Category: Uncategorized

One of the concepts today that I found most intriguing was talking about circumcision in the texts of the Bible. Before class I knew about the dialogue between God and Abraham, and it always seemed so weird that God would request for all of Abrahams sons to be circumcised, like it doesn’t seem like a real theological or ethical decision to make if it weren’t for the fact that Abraham said God told him to do it. This being said I now understand how it’s the “token of the covenant” and it’s an irreversible marking.

In regards to the video about Paul and his emphasis of submission of slaves to their owners, we talked about it in the United Methodist Student Movement a couple weeks back, and it’s very tough scripture to tussle with. It’s not like a lot of the other stories of the Bible where if you look at it at a certain angle you can see it’s true meaning and how you can relate it to your life to be a better person and Christian.

I always found it interesting thinking about women in the Bible. While there are some prominent figures that most casual Christians know like Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of Christ there surely must be more figures of note in the Bible seeing as women were 50% of the population and Jesus didn’t discriminate. This leads me to believe that there HAS to be figures in the Bible that have be “re-written” as men. Judging by how much we have progressed in women’s rights in the past 60 years I can only imagine the extents of differential treatment between the sexes 2000 years ago. There surely must be papers into the fact of what characters could be re-written as men. When you look at all the different types of men that Jesus’s apostles were before following him I think it’s safe to say that Jesus wasn’t discriminating on sex. The early authors of the books of the Bible may have had a similar mindset as the slave masters that edited the Slave Bible, where they knew they would have to change the word of God to fit the narrative of society that they want to uphold as opposed to the society Jesus wants to see.

The gospels.  The story of Jesus: from his birth to beyond his death and Resurrection.  The infancy is one of my favorite stories.  Mary is a wonderful inspiration to the ideal faithful woman that I strive to be like everyday.  She was perfect in God’s eyes, and despite the many challenges that I face day to day, Mary continues to inspire me to continue to grow in faith.  Growing up, I have gone through the ups and downs of faith.  When Mary found out she was pregnant as a virgin and panicked, I felt that this was a great test of faith.  For me a great test of my faith has been Alzheimer’s.  My grandmothers both had Alzheimer’s, and it led me to a dark and difficult place in my life.  I found myself struggling to keep the faith.  I truly believe that God tests us to show us how strong we are when faced with even larger obstacles.  Mary was faced with an obstacle of a virgin birth to test her faith in God, and from then on showed God her great love for Him through conceiving God’s Only Son.  Jesus was God’s gift; he was sent by God so that humans could connect more easily with Him.  He was living proof that God was real!  Through Mary’s strength and faith in God, we were blessed to know a miracle worker, preacher, teacher, lover, healer, and so much more.  Mary in a way, helped form the bridge between God and man, and that makes her critical to our connection with God.

Looking at Paul’s letters from a new perspective is a bit strange. Paul didn’t intend for these letters to be published in a book of scriptures, he just meant to provide some guidance to churches that were struggling nearby. His words weren’t meant to be a universal fix for all Christians like they’re used today, especially not when they’re studied out of context (which is also common). Finding out that some of the canonized letters of Paul may not even be Paul’s writing further complicates this study! Since I researched Paul and his words about women in the church, then realizing they may not actually be his words, I’m understanding now more than ever how Biblical research has been operating for so long. I thought this was all cut and dry, studied and found to be legit, and canonized afterwards. Who knew there were still so many pieces of the puzzle being put together? I have decided I can no longer rely on devotional study of the Bible and I really need to have a historical account to supplement this as well. It amazes me how my church did so little contextualization of passages like this and now curiosity is getting the best of me!

Rape and abuse in the Bible is actually more present than I initially thought.  I have always heard the song, “Halleluiah” and knew that it was about David looking at Bathsheba, and I have heard a few other stories with servants being raped and abused.  However, I never realized how connected rape and abuse today connects with the Bible.  Often times, we don’t like to think of the negative aspects of the Bible.  However, I think that understanding that not all of the Bible is all sparkles and miracles is really important.  Two huge issues today are rape and abuse, and I think that its interesting to see the parallels between now and Biblical times.  They lived in a society that was ruled by men (patriarchy) and women were subordinate to men, sometimes not even being included when it comes to referring to a group of people with men and women combined.  This all takes me back to my GHS class, Women in Society: Rights and Resistance.  In this course, we looked at women in society.  It was very eye opening to see the amount of abuse that still occurs in our world today, and how oblivious we become to it.  Despite the many obstacles that women have overcome, there are still many to go.

One of the things I thought was very interesting that was discussed in class today was the concept of letters as a whole. The idea that we only have one side of the conversation is something that I find absolutely fascinating in terms of how they are interpreted. Based on the readings it is clear that scholars think about these letters in a deep and meaningful way. As a non-religious person in this class I have been trying to think about the way we interpret the Bible in our modern society, so it makes me think about what was decided important enough to include and why it was included. I also am curious the kinds of conversations that scholars are having with each other about Paul’s letters and their significance beyond what was discussed in the readings.

If you have ever heard of Saul and Paul referred to as the same person, it is because they are. Saul was a disciple, who later became known as one of the most recognized disciples to this day. Paul. Paul, or Saint Paul as some might know him as, was one of the Apostles. He was important in the spread of Christianity and the teachings of Jesus Christ. He is also thought to be the writer of 13 books of the New Testament. Most of us, however, will recognize his name from Church. When you hear “a letter from Paul to…” this is the “Paul” in question. These letters were a huge part of establishing Christianity. Paul went on to spread the teaching of Christ, after his death. Paul has been known to be one of the most important figures in the Bible, after Jesus, and I think that just shows how much Paul has done for Christianity.

I had never thought of having to interpret Paul’s letters from one side as he was in conversation with the other party. By reading it in this light, we infer what the conversation was up to that point. It is a fine line in which we walk to understand the context. We need to know what the social aspects were from whence he was writing and how teachings from Jesus would fall into what Paul was teaching to the people he was writing to. There was a strong emphasis on treating others the same no matter their background. I think when interpreting Paul’s letters, we should take into consideration that he was spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It might be easy to get wrapped up in the situation that you are facing at times, but taking time to include others might be what Paul would have preached in today’s society. In communication with others, we take the other party into consideration and how they might react if the situation is more important but should be done in all circumstances. Especially what is going on around us, we all are going through it and we should all take the other party into consideration before spouting off and potentially hurting others.

Women for all of history have been disadvantaged and oppressed. Many people day use the Bible to explain or prove that this is how God intended it to be: men first, and women second. Of course one of the most notable women in the Bible begins with Eve and how she was made from Adam, and made the mistake of falling into temptation, and then convincing Adam to do the same. Of course, this story of Eve doesn’t create a good look for women. In the Old Testament, women are often abused and treated badly, which was hard to read personally. However, we can’t forget about Mary who was the mother of Jesus. She is an extremely important figure in the Bible, and in Catholicism we even dedicate the month of May to her devotion. Overall, many people see the Bible as supporting the unequal rights of women, but personally I don’t believe that. Jesus died for everyone’s sins, equally.