This week Ronelle Neperud started our six week series on RETHINK CHURCH by presenting a short overview of what it is and what it means to St. Paul's United Methodist Church. We talked about what it would be like if "church" was a verb...something you did instead of place you went. She indicated to us that "to engage in ministry with people who currently have few (or no) connections to the church requires a new way of doing and being the church". After discussing this communication concept we looked at the demographics of the areas around St. Paul's, considering how we could reach out to those with "few (or no) connections to the church" in those areas. A short video of her introduction is included in this post.
During the next six weeks we will continue this examination of RETHINK CHURCH, with classes that will RETHINK BOUNDARIES, RETHINK GRACE, RETHINK LEADING, RETHINK EVANGELISM, and RETHINK SHARING.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
The Deuteronomist and Priestly Author: Documentary Hypothesis Week 3
This week we took an in-depth look at the Documentary Hypothesis’ Deuteronomic (D) and Priestly (P) authors. As with J and E, we best understand these authors by understanding the world in which they lived.
After the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell, Judah was overshadowed by the neighboring power of Assyria and, after some time, Babylonia. Tribal leadership gradually disappeared and the power of even the kings was undermined as Judah fell into near vassal state status to its neighbors. Twice during this period, kings moved to centralize religious authority in Jerusalem and to eradicate the worship of Baal and Asherah in favor of monolatry of Yahweh. The first king to do so was Hezekiah. After Hezekiah died, King Manasseh let the reforms lapse. Forty years later, King Josiah reinstituted the reforms.
Judah fell to the Babylonians in 587 BCE. The Temple was destroyed and the Jews were sent into exile. King Cyrus of Persia ultimately let the Jewish people return in 538 BCE and the second Temple was constructed in the years thereafter.
After the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell, Judah was overshadowed by the neighboring power of Assyria and, after some time, Babylonia. Tribal leadership gradually disappeared and the power of even the kings was undermined as Judah fell into near vassal state status to its neighbors. Twice during this period, kings moved to centralize religious authority in Jerusalem and to eradicate the worship of Baal and Asherah in favor of monolatry of Yahweh. The first king to do so was Hezekiah. After Hezekiah died, King Manasseh let the reforms lapse. Forty years later, King Josiah reinstituted the reforms.
Judah fell to the Babylonians in 587 BCE. The Temple was destroyed and the Jews were sent into exile. King Cyrus of Persia ultimately let the Jewish people return in 538 BCE and the second Temple was constructed in the years thereafter.
The books attributed to the Deuteronomist (Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings), speak extremely highly of King Josiah, elevating him to almost the same level as Moses. The Deuteronomist measured all the kings of Israel by their adherence to the centralization of religion in Jerusalem and their fidelity to Yahweh. In both of these measures, Josiah and Hezekiah perform best.
The Priestly author brought a new view of God to the Pentateuch. His God was much more cosmic rather than personal. The Priestly God was just but not merciful. Finally, the Priestly author held the Aaron and the Aaronid priests consistently in high esteem.By careful examination of many clues within the stories of D and P, scholars have developed profiles of both the Deuteronomist and Priestly authors:
The Priestly author brought a new view of God to the Pentateuch. His God was much more cosmic rather than personal. The Priestly God was just but not merciful. Finally, the Priestly author held the Aaron and the Aaronid priests consistently in high esteem.By careful examination of many clues within the stories of D and P, scholars have developed profiles of both the Deuteronomist and Priestly authors:
Deuteronomist: a male associated with court of King Josiah, writing primarily in the time of King Josiah, and intimately familiar with the prophet Jeremiah. Richard Friedman argues that the Deuteronomist may be Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch.
Priestly Author: an Aaronid priest or priests, who wrote after the exile. Friedman argues that the Priestly author should actually be placed much earlier pre-exile in the time of King Hezekiah.
Ultimately, the Pentateuch provides a rich tapestry of theology, history, and politics interwoven through the stories of the four authors and pulled together by several redactors. In the Pentateuch, God is cosmic and beautiful, personal and intimate, true and just, and merciful and full of grace.
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Yahwist and Elohist: Documentary Hypothesis Week 2
This week we took an in-depth look at the Yahwist (J) and Elohist (E) authors posited in the documentary hypothesis. In order to understand who they were, we have to first understand the worlds in which they lived.
At the time of the Yahwist and Elohist, the Hebrew people were divided between two kingdoms, Israel in the North, and Judah in the South. It was Israel that broke away from the United Kingdom due to actions by King Solomon and King Rhehoboam. Specifically, Solomon lost two territories in the North (Phoenicia and part of present day Syria), traded additional territory in the North to Phoenicia in exchange for building materials, imposed heavy taxes and implemented strict mandatory public service requirements on the people. When Rhehoboam came to power and pledged to continue these policies, Jeroboam led Israel in secession from Judah and divided the kingdom. For 200 years, the Northern Kingdom of Israel never achieved political stability with its monarchy. Additionally, Jeroboam made several moves which upset the religious order of the time: moving Israel’s primary religious center from Shiloh to Dan and Beth-El, promoting non-Levite priests and establishing a new set of religious holidays.
It was in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, that the document hypothesis proposes the Elohist lived. The Biblical stories written by the Elohist represent a decidedly Northern perspective. They speak highly of Northern heroes like Joshua, are located around Northern cities such as Shechem, Peni-El and Shiloh, and fail to mention Southern treasures such as the Ark of the Covenant.
The Yahwist, by contrast, tells stories of Southern heroes such as Caleb, locates his (or her) stories around Hebron and Jerusalem, and calls out specific practices of the North as breaking covenant with Yahweh (e.g. building calves of molten gold in Dan and Beth-El).
By careful examination of many clues within the stories of J and E, scholars have developed very complete profiles of both the Yahwist and Elohist:
Elohist: a male Levite priest, in the line of Moses (a Mushite), who lived in Shiloh in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
Yahwist: a scribe in Jerusalem, probably male, in the line of Aaron (an Aaronid), who wrote after 848 when Edom split from Judah.
At the time of the Yahwist and Elohist, the Hebrew people were divided between two kingdoms, Israel in the North, and Judah in the South. It was Israel that broke away from the United Kingdom due to actions by King Solomon and King Rhehoboam. Specifically, Solomon lost two territories in the North (Phoenicia and part of present day Syria), traded additional territory in the North to Phoenicia in exchange for building materials, imposed heavy taxes and implemented strict mandatory public service requirements on the people. When Rhehoboam came to power and pledged to continue these policies, Jeroboam led Israel in secession from Judah and divided the kingdom. For 200 years, the Northern Kingdom of Israel never achieved political stability with its monarchy. Additionally, Jeroboam made several moves which upset the religious order of the time: moving Israel’s primary religious center from Shiloh to Dan and Beth-El, promoting non-Levite priests and establishing a new set of religious holidays.
It was in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, that the document hypothesis proposes the Elohist lived. The Biblical stories written by the Elohist represent a decidedly Northern perspective. They speak highly of Northern heroes like Joshua, are located around Northern cities such as Shechem, Peni-El and Shiloh, and fail to mention Southern treasures such as the Ark of the Covenant.
The Yahwist, by contrast, tells stories of Southern heroes such as Caleb, locates his (or her) stories around Hebron and Jerusalem, and calls out specific practices of the North as breaking covenant with Yahweh (e.g. building calves of molten gold in Dan and Beth-El).
By careful examination of many clues within the stories of J and E, scholars have developed very complete profiles of both the Yahwist and Elohist:
Elohist: a male Levite priest, in the line of Moses (a Mushite), who lived in Shiloh in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
Yahwist: a scribe in Jerusalem, probably male, in the line of Aaron (an Aaronid), who wrote after 848 when Edom split from Judah.
Understanding who these authors are helps us to frame the context of their history, their politics, and their theology and to at least explain some of the discrepancies that occur in their Biblical stories. Next week we’ll take a look at the Deuteronmist (D) and Priestly (P) authors who wrote several hundred years later and much closer to the time of the exile.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Who Wrote the Bible? Documentary Hypothesis Week 1
The first week in our study of the documentary hypothesis of the Pentateuch took us through a brief review of various traditional and current scholarly attributions of the books of the Old Testament, an overview of the documentary hypothesis, and a walk through the historical development of the hypothesis. We started with a discussion about how context has changed the telling of our contemporary American history. e.g. We considered the 1941 story of Geo. A. Custer in “They Died With Their Boots On” vs. Arthur Penn’s 1970 “Little Big Man”. Custer represented America’s most heroic military traditions in the run-up to WWII. In the middle of the Vietnam War, his story showed the folly of America’s imperialism. In this same sense, understanding when and where the Biblical authors lived helps us to understand what they were trying to tell the world in their own stories.
At its core, the documentary hypothesis proposes that four authors plus several editors are responsible for the writings that make up the Pentateuch – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These authors are: the Yahwist (J) who wrote in Judah between 850 and 722 BCE; the Elohist (E) who wrote in Israel around the same time; the Priestly author (P) who wrote either shortly before or immediately after the exile in Jerusalem; and the Deuteronomist (D) who wrote in Jerusalem immediately before the exile.
The documentary hypothesis was formalized in 1876 by German theologian Julius Willhausen and his basic framework survives as mainstream thinking about Pentateuch authorship today. That said, Willhausen built his hypothesis on a significant amount of work that occurred in the two centuries before. Philosopher Thomas Hobbes was the first to reject Mosaic authorship in the 17th century. In the 18th century, J and E were first recognized as separate sources. Another German theologian, William Martin Leberecht de Wette, recognized the Deuteronomist as a separate author in the early 19th century. Finally, Herman Hupfeld separated P and E in the mid-19th century, setting the stage for Willhausen’s hypothesis.
Next week we’ll take an in-depth look at the Yahwist and Elohist, two authors writing at roughly the same time in two separate kingdoms.
At its core, the documentary hypothesis proposes that four authors plus several editors are responsible for the writings that make up the Pentateuch – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These authors are: the Yahwist (J) who wrote in Judah between 850 and 722 BCE; the Elohist (E) who wrote in Israel around the same time; the Priestly author (P) who wrote either shortly before or immediately after the exile in Jerusalem; and the Deuteronomist (D) who wrote in Jerusalem immediately before the exile.
The documentary hypothesis was formalized in 1876 by German theologian Julius Willhausen and his basic framework survives as mainstream thinking about Pentateuch authorship today. That said, Willhausen built his hypothesis on a significant amount of work that occurred in the two centuries before. Philosopher Thomas Hobbes was the first to reject Mosaic authorship in the 17th century. In the 18th century, J and E were first recognized as separate sources. Another German theologian, William Martin Leberecht de Wette, recognized the Deuteronomist as a separate author in the early 19th century. Finally, Herman Hupfeld separated P and E in the mid-19th century, setting the stage for Willhausen’s hypothesis.
Next week we’ll take an in-depth look at the Yahwist and Elohist, two authors writing at roughly the same time in two separate kingdoms.
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