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10/24/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 25 Oct '22

25 Oct '22

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10/23/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 23 Oct '22

23 Oct '22

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Thank you Dick for your Witness.
by Isobel and Jim Bishop 23 Oct '22

23 Oct '22

With blessings and love to you and all, Isobel Bishop Isobel and Jim Bishop isobeljimbish(a)optusnet.com.au

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10/22/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 22 Oct '22

22 Oct '22

"God is voluptuous and delicious.” ~ Meister Eckhart

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Mystery
by Richard Alton 21 Oct '22

21 Oct '22

Airplane trip to Africa Just copied the Land of Mystery chart from Frank Knutson and then had an awesome trip to Kenya that manifested this mystery. I knew this trip would be different. Being COV19 housebound for like two years, it was a big decision to get out in the real world again… never know what is out there. It was a huge task to just get a Kenya visa. Trying to figure out how to get through the Kenya COV19 public health check station was nerve racking. But I did it and it was an amazing adventure and the people I found out there, made it all worthwhile. This has happened to me before when strange people just show up in my life: Found my Chicago seat for the first leg of Chicago to Qatar and then onward to Nairobi. The plane was almost full, but my window seat was still empty- would be a great help if the seat stayed empty. And just then a young lady burst through the plane door with two gigantic bags and came running down the aisle screeching to a stop in front of me. Hands me her passport- “Hold this!”- and throws one of the bags over my head to the seat next to me… “Be back!”. This was the beginning of a thirteen-hour remarkable trip with this thirty-one-year-old American school teacher presently teaching in Bangkok, Thailand. The stories she had to tell about her seven years there. The most amazing part was her side business of raising ten dogs of which none weighed more than 2.2 kilos- so I got to personally meet all ten dogs, their names and each’s adventures- photos, videos and awards. Much better than watching movies. Oh, yes and her name is Kay which just happens to be one of my daughter’s names. And this Kay’s mom also raises dogs- a long family history of dogs… an amazing world we live in that people do such things My second encounter was at the Qatar airport. Of course, we missed my connecting flight. The explanation was that since Qatar was hosting the Soccer World Cup between November 18 and December 18 this year and they expected millions of spectators, they had put in a huge number of new systems that were still being figured out like how to get people from the planes to the terminal. So I waited my five hours for the next flight and got in line for my Nairobi flight. I am pretty good at chatting with people. The African lady standing next to me- an older woman who had a strange looking passport- so asked her what country she was from. She explained that this was the new East Africa Regional passport. “Nice- you are from Kenya? “Yes”, she (her name turned out to be Charity Gathuthi) had just come back from Australia from visiting her daughter. “Nice. What did she do?”: “A water consultant”. “What do you do?” Well, I am retired in Chicago but still work on local community development and was attending a gathering of people to look at climate change. I used to live in Nairobi- Kawangware Charity looked at me really funny, like I was from another world. “Are you with ICA?” Yes, you win the prize for an astonishing guess. “Well, I know and have worked with the ICA staff, Nathan Ambunya, Patrick Mbullu and Henry Mpapale plus I did Kenya Cooperative consulting work for many years with Terry Bergdall. Have been away and have not had contact with ICA for a while. But you tell Patrick, Nathan and Henry to give me a call.” Now that was amazing- like finding a needle in a haystack. Makes you wonder how many related ICA people are out their wandering the planet. Now, I told you about the Thailand Kay encounter. Kay has unbounding energy in relationships with other people. She was standing in the toilet line and started talking to a stewardess and it turns out that they may all look the same, but they are from different countries- part of Qatar wanting to be the future Global airlines. So sure enough, I found two Philippine stewardesses. Found out a lot about the Philippines and other countries like Tajikistan. So, I am sitting there reading a book by Momaday called Earth Keeper in preparation for presenting the ICA’s new Climate Change Manual- look up and there is an African Stewardess standing in front of me; “What a great sounding book- Earth Keeper” I am from Zimbabwe and we need earth keepers. I will come back, and you can tell me more. The page I was reading when she interrupted me: *“And so Great Mystery you who dwell in the endless beyond, you who spoke the first word and made of your breath the mountains and the waters, the trees and the grasses, the man and the woman and the child, hear me in my small voice. I am your thankful creature. My people and all the birds and animals are your thankful creatures. Hold us! Hold us in your hands and make us worthy of your blessing. Tell us the old stories of your greatness, that our minds and our hearts may be nourished with wonder and delight. Let us see your likeness in the stars and let us hear your voice in rolling thunder and in the wind and rain. Be with us forever in the sacred smoke of your being. These are my words, my offering to you, Great Mystery ( Earth Keeper by N.Scott Momaday)* And this is just one journey from Chicago to Africa. Life is amazing if you dare to go out and meet it. Dick Alton, Co-Director, ICA Kenya, 1980-86; still believes that one should write a witness on one’s birthday and mine is quickly approaching, so this reflection -- Richard H. T. Alton ICA Global Fund Methodist Eco-Sustainability T/F T: 773.344.7172 richard.alton(a)gmail.com Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 Won't you be my neighbor?

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10/21/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 21 Oct '22

21 Oct '22

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Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] A photocopy of Joseph Mathews' graduate thesis
by James Wiegel 20 Oct '22

20 Oct '22

Herman Greene is connected into that network Cobb, process philosophy, etc. I am currently enrolled in a course he is leading on living in the Anthropocene era. Jim Wiegel “…the long work of turning their lives into a celebration is not easy. Come and let us talk“. The Sunflowers. Mary Oliver > On Oct 6, 2022, at 11:26 PM, rev.bud(a)mac.com wrote: > > Might I suggest that one possible place for JWM’s thesis be the website Religion Online. If I understand R O’s current status, in has been put in the hands of Clarmont School of Theology, and possibly with John Cobb. If any of you out there are in touch with John Cobb, would you say so. I think Cobb would be interested in this attempt to resurrect JWM’s thesis. As well as being the major voice for the Whiteheadian Process theology, Cobb is in the Wesleyan tradition. I think he could be intrigued by an existentialist slant on Wesley. Cobb at 93 would be a contemporary of Matthews > > https://www.religion-online.org/ > Religion Online began with American teachers who were teaching in the ’third world’ and finding text books out of the price range of their students. Putting the thesis here would also make it available to persons world-wide who have been influenced by Matthews and his EI/ICA work. > > See also Thomas Oord: > https://www.religion-online.org/article/types-of-wesleyan-philosophy-the-ge… > > Bud Tillinghast > One who visited CFLC in Easter ’61 only to find the crew I was looking for was just off to Chicago. > >> On 7 Oct 2022, at 00:22, W. J. via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: >> >> Friends, I actually read most of chapter 1 of JWM's dissertation, which is a long haul. (OK, so I speed-read the last part!) >> So here are my thoughts and questions. >> First, does anybody know what happened to the actual boxed hard copy I saw in the Archives office? >> Second, does anybody know whether Wesley Theological Seminary has a hard copy in their JWM archive collection? >> Third, can anyone confirm, correct, or elaborate on the story I heard from Marge (I think) about how JWM refused to 'tweak' his dissertation, and thus never got his Ph.D. degree? Or tell us anything else they know about the origin and/or transmission of the manuscript? >> I would love to hear about this from LiDonna, Sarah B., Fishel, Lingo, Gilles, Walters, Gene, Beret, Aimee, or any others still alive whose memory goes back as far as CFLC and the early days of EI. And anyone else who may have heard this story from Marge. >> Fourth: My own somewhat vague memory is that JWM wrote this at Yale for H. Richard Niebuhr. Is that accurate? >> (see The Founders – ICA Social Research Center) >> Fifth, how can we date the completion/rejection/abandonment of JWM's dissertation? I would guess that it was while he was teaching at Colgate Rochester as an ABD faculty member. Is there a date on the ms. or some kind of documentation? >> Sixth, is there a copyright notice, and if so, who owns the copyright? >> Seventh, who added the running page header that says "Chapter one mathews"? >> It just doesn't strike me as being part of the original typescript. >> Now, for the icing on this cake! >> I for one would vote to do all we can to reconstruct and correct the minutae of JWM's dissertation and produce a .pdf that could be widely available. Perhaps as a freely available document on a theological dissertation website. Or perhaps we could reformat the text with added section subheads (you know, they did that to English translations of the Bible! those subheads are not in the original Greek and Hebrew!) and even add a contemporary Forward. >> Or even publish it on Amazon! >> At age 82 I always contemplate the option of Doing Nothing! So we could just do nothing more with the JWM dissertation. >> Plus, at 82 I'm aware of the mantra, 'Just do it now!' Or maybe later will be too late! >> Because, starting many years ago, it was not considered exactly missionally relevant. Even by JWM. He just moved on. And perhaps he considered all that effort to complete his Ph.D. a misfire. Or a most unfortunate fire! Or whatever. >> But I encourage us to think in terms of this (admittedly bad) analogy: imagine that Picasso doodled a face on a napkin. It's still a Picasso! >> (Please let me know if you have any of his napkins.) >> So here's what I got from reading (more or less) chapter 1. >> We may not actually care very much about how John Wesley used his classical 18th century education and intelligence to understand and describe the human condition in relation to his grasp of the nature of the physical universe and his personal relationship with Ultimate Reality. >> But Joe Mathews did. >> So if you read his dissertation, what you get is Joe's 20th century theological lens applied to understand Wesley's theological world. >> I would venture to add that, IMHO, Mathews has added a significant voice or POV to Wesley scholarship, getting inside Wesley's construction of intimate human reality by placing Wesley's words in the context of his functioning intellectual universe of Western scholarship (from Hume to Descartes to Aquinas, etc.). >> Mathews is charting Wesley's understanding of epistemology (including his perception of divine activity in human experience) and his theological anthropology. >> It's Mathews' reading of Wesley's theological formulation of his personal process of his deepening, transformative experience of 'sanctification'. >> And, of course, it sounds more like Mathews' existentialist theological lingo than Wesley's 18th century theological formulations. >> For example, "the naked givenness of the impression" just doesn't sound like it was plucked from a Wesley sermon! >> In a nutshell, Mathews is 'decoding' Wesley for twentieth century scholarly readers. (Who else reads Wesley's sermons? I ask. Raise your hands, please! I thought so.) >> Maybe that's why it didn't pass muster with HRNiebuhr! >> Anyway, enough blah-blah-blah. >> I vote for resurrecting this hidden/undiscovered gem for the few remaining authentic Wesley scholars to chew on. And/or spit up. >> Any others of us are welcome to join in the fun by charting it. >> Marshall >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Links in the message (1) >> >> The Founders – ICA Social Research Center >> On Tuesday, October 4, 2022, 09:13:01 AM EDT, James Wiegel <jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >> >> >> Has anyone looked at Slicker's master's thesis? He mentioned it as his formulation of RS-1 when we visited him in 2007 >> 23 Joe Slicker My Masters Degree was RS 1 >> >> >> 23 Joe Slicker My Masters Degree was RS 1 >> >> >> The thought has crossed my mind . . . I wonder whether Joe's approach -- Ecumenical Institute approach -- more on the ethical side, almost coming at theology as an anthropological study -- remember the quote to Msgr. Egan -- we tried to show the church it was about humanness . . . sort of put him outside "real" theology in an academic sense -- or maybe it was just having to type it over again?? >> >> Jim Wiegel >> >> The unknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybody scurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, all that. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plain sailing. John Lennon >> >> >> 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 >> 623-363-3277 >> jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com >> www.partnersinparticipation.com >> >> >> On Monday, October 3, 2022 at 10:04:14 AM MST, David Dunn via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: >> >> >> Hi Marshall, Karen and colleagues. >> >> >> I’ve done a quick comparison of the four documents in the Archive (https://icaglobalarchives.org/resources/) and the photocopy of JWM’s thesis that I have. The four documents in the Archive are the four chapters of JWM's thesis. A quick survey suggests that the only parts of the thesis missing from the Archive copy are the Title page, the comprehensive Table of Contents, the Introduction to the thesis and a few footnotes. >> >> This means that we’ll have the entire thesis with the addition of scans of the Table of Contents (2 pages), the Introduction (4 pages) and the cover. >> >> A few good copy editor souls need to compare the PDF against the photocopy to correct the numbering of a few of the footnotes and other typos that might appear—easy corrections in the PDF >> >> >> I’ve forgotten whose photocopy I copied (my copy is at least a second generation copy), but that means that there is likely at least one 2nd generation copy in someone else’s hands. >> >> In any case, we’re close to having a pristine PDF of the entire thesis. >> >> >> This was a pleasing experience of network intelligence. >> >> >> David >> >> >>>> On Oct 2, 2022, Karen Snyder wrote: >>>> In light of it being about John Wesley, it either is JWM’s doctoral thesis or something he wrote related to it. You can see what we have presently in the Archives under Periodicals here related to his doctoral thesis: https://icaglobalarchives.org/resources/. >>>> >>>> If it is different, than it should be added here as well. Are you able to scan it? If not, send it to Chicago, and we will scan it. We do scanning four days a week so it would be done immediately. Once scanned and added to the Periodicals, it is available for anyone to read it who wishes to. >>> >>> On Oct 2, 2022, Marshall Jones replied: >>> So David's precious xerox is probably copied from this original. >>> I think the typescript is also available in a digital scan on-line. >> >> >> — >> >> <DMD email sig photo small-Nov2012.jpg> >> >> "Mystery, possibility, and the power to choose" >> >> David Dunn >> 740 S Alton Way 9B >> Denver, CO 80247 >> 720-314-5991 >> dmdunn1(a)gmail.com >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Dialogue mailing list >> Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net >> >> <DMD email sig photo small-Nov2012.jpg>_______________________________________________ >> Dialogue mailing list >> Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net >

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10/20/2022, Progressing Spirit: The Rev. Lauren Van Ham, MA: The Reconciliations of Autumn; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 20 Oct '22

20 Oct '22

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screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv2666314508 #yiv2666314508templateBody .yiv2666314508mcnTextContent, #yiv2666314508 #yiv2666314508templateBody .yiv2666314508mcnTextContent p{font-size:14px !important;line-height:150% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv2666314508 #yiv2666314508templateFooter .yiv2666314508mcnTextContent, #yiv2666314508 #yiv2666314508templateFooter .yiv2666314508mcnTextContent p{font-size:12px !important;line-height:150% !important;}} | | | | View this email in your browser | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The Reconciliations Of Autumn | | | | | | | | | | Essay by Rev. Lauren Van Ham, MA October 20, 2022In my role as Climate Action Coordinator with the United Religions Initiative, I have the great joy of meeting with others who have made it their work to learn from and care for Earth. So many, around the world, are striving to protect the biodiversity that remains, to harvest and conserve water, and to regenerate soil by planting trees, composting food scraps and so on. Others are standing with the next generation in protest and divesting from fossil fuel. This is happening amidst the cascade of economic instability, extreme weather events, food insecurity, fragile democracies, intensifying systemic oppression, gun violence… Held collectively, this expanding list is being called the “polycrisis.” And it certainly is. As we inch closer to blowing past the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 °C, these inter-related crises are difficult to rank in order of importance. There are more and more utterings of, “It’s too late.” Ugh… how does that feel in your body? It is too late if your home was in the fire’s path in Australia, France, Greece, the US. It is too late if you are from Pakistan or Puerto Rico. It is too late for so many species who lived in Earth’s rainforests. It is too late for the people of Jackson, Mississippi or the coastlines of Florida. The too lates will keep coming. So will the blame and the predictions used as attempts to control. None of this feels good. Despair is understandable; so is our grasping for certainty. In the Northern hemisphere, we are in the season of Fall and harvest. It is also the time when a number of cultures and traditions encourage communion with our benevolent ancestors, saints, and spiritual teachers. The season we are in encourages us to delight in Earth’s generosity even as the abundance of summer crunches and decays at our feet. Autumn invites us to gather up the goodness for sharing in the dark nights ahead, to marvel at creation’s ability to make useful that which has fallen, wilted or stopped breathing, to thank the layers upon layers of life that have offered themselves for the very moment in which we find ourselves. Last week, in a conversation with one of my mentors, she reminded me again of the rich resources supporting me in my efforts as an eco-chaplain. So many passionate thinkers, writers, artists and teachers are here with us when we take care to name them, to honor their offerings. One example is Lynn White, Jr., who in The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis, an essay from 1967, observed, “Both our present science and our present technology are so tinctured with orthodox Christian arrogance toward nature that no solution for our ecological crisis can be expected from them alone. Since the roots of our trouble are so largely religious, the remedy must also be essentially religious, whether we call it that or not. We must rethink and re-feel our nature and destiny.” Yep, 1967. Using today’s language, we have other phrases we use to describe the patriarchy, white supremacy, colonizing and oppressive patterns that have tinctured our economy, academy, science, technology, etc. but the invitation in this passage remains fresh and relevant. As more of us awaken to the reality we have created, to the damage we have caused, it is only natural that we would sound the alarm. Every week, there are more and more of us arriving to ponder, assess, problem-solve. This is good and never, “too late!” It is also really important (and I’m saying this to myself), to embrace the ones who have supported this awakening for a long time already. In this time of gathering Earth’s abundance, I encourage us to honor the promptings from Black Elk. Rachel Carson. George Washington Carver. Jesus. Teilhard de Chardin. Add your favorites here! Assuming Lynn White, Jr. is right (he has my vote), I feel excited about what is being asked of each one of us as people of faith, seekers of meaning, devotees of spiritual growth and life-affirming community. Religion’s Latin root is religiō. Re means “again,” and ligare means “bind,” or, “connect.” Who or what are we binding ourselves to? Our teachers, whether humans or trees, old or more ancient still, have always been urging us to reconnect with creation (an elaborate web of relationships) and Earth’s cycles. I suspect we have often tried to rise above relationships and Earth’s cycles because endings are painful. And pain is painful. But isn’t this what spiritual community is for? To help us prepare for and to be with the joys and the sorrows of our lives -- not just in theory, but in a caring container for the very real moments? When I teach Eco-ministry, I use a concept called “Deep Adaptation.” Deep Adaptation is an agenda and international social movement which offers a framework and questions to support us in adapting to the unraveling of western industrial lifestyles. The final question in the series pertains to reconciliation. Reconciliation asks us, “How might we live and die well -- and with love -- by acknowledging that we are part of the cause and part of the solution?” Or, in a slightly different version, “With what and whom shall we make peace as we awaken to our mutual mortality?” Around us, ecosystems are collapsing, and so are human spirits. Our invitation is to be with the pain of that; our challenge is to be with giant uncertainties; and our responsibility is to re-bind ourselves in life-affirming relationships. We can help one another do this. We don’t need to control the uncertainty with explanations or forecasts. And we need not blindly “hope,” waiting for business as usual to intervene or repair. Instead, we get to embrace Autumn as it helps us appreciate the paradox of death/life, both/and, abundance/ancestors/rebirth. The polycrisis is not inviting our inaction but rather our engagement (this is where I remind everyone to *please* vote). And our spiritual practices give us the courage and curiosity to see ourselves within the entanglements of this moment. Here are a few lines from her longer, “Spell for the Fall Equinox,” by Adrienne Maree Brown, let your leaves fall down and sing to your ghosts nourish life with everything you release ours is not the only life on earth nor the only death let your altars hold the earth and the sky, and sea… the half earth grows dark inviting you to rest the hungry earth needs the dreams that only come with depth ~ Rev. Lauren Van Ham, MA Read online here About the Author Born and raised beneath the big sky of the Midwest, Lauren holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, Naropa University and The Chaplaincy Institute. Following her ordination in 1999, Lauren served as an interfaith chaplain in both healthcare (adolescent psychiatry and palliative care), and corporate settings (organizational development and employee wellness). Lauren’s passion for spirituality, art and Earth's teachings have supported her specialization in eco-ministry, grief & loss, and sacred activism. Her essay, "Way of the Eco-Chaplain," appears in the collection, Ways of the Spirit: Voices of Women; and her work with Green Sangha is featured in Renewal, a documentary celebrating the efforts of religious environmental activists from diverse faith traditions across America. Currently, Lauren tends her private spiritual direction and eco-chaplaincy consulting practice; and serves as Climate Action Coordinator for the United Religions Initiative (URI), and as guest faculty for several schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. | | | | | | | | Question & Answer Q: By A Reader What is the best way to gently question the behavior of a new Pastor who seems to be very fundamentalist in her thinking and does not like to be questioned? A: By Rev. Fran Pratt Dear Reader, I think the answer to this depends on how much energy you have for the conversation. We know arguing rarely changes anyone’s mind. I’m of the opinion that, as the Christ said, “They who have ears to hear, let them hear.” Not everyone is ready to give up fundamentalism. Many people find identity and certainty in that paradigm that comforts them. You can kindly suggest books that advance other ideologies and theologies, but there’s no guarantee she will read them. My advice is to practice forgiveness. Go to John 20 and read the words of the Christ who said “Whatever you forgive is forgiven; whatever you retain is retained.” Sometimes, the best thing we can do is relinquish any illusions of control over other people’s thinking and actions. To forgive is to accept that people are the way they are. I personally would have no tolerance for sitting under the authority and preaching of a pastor whose values and theology don’t align with mine. That’s not to say that pastor is of no worth - certainly she is a beautiful child of God. But my boundary is not to be in tacit support of harmful paradigms, while still maintaining a loving posture toward people whose thinking I dislike. I would say, “peace be with you,” and go somewhere I can remain moored in my own internal peace. Only you can know if you should leave that pastor’s sphere of influence. In my experience, people who are dug into fundamentalist theological paradigms aren’t usually open to change, until some personal experience gives them the insight they need to get curious. Trust the Spirit to speak to Her beloved and give her insight when the time is right. Remain curious and loving, and ground yourself in forgiveness.~ Rev. Fran Pratt Read and share online here About the Author Rev. Fran Pratt is a pastor, writer, musician, and mystic. Making meaningful and beautiful liturgy to be spoken, practiced, and sung, is at the heart of her creative drive. Fran authored a book of congregational litanies, and regularly creates and shares modern liturgy on her website and Patreon. Her prayers are prayed in churches of various sizes and traditions across the globe. She writes, speaks, and consults on melding ancient and new liturgical streams in faith and worship. Fran is Pastor of Worship and Liturgy at Peace of Christ Church in Round Rock, Texas. | | | | | | | | Please continue to send us your feedback… we are listening. We aim to give voice to many different perspectives that are relevant and inspiring along this spiritually progressing path. We are not here to tell you what to believe or how to act. We are here to support your journey, to share and learn together.Thank you for being a part of this community - join us on Facebook! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As a non-profit ProgressiveChristianity.org/Progressing Spirit rely heavily on the good will of our donors to help us continue to bring individuals and churches the messages of progressive Christians, Weekly Newsletters, along with the many other resources we provide. For years, the majority of our fundraising came at the end of the year. Looking at various ways to create a more reasonable amount of cash flow we decided rather than having a BIG ask at the end of each year, our more frequent asks give folks a chance to contribute when their funds are more flexible. We think that's a win for everyone. We also want to highlight the opportunity to become a sustaining supporter. If you are looking for the best way to help us continue to provide progressive Christian resources, become a sustaining supporter by choosing Recurring Donation. Help keep ProgressiveChristianity.org online and going strong - click here to donate today! * Another way to support us is to leave a bequest in your Will and/or Trust designating us a beneficiary. | | | | | | | | | | | Don't miss the next Episode of PC.org's Executive Directors Mark and Caleb on: The Moonshine Jesus Show - every Monday at 4:30pm Eastern Time – watch live on Facebook,, YouTube, Twitter, Podbean | | | | | | | | | Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited The Birth of Jesus, Part XI. Matthew Weaves Together Proof Texts from Isaiah, Micah, Hosea and from an Unknown Source Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong April 11, 2013Christianity was born in the synagogue and the original followers of Jesus were primarily observant Jews. They gathered in the synagogue regularly on the Sabbath for worship. A major part of that worship consisted of reading, learning about and becoming conversant with the sacred scriptures as the Jews understood them. Each Sabbath there were three major scripture readings observed by the synagogue pattern of Jewish worship. The first, the longest and the most important, came from what the Jews called the Torah. This part of the Hebrew Bible was also called “The books of Moses.” In Jesus’ day, it was generally believed that Moses was the author of the Torah books, named Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These writings were the Jewish “Holy of Holies” and in the stricter, more orthodox synagogues, the requirement was that the entire Torah must be read in the synagogue on the Sabbaths of a single year. To accomplish this, the Torah lesson would of necessity consist of the reading of five to six chapters of our present text as the first lesson. It would take a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes to read a passage of that length. In more moderate or “liberal” synagogues this requirement was loosened and the Torah was allowed to be read over a three-year cycle. The second lesson would come from that portion of the Hebrew Bible that the Jews called “The Former Prophets.” These are the books that purport to describe Jewish history after the death of Moses, and include those works known as Joshua, Judges, I and II Samuel and I and II Kings. At an earlier point in history, these latter four books were all called the books of Samuel or I, II, III and IV Samuel. It was a later interpolation to call the last two I and II Kings. These books covered Jewish history from the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, around the year 1200 BCE, to the defeat of the nation of Judah at the hands of the Babylonians and the subsequent exile of the Jewish people in the land of Babylon beginning in 586 BCE. They were not as important as the Torah so there was no specific deadline by which to complete them. The third synagogue scripture reading was from what the Jews called “The Latter Prophets.” That title referred to the books we now call Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the books from Hosea to Malachi, which were all on a single scroll and were referred to by the Jews as “The book of the Twelve.” Christians tend to call them “The Minor Prophets.” Please note that Daniel did not come into the canon of Jewish Scripture until about 165 BCE and, as a late arrival, was not generally included in synagogue readings. When one notes the length of these four books: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve, we discover that they are about the same length and each tended to be read one chapter a week, one book a year, so the four books would be rotated over a four year cycle.. The singing or reciting of selected psalms would break up and separate the various scripture readings. Following these three readings, the members of the congregation would be invited to comment on the readings. This was the context in which the followers of Jesus began to wrap their memories of Jesus around and into the stories from the sacred text of the Jews. In time, stories originally written about Moses or Elijah would be retrofitted and then retold about Jesus, thus linking him to the spiritual power of his Jewish ancestors. On other occasions, words from one of the prophets or from one of the psalms would illumine an experience they had once had with Jesus and a tradition would be started in which Jesus and the Hebrew Scriptures began to meld into each other. We will see this reality occurring over and over as we work through the gospels. For now all I want to demonstrate is that these themes are a major part of the birth narratives and we cannot read them intelligently unless we recognize the process that created them. We have noted already that the story of a wicked king named Pharaoh, who tried to put to death the infant Moses as God’s promised deliverer, was repackaged and told by Matthew as a Jesus story in which a wicked king named Herod tries to put to death God’s promised deliverer named Jesus. Matthew then goes on to wrap his narrative of Jesus around a series of carefully chosen texts that suggest that the history of the Jewish people is somehow being relived through Jesus and that the words of the Hebrew Scriptures find their fulfillment in him. Matthew is much like a country preacher trying to bend the biblical text to the needs of his sermon. In his birth story, Matthew utilizes texts from Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Hosea and, finally, from an unknown or yet to be identified text. I will examine each in brief detail. All of them are, at the very least, enormous stretches in literal accuracy. The first one is Isaiah 7:14 that we have heard numerous times in our Christmas pageants. Out of the darkness or even off stage, the voice of the prophet is heard saying, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel, which means God with us.” The first and major problem with Matthew’s use of this text is that he did not quote it accurately. Was this an honest mistake or a deliberate attempt to make the text say what he needed it to say to suit his literary purposes? No one can finally say, but I suspect the latter when I put these words from Isaiah into their original context. Isaiah actually writes in Hebrew: “Behold a young woman is with child!” It is rather difficult to claim one is a virgin when one is expecting a baby. Indeed, the word virgin appears nowhere in this verse from Isaiah. The context is this. Two kings, Pekah from the Northern Kingdom called Israel and Rezin, the king of Syria, are in siege positions outside the walls of Jerusalem. They have made war on Judah and its king named Ahaz, because he has refused to join their alliance against Assyria. Their goal in this war was to topple Ahaz, put a puppet king on to the throne of Judah and then to have Judah’s military strength added to their alliance designed to hold off the Assyrians. King Ahaz is atop the walls of Jerusalem inspecting its defenses when he is met by Isaiah the prophet. First, Isaiah assures the king that Jerusalem will not fall to “these smoldering stumps,” which is what he calls Pekah and Rezin. Ahaz is not convinced. Isaiah then says to him: “Ask a sign of God.” and God will convince you that you will be delivered. Ahaz refuses to ask. Irritated, Isaiah says well you will be given a sign whether you like it or not. “Behold a woman is with child.” This baby soon to be born into the royal household will be the heir to the throne, a sign that this kingdom will endure. Isaiah goes on to say that before this baby is able to eat curds and honey and before he is old enough to choose between good and evil, these kings before whom Ahaz was quaking at this moment will be long gone. The facts of history are that the land of Judah was destined to work out a treaty with Assyria that left Judah a vassal state, but still alive, while both Syria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel were destroyed by Assyria. This text in Isaiah had nothing to do with predicting the birth of the messiah almost 800 years later! Matthew was stretching his interpretive powers wildly by using the text the way he did. The second text from the prophets, which Matthew weaves into his story, comes from Micah. When the wise men (I will discuss them in the next column in this series) stop to ask directions at the palace of King Herod, the king consults his chief priests and scribes to determine where it is that the messiah is to be born. One of the images so important to the Jews was that messiah must be a descendant of King David and thus heir to the Jewish throne. Part of messiah’s task was to restore the throne of King David. Micah the prophet refers to Bethlehem as the town out of which David emerged to rule the land of the Jews. The messiah must follow the same pattern. So in the opening narratives of Matthew, the birth of Jesus was shifted from Nazareth, where he was surely born, to Bethlehem, so that the messianic claim can be made and the words of the prophet Micah affirmed. Next, when Matthew proceeds to tell the story of King Herod slaughtering the boy babies in Bethlehem in his move to destroy the promised deliverer, he relates this to another tragic moment in Jewish history when the Assyrians conquered and destroyed the Northern Kingdom, made up, according to tradition, primarily of the descendants of Joseph, the son of Rachel, who was said to have been Jacob’s favorite wife. Thus Jeremiah portrays Rachel, the tribal mother of the Northern Kingdom, as weeping for her children who are now lost forever. Matthew sees in that story a prediction of the deaths of the children at Herod’s hand. It was not even a close fit. Then Matthew says that when Joseph was forced to flee from Herod’s wrath, he took Mary and the Christ Child to Egypt. Once, God had to call God’s son (the Jewish people) out of Egypt. Now Matthew quotes Hosea, who was referring to Moses and the Exodus, to refer to Jesus, who is also called out of Egypt, since messiah must relive the history of the Jews. In Matthew’s final birth narrative biblical quotation Joseph took Mary and the Christ Child to live in Nazareth. This, Matthew said, was to fulfill the words of the prophet that “he will be called a Nazarene.” Such a prophetic expectation cannot be found anywhere in scripture. The closest we can come to it is in Isaiah 11:1 where the prophet writes “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse (David’s father) and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” It is another text used to prove that messiah must be related to David. The word “branch” in Hebrew is “nazir” or “nezer.” It sounds a bit like Nazareth, but “close” is all Matthew needed. Matthew stretched all of his texts, but this last one was stretched to absolute fantasy. My point is to show how the debate waged in the synagogue as the followers of Jesus sought to understand him, his relationship to the concept of messiah and his relationship to the Jewish Scriptures. We are reading here a first century Jewish interpretation of Jesus. We are not reading history. There is a difference.~ John Shelby Spong | | | | | | | | Announcements The Future of Christianity 2-Evening Mini Conference Online and In-person Read On ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

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A new just "popped up" opportunity for all of you
by Sunny Walker 20 Oct '22

20 Oct '22

"Brief" Intro to Social Artistry Capacities from Jan Sanders. Link to information in Drive <https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/195RKG1VPhIxWQ6qGva7ThG7bEMGHqiCI/ed…>or see on the Global Schedule (ICA Archives Events page). On behalf of the Global Schedule Team *Sunny Walker * *She/her/hers* *On **Arapaho, Cheyenne, Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), and Očeti Šakówiŋ (Sioux) tribal land* Certified Facilitator (Also Certified ToP Facilitator) ToP Methods Mentor Trainer - Upcoming Courses <https://www.top-training.net/w/> Virtual Facilitation Collaborative Senior Facilitator sunny.sunwalker(a)gmail.com 303-587-3017 For virtual facilitation inquiries: sunny(a)virtualfacilitationcollaborative.com www.virtualfacilitationcollaborative.com

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10/19/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 19 Oct '22

19 Oct '22

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