb6cAD61eQZkZ4SukS4/s3008/Galatians.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2256" data-original-width="3008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXiCXRzvZJAMzUvD63oC12ygcbUWL9f1_e3MmrGD-qOHIyON-vZty9gl3giC2M52OzD5_e76RT16YyZSFMDSpKzodb-tr9v0CSZ01cMsT0Sy_4RWJpcfA10PThlfxhCAahDEU50MUt7vKVdp8pRuE8fHQiNTXcCffUb6cAD61eQZkZ4SukS4/w640-h480/Galatians.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></i></div><i><span style="color: #444444;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></span></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">My dad will be excited to hear that. We regularly tease him
because he’s really into grammar. We regularly tease him about correcting the
grammar in the Bible, which he does do.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The folks who handled the updating of the translation are
scholars from the Society of Biblical literature. Top notch credentials went
into it. Each book had at least one editor working on revising the translation.
They had a bunch of managing editors over the whole thing. Dozens of people
worked on it. It seems like it’s going to be really
interesting. One of the main things they were trying to do, especially for
the Old Testament / Hebrew Scriptures portion, is incorporating a bunch of the
research that has been done on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Have we heard about those?
They pulled them out of caves. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What’s happened with them?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well, everything has been translated. Or at least a vast
majority have been translated now. Scholars have been able to interact with
those texts and compare them. For instance, there’s an Isaiah scroll that came
out of those jars that’s different from the Hebrew Isaiah text we had. So,
they’ve been able to start all that comparing work, and they’ll be doing that
for a century at least. We’re starting to see results. That’s all getting
incorporated, along with other textual things that have come up. It’s exciting.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s so amazing. I was reading about a fellow who’s
relooking at scrolls and fakes, and finding some really good fakes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yeah. There’s also been trouble with that in the last 10
years especially.<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Anyway, that conversation was just meant to kill 20 seconds. Welcome back. I
said I promise we’ll get to the text. I don’t think
it’ll happen today, but we’ll keep marching in that direction. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">5. Selected History of
Interpretation<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">Last time, we talked about what we
knew about Galatians and what our experience with Galatians has been. I did the
whole show-and-tell about books things. You can see
I didn’t bring my whole stack of books since you got to see those last week.
But we also got to see the historical context for the letter. We thought about what
the scene of having the letter read in the community might have looked like,
having Paul's opponents there, and how all of that might have played out. Now,
I’d like to jump into talking about some of the interpretive traditions that have
gone developed from Galatians. What role has Galatians played? How have people
interpreted it? How have the people who wrote those books I was passing around
approached Galatians? We can get a sense of what is going to be important for
us, as we listen to their voices. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">a.
Early Interpretation of Galatians<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">We got into this a little bit last
time. Paul gets a chance to interpret himself, what he wrote in his letter to
the Galatians, in a couple of interesting ways. We know Paul sent at least one
other letter to the churches in Galatia because it’s mentioned in 1 Corinthians
16:1. In that passage, Paul is talking about the charity collection that he’s
asking >all of the congregations that he’s worked
with, all around the Mediterranean, to put together and send to the churches in
Jerusalem and Judea. There’s a famine going on there and lots of folks
struggling. It’s pretty bad. But you have these
other Jesus-following folks living outside that area, including Jesus-following
Gentiles. How do they show that they’re of one body together in Christ? Share
resources. This is a big deal for Paul. It really occupies a big part of his
mind. In 1 Corinthians 16, he’s talking about that collection and he says: “I
sent instructions to the Galatians and some other people.” Now, one of you told
me that they sat down and read all of Galatians in one sitting at one point in
the past week. Did anyone else? A few people. Great! Did you hear mention of instructions for a collection when you sat
down and read it through? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participants: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[<i>confused mumblings</i>] <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Being confused when someone wants you to confirm a negative
is totally legitimate! No, you didn’t see it in there because it’s not in
there. So, we know that Paul is talking about a different letter. It’s not the
letter we have. Now, we all know Paul well enough that we would agree it’s
likely he wrote other things in that letter, that it wasn’t just some
instructions. When can Paul help himself but provide more robust guidance on a
various number of issues? He probably elaborates in that letter on the same
kinds of themes we see in the one we have. That would probably be the first
instance of Paul, to some extent, interpreting himself. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">The other place
where Paul interprets himself on these topics is in Romans—his letter to
Jesus-followers in Rome. Paul’s letter to the church in Rome builds on and
elaborates the themes of Jerusalem, law observance, the relationship between
Israel and Gentiles as people with the same God, and so on. All of these are
topics that play an important role in Galatians. Romans chapter 4 spends a lot
of time talking about Abraham. Chapters 9–11 are all about Israel and have
become a key text in the history of tradition for the doctrine of
predestination. So there’s lots of material in the book of Romans that play
variations on the same themes we see in Galatians. Martin, who’s book I showed
you last time, says: “Parts of Romans constitute an interpretation of Galatia
made by Paul himself” (p. 31). <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">This underscores
what we were talking about last time with reference to supersessionism, the idea
that Gentile Jesus-followers replace Jews as God’s people. We said that we
aren’t probably going to find that in the book of Galatians, even though many
people in the history of interpretation have, because Paul’s not talking to or
about non-Jesus-following Jews in that text. He’s not talking either to or
about them. He’s not talking about Jesus-following Jews either even though, in an
indirect way, he’s talking <i>to</i> them. The people who came from Jerusalem,
his opponents in the letter, are almost certainly Jesus-following Jews, or
maybe Jesus-following formerly-Gentile converts to Judaism.<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Paul’s talking to these people but he’s not talking about them. He’s having an
argument about to what extent and in what way Gentile (non-Jewish) Jesus-followers
need to observe the Law. Anything he says in Galatian about the Law is in the
context of talking about how it applies to Gentiles. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">But it seems
like in Romans he’s casting a wider net and thinking more broadly so that in
that context he’s talking about Jews who are not Jesus followers. He’s talking
about the Law in that context and how it relates to what God did in Jesus. All
of that is very much a building upon but extending what he’s on about in
Galatians. But you don’t find that stuff in Galatians itself. In the book of
Romans with some of these extended passages, Paul’s further elaborating his
thinking, trying to clarify things that you can imagine folks were upset and arguing
about. This is how Martin sums up what Paul says on these topics in Romans: “Paul
can deny neither God’s ancient election of Israel, nor God’s precent elective
utterance of the Gospel” (p. 32). These are the two things that Paul is holding
in tension in his letter to the Romans. He has to
affirm both those things. Remember that passage where Paul says “the gifts and
the calling of God are irrevocable” (11:29). He’s talking about the Jewish
people, Israel, and God’s election of them. Paul says that’s secure. But he
also thinks that what God is doing through Jesus for the Gentiles is secure.
He’s not entirely sure how those two fit together,
but he’s trying to think and imagine his way forward in those passages. And he’s
not willing to give up on either of those things. He’s not conceiving of God
being done with God’s people, the Jews. That’s important as we get Paul
thinking about and interpreting himself. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">The key
thing for Paul is that he thinks Gentiles can get in on becoming part of God’s
people without having to become Jews: through circumcision and some other forms
of Law-observance. They can do it in their own different Gentile way. That’s
what he’s arguing about with the people from Jerusalem and the Galatians. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">That’s Paul
interpreting Paul in the history of interpretation. We can imagine that in his
letter to the Romans he’s trying to clarify things and respond to charges and
what people are saying about him. When we get into the 2nd century, there are
texts that we have that aren’t in the biblical cannon but were circulating
among different Christian communities, especially Jewish-Christian communities,
among Jewish Jesus-followers, that are very critical of Paul and his approach.
These debates are continuing 100 years later within Jewish Jesus-following
communities. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">For
instance, there’s a writing called the <i>Epistle of Peter to James</i>. Nobody
thinks this is authentic, but the narrative world it assumes is that Peter is
writing to James. Those of you who read ahead in Galatians can imagine why,
because Paul talks about them in Galatians and says things like: “I talked to
James and Peter about this but then Peter went and did this other thing, so I
told Peter to stop.” The communities who produced this text picked up on that.
There’s also a text called the <i>Ascents of James</i> where this shows up as
well. It’s all tied to James in an interesting way. James was far more
important in the earliest community than just a glance at the authors of the books
included in the New Testament cannon would lead us to think. There’s only one epistle
attached to his name. I think it’s a tossup whether it’s authentic or not. But we
can imagine that he set a certain tone and people followed in it, and the <i>Ascents
of James </i>text reflects that kind of tone. He’s very important in that
Jesus-following Jewish community—Acts names him as being important and Paul
talks about him that way as well. These Jewish Jesus-following communities
continue to hold him up as a paragon a century later. And they’re continuing to
argue with Paul long after Paul passes from the scene. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">When we
think of a spectrum of continuing this set of arguments that Paul was the
epicenter for, these “James” texts from Jewish Jesus-following communities are one
end of the spectrum. But there’s also the other end. At the other end of the
spectrum is a guy called Marcion of Sinope. Usually you drop “of Sinope” and
just call him Marcion. Has anyone ever heard of Marcion? He is the
quintessential Christian heretic. If anyone is talking about examples down
through history of people who have believed the
wrong way, Marcion is at the top of the list. His position is called
“Marcionism.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">As far as we
can tell, he was well to do and he went to join the Jesus-followers in Rome and
made a sizeable donation to that community in the interest of getting them to
pay attention to his ideas. Eventually they threw him out anyway because they
didn’t like what he had to say. His writings continue and he gets branded as a
heretic by the leading Christian authorities of the time. But he’s historically
important also because he loved Paul—which, of
course, does not speak well of Paul. But Marcion loves Paul and puts together a
collection of Pauls letters. He's the one that pulled that together. It was a
collection of 10 Pauline letters. He also took a version of the Gospel of Luke,
stripped it down, and put that with his collection of Paul’s letters. And this
is how Marcion became one of the first people in the middle of the second
century to start putting together something like a New Testament cannon: a new
set of guiding writings for the Christian church. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">The issue
with Marcion is he concluded that the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament
ultimately were talking about different gods. To grossly oversimplify things in
a nonetheless accurate way: he saw Israel as having a vengeful, creating god
and he thought Jesus had a loving, saving god. This kind of interpretive reflex
is still very much with us. If you ask people to characterize the difference
between the testaments, people will reach for something like this. It’s deeply
problematic. It’s anti-Jewish, which becomes anti-Semitic very quickly, because
you’ve got Jews and the bad god and Christians and the good god. This is why
the church of Rome kicks Marcion out around the year 144, and why really
important figures of the time denounce him. If you ever took a church history
class, you would have encountered names like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and
Tertullian. These are the big-time “apostolic fathers,” and they all say that
Marcion is wrong. It’s one of those first arguments within the Christian
community about establishing orthodoxy—that is, determining what’s going to
count as Christian and what’s not going to count. The basically unanimous
decision here about what’s not going to count is any idea that there are two
different gods and that the Jewish god is different from the Christian God. Jews
and Christians have the same God, and Jewish and Christian scriptures talk
about the same God. Nevertheless, and historically speaking, Marcion made sure
we had Paul’s letters. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">On one end
of the spectrum where you’ve got Jewish Jesus-followers thinking that Gentile
need to become Jews to be Jesus-followers. At the other end, you’ve got Marcion
who thinks that non-Jesus-following Jews and Jesus-followers have different
gods. Paul is somewhere in between, although he’s solidly in the part of the
spectrum that thinks these are not different gods. And that’s the same part of
the spectrum where we find what we could call the mainline of the Christian
tradition, saying that Jesus-followers aren’t going to land at either of those
extremes. But there’s still a lot of continuum
there. You can find people inflecting different points all along that
continuum. That’s why it can be such a difficult issue to articulate the
relationship between what we’ve come to know as Christianity and Judaism. So
that’s the earliest interpretive tradition that grew up around Galatians in the
first couple of centuries. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">b.
Martin Luther<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We’re going to fast forward to
Martin Luther, whose book I showed you last time. I love talking about the Protestant
Reformation. You all know this. </span><a href="http://derevth.blogspot.com/2020/09/part-1-scots-confession-history-theology.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We did a whole five-week series on the Scots Confession
together</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Here, we need to get into a little
bit of what was going on for Luther when he was studying Galatians. You’ve
heard that Luther is supposed to have nailed his <i>95 Theses</i> to the door
of the church in Wittenberg. What they don’t tell you is we’re not sure if that
ever happened. Also, it sounds all dramatic but the door to the church of Wittenberg
was just the university bulletin board. But all of that is a different set of
conversations. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But, hey, it sounds good. He is a dramatic player.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Definitely. And he wrote those in 1517. In 1519, two years
later, he lectures on Galatians for the first time. He’s lecturing on Romans
about the time he writes the <i>95 Theses</i>. Then he lectures on Galatians.
Remember that Paul writes Galatians and then he writes Romans. Luther has them
flipped. In 1519 he’s working through Galatians. The very next year, he writes three
really famous, important essays. One is called <i>The Freedom of a Christian</i>.
One is called <i>The Babylonian Captivity of the Church</i>. And one is called <i>The
Address to the German Nobility</i>. Speaking very broadly: <i>The Freedom of a
Christian</i> is about justification. <i>The Babylonian Captivity</i> is about the
doctrine of the church, so things like ordination, the sacrament and which ones
should count, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Participant: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Babylonian of what? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">McMaken: The Babylonian Captivity of
the Church</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Then, <i>The Address to the German
Nobility </i>is about how church and politics
should relate. Basically, Luther’s trying to cover these three key issues for
the reformation at that time. He’s a few years in, and he sits down and writes
these essays trying to cover all these bases. And
when he does this, it’s a year after he’s completed his first set of lectures
on Galatians. The timing is feeding into how he’s framing these things in that
really crucial year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">Fast forward
a decade. Luther goes back to lecturing on the book
on Galatians in 1531. This is the same year that the Smalcaldic League was
formed. Do you know it? The Smalcaldic League was within what we call Germany, which,
at that point, was the Holy Roman Empire. It’s all the different principalities
that are Protestant teaming up to resist all the principalities that are Catholic,
along with the emperor. It’s like the balance of powers in the Cold War, or
before WWI, where there were different sets of treaties. Protestants were
saying: “They might squash us. We have to get together in this mutual defense
pact.” To do that, they hammer out a broad theological agreement. Luther’s
working through Galatians again at that pivotal moment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">This is also
the year that the Augsburg Confession was published. If you’re familiar with
Lutheranism, the Augsburg Confession ranks a little bit below scripture in
terms of how important they think it is. It’s a little bit like some
conservative Presbyterians wish we treated the Westminster Confession! The
Augsburg Confession is supposed to be the lens through which you interpret
scripture in that tradition. It was an opportunity for all
of these Protestant areas to present what they believe to emperor Charles
in 1530 so it can be evaluated to see if it passes muster or, more in keeping
to how the Catholic side saw it, to see just how heretical they are. This was
another important event that was happening at just about the time Luther was
returning to Galatians. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">Also, this
is the year that Ulrich Zwingli was killed in Switzerland. Zwingli was the
leader of the reformation in Switzerland, especially in the early years. He was
based in Zurich. He and Luther are roughly contemporaneous and come to similar
theological places by separate paths. But it’s an important moment when Zwingli
dies on the battlefield in a clash within Switzerland between Protestants and
Catholics. So it’s a huge year for the future of Protestantism, which is still
up in the air, and Luther says: “Back to Galatians.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">Luther
published this second set of lectures on Galatians in 1535, which is about 10
years before he dies. So this is right in his mature Protestant period.
Interestingly, when it’s published, it’s the same year that the 2nd edition of
Philip Melanchthon’s <i>Loci Communes</i> was published. Melanchthon was Luther’s
right-hand man. He’s a humanist-trained scholar and expert biblical
interpreter, and he teaches theology with Luther in Wittenberg. Luther is very
insightful and can speak very powerfully, but he’s not great at sitting down
and presenting things in a coherent way—at least according to the tastes and
expectations of the humanist scholarship that is the exciting new wave in
academics at the time. Luther likes to preach. But Melanchthon was trained by
one of the preeminent humanist scholars of his age, and he’s good at it. So, in
the early 1520’s, he writes his <i>Loci Communes</i>, which is Latin for “common
places.” It addresses all the main theological questions that you might have
from a Lutheran Protestant perspective, and it does so in an organized and relatively
concise way. Now the 2nd edition is coming out at the same time Luther is
publishing his second stab at a Galatians commentary. Those two things go
together as a solidifying moment in “Lutheranism.” It’s also one year before
our boy, John Calvin, publishes the first edition of his <i>Institutes of the
Christian Religion</i>, which comes out in 1536, and addressing especially the
French-speaking context (even though it was published in Latin first; Calvin
published French editions later on). <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #444444;">You’ve got this
moment where things are being brought together and presented in a new kind of
coherent whole after Protestantism has been maturing for 15-17 years. They’re
developing a new baseline for what this Protestantism thing is going to be. One
of these key pieces is Luther’s 2nd Galatians commentary. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<div><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[This
is an edited transcript from an adult spiritual formation group that met at </span></i><a href="https://www.scpcusa.org/"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">St. Charles
Presbyterian Church in St. Charles, Missouri</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. It was transcribed and edited with the help of a student
worker at </span></i><a href="https://www.lindenwood.edu/"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lindenwood University</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> who wishes to remain anonymous, but who was also a big
help. </span></i><a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/p/serials-index.html"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Click here to find an index of the full series</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.]<o:p></o:p></span></i></p></span></div><div><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span style="color: #444444;"><br clear="all" />
</span><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> Rev. Ronnie Osborn, pastor of St.
Charles Presbyterian Church in St. Charles, Missouri. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> NRSVue, ix. For more on this
updated translation, see Annelisa Burns, “An Even Better Bible: The leaders of
the NRSVue project talk about translation, reception, and what Bibles are for,”
<i>Christian Century</i>, December 19, 2022: </span><a href="https://www.christiancentury.org/article/interview/even-better-bible"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">https://www.christiancentury.org/article/interview/even-better-bible</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> For one point of entry into this,
see Brigit Katz, “All of the Museum of the Bible’s Dead Sea Scrolls Are Fake,
Report Finds,” <i>Smithsonian Magazine</i>, March 16, 2020: </span><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/all-museum-bibles-dead-sea-scrolls-are-fake-report-finds-180974425/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/all-museum-bibles-dead-sea-scrolls-are-fake-report-finds-180974425/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I know this
language gets confusing. There’s no efficient way of talking about these things
without burying the oddity of the situation with familiar words like
“Christian” that didn’t really exist at the time, at least in the same way.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><span style="color: #444444;"><br />==================================<br /><br />
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<meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta><meta content="@wtmcmaken" name="twitter:site"></meta><meta content="§1 Approaching Galatians (session 2, part 1)" name="twitter:title"></meta><meta content="Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series" name="twitter:description"></meta><meta content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXiCXRzvZJAMzUvD63oC12ygcbUWL9f1_e3MmrGD-qOHIyON-vZty9gl3giC2M52OzD5_e76RT16YyZSFMDSpKzodb-tr9v0CSZ01cMsT0Sy_4RWJpcfA10PThlfxhCAahDEU50MUt7vKVdp8pRuE8fHQiNTXcCffUb6cAD61eQZkZ4SukS4/w640-h480/Galatians.jpg" name="twitter:image"></meta>W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.com0St Charles, MO 63301, USA38.8405221 -90.4691096999999910.530288263821156 -125.62535969999999 67.150755936178854 -55.31285969999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-72454054049462817202023-01-23T08:36:00.027-06:002023-01-23T08:36:00.188-06:00"Storied Witness: The Theology of Black Women Preachers in 19th-Century America"—by Kate Hanch<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #444444;">I’ve been meaning to post about <a href=https://amzn.to/3D57pHJ>this
book</a> for a couple months now but either the time didn’t seem right or other
things got in the way. But I don’t want to delay any longer because folks need
to know about this book.</span></span></p>
<a href=https://amzn.to/3D57pHJ><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSs6Lph5N7YCmgMPYJz9dVUqrKWIBJtkdcocsLyoev7LPObFRVnCGcne6s8HiYvJlp2TUbAy21ubUGCiPq9PfIumQa2sFXyf7CHVGOukCvzLLs9E62IwqeU6O0Pnc2r7qRcjlxZrQx7fGyF1IW5dR7fF62RMdOsmpsZYiFJrMoGEAzSKgmCE/s4032/20221021_093452.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSs6Lph5N7YCmgMPYJz9dVUqrKWIBJtkdcocsLyoev7LPObFRVnCGcne6s8HiYvJlp2TUbAy21ubUGCiPq9PfIumQa2sFXyf7CHVGOukCvzLLs9E62IwqeU6O0Pnc2r7qRcjlxZrQx7fGyF1IW5dR7fF62RMdOsmpsZYiFJrMoGEAzSKgmCE/s400/20221021_093452.jpg"/></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #444444;">The
author, <a href="https://twitter.com/katehanch">Kate Hanch</a>, is a friend and
pastor in town (so please forgive me for using her first name rather than her
surname in what follows), and I’ve benefited from pretty regular theological
conversations with her for a number of years now. She always brings figures and
ideas to the conversation that I haven’t encountered before, or haven’t encountered
intensively enough before, and I always walk away feeling that my intellectual
horizon has expanded. I can only hope she feels the same way. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #444444;">This
book lifts up the lives and witness of three black women preachers from 19th-century
American: Zilpha Elaw, Julia Foote, and Sojourner Truth. Of these women, Truth
was the only one I had even heard of before meeting Kate, and I’m glad to have
had the chance to learn from her about Elaw and Foote, as well as learning a
lot more about Truth! Here is one excerpt that focuses on the
interconnectedness of the pastoral and the prophetic in these figures (from pp.
150–51; bold is mine): <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #444444;">“Elaw, Foote, and Truth perceive
the prophetic in the vein of the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures. They cite
these prophets numerous times in their sermons and autobiographies. Hebrew
prophets saw themselves as called by God, sent to speak the Word to their
communities. Their messages could be directives, pronouncements of judgment or
wrath, or even comforting words. … In the Hebrew Scriptures, prophets were not
lone individuals but members of the larger community who were accountable to
the society. The twentieth-century Jewish Mystic Abraham Heschel perceives the
prophetic as siding with the downtrodden, expressing both anger and sympathy: ‘Prophecy
is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered.’ <b>The
three women, in different ways, body this voice of God to their communities</b>.
They all document their experiences of racism and sexism. Sojourner Truth, for
example, spoke of the exploitation of her enslaved Black siblings. <b>They make
the silent agony visible in their sermons and memoirs</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #444444;"> Elaw,
Foote, and Truth functioned pastorally in that they offered care and support to
their audiences and communities, helping people draw closer to God. The
sixth-century theologian Gregory the Great, who wrote the first pastoral care
manual, describes a good pastor as one who is ‘a near neighbor to every one in
sympathy, and exalted above all in contemplation.’ For Gregory, a pastor must
both possess good integrity and love of their neighbors. Gregory’s description
of a pastor infers that Jesus Christ is the ultimate pastor, who, like a shepherd,
cares for his flock by speaking the truth. Jesus as the Good Shepherd loves and
protects his flock. Elaw, Foote, and Truth bodied this pastoral presence as
well: <b>speaking a prophetic word to oppressors meant promoting the well-being
of the downtrodden</b>. <b>The pastoral and prophetic necessarily interconnect
for all women</b>.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #444444;">This
book is easy to read but highlights and shares profound, reorienting thoughts
from Elaw, Foote, Truth, and Kate as well. I have recommended it both to fellow
scholars and to church folks. On the latter note, it can be profitably read in
church book clubs or adult education / spiritual formation contexts. And Kate
has also prepared a discussion guide—<a href="https://twitter.com/katehanch">just
reach out to her</a> and she will be happy to send it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href=https://amzn.to/3D57pHJ>I
hope you’ll pick up a copy of this book</a>. It will be well worth your time.
But you don’t have to just take my word for it. Here are some testimonials from
other folks as well: <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">For today's recent book in the history of christianity, we are featuring <a href="https://twitter.com/katehanch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katehanch</a>'s "Storied Witness: The Theology of Black Women Preachers in 19th-Century America."<br><br>Check it out at <a href="https://twitter.com/Fortresspress?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Fortresspress</a>: <a href="https://t.co/otTJyYBVV9">https://t.co/otTJyYBVV9</a> <a href="https://t.co/TnRCBz30Lj">pic.twitter.com/TnRCBz30Lj</a></p>— Church History (@ASChurchHistory) <a href="https://twitter.com/ASChurchHistory/status/1613969532539764756?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">New Book by NABPR Member and series editor <a href="https://twitter.com/katehanch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katehanch</a> <br>"Storied Witness: The Theology of Black Women Preachers in 19th-Century America" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/acrel?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#acrel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/amrel?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#amrel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nabpr?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nabpr</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sblaar22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sblaar22</a> <a href="https://t.co/aBrYd8YIds">https://t.co/aBrYd8YIds</a></p>— #NABPR (@nabpr1) <a href="https://twitter.com/nabpr1/status/1603222190979223556?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">While you are resting up today enjoy the newest episode of Black Coffee and Theology with <a href="https://twitter.com/robertjmonson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@robertjmonson</a> as he talks with <a href="https://twitter.com/katehanch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katehanch</a> about her new book! <a href="https://t.co/Wnlxr0Y4e8">pic.twitter.com/Wnlxr0Y4e8</a></p>— Three Black Men Podcast (@3BlackMen) <a href="https://twitter.com/3BlackMen/status/1584168657592033282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Y’all look at what <a href="https://twitter.com/katehanch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katehanch</a> sent me. Kate is a wonderful person and has been such a joy to interact with. <br><br>Congrats doc! I am so happy this offering is in the world finally and can’t wait to read <a href="https://t.co/iGqITkjfZx">pic.twitter.com/iGqITkjfZx</a></p>— Robert the Low Vibrational Contemplative (@robertjmonson) <a href="https://twitter.com/robertjmonson/status/1582394546864148482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We see you <a href="https://twitter.com/katehanch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katehanch</a>! Congrats!! <a href="https://t.co/QSK5AoZkQE">pic.twitter.com/QSK5AoZkQE</a></p>— Andre E. Johnson (@aejohnsonphd) <a href="https://twitter.com/aejohnsonphd/status/1576753642170109954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Weekend plans! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ZilphaElaw?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ZilphaElaw</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/katehanch?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katehanch</a> <a href="https://t.co/XlInOg5vT8">pic.twitter.com/XlInOg5vT8</a></p>— Kimberly Blockett (@profblockett) <a href="https://twitter.com/profblockett/status/1575840699618148352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
==================================<br /><br />
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<meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"><meta content="@wtmcmaken" name="twitter:site"><meta content="'Storied Witness: The Theology of Black Women Preachers in 19th-Century America'" name="twitter:title"><meta content="Hear about Kate Hanch's book on the lives and thought of Zilpha Elaw, Julia Foote, and Sojourner Truth!" name="twitter:description"><xmeta content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSs6Lph5N7YCmgMPYJz9dVUqrKWIBJtkdcocsLyoev7LPObFRVnCGcne6s8HiYvJlp2TUbAy21ubUGCiPq9PfIumQa2sFXyf7CHVGOukCvzLLs9E62IwqeU6O0Pnc2r7qRcjlxZrQx7fGyF1IW5dR7fF62RMdOsmpsZYiFJrMoGEAzSKgmCE/s4032/20221021_093452.jpg" name="twitter:image">W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.com0St Charles, MO, USA38.7881062 -90.497435910.477872363821156 -125.6536859 67.098340036178854 -55.3411859tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-42958654673331798202023-01-21T00:19:00.004-06:002023-01-21T09:07:58.995-06:00§1 Approaching Galatians (session 1, part 2)—Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[The
following resumes, in medias res, the same session as recounted in <a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/2023/01/1-approaching-galatians-part-1pauls.html" target="_blank">the first post in this series</a>.]<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participant:</span></i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have one question about
Martin because you were mentioning he looks at Paul through the apocalyptic
lenses. I’ve heard there’s some open debate on whether or not Jesus himself had
an apocalyptic world view. I’m curious if Martin has a position on that.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMaken:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> I don’t know if Martin he
worked on Jesus. He is certainly best known for his work on Paul. I think Jesus
did have an apocalyptic view of the world because it springs up way too quickly
in the Jesus following community. But I’ll get into a little bit into the
scholarship that leads to Martin later on. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSjoPZBMz_F3oRyGOBqmUkthwx4ELPGtIvZHSxl_YWcxMqmWLKTBmAJ-YyjgAgRCsUdXafn8PTf8up2hV0ej6D1EAdrW2iVaV8S5XzMuMwoKZnv3Z_lliQRod9LY3tVzTT6cic1kDaCK9Zu0jVLCqVPSz_9WZ6m2atar64ocbmbGGfzFWU2A/s3008/Galatians.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2256" data-original-width="3008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSjoPZBMz_F3oRyGOBqmUkthwx4ELPGtIvZHSxl_YWcxMqmWLKTBmAJ-YyjgAgRCsUdXafn8PTf8up2hV0ej6D1EAdrW2iVaV8S5XzMuMwoKZnv3Z_lliQRod9LY3tVzTT6cic1kDaCK9Zu0jVLCqVPSz_9WZ6m2atar64ocbmbGGfzFWU2A/w640-h480/Galatians.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. Historical Context</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">a.
Author & Date<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Alright.
Who wrote the book of Galatians? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participants:</span></i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Paul<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMaken:</span></i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Right. That’s who the text
tells us is the author. For instance, it says at one point, “look how big the
letters are when I write with my own hand.” And virtually no one argues about whether
this one was written by the apostle Paul. There are books that people argue
about: Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians all of those get argued about.
Only very conservative readers think that the Pastoral epistles—1 & 2
Timothy and Titus—were written by Paul. But pretty much everyone agrees that Galatians
is Paul, whoever Paul was. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The next question is: When did he write it? Early to mid
50’s CE. So it’s one of the earlier texts that we have in the New Testament
cannon. And in terms of locating it with Paul’s other letters, it’s somewhere
after 1 Thessalonians and before Romans. We generally take 1 Thessalonian as
the earliest text in the New Testament. So that one is first, and then
Galatians comes after that but before Romans. The rest of how you put Paul’s
letters together—1 & 2 Corinthians, Philippians, and Philemon—on that
timeline depends on a lot of other commitments you have. For example, one big
question is how accurate you think the book of Acts is for talking about Paul,
and there are arguments about that. But, in terms of Galatians, scholars are
pretty confident that it comes after 1 Thessalonians before Romans. If we track
some of the other things going on in Paul’s life, it makes us think he writes
Galatians in the early to mid 50’s CE. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Does anyone know what the first Gospel written was? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participant:</span></i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Matthew?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMaken:</span></i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We thought that in the
past, and that’s why it appears first in the order of New Testament books. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participant:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mark.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMaken:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yeah,
it’s Mark. Probably right around 70 CE. So here in Galatians we’re a couple
decades before any of the Gospels we have in the cannon. Galatians is one of
the earlier texts. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">One other key thing to think about in terms of the
background to Galatians is that Paul and Barnabas split up. Do y’all recognize
the name Barnabas? Early on in Paul's career, if you track it in Acts, he’s got
this buddy named Barnabas. They are missionaries together sent out by the church
in Antioch. And then, eventually, they split up. Does anybody remember why?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participant:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Was
it a big argument over Gentiles?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMaken:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We’d
like to think that, right? We want to think that surely the reason that these
two guys parted ways was a real significant important reason. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participant:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Was
it about somebody who was with them? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Another
Participant: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yeah,
who they didn’t like? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMaken:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yeah.
It was Mark. There was a guy named Mark who’d been traveling with them. At one
point he bailed on them and then he came back, and Paul was like: “Oh, no. I’m
not dealing with this.” But Barabas was like: “We should be forgiving and bring
him along,” and so on. That’s why Paul and Barnabas split up. It’s al in Acts
15, if you want to look it up. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participant:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Well,
Paul was one of those people who was laser focused, right? And wasn’t really
interested in dealing with nonsense.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participant:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Either
all in or you’re all out. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMaken:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yeah.
He Wasn’t interested in dealing with folks who were not.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participant:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
said he’s probably an 8 on the enneagram. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMaken:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Oh,
I don’t know the enneagram so I’m open to the idea that he’s an 8. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">In any case, if you look in Galatians chapter 2, Paul
mentions his old partner, Barabas. Paul doesn’t get into why the two parted
ways, but Barnabas does show up in chapter 2 verse 9. They were both
missionaries both sent and supported by the church at Antioch. And one of the
things that I think it’s easy to lose, at least it is for me—I guess because of
the way I was trained to read the Bible as a young person in churches—is to not
think about the kind of institutional entanglements, you might say, that go
along with some of these things. So, we tend to think of Paul and Barnabas are
out there preaching the Gospel. But<b> </b>when you really think about it, what
they’re doing is they’re planting daughter churches, to put it in the kind of
language we’d use today. These are churches that are more or less reporting
back, and there’s something like a denominational structure tying things back,
to Antioch. Antioch is the mother church, and it has these other satellite
churches kind of tied in with them, under their influence, and with their
support and their guidance. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participant:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Who
was in charge of the church of Antioch at the time? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMaken:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
don’t know.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participant:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Oh
yeah that’s kind of unusual, isn’t it? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMaken:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Not
really. A lot is unclear about those first decades. Acts 11 has some un-named
Jesus-followers going to Antioch (among other places) due to persecution they
were facing, presumably in Jerusalem. So the leaders of the church in Antioch
was whoever the elders in Antioch were. And Antioch is interesting because it
became important in spreading the message. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">So, Paul and Barnabas are out there planting daughter
churches for Antioch, being supported by the church there. We can think about
them being on Antioch’s payroll, or in terms of Antioch being the place where
they raise their money and who sends them out. And then, Paul and Barnabus
split up and Paul seems to have broken ties with Antioch. Then, by the time
he’s planting the Galatians church, he’s—according to Martin, and this is his
language—“something of a lone wolf evangelist” (p. 17). He’s out there on his
own, not tied in with any of the other churches. And he’s planting churches
without that kind of institutional backing. But, like we said, Paul’s laser
focused. It doesn’t seem to have slowed him down or given him pause that he
wasn’t tied in. And he stayed very much committed to his understanding of the
Gospel. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is how J. Louis Martyn articulates Paul’s
understanding of the Gospel, and I think this is really compelling language. I
have two sentences. The first is: “God was making things right in the world by
the faithful death of Christ.” The second one is: “God was creating his
worldwide church, both from Jews and from uncircumcised Gentiles” (p. 18). That’s
the two-pronged focus that goes into Paul’s thinking about why Jesus is
important and what God’s up to in the world through Jesus. And preaching the
message is important because God’s doing these things. God’s fixing the world
as a result of, and through, Jesus’s faithful death. The way God is doing that
is by making a single worldwide people of God. It’s got Jews in it. And it’s
got uncircumcised Gentiles in it, in Paul’s view. This is the framework for the
Gospel that he’s preaching to the church in Galatians. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Because Paul was institutionally unaffiliated, the
churches in Galatia were originally independent rather than daughter churches.
Think about those dynamics. Has anybody here ever been in an independent church
that wasn’t part of a larger denomination? That’s how I grew up. For the most
part, it’s an interesting dynamic because you’re just kind of out there.
There’s not a lot to tell you how to do things one way or the other, right?
You’re not really reporting to anybody, and that can be both liberating and
terrifying, if you think about it. And I suspect that while Paul was there, it
was exciting. But then when Paul left and it got to be terrifying. You have got
these folks and they’re like: “Okay, were doing this Christianity thing. But are
we doing it right? What do we do about this? What do we do about that?” And
then, here comes some teachers from Jerusalem who say: “Hey, we can plug you in
to this bigger thing.” So, there’s interesting institutional dynamics going on
and you can imagine at least some of the folks at Galatia being like: “Oh yeah,
that sems like a great idea. We need help.” And we can imagine other folks
being like: “Wait a minute. That doesn’t seem like what Paul was telling us.”
And now you’ve got a problem. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Keeping this kind of context in mind as a frame of
reference for Galatians is interesting. I think the people in Galatia viewed
the unaffiliated status, the independent status, sometimes in certain senses as
positive and in other senses as negative. I think those teachers who come from
Jerusalem that we hear about very early in the book as the reason that Paul is
writing—I think they made it seem like a bad thing. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">b. Audience<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">So,
<u>who</u> were the Galatians? Galatia was a Roman province in central
Anatolia, which today we call Asia Minor or Turkey. So, this is where you’ve
got that handy map. The cities listed there in the middle of Asia Minor are in
the Galatia region. And notice there is a cluster in the north and a cluster to
the south. Scholars argue about whether this book is targeting northern
Galatians or southern Galatians. The southern cities of Iconium, Lystra, and
Derbe are mentioned in Acts 16, although there isn’t clear evidence in that
context to associate them with the people receiving this letter. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We must also think about the Gauls. They were Celts that originally
lived in Gallia, which is roughly where France is today. Julias Cesar famously fought
them, and he published his memoirs with the title: <i>Commentary on the Gallic
Wars</i>. The Celts were a large people group across northern Europe. In
addition to France, they lived all through Britain, Germany, and so on. They were
a huge people group. Prior to our time period, a group of them had come down to
Asia Minor and settled in that northern region. The Gauls were concentrated
more in the northern part of the region, and the cities in the south of the
region were decidedly less Celtic even though they were in a province named
after the Celts from Gaul. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Given the evidence in Acts, it isn’t clear whether Paul
would be writing to the more northern part of the province or the more southern
part of the province, and scholars argue back and forth about this. Bedford’s
approach is to look at the province as a whole and describe it as a melting pot
of Gauls, Romans, Hellenes (the Greek speaking folks), </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Phrygians,</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and the diasporic Jews—the
“diaspora” refers to Jews not living in Palestine. She reads Galatians as written
to people colonized and dominated by imperial Rome. There are Romans in the
province, but the vast majority are these Gauls, the Hellenes, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Phrygians</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">, diasporic Jews, and so on.
These are all people under Rome’s thumb. Then, thinking especially of the Gauls
and </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Phrygians</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">, Bedford calls these folks
“quintessential barbarians” (p. 3) in the Roman sense of people without
culture, people without law. As you know, the theme of law focuses very front
and center in the book. This is land of “others” and uncivilized people in the
Roman imagination. So Bedford’s interpretation of the book focuses on how
cultural otherness factors in and how we can interpret Galatians with a
sensitivity to people wo are culturally and ethnically different than us. And
that’s really important. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">That said, Martin does it a little differently. I think
Martin, speaking strictly historically, is probably more precise, and following
Martin just requires a slight modification to what Bedford lays out. He points
to Galatians 3:1 where Paul says: “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched
you?” Is that making friends and influencing people? Great language. “You
foolish Galatians!” But he uses the ethnic term “<i>Galatai</i>” in Greek,
which is the word that “Galatians” comes from. Importantly, this is an ethnic
term, which seems to suggest that he’s writing to the ethnic Gauls, the Celts,
the northern Galatians folks. I find that point pretty compelling. So,
following Martin, I think we’re probably talking about those northern cities.
He’s thinking Ankyra and Pessinus, and maybe Tavium but primarily the other
two. There would have been few ethnic Gauls, or Celts, in the south. They’re
all up there in the north. So it would be weird to address a group of people in
the south, a mixed group, by calling them Gauls because there are hardly any
Gauls. It makes more sense to be talking to the folks up north. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is important to help us understand the book because,
just like there aren’t many Gauls in the South, there aren’t many Jews in the
north. The historical evidence at this time does not attest any settled Jewish
communities in northern Galatia. We have to keep this in mind to understand
what Paul says about Jews and about the law in Galatians. When he’s talking
about Jews and the law, he’s not talking about non-Jesus-following Jews. The
only Jews in question, that the people in Galatians have had any opportunity to
deal with, at any kind of length, are himself and the folks from Jerusalem. When
he’s talking about these things, it’s within the context of Jesus-following
Jews and Jesus-following Gentiles—and, specifically, within the context of
differences of interpretation among Jesus-following Jews about how to handle
Jesus-following Gentiles. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">So, when Paul talks about the law in Galatians, it’s
about how the law applies to Jesus-following Gentiles. When we keep this in
mind, we’ll see that his comments hit a bit differently. As we go along, we can
look at his comments about Jews and say: “Okay, how does this hit differently
if he’s talking about all Jews or if he’s talking about Jesus-following Jews who
are making arguments about the Galatians?” This is an important frame of
reference that Martin’s historical research helps us see and identify.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participant:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Am
I correct in thinking that Paul was just fine with Jews who were following
Jesus continuing to practice the Jewish law? He just was not in favor of
imposing Jewish law on Gentile believers?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMaken:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> That is a line of
interpretation that is increasingly popular.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participant:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Okay.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMaken:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’m
not 100% sure. I’m going to say more about that because there seems to be some
development in Paul between when he wrote Galatians and when he wrote Romans. I
think Paul thinks Jesus means something as well for Jews who are not
Jesus-following, but I don’t think Paul thinks that God is somehow done with Jews
who are not Jesus-following—which is the supersessionist claim.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Participant:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Right,
right.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMaken:
</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">There’s
that passages in Romans that says “the gifts and the calling of God are
irrevocable” (11:29, NRSVue<a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>).
He’s talking about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the calling of Israel. Paul
says that God doesn’t go back on this calling even though it seems really
complicated in Paul’s moment. So the line of interpretation you bring up is a current
line of interpretation that has a lot of traction, and I think it is right in really
important ways. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">c.
Setting the Scene<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">What
I’m going to share next is a reconstruction for Martin. It really struck me
when I read it because it helps get us into the mindset of what’s going on
because we’re all reading a letter. We have a lot of our own experience that we
bring to what it means to receive and read a letter, but what the Galatians
experienced is very different. So, here’s the
scene.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Paul ends up in Galatia due to an illness. You can read
about that in 4:13–14. We don’t have a lot of details, but he preaches the
gospel as a Jew to these primarily Celtic Gentiles, barbarian Gentiles, who
didn’t have many other Jews around. When he does this, Paul does not require
these barbarians to become Jews in order to follow Jesus. That’s what the whole deal with circumcision and following the law
is all about. In Second Temple Judaism, which is the kind of non-Jesus
following Judaism we have at the time, it is possible for Gentiles to go all he
way and become Jews through being circumcised and following the law. Gentiles
who did this were called “proselytes.” There were also Gentile folks called “God-fearers”
who hung around the Jewish communities, respected the Jewish God, wanted to
learn, wanted to practice some of it, etc., but who didn’t go all the way and become
a Jew. Paul doesn’t make the Galatians
do that to get in on the Jesus thing. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">So Paul founds these churches and there seems to be real
affection between him and his converts, which you would expect. This guy has
shown up and preached a message that they find compelling and want to get
involved with. They’re going to like the guy. Then it seems like he trains teachers
to carry on when he departs. This is hinted at in
6:6, and it’s the logical thing to do. Paul’s not just going to up and leave.
He’s going to try to make sure there are some folks prepared to lead in his
absence. But he does leave at some point. Quickly after that, it seems. Jewish
Jesus-followers come from Jerusalem and argue with the Galatians that Gentiles
must become Jewish in order to follow Jesus—they must be circumcised and they
must follow the law, including the dietary
restrictions. The dietary restrictions will be a key
part in Paul’s argument. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">So these Jewish Jesus-following folks come and have this
weight of authority from Jerusalem. Maybe they say: “Who’s this Paul guy
supposed to be? He doesn’t have any backing. He’s a free agent. We’re from the
place where it all happened.” The weight of their authority from Jerusalem and
their arguments prove convincing to these Gentiles, or at least to a large portion of them who may feel as though a
larger Jesus-following world is opening up to
them. They didn’t necessarily know about
Jerusalem or the wider Jesus-following network that these folks from Jerusalem
can tell them about and plug them into—including these other apostles who had
known Jesus back in the day. This might be an “Oh my gosh! We didn’t realize
this was such a big thing!” kind of moment. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Someone, perhaps one of the teachers that Paul trained,
sees what is happening, isn’t thrilled, and makes sure Paul gets told what’s
going on. So a messenger comes to Paul. Paul reacts. Paul writes a letter and
send a messenger with the letter, probably the same person who comes to Paul to
tell him what’s up. That messenger shows up and reads the letter aloud to the
congregation. Why? Because very few people can read, at least in the sense we
think about reading long discursive sentences. But if this messenger is reading
the letter aloud to the congregation, who else is probably there? The people
from Jerusalem. Imagine that dynamic. This guy gets
back—almost certainly a guy, unfortunately, let’s
be honest—with Pual’s letter and says: “Hey, everybody. I talked to Paul. He
wrote us this thing for me to read about
those guys right over there.” And in the middle of this dynamic you get this
particular letter, which is a confusing letter. Paul’s not easy to understand
especially when he’s worked up. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Martin describes Galatians as a “volatile letter” (p. 28).
Just think of that one line: “You foolish Galatians! Who’s bewitched you?”
(3:1) Someone cast a spell on you! You guys are
being nuts! It’s a volatile letter. And you can imagine it being read out and
everybody just being dumbfounded and thinking: “What just happened?” Then, here
are the folks from Jerusalem, ready to help, saying: “Don’t worry you guys. We
can help you understand this thing. We here to help.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This letter might have backfired on Paul and ended up
strengthening the folks from Jerusalem. They can offer themselves as
interpreters because this letter probably surprised and probably hurt a large
portion of the congregations in Galatia. There would have been the diehard Paul
people who were like: “Yeah, let ‘em have it, Paul!” But other people would
have reacted with: “Oh my gosh! We didn’t expect this reaction. What is going
on? Why is he so angry with us?” And the Jerusalem folks are there with
explanations and figurative shoulders to cry on. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It seems like they were successful in turning this situation
to their advantage. One of the key things that you see looking at Paul’s
letters is that he was very deeply committed to taking a collection of money to
send back to Jerusalem. There were famines and things going on and the
congregation in Jerusalem was really struggling. So Paul was out in the broader
world trying to collect money and prove that we’re all one in Christ, that we’ll
send our recourses to Jerusalem to help these folks out. When Paul writes
Romans, he talks about the congregations who are pulling money together. Guess
who’s not on the list. Galatians. This is especially surprising because, in 1
Corinthians 16, Paul mentions instructions he sent to Galatians about the
collection. Since the Galatians aren’t mentioned in Romans, they might be
ignoring his instructions. It doesn’t seem like everything planned out as Paul
had hoped.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">On the other hand, the folks from Jerusalem couldn’t
have been entirely successful or else we would not have this letter. There must
have been some folks who stuck with Paul in that context, at least enough to
save the letter. Perhaps those loyal to Paul, especially among the teachers
that he trained, left Galatia to find faithful Pauline congregations elsewhere
and took the letter with them. Perhaps something else happened. Maybe they just
had different communities there in Galatia where they preserved the letter. We
don’t know what happened but it seems to have been a very fraught kind of
situation.</span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[This
is an edited transcript from an adult spiritual formation group that met at </span></i><a href="https://www.scpcusa.org/"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">St. Charles
Presbyterian Church in St. Charles, Missouri</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. It was transcribed and edited with the help of a student
worker at </span></i><a href="https://www.lindenwood.edu/"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lindenwood University</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> who wishes to remain anonymous, but who was also a big
help. </span></i><a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/p/serials-index.html"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Click here to find an index of the full series</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.]<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
</span><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<span style="color: #444444;"><!--[endif]-->
</span><div id="ftn1">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/McMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Ecclesiastical%20activities/St.%20Charles%20PCUSA,%20St.%20Charles%20MO/Misc%20Adult%20Ed/2023%20-%20Galatians/Galatians%20Series%20-%20transcribed,%20edited.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> All biblical citations in this
series are taken from the NRSVue unless otherwise noted. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><span style="color: #444444;"><br />==================================<br /><br />
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<meta content="summary_large_image" name="twitter:card"></meta><meta content="@wtmcmaken" name="twitter:site"></meta><meta content="§1 Approaching Galatians (session 1, part 2)" name="twitter:title"></meta><meta content="Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series" name="twitter:description"></meta><meta content="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSjoPZBMz_F3oRyGOBqmUkthwx4ELPGtIvZHSxl_YWcxMqmWLKTBmAJ-YyjgAgRCsUdXafn8PTf8up2hV0ej6D1EAdrW2iVaV8S5XzMuMwoKZnv3Z_lliQRod9LY3tVzTT6cic1kDaCK9Zu0jVLCqVPSz_9WZ6m2atar64ocbmbGGfzFWU2A/s3008/Galatians.jpg" name="twitter:image"></meta>W. Travis McMakenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12347103855436761304noreply@blogger.com0St Charles, MO 63301, USA38.8405221 -90.4691096999999910.530288263821156 -125.62535969999999 67.150755936178854 -55.31285969999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752005.post-38424028162424326692023-01-13T17:03:00.015-06:002023-01-21T21:52:20.769-06:00§1 Approaching Galatians (session 1, part 1)—Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: A Presbyterian Adult Spiritual Formation Series<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt;">§1. Approaching
Galatians<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><u><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.
Preamble</span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>McMaken</i>: Good morning, everybody <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Crowd</i>: Good morning <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>McMaken</i>: Thanks for making it out
even though there were some pieces of ice or something falling from the
sky earlier. Glad you made it safely. We’re going to talk together about Galatians
for a while. As y’all know, I come and share once a year around this time, and
for different lengths of time. And unlike previous years, we’re going to be
able to spend a longer period of time together. So I thought, what’s something
that we could talk about that would definitely take
us that long?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And I'm sure
some of you remember when we were talking about—what was it? 1<sup>st</sup>
Timothy?—and we spent 6 weeks and got through half
of the first chapter or something. So, y’all know how this could go. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">But with Galatians, we probably won’t make it all the way
through. We’ll probably be able to circle back next year and pick it back up
and just keep at it until we do make it all the way thorough. That’s my current
plan. And so, thanks for coming out and joining in with that. </span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZn5v2h0mHC_YNbCyHytYN_wM2l9Q5JchFqhjHWSzlBqLTNuiM5ngBJppiXhvlGgWI4pZIQfz1Jo8X7lB74wgiZ-bnqnqFV1BZw-1fZX_qtAEb_FeYgfV1VGO3Kbyh1NgU63Ii4_6TOoIQeF0iTvA-snTPZTif_ZpPJnTY66SHqahC0RTdBko/s3008/Galatians.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2256" data-original-width="3008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZn5v2h0mHC_YNbCyHytYN_wM2l9Q5JchFqhjHWSzlBqLTNuiM5ngBJppiXhvlGgWI4pZIQfz1Jo8X7lB74wgiZ-bnqnqFV1BZw-1fZX_qtAEb_FeYgfV1VGO3Kbyh1NgU63Ii4_6TOoIQeF0iTvA-snTPZTif_ZpPJnTY66SHqahC0RTdBko/w640-h480/Galatians.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><u><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Sources<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>McMaken</i>: I've got one thing to pass
out and if you stick this in your purse or in your Bible or something just so
that you have it, in future, it might come in handy. I basically took a picture
of two pages out of a commentary to get us a map of Asia Minor and I stitched
them together and that’s what's on top. And, on the bottom, is an outline of
the book of Galatians that Nancy Bedford put together. We’ll talk about that a little
bit in a coming week and what that means for how we understand the book. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Before we
get going, here are some of books that I'm reading as I work on this. I showed
you Bedford.<a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Online%20working/1.%20Approachign%20Galatians%20(2).docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Up
at Lindenwood, when there's time, we try to do a theology reading group with a number
of folks who come from around the campus and around the community, and this is
one of the books that we read one semester. The author was the doctoral
supervisor of one of the pastors in town here and she spoke very highly of it.
It’s a very good book on Galatians. Since I had read it, when I was thinking of
Galatians, I knew it was a good book and decided to use it as my basic frame of
reference. So, as we’re going through, I’m following her outline and her way of
breaking up the text into pieces. She’ll be an important part of the conversation
for me and also, as I translate it, for all of us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Also, I can't do much without talking about Luther and Calvin.
These are their commentaries. Luther came first, but you all know I love Calvin.
This is most of Luther's lectures on Galatians from 1535.<a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Online%20working/1.%20Approachign%20Galatians%20(2).docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
There’s another part volume that I’ll get out if we get far enough. He did
another lecture cycle on it in 1519. I’ll talk about that more later. This is Calvin’s
set of commentaries on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians 1 & 2 Thessalonians,
1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.<a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Online%20working/1.%20Approachign%20Galatians%20(2).docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
So, you can see the relative size. Calvin's a lot more concise and to the point
than Luther.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And then
this is another commentary. This is a modern commentary published in 1997. The
author is J. Louis Martyn.<a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Online%20working/1.%20Approachign%20Galatians%20(2).docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I’ll talk
more about all of these things as we get in, probably
next week. We’ll see how it goes. But, just in the interest of show and tell, we
can pass these around as folks want to flip through.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><u><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Opening Questions<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>McMaken</i>: I want to start by asking
some questions. How many of us have read Galatians before at all? Like, you’ve
opened your Bible the book of Galatians at some point. Okay, we’ve got a decent
number of people who must’ve passed through Galatians. Anybody ever spend more
time with it than that? Any other series of, you know, adult studies that
you’ve done or sermon series that you’ve heard on the book of Galatians?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Participant</i>: Probably at one point. The question
is how much I remember.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>McMaken</i>: Well, they tell us in teaching,
it’s always helpful to gage the preunderstanding of your folks. That helps us
figure out how to frame things and what level to pitch things at. So, what I’m
getting is that we haven’t had a lot of intensive experience with the book of Galatians.
Alright. Has anybody ever read it in one sitting? Just sit down and read the
whole book?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Participant</i>: Probably in high school. I read
the whole Bible. I probably did read it, all at once. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>McMaken</i>: What about any of the other
Pauline epistles? It’s really interesting because,
I don’t often do it and I did it again a couple weeks ago for this. You get a
very different perspective when you say, okay, I’m just going to sit down and
read Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Right? And just read the whole thing.
Because, so often, when we read Paul’s letters, we’re doing it for a reason. We
are reading them because it’s part of our devotions.
We’re reading them spiritually and devotionally. Or we’re hearing snippets of
it in the service when the text come up in the lectionary or when its being
preached. Or maybe we’re thinking about a particular topic that ties in, so we’re
reading a few verses here and there. But if you sit down and read the whole
thing, you just get this bigger picture, and it feels like it's actually a letter. Go figure, right? Rather than
feeling like, oh its some biblical book. Well, it’s a letter. This guy wrote a letter.
And he was kinds ticked off at the time, if we’re being honest. And a lot of that
just starts coming through in a very new way. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So, I would definitely
encourage you to sit down and read it in one sitting. It’s not that long. It’ll
take a half hour, hour maybe, and you’ll have a much different perspective on
it. I’m personally going to try and do that a few times as we go through, just to
keep that kind of perspective, and I think that could be an interesting
practice. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Okay. So, we
have a little bit of experience reading the book of Galatians, in the past. Do
we have any kind of preconceptions about the book of Galatians? What comes to
mind when you think: Paul's letter to the Galatians? Do we have any ideas there?
Do we have any thoughts, any connections? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Participant</i>: Like all things that Paul wrote, to me personally, he’s very verbose. He loves
his words. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>McMaken</i>: You should read him in Greek!
I think there’s maybe 5 sentences in the whole letter. No, it’s not that bad.
But, he has really long Greek sentences. You can imagine his secretary taking
it down while he’s talking. He’s just talking and talking nonstop. So, it’s
understandable if we don’t like his style of writing. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Participant</i>: I always think that Paul, with
the exception of Philippians, he was usually ticked off. So, when I'm opening a
Pauline letter, I usually just try to remember, what was he ticked off abut
again with this one? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>McMaken</i>: Maybe not Romans. But, yeah,
he’s always writing for a reason, right? And sometimes he’s fairly agitated. So, do we have any sense of what the
reason in Galatians is? How would we articulate that? No? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alright, so,
we don’t have a lot of preconceptions about Galatians. That works for me because
I can give you some to work with moving forward because there are some kicking around
out there and so I want to flag a few of those because that'll give us a sense of
the kind of topics we’ll be getting into. But also, if you ever encounter other
people talking about it, you might have a map to frame things and locate
things. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Obviously, I
showed you the Luther commentary, and I'll say more about this, but the book of
Galatians was very important at the time of the Reformation, and it was very
important for Luther developing his doctrine of justification—his understanding
of salvation. So, theologically speaking, it played a very key role there for
us as Protestants. That’s really important. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Also, it’s
an important text on the subject of how Judaism and
Christianity relate to one another because Paul talks a lot about the law. Paul
talks a lot about whether it’s necessary to observe the law in the Jewish
sense. And so, down through the years, beginning pretty
early, and even as soon as it was received by the Galatians, it became a touchstone
for how to think though those things. It has been used in damaging ways. There’s
a position that we call supersessionism. It’s not just about having a really great group of elders at your local Presbyterian
church. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Supersessionism
is the idea that Gentile Jesus followers—which I’m pretty sure is all of us in
the room—replaced the Jewish people as God’s chosen people so that, with the advent
of Jesus, Jews are no longer God’s chosen people but we Gentile Jesus
followers, “Christians,” are. And I think we all know enough about 20th</span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> century history to understand how that could and has produced some very
negative consequences. The repercussions of those kinds of ideas are still
playing out in global politics, and it seems to have come around again more
recently in local and national politics within the United States. The book of Galatians
has been a text that’s central to all of that, so it’s important to understand
the text well so that we don’t end up inadvertently hurting people. </span><o:p style="font-size: 12pt;"></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There’s also
the subject of what we call apocalyptic. That’s where the J. Louis Martyn’s commentary
comes in, and I’ll talk about this more. Apocalyptic is a particular kind of
eschatology, and now I’m using the fancy theology works—the multisyllabic words.
Eschatology is when you’re talking about the “end” of things. So any of the speculations
about the end times and the rapture and all of this
kind of stuff, or thinking about Jesus as the last thing of God—like, the “end”
as the “goal” and not thinking chronologically—all of this falls under this
idea of eschatology. Apocalyptic comes from the Greek word <i>apokálupsis</i>
and it’s a particular way of thinking about the end things. I’ll get into a lot
more details but it’s a very conflict-based way of thinking about it. It
basically involves viewing the world through a framework of cosmic spiritual
warfare. Martyn stands in a tradition that tries to understand the New
Testament in those kinds of terms because it seems like it was very much part
of Jesus’ world, and part of Paul’s world. We’ll get more into the details of some
of that but Galatians is an important book for that. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And then,
finally, I imagine that you’ve encountered some of the most famous passages in
Galatians. One of those is 2:19-20. Tell me if you recognize this when I read
it: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“For
through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been
crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who
lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the
Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sound familiar? That’s a touchstone
for kind of the Reformation-doctrine-of-justification interpretation of
Galatians. But then 3:28. Well, we’ll start with 27. Tell me if you recognize
this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“As
many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There
is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer
male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Does that sound familiar, too? That’s a very
important text for feminism and feminist reading in the New Testament and of
Paul, and for trying to understand all the debates that surrounded whether
women should be involved in ministry, and to what extent, and so on. I appreciate
how this passage bases everything on Baptism. There’s a sense in which in
the Christian community, Baptism is the basic ordination. Everybody’s baptized
and part of being baptized means bearing witness to Christ, proclaiming Christ,
talking about Christ. For everyone in the Christian community, it’s being
baptized and being in Christ Jesus that is the fundamental point. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[This is an edited transcript from an adult
spiritual formation group that met at <a href="https://www.scpcusa.org/">St.
Charles Presbyterian Church in St. Charles, Missouri</a>. It was transcribed
and edited with the help of a student worker at <a href="https://www.lindenwood.edu/">Lindenwood University</a> who wishes to
remain anonymous, but who was also a big help. <a href="https://derevth.blogspot.com/p/serials-index.html">Click here to find an
index of the full series</a>.]</span></i>
</span><div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
</span><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><!--[endif]-->
</span><div id="ftn1">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Online%20working/1.%20Approachign%20Galatians%20(2).docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span> <a href="https://amzn.to/3XAayYs" target="_blank">Nancy Elizabeth Bedford, <i>Galatians</i>,
Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible (Louisville: Westminster John
Knox, 2016)</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Online%20working/1.%20Approachign%20Galatians%20(2).docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span> <a href="https://amzn.to/3HnWxHs" target="_blank">Jaroslav Pelikan, ed., </a><i><a href="https://amzn.to/3HnWxHs" target="_blank">Luther’s
Works, Volume 26: Lectures on Galatians 1535</a>, Chapters 1–4</i> (Saint Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1963).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Online%20working/1.%20Approachign%20Galatians%20(2).docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span> John Calvin, “Commentaries on the
Epistle of Paul to the Galatians,” in <i>Commentaries on the Epistles of Paul
to the Galatians and Ephesians</i>, William Pringle, trans. (Grand Rapids:
Baker Books, 2003).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/WTMcMaken/Dropbox/Travis/Online%20working/1.%20Approachign%20Galatians%20(2).docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span> <a href="https://amzn.to/3D0zYpN" target="_blank">J. Louis Martyn, <i>Galatians: A
New Translation with Introduction and Commentary</i>, The Anchor Bible (New
York: Doubleday, 1997)</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br />==================================<br /><br />
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