Seminal Stories of the Bible - for Sunday Feb 28 and Wednesday Mar 3

After a grueling round of relentlessly narrowing down profoundly important passages of the Bible, I have settled on seven passages from the Old Testament and seven passages from the New Testament for us to focus on this Week.

Seven Seminal Passages from the Old Testament:

1. Covenant - Genesis 12 - God's Covenant with Abram
   key verses: Genesis 12:1-3
2. Deliverance - Exodus 15 - God's salvation of Israel through the Red Sea
   key verse: Exodus 15:21
3. Worship - Deuteronomy 6 - The Shema
   key verse: Deuteronomy 6:4-5
4. Dynasty - 2 Samuel 7 - God makes covenant with King David's Dyansty
   key verse: 2 Samuel 7:16
5. Oblivion - 1 Kings 19 - Elijah stands (with God) against King Ahab's Omri Dynasty
   key verse: 1 Kings 19:11-12
6. Messiah - Psalm 110 - Messianic Hymn most often quoted in the New Testament
   key verse: Psalm 110:1
7. Redeemed - Isaiah 42:1-9 - First of the four Servant Songs reinterpreting Israel's (and God's) place among the nations in the wake of exile
   key verses: Isaiah 42:6-7

Seven Seminal New Testament Passages

1. Fulfillment - Matthew 5:1-20 - Preamble to the Sermon on the Mount
   key verses: Matthew 5:17-18
2. Abundance - Mark 4:1-20 - Parable of the Sower
   key verse: Mark 4:20
3. Companion - Luke 24: 13-35 - The Resurrection Walk to Emmaus
   key verse: Luke 24:26-27
4. Light - John 1:1-14 - Prologue of John
   key verses: John 1:4-5
5. Power - Acts 15 - The Jerusalem Council integrates the Gentiles
   key verses: Acts 15:28-29
6. Way - Philippians 2:1-18 - the Christ Hymn
   key verses: Philippians 2:8-9
7. Faith - Hebrews 11 - Roll call of Faithfulness
   key verse: Hebrews 11:13

I chose these passages for several reasons:

1. These passages form a framework for the narrative thread in the entire Bible
2. Each passage forms a crucial moment in the life of God's people
3. Taken together, the passages represent a sampling of the various kinds of literature styles in the Bible
4. Many of the passages are either referenced in other parts of the Bible, or themselves reference other parts of the Bible

I'll update this post to include the very important passages that did not make my cut!

Major Divisions of the 66 Books of the Bible

The basic division of our Bible designates 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. 

So here are two basic divisions (Jewish and Christian) of the collection of what Christians call the Old Testament and a division of the books of the New Testament. Wiki includes a helpful chart of these divisions, including Catholic and Eastern Orthodox divisions (which include extra books!).

The Jewish people use three major divisions for the Hebrew Bible (what we call the Old Testament):

Jesus often cited two major divisions: the Law (Hebrew: Torah) and the Prophets (see Matthew 7:12 or Romans 3:21). Later, Judaism sanctioned a third major division, the Writings.

1. 5 books of the Law (Torah)
2. 8 books of the Prophets (Nevi'im) including four Early and four Later Prophets (counted as 21 books in the Christian Old Testament)
3. 11 books of Writings (Ketuvim) counted as 13 books in the Christian Old Testament

1. The Law (Torah, in Hebrew) is the heart of the Hebrew Bible, sometimes also called the Pentateuch (a Greek word meaning "Five Books"). Traditionally ascribed to Moses, it includes the books of:

1. Genesis, 
2. Exodus
3. Leviticus
4. Numbers, and 
5. Deuteronomy. 

Most of the Sunday School stories you know (if you went to Sunday School as a child), are from the first two of these books, which narrate the saga of the children of God from the creation of the world to the Exodus from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land in Canaan.

2. The next major division of the Hebrew Bible is the Prophets (Hebrew: Nevi'im). The Jewish tradition combines books that have two parts (because one scroll would not contain them) as well as the 12 "Minor" prophets to come up with eight "books", although in the Christian Old Testament, they are divided into 21 of the 39 total books. They include:

The Early Prophets (which relate the history of Israel from the time of Moses to the time of the Babylonian exile (approximately 1200 - 586 BCE)):

1. Joshua, 
2. Judges (two scrolls), 
3. Samuel (two scrolls) and 
4. Kings (two scrolls)

The Later Prophets:

1. Isaiah
2. Jeremiah
3. Ezekiel

these Later Prophets include the Twelve Minor Prophets (counted as one book: Trei Asar or "Twelve")

1. Hosea
2. Joel
3. Amos
4. Obadiah
5. Jonah
6. Micah
7. Nahum
8. Habbakuk
9. Zephaniah
10. Haggai
11. Zechariah
12. Malachi

3. Jewish people call the third division the Writings (Hebrew: Ketuvim). They include:

The "Books of Truth":

1. Psalms (the hymnbook of the Israelites), 
2. Proverbs (a scriptural "Poor Richard's Almanac"), and 
3. Job; 

 The "Five Scrolls":

1. Song of Songs (called Song of Solomon in the Christian Old Testament)
   
2. Ruth
3. Lamentations
4. Ecclesiastes
5. Esther

and the remaining Writings:

1. Daniel (an example of apocalyptic literature in the Hebrew Bible, this book was probably written only a couple of centuries before Jesus Christ, in Hebrew and in Aramaic)
   
2. Ezra-Nehemiah (divided into two books in the Christian Old Testament - these are the only historical accounts of the post-exile period)
3. Chronicles (two scrolls which cover the same historical period covered in the scrolls of the Kings, and which were written much later)).

Christians adopted the Hebrew scriptures as their own, calling the collection the Old (ancient) Testament. The order of the 39 books that follows mirrors the order in the Bibles we use in worship and for study:

1. 5 Books of the Law
2. 12 History Books (the 7 Early Prophets and 5 books from the Writings)
3. 5 Wisdom Books
4. 17 Books of Prophecy (5 Major and 12 Minor Prophets)

1. They retain the first division of the five Books of the Law:

1. Genesis, 
2. Exodus
3. Leviticus
4. Numbers, and 
5. Deuteronomy

2. The Old Testament creates a separate category called the "Historical Books", which includes twelve books culled from the Jewish Prophets and Writings divisions:

From the Jewish Early Prophets

1. Joshua
2. Judges
3. Ruth
4. 1 Samuel
5. 2 Samuel
6. 1 Kings
7. 2 Kings

From the Jewish Writings

1. 1 Chronicles 
2. 2 Chronicles
   
3. Ezra
4. Nehemiah
5. Esther

3. The Old Testament retains a truncated version of the Wisdom Books, which includes:

1. Job
2. Psalms
3. Proverbs
4. Ecclesiastes
5. Song of Solomon

4. The Old Testament adds two Writings books to the Books of the Prophets, and divides them into two major divisions:

The Major Prophets

1. Isaiah
2. Jeremiah
3. Lamentations (from the Jewish Writings division)
   
4. Ezekiel
5. Daniel (from the Jewish Writings division)

and the 12 Minor Prophets:

1. Hosea
2. Joel
3. Amos
   
4. Obadiah
5. Jonah
6. Micah
7. Nahum
8. Habbakuk
9. Zephaniah
10. Haggai
11. Zechariah
12. Malachi

The 27 books of the New Testament divide into the following main collections:

1. 4 Gospels
2. 1 History
3. 21 Epistles or Letters
4. 1 Apocalypse

1. The four Gospels, or the Good News of Jesus Christ:

1. Matthew
2. Mark
3. Luke
4. John

2. One book of Apostolic History

1. Acts of the Apostles (also written by Luke)

3. The 13 Pauline Epistles (or Letters) - in order of their length (note that this collection includes nearly half of the 27 books of the New Testament):

1. Romans
2. 1 Corinthians
3. 2 Corinthians
4. Galatians
5. Ephesians
6. Philippians
7. Colossians
8. 1Thessalonians
9. 2 Thessalonians
10. 1 Timothy
11. 2 Timothy
12. Titus
13. Philemon

The eight "General" Epistles:

1. Hebrews
2. James
3. 1 Peter
4. 2 Peter
5. 1 John
6. 2 John
7. 3 John
8. Jude

4. and one Apocalypse (Greek word that means "Revelation")

1. Revelation

Now you know all 66 books of the (Christian Protestant) Bible!

Reading the Bible - Where to Start

We had a great conversation Wednesday evening, Feb. 24 (our first Wednesday session of the study, which continues on Sunday mornings through March 21). I'm impressed at how often the question "Where do I start?" comes up. And related to that question is the experience of having read a portion of the Bible and feeling more confused and alienated that before you started reading!

I've been roller skating for about a year now. When I began, I fell a lot. After suffering from many nasty encounters with the floor, I realized that I had to wear protective gear and take it easy on the things I was trying to accomplish if I were going to be able to continue skating. Everyone around me seemed to be skating with ease. I got advice from people (not all of it helpful or welcome), and experienced the reality of the old saw: "It's going to get a lot worse before it gets better."

Getting into any new practice comes with that kind of cost. For one thing, you have to make time for reading scripture in a schedule already too crowded for such reflection. And if you can balance the time, so much of the vocabulary and "culture" of scripture feels foreign and ill-fitting to you. People like me (pastors and teachers) make it seem easy, and our advice about how to go about reading the Bible can sometimes make you feel inadequate and ignored.

Relax. You're trying something new and this kind of break-in (steep learning curve) is normal and appropriate. So take it easy and realize that continuing to show up, adjusting your approach when appropriate (when you have a pretty good idea of how a certain approach is trending - in either a helpful or unhelpful way), will bear fruit in your life. My skating got better - and it continues to get better, because I practice and enjoy it a lot. Your experience of reading scripture and encountering the God to which scripture bears such eloquent witness will get better too!

In the meantime, I'm planning a series of helps to get you better acquainted with the lay of the land in scripture. A great place for Christians to begin is in any one of the Gospel accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ: Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Or read all four! But take it slowly, and be prepared to go where the Spirit of God leads you in your reading. I like to suggest reading with a journal in hand, so that you can write down notes and reflections. And don't be afraid of writing some of those notes and references in your Bible. (Don't own a Bible? Take one of the pew Bibles in the sanctuary! We'll also discuss approaches to purchasing a good study and devotional Bible).

One of the best ways to get aquainted with the lay of the land - the culture of the Bible - is to learn about the way the Bible is structured. More a library of 66 books than a single volume, the Bible contains many different forms of literature (law, history, poetry, wisdom sayings, prophetic writings, genealogies, stories, parables, letters, gospels, apocalypses, morality tales, collections of sayings, and commentaries). Knowing where you are and what to expect (these different literary forms require different reading strategies) is more than half the battle of getting comfortable in the culture of scripture.

Stay tuned for an explanation of the structure of the Bible in the next Blog installment!

Ways of Reading the Bible - Finding Jesus in the Scriptures

Here's a wonderful example of a thread or topical chain that runs throughout scripture. I have found it in various forms on many websites without attribution, so I copy it anonymously here (with many of my own modifications and verse references):

In Genesis, Jesus is The Seed of Woman.
In Exodus, Jesus is The Passover Lamb.
In Leviticus, Jesus is The Atonement Cover.
In Numbers, Jesus is The Cloud and The Fire,
In Deuteronomy, Jesus is The Prophet Like Moses.

Joshua presents Jesus as God's Commander,
In Judges, Jesus is The Sign of God,

The book of Ruth presents Jesus as The Family Guardian, 

In 1 Samuel, Jesus is The Ark of God,

In 2 Samuel, Jesus is The Forever King,

In 1 Kings, Jesus is The True Temple,

In 2 Kings, Jesus is The Covenant Restorer,

1 Chronicles declares Jesus is The Builder of God's House.

In 2 Chronicles, Jesus is God's Promise of Restoration,

while in Ezra, Jesus is The True Foundation.

Nehemiah pictures Jesus as The Rebuilder.

In Esther, Jesus is The Encourager.
 

Job describes Jesus as The Arbitrator. 

In Psalms, Jesus is Our Shepherd, 

Proverbs calls Jesus Lady Wisdom

and Ecclesiastes calls Jesus Life's Joy.
The Song of Solomon declares Jesus Love Strong As Death

The Prophet Isaiah calls Jesus Prince of Peace.

In Jeremiah, Jesus is Righteous Savior

and in Lamentations, Jesus is Never-Failing Compassion, 

while Ezekiel witnesses Jesus as Breath of New Life. 

Daniel names Jesus The 4th Man in The Fire, 

To Hosea, Jesus is The Holy One Among Us

Joel declares that Jesus is Outpouring Spirit,

while Amos calls Jesus River of Justice.

The book of Obadiah speaks of Jesus as God's Deliverance, 

while Jonah says Jesus is Forgiver of Enemies. 

In Micah, Jesus is Our Peace, 

and Nahum prophesies Jesus as The Restorer. 

Habakkuk speaks of Jesus as The Flood of God's Glory, 

while Zephaniah describes Jesus as The One Who Brings Us Home.

In Haggai, Jesus he is The Desire of Nations, 

Zechariah calls Jesus The One We Have Pierced

and Malachi calls Jesus The Sun of Righteousness.

Matthew: The King of the Jews, 

Mark: The Servant of God, 

Luke: The Son of Man, 

John: The One and Only Word of God. 

In Acts, Jesus is the Sufferer With the Saints, 

In Romans, Jesus is Our Justification. 

In 1 Corinthians, Paul calls Jesus The Resurrected Lord, 

In 2 Corinthians, Jesus is The Minister of Reconciliation

Galatians celebrates Jesus as The One Who Sets Us Free. 

Ephesians calls Jesus The Head of the Church, 

while in Philippians, Jesus is Strength Giver.

Colossians describes Jesus as The Image of the Invisible God, 

In 1 Thessalonians, Jesus is The One Who Calls Us,

In 1 Thessalonians, Jesus is The Peace Giver

1 Timothy calls Jesus The Mediator.

2 Timothy declares Jesus The Guard of Our Trust

Titus calls Him The Great God and Savior, 

while Philemon calls Jesus An Appeal of Love.

In the book of Hebrews He is Our Great High Priest. 

James declares Him The Lord Coming Near. 

In 1  Peter, Jesus is The Living Stone

and 2 Peter declares Jesus The Rising Morning Star

while in 1 John, Jesus is Our Advocate,

and in 3 John, Jesus is The Name.

Jude cries The Only God our Savior,

and in Revelation, Jesus is The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, The Lamb of God, The Bright Morning Star, and The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Continuing our journey through the Season of Lent

After missing a snow day Feb. 7 and rescheduling the Gospel Parallels conversation to Feb. 14, we met on Feb. 21 to introduce the practice of Lectio Divina. I've found a wonderful article online by Fr. Luke Dysinger that describes the practice for individuals and groups (like ours), as well as a way to integrate the practice into our daily life.

We introduced this practice of prayerful scripture reading on Feb. 21, but you can experience this part of the class again on Wednesday evening, Feb. 24, at 8 pm in the sanctuary, following the Lenten Prayer service that begins at 7 pm. Please plan to join us for some welcome spiritual refreshment and peace.

Here's an outline of what we've covered so far:
1. Jan. 17 - The Daily Office (prayers of the hours or praying scripture) - we discussed the difference between what you learned about the Bible as a child and what you have learned about the Bible as an adult (passive vs. engaged).
2. Jan. 24 - Psalm 19 and Praying with the Body - we discussed what it means to call the Bible "God's Word". Introduced the "dropped ski" analogy and the difference between appreciating and appropriating the message of scripture. We also discussed the tension between the explicit and implicit word (creation vs. law).
3. Jan. 31 - Following the "Here I Am, Lord" topical thread or chain - discussed Karen Armstrong' assertion that the Bible is a commentary or interpretation of events (rather than a bare reporting of those events). Focused on Gen. 22 (the sacrifice of Isaac) and how we must go to the edge in order to truly know about ourselves.
4. Feb. 14 (skipped Feb. 7 due to snow) - Gospel Parallels of Mark 2:23-28 - we (1) compared the parallel accounts and (2) discussed the interpretive methods used by the pharisees, Jesus, and the Gospel writers. We discussed integrating the Bible story into our life story as a way of doing theology. We also discussed the tension between freedom in Christ and the requirements of the Law.
 5. Feb. 21 and 24 (Wednesday evening) - Lectio Divina using Jeremiah 29:10-14 - reading from the TNIV, RSV, and TNK versions and listening for a word that resonates with our lives. This way of inspirational reading (or hearing) contrasts sharply with the more scholarly and pedantic technique we used in comparing the Gospel parallels.

Here is the plan for the remainder of the class sessions:
6. Feb. 28 and March 3 (Wednesday evening) - a whirlwind tour of the "seminal stories" of the Bible. These stories are the primary narratives that provide the structure and foundation of the Biblical narrative.
7. Mar. 7 and 10 (Wednesday evening) - Dennis Dewey and the art of Biblical storytelling - let's experience together how scripture might have been originally transmitted among the Israelites and early Christians.
8. Mar. 14 and 17 (Wednesday evening) - using the Bible as it's own interpretive commentary on Genesis 19 (destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah) - we'll examine the ways scripture references and interprets Genesis 19, as well as the interpretive power of translation.
9. Mar. 21 and 24 (Wednesday evening) - experiencing scripture liturgically - we'll join for a celebration of communion as we gather around the story of passover, the letters of Paul, and the Gospel accounts of the last supper.

 

Follow-up to conversation on Jan. 31

I enjoyed talking with some of you after our Sunday session. It seems like we're using many different approaches to reading the Bible regularly. A couple of us are using the One Year Bible plan (Ivan is reading it out loud). One member of our group is spending some time going through the Psalms. Another likes to read a passage and devotional from the resource Our Daily Bread.

I got a request today for the resource I mentioned Sunday that identifies thousands of "chains" or topical threads that run through the Bible. The reference is the Thompson Chain Reference Bible. The link is to the New International Version (NIV), but you can also get one in the King James Version (KJV), the New King James Version (NKJV), or the New American Standard Version (NASB). I have found a study Bible version I enjoy even better that the Thompson Chain reference, a study Bible that includes the topical chains in the margins, as the Thompson Chain Reference Bible does (although it lacks the Thompson index section). It's called the Zondervan TNIV (Today's New International Version) Study Bible.

Preparation Material for Sunday, Feb. 7

This week, I'd like to focus on a passage from the gospel accounts that demonstrates how Jesus, the Pharisees, and perhaps also the post-resurrection Christian community (represented by the gospel writer) understood the process and purpose of scriptural interpretation (as well as how to discern between competing interpretations).

The passage comes from Mark 2:23-28 and its parallel passages: Matthew 12:1-14 and Luke 6:1-5. You can download the parallel passage worksheet. The Pharisees confront Jesus about his disciples' apparent violation of sabbath law in scripture. Though the passage does not explicitly reference the scripture they had in mind, there are ample passages in the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible) such as one of the ten commandments, from Exodus 20:9-10, that they could have used to justify their concern. Other examples come from Exodus 23:12 or Deuteronomy 5:14.

Jesus responds to their reproof by citing a scripture passage (apparently to justify this break with traditional interpretation of the Sabbath prohibitions against engaging in any kind of work). Note that Jesus does not dispute that the disciples are working on the Sabbath. He gives an example (and in Matthew, several examples) of scriptural precedent that allows for certain kinds of work on the sabbath, in what might be called a discourse on the spirit of the law.

Jesus reminds them of 1 Samuel 21:1-9 a story from scripture Jesus sarcastically suggests that the Pharisees might not have read about how King David and his men were allowed to eat sacred bread of presence that scripture mandated was reserved only for the priests, in Leviticus 24:5-9. Exodus 25:30 also mentions this Bread of the Presence. One significant aspect of this story from 1 Samuel involves the ease with which the priest Ahimelek works out a scriptural solution that will allow him to give bread reserved only for priests to David and his men (who were fugitive warriors, not priests). He asks only whether David and his men have abstained from sexual intercourse, which David assures him that they have. Perhaps Ahimelek was thinking of Exodus 19:15 or Leviticus 15:18, both of which stipulated abstaining from sexual intercourse in order to maintain ritual purity.

The priest makes this stipulation in order to justify feeding David and his hungry men with bread that had been consecrated for the priests (Jesus' disciples were also hungry for grain that was prohibited by Sabbath law).

In the Matthew parallel, Jesus next cites Numbers 28:9-10, another example where the Law allows priests (again) to break the Sabbath law prohibiting work (assuming the act of sacrifice involved work for the priests conducting the sacrifice). You can find a similar passage in John 7:22-24, in which Jesus refers to a Mosaic Law of circumcision in Leviticus 12:3 (and corrects himself by referring to the earlier patriarchal circumcision covenant commandment in Genesis 17:10-14). This law, Jesus tells the crowd who accuses him of being possessed by a demon, takes precedence over the law against work on the Sabbath - in Jewish practice if not in explicit Jewish theology.

In this Matthean second citation (and the similar passage in John's Gospel), Jesus employs the logic of a more important command trumping a less important one, implying that his disciples' act of breaking the Sabbath prohibitions against any kind of work to feed their hunger is more lawful than going hungry in order to obey the Sabbath law. This is the kind of argument on which the concluding teaching in Mark is based: "The Sabbath was made for [humanity], and not [humanity] for the Sabbath (Mar 2:27 NLT). Significantly, Matthew and Luke omit this general rule and repeat only the one about Jesus: "the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

Matthew also includes a reference to the prophet Hosea (from Hosea 6:6) that further buttresses his argument that mercy makes flexible the boundaries of the Sabbath Law.

Below is a table comparing the three synoptic (Greek word meaning "seen together" and referring to Matthew, Mark, and Luke) versions of this passage (the words in green are common to all three; the words in blue are common to Matthew and Mark; and the words in blue are common to Mark and Luke). Click on the graphic for a larger view.

List of Resources for further reading

Here is a collection of resources that have helped and inspired me - as I hope they will help and inspire you as you open yourself more and more to the gift of scripture in your faith journey.

Sex and the Single Savior: Gender and Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation by Dale Martin - a friend a colleague recommended this book to me after hearing about the story of Skyline Church the past few years. This book, as well as Martin's other book on this list, Pedagogy of the Bible, makes the case for discernment among the many ways of reading scripture (as opposed to privileging one reading - particularly the historical-critical reading). Martin also gave me the gift of seeing scripture as a vast cathedral space.

Pedagogy of the Bible: An Analysis and Proposal by Dale Martin - fleshes out more explicitly Martin's thesis of the need for discernment in the Christian community among the many readings and ways of reading and interpreting scripture. I liked especially Martins exposition of Premodern (Ancient and the High Middle Ages) Biblical Interpretation in this book - which gave me an appreciation of the many ways Christians have interpreted scripture through the centuries.

Reading the Bible Again for the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally by Marcus Borg - Jesus Seminar scholar who invites you to move from a "pre-critical naivete through critical thinking to a post-critical naivete" in comprehending the many meanings of scripture. Borg encourages us to participate in a dialogue with the writers and stories of scripture, so that they become our stories as well. This inspirational book asserts that the whole of scripture bears witness to God's ongoing overthrow of economic, political and religious powers in a cycle of exodus-liberation and exile-return.

The Bible: A Biography by Karen Armstrong - this may be the most accessible book by Karen Armstrong, who explores the origins and uses of our scriptures (Jewish and Christian). I especially appreciated how Armstrong explains how scripture writers recorded commentary of history rather than bare reporting or recording of history.

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why by Bart Ehrman - great book that demonstrates the reality and causes of textual manuscript variants in our New Testament.Ehrman also explores the significance of these variants for Christians who see the Bible as more than a magical book. If you like this book, you might also be interested in Ehrman's Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them).

The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart by Peter Gomes -another inspiration for this course I read several years ago. Writes of scripture as a public, living, and inclusive word that "points to the truth" because it "comes from the truth that we call God". His book includes a helpful exploration of scriptural interpretation and twelve topical illustrations of scriptural interpretive discernment. 

The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts by Israel Finkelstein and Asher Silberman - challenging and fascinating book presenting a story of scriptural origins supported by the latest archaeological finds.  Finkelstein and Silberman draw on the learnings of archaeological surveys (covering large areas rather than specific sites in order to discover signs of broader cultural and migration patterns) to make a case that the Torah and historical books of the former prophets were compiled chiefly during Josiah's reign in the late 6th century BCE using ancient stories to interpret Israel's hopes for a new future.

God: A Biography by Jack Miles - Pulitzer-prizewinning book that examines the Hebrew Bible in the order in which the books were written from a literary critical perspective to make a case that God needs people in order to grow in self understanding as a literary character. Miles uses this unique perspective to present a reading that takes seriously the literary style and content of the Hebrew Bible.

Personal Mark by Alec McGowan - an actor who spent some time on Broadway reciting Mark (all the rage in the late 80's and early 90's, believe it or not) reflects on the things he learned while studying for this role as Gospel chronicler. In spite of McGowan's limited scholarly knowledge of scripture (he relies heavily on Barclay's commentaries on the New Testament), he brings a fresh perspective on the familiar stories of Marks' Gospel from a dramatic perspective.

Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel: A Study in Literary Design by Alan Culpepper - great book I used in divinity school as an introduction to a literary critical approach to interpreting the Gospel of John. Culpepper offers this more comprehensive approach to understanding and appreciating the fourth Gospel as a compliment to historical-critical scholarship. In his introduction, Culpepper uses the analogy of the text as a window into another cultural context when approached from a historical, sociological, and theological critical perspective. He contrasts this analogy to seeing the text as a mirror that produces meaning in the "experience of reading the text as a whole" when approached from a literary critical point of view. Seen in this light, "the implicit purpose of the gospel narrative is to alter irrevocably the readers' perception of the real world" Culpepper asserts. His book focus on the narrator, narrative time, plot, characters, and the implicit commentary and readers of the gospel. 

Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith by Marcus Borg - a good example of a genre of books written by members of the "Jesus Seminar" to illustrate the quest for the historical Jesus (as opposed to confessional Christ/Messiah). While this project threatens some Christians, Borg's work highlights Jesus' humanity and enables long-time followers of Jesus (like me) to relate to Jesus as a human being - and thus take inspiration from his very real, very human life.

Praying with the Body: Bringing the Psalms to Life by Roy DeLeon - this is the book we used for the body prayer exercise the second week we met (Psalm 34).

The Divine Hours (in three volumes) compiled by Phyllis Tickle - this is the book (the Winter volume) we used to read around the table the first day we met. You can also find these prayers of the hours online.

Resurrection: Myth or Reality? A Bishop's Search for the Origins of Christianity by John Shelby Spong - provides a fascinating take on the scriptures that communicate stories of the resurrection, beginning with Paul's 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, which Spong calls the earliest written account of the resurrection. Spong also concentrates on the resurrection account in John 21 and the parallel account in Luke 5:1-11 as a story of a resurrection Sunday "season". This book will challenge your notions of resurrection, but it demonstrates how a close reading of scripture can unveil new possibilities of meaning and understanding. In his book, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, John Dominic Crossan uses much the same exploratory reading style in his chapter titled: "How Many Years was Easter Sunday?"