This is a short video clip of a few people from Enfield Vineyard sharing their wisdom regarding what Jesus meant when he said that to receive the kingdom of Go we need to be as little children.
Here is the image that I used as aide to raise the question how will you react when you meet Jesus face to face?
Here’s a couple of hundred words to describe what the aim of the ‘Origins’ course is.
After some thought I have decided to go with the topic of Genesis 1-3. Here’s a little more detail of what to expect. I expect the curriculum to be driven by the follow strands.
As you probably know I end up talking about Genesis virtually every time I preach. Why is this? I guess it is because it is the Hebrew Origin story and so clearly, obviously underpins what our Christian faith is all about.
Unsurprisingly to me, when I announced the possibility of doing something more in depth on Genesis I was asked about discussing Evolution vs Creation. We might, perhaps, make a passing reference to the subject on our way towards something else. It is not my intention to get into that particular rabbit hole. As somebody once said to me ‘the text is so much deeper than that’. So here’s a brief look at what I am thinking about covering.
This is the starting, and ending point, of course. We will look deeply into some of the text, and some of the words to help us understand how the Hebrews saw the cosmos before the acts of Gen1. We might unpack the ‘formless and void’ of vs 2 , and the famously beautiful phrase ‘image and likeness’ of vs 26 which is so debated. We might look into the order of the 6 days narrative and what our God given role in Eden was. Why a garden? What is outside the garden? Why the description of the rivers, and precious stones?
We will spend some time in this chapter taking an overview of just what is Hebrew author saying to us about those famous events. What is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? What is ‘a serpent’? What was the attack that faced our ancestors? Just what was going on in the fall?
The Hebrews who wrote Genesis were obviously part of a wider society, just as we are today. Naturally again this means they were influenced by these cultures. Again, we can gain useful insights into what the writers were thinking when they wrote. Archaeology and alternative creation stories such as the Sumerian shed light on how the Hebrews and their contemporaries thought about God, and the human.
Hopefully we will get to look at this at least in part – since it is so intrically linked into Genesis 1 and 2. The temple is described as ‘Creation in Stone’ – really? And if so, so what? We might consider the belly of the earth, and even some of the mathematics behind the construction (don’t worry, it is totally awesome). What is that large bowl of water for? And those mysterious pillars? And why is their no cult statue in the Holy of Holies? Does this have any bearing on how we do church?
Overall, I aim to show that this ancient story, has direct consequences of our understanding of humanity and our relationship to the divine. This is not a study for dry and dusty university lecture theatres. It is relevant, life changing and – put plainly, utterly beautiful.
A few possible subjects for the proposed study group.
Based on WTC module. To include:
Based on my dissertation, the writings of Gregory of Nyssa and my book (flip – no need to buy/read)
To include:
Based on WTC module. A whizz through the whole gospel looking at the big themes
A look at how some of the early church understood these enigmatic teachings of Jesus
Recently it has been suggested to me that God does not want us to question the ‘how’ of Christianity. Surely God wants us to have a child-like faith they suggest. I never quite understand what people mean when they use that phrase. I sense an implied criticism, though probably none was meant. I have also become aware that some Christians feel threatened in the context of theological study. Some even wonder if God in some way would prefer it if we didn’t ask. Why is this?
Have you ever wondered if its ok to ask questions? Do you ever question the lyrics in worship songs? Do you feel that accepted answers are just too simplistic ? Me too.
Recently I am across this picture of Homer Simpson reading his bible. At first his expression made me laugh but the more I thought about it the more I decided that this was truly an insightful depiction of me reading my bible.
First Homer looks worried. Do you ever feel worried when you read some of the bible. I do. Mostly because I have this sense that I just don’t understand it. I know its all inspired, and all brilliant but, well you know, we all have bits that just don’t make sense!