The Bible Beyond Black and White
Whether we grew up in a tradition that read the Bible literally or not, "literalism" has come to define much of the public discussion about biblical stories and teachings. However, this way of reading the Bible is, relatively speaking, new. Join Pastor Tony to learn more about how literalism came to be and how metaphor, poetry, and symbolism are not only critical to understanding the Bible but, actually, are critical for stepping into its spiritual power.
Session 1
We begin with a discussion of what scripture is and then move to considering how it was that the Bible came to be, starting first with a look at the Hebrew Bible.
Session 2
Before we discuss the canonization process for the New Testament, we take a look at the texts themselves and what we know about their histories.
Session 3
This week we dive into the history of the formation of the New Testament, what texts made it in and what texts didn’t.
Session 4
Looking at historical approaches to reading the Bible - from the ancient church to the Protestant Reformation.
Session 5
Looking at the move toward left-brain-thinking, reason, and the beginnings of literalism.
Session 6
This week we take a look at the history of evangelicalism, fundamentalism, and the turn toward strictly literal interpretations of the Bible in America.
Session 7
This week we begin the section in our study devoted to looking at particular texts and how we might interpret them from a variety of perspective. We begin at the beginning - with Genesis and creation!
Session 8
Continuing our deep dive into the various approaches folks have taken to interpreting key texts, we look this week at “The Flood.”
Session 9
We move from our reflections on “The Flood” to a conversation about Abraham, Isaac, and sacrifice.
Session 10
We finish up our conversation about the binding of Isaac and begin diving into the “historical Jesus.”
Session 11
As we make our way into “Holy Week,” retracing the stories of Jesus’s final days, we look at the scriptures about Jesus’s death.
Session 12
In our final session, we look at the stories surrounding the resurrection and what it means to call Jesus “messiah.”