Bible Lessons Research Articles

Engaging Childist Biblical Interpretation and Reading Studies to Enhance Children’s Bible Lessons

Many children’s Bible lessons, even those that are intended to be child-oriented lessons, are consciously or unconsciously designed in ways that serve adult agendas for children rather than serving the interests of children themselves. By engaging the growing movements of childism and childist biblical interpretation, as well as studies in how children read and understand the Bible, religious educators can better facilitate and guide children in Bible lessons that are driven by the children themselves and that better connect to their life contexts, experiences, and felt needs.

Bible teachers cultivate social awareness of otherness

ABSTRACT This article discusses Israeli Bible teachers’ perceptions of the ‘otherness’ and their actions in a reality in which teachers are required to balance the tension between being experts in the field of knowledge, coping with a state curriculum that promotes a faith-religious worldview, and acting as educators in promoting discourse dealing with social issues of inclusion, respect, and tolerance for the ‘other’. The research is qualitative-interpretive, based on interviews with 13 teachers. It focuses on describing and explaining Bible teachers’ perceptions and interpreting their actions. Findings point to two main perceptions: (1) A perception that transcends the boundaries of biblical academic discourse and fosters a moral dialogue of integration, tolerance, openness, and awareness of the ‘other’ as part of the Bible teacher’s role. (2) A perception focused only on biblical discourse and refrains from dealing with issues of ‘otherness’ in the lesson. This research offers new tools and courses of action to implement these perceptions. Its conclusions may encourage teachers to develop pedagogical flexibility and an ability to navigate through issues of ‘otherness’ while responding to social, value, and moral issues that arise spontaneously in the multicultural dialogue in Bible lessons.

“The king will be corrupt too!” Teaching thinking in bible studies

Bible studies are one of the foundations of Israeli education. Nevertheless, this content area has been neglected for many years and it is now bordering on crisis. Passive learning style and classroom discussions that lead to predetermined conclusions are prevalent in Bible classes in both elementary and high schools. In this article, we present the Teaching Thinking in Bible Studies Initiative that seeks to facilitate active Bible studies where students construct the meaning of the text autonomously. The initiative also encourages students to use core thinking strategies when reading the Bible. Our model proposes a Bible lesson directed at well-defined thinking goals that unfold throughout the lesson, and that includes explicit discussions of thinking processes and strategies. The first section of this article explores theories and research, identifying the characteristics and principles of teaching thinking, and reviews previous studies about Bible education. In the second, we present the initiative's pedagogical principles and the structure of a thinking-based Bible lesson. In the third section, we provide two examples of teaching thinking in Bible lessons focused on argumentation and asking questions. Finally, in the discussion, we examine how our initiative corresponds and adds to other initiatives and the teaching thinking literature.

Recovering Sight to the Blind in Luke 14:18. 19

One of the tasks of the Messiah is to recover the blindness of human being. Blindness is an important topic in the New Testament. The act of recovering sight to the blind is the act of Messiah fulfilled by Jesus in his ministry. This important task is prophesied in the Old Testament. This prophecy is found in Isaiah 61: 1, 2. The role of Jesus as Messiah is to recover the sight to the blind, to bring justice, and to give people righteousness. Throughout the New Testament mentions the role of Jesus to recover the blindness. The uniqueness of the word ‘blindness’ is that it is mentions together with the word ‘poor.’ Clear message is given to the people in the New Testament that Jesus given the power of the Holy Spirit to do these wonderful things. There is strong connection of the ministry of Jesus to recover the sight to the blind and Sabbath. Keywords: Blindness; Messiah; Ministry; Sabbath References Barker, Kenneth L. ed., NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 1532 Walter Bauer, A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, ed. Frederick W. Danker, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), BibleWorks. V.7. Beaulieu, Stephane. Isaiah’s Messiah: Adventist Identity for the Last Days. Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 27/1-2 (2016): 3-23), Available from http://archive.atsjats.org/Beaulieu%20BZ.pdf; accessed at 12 August 2019 Betz, Hans Dieter. The Sermon on the Mount: Hermeneia – A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible. Augsburg Fortress: Minneapolis, 1995. Braun, Willi. Feasting and Social Rhetoric in Luke 14. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Bruno, Christoper R. “Jesus is Our Jubilee” . . . But How? The OT Background and Lukan Fulfillment of the Ethics of Jubilee. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 53/1 81-101, March 2010 Carson. D. A. Ed. the Gospel According to John. Apollos Leicester: England, 1984. Cranfield, C. B. E., the Gospel According to Saint Mark: An Introduction and Commentary. Cambridge University Press: United Kingdom, 2000. Culpepper, R Alan. Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel: A Study in Literary Design. Fortress: Philadelphia, 1983.discipletree.com%2F05Courses%2FChurchGrowth%2F07Week%2FLuke%25204.16-20.doc), accessed at October 7, 2019 Fowler, James A. A Commentary on the Revelation of John. C.I.Y. Publishing Fallbrook: California, 2013. Fowler, James A. Jesus Confronts Religion: A Commentary on the Four Gospel. Christocentric Commentary Series. California: C.I.Y Publishing, 2006. Gaebelein, Frank E., Ed., Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984. Jordan, Richard. Exegetical Notes on Luke 4:14-21 (Journal Online, available from: http://richardajordan.com/Bible_Study/luke4.pdf), accessed at June 12, 2019 Koech, Joseph. the Spirit Motif in Luke 4:14-30; Acts 1:8. African Journal of Evangelical Theology 27.2 2008. Monshouwer, D. The Reading of the Prophet in the Synagogue at Nazareth. en Bib 72 199. Nichol, Fancis, ed. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary. Rev. ed. Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1976-1980. Park, Jim. The Role of the Sabbath/Jubilee in Luke 4:16-18. Journal Online, available from:https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=http%3A%2F%2F Sanders, J. A. From Isaiah 61 to Luke 4, in Christianity, Judaism, and Other Greco-Roman Cults, ed. J. Neusner. Leiden: Brill, 1975. Siker, Jeffrey S. First to the Gentiles: A literally Analysis of Luke 4:16-30. Journal of Biblical Literature III/1, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA 90045, 1992. Stevanovic, Ranko. Revelation of Jesus Christ: Commentary on the book of Revelation Andrews University Press: Berrien Spring, Michigan, 2002. Steyn, J. & A. Yousaf, Jesus and the Marginalized: Attaching Pastoral Meaning to Luke 4: 14-30. Journal of Acta Theologia, February 2012. Turner, Max. The Work of the Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts. Journal Online, available from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c5c8/29f9ca024844d73a43aca40a0444d0765f6f.pdf. accessed at September, 13, 2019 Utley, Bob. Study Guide Commentary Series New Testament, Vol. 3. A. Texas: Bible Lessons International, Marshall, 2004. Win, Adam. The Purpose of Mark’s Gospel: An Early Christian Response to Roman Imperial Propaganda. Mohr Siebeck, Tubingen: Germany, 2008.

ELEIÇÕES 2018 E OS VALORES CRISTÃOS NA ESCOLA DOMINICAL

Em ano eleitoral, a Casa Publicadora das Assembleias de Deus (CPAD) escolheu o tema “Valores Cristãos: enfrentando as questões morais do nosso tempo” para as lições bíblicas da Escola Dominical, um dos mais importantes ambientes das ADs no Brasil. Entre abril e junho de 2018, meses antes das eleições presidenciais, foram abordados temas como ideologia de gênero, direitos humanos, aborto, sexualidade e política. As escolas dominicais sempre exerceram papel fundamental na educação protestante e continua sendo o principal meio de instrução para milhões de seguidores em todo o mundo. No Brasil, as classes infantis são, não poucas vezes, o único elo entre as crianças e a alfabetização, quando estas não têm acesso à educação formal. Com a instalação da crise política no Brasil e extremismos espalhados por todas as partes, as Lições Bíblicas das ADs vem marcar posição quanto as suas crenças e esclarecer acerca dos valores defendidos pela igreja ao mesmo tempo em que os pentecostais abraçam a candidatura de Jair Bolsonaro, que apresenta uma série de divergências com a fé pentecostal. Em comum, traços do fundamentalismo convergem nos programas religiosos e políticos.

The social life of the Samson Saga in Israeli religious Zionist rabbinic discourse

This article will explore how different contemporary groups of Israeli religious Zionists read and relate to the Biblical tales of Samson. Using current religious Zionist discourse (Bible lessons, newspaper articles and written opinion pieces) authored or delivered by leading rabbinic figures, this article will demonstrate how contemporary interpretations of the ‘Samson Saga’ (Judges 13–16) are used as a medium through which contemporary religious Zionists in Israel and the West Bank contest the meanings of political sovereignty, violence and personal ethics. More broadly, this article will argue that a focus on how sacred texts are interpreted, debated and contested in social contexts (or the ‘social life’ of a text) can offer scholars a thicker and more nuanced window into the varied ways in which religious nationalists grapple with competing political visions and desires.

The Limits of White Memory: Slavery, Violence and the Amistad Incident

This article addresses the Amistad incident, and the evolving way this event was viewed by Connecticut journalists and residents; an examination of the language used in contemporary newspapers reveals why the Amistad story was largely forgotten in popular imagination in the United States until the 1980s, and completely forgotten in Sierra Leone, the homeland of the captives. The Amistad displayed the nation's most racist beliefs, along with its worst fears, in Connecticut newspaper accounts, accounting for the discomfort with which Southerners in particular regarded the case. The rebellious African kidnap victims were exotic visitors to Connecticut, eliciting much commentary about the “ignoble savages” who might be cannibals, but most certainly seemed to be murderers with insight and intellect; more troubling, they were men – this seemed indisputable – and they were fighting courageously and against the odds for their own freedom, the pivotal American value. In a culture that evaluated savagery visually, there was much to identify as “savage,” but, nonetheless, as the Africans came to reside in Connecticut awaiting their trial, they became human beings, with their own voices, recorded in newspaper accounts. They acquired names, translators, Western clothing, English and Bible lessons, transforming their threatening black masculinity into the only image acceptable to white America, “the suffering servant”; in spite of the pro-slavery newspaper portrayal of the Africans as being lazy, inarticulate in English, mendacious slave-traders, a deliberate process of “heroification” of Cinque was occurring. These competing stereotypes of black man as supplicating victim versus black man as intelligent, violently forceful agent of his own fate were difficult for Lewis Tappan and his fellow abolitionists to navigate. The images also brought into question the value of “moral suasion” as a tool, especially when white Americans were faced with the reality of a strong, potentially violent African man. The Supreme Court decision freed the African captives, but set no precedent for future cases, and it did not improve the lot of even one other enslaved soul; worse yet, the returned captives found no peace after their hard-won return to Africa, nor did they choose to maintain their Christianity, much to the disappointment of their American hosts. Furthermore, the unhappy postscript of the Africans' resettlement called into question the value of the colonization plans so beloved by activists.

Reading the Bible Lessons at Home: Holy Writ and Lay Readers in the Low Countries

This contribution deals with the late medieval use and users of Middle Dutch Bible manuscripts. After evaluating some paradigmatic views that have been dominating the research field of Middle Dutch Bible translations in the last century, a short typology of Bible manuscripts is given. During the last century, much attention has been given to the authors and the production of Middle Dutch Bible translations. Consequently, the authors’ intentions and the production contexts have directed researchers in the process of drawing up a typology. Approaching these translations from their users’ perspective, in this article the layout and paratextual elements of the manuscripts form the basis of a typology. It is argued here that the main function of Middle Dutch Bibles was the daily ‘paraliturgical’ reading of Bible lessons. This preference for paraliturgical reading continued to be apparent in the first printed editions of Middle Dutch Bible translations. A second trend visible in Bible manuscripts is the preference for the New Testament, especially the Passion narrative.

Bible Lessons with Raël: On Religious Appropriation in ET-Inspired Religions

As an introduction to Nova Religio's special issue on ET-inspired (UFO) religions, this article maintains that despite less media attention since the furor surrounding the Heaven's Gate suicides, ET-inspired religions are still active. Moreover, increasing speculation linking extraterrestrials to 2012 apocalyptic scenarios, coupled with a significant percentage of the population who believe in extraterrestrial visitation, seems to indicate that purveyors of ET-inspired religious perspectives will continue to have a market. Rather than focusing upon the "strange" and seemingly "bizarre" nature of these religious groups, the articles in this special issue endeavor to demonstrate how members of ET-inspired religions appropriate materials and theological ideas from widely-accepted mainstream religious traditions. This article maintains that the value of such an approach lies in bridging the gulf between normalized religious perspectives and the marginalized religious "other."

A model for teaching midrash in the primary school: forming understandings of rabbinic interpretation of scripture

In Jewish primary schools, religious education is centred on the study of Torah. At Sinai, according to Jewish tradition, Moses received the Torah in two parts: a written tradition (Hebrew scripture) and an oral tradition. The oral tradition contained much scriptural interpretation known, in Hebrew, as midrash. Midrash continued to be taught and transmitted by the sages throughout the periods of the two temples. At some later stage, unknown editors, in Roman Palestine, recorded these oral interpretations in literary collections that also came to be known as midrash. The interpretations contained in these collections reflect the rabbinic understanding of the Torah, its norms and its values. They are presented as glosses to scripture, sometimes illuminating – and sometimes adding valuative or theological messages to – the Biblical text; all the while seeking to uncover the deeper meanings of scripture. Midrash is thus a rich genre of ancient religious literature with texts that foster a faithful affiliation with Jewish tradition and a sense of Jewish identity. Over the past seven centuries, midrash has been included in Bible lessons (for all age groups) through its use by Rashi (Rabbi Solomon Yizhaki, c. 1040–1105), a widely respected Bible commentator. His extensive use of midrash attests to the understanding that Torah literacy requires midrash literacy. But midrash texts are ancient, subtle and complex, and are, therefore, deserving of a dedicated pedagogy. Because of the distance of time since their writing and the ancient cultural, religious and literary contexts that characterise them, the modern reader needs to learn how to hear these texts speak. Like other genres of rabbinic literature such as the Talmud, midrash requires specific literacy training. This is why I designed a model for teaching midrash as a discrete subject. This paper is an outgrowth of an international research project in religious education undertaken by this author. The aim of the research was to apply and evaluate this author’s model for midrash pedagogy. The rationale for this midrash teaching model stems from the argument that if young students are helped to find meaning in midrash they will acquire a deeper understanding of the traditional view of scripture (as understood by the rabbis) and traditional Jewish values. In the study, significant improvement in midrash knowledge was found with this midrash teaching model.

Miriam

Miriam Karen Alkalay-Gut (bio) It is Yom Kippur, 2000. I am sitting at home, alone, trying not to keep turning on CNN, paralyzed as it is with grief. And I take a shower, to help wash the sin from me, the sin of isolation and paralysis. And who walks in but Miriam, a bit distracted and lonely, and wanting to talk. She has her timbrel with her, in case there's peace at the end of this day but even her robes are wilting as if nothing has that old crispness. [End Page 41] "In the old days," she says, "I danced at the defeat of those who tried to keep us in chains. Now I weep, even though they want us dead. "We manage to survive. But we are all mingled in the salt water that once served only to divide." Karen Alkalay-Gut Karen Alkalay-Gut Born in London in the Blitz, Karen Alkalay-Gut's education in the United States was supplemented by Yiddish Shule and extended Bible lessons in Yiddish. In 1972, she moved to Israel and teaches poetry at Tel Aviv University. Her poetry publications include The Love of Clothes and Nakedness (Sivan, 1999), High Maintenance (Neamh, 2001) and So Far So Good (Sivan, 2004). Open Secret: Poetry and Popular Culture (University of Washington Press) will be available in 2007. Copyright © 2007 Bridges Association

Leprosy for Seven Days

Leprosy for Seven Days Karen Alkalay-Gut (bio) It was simply a question of power I said black He said white My brother understood, mediated my skin. He knew from the beginning I was used to watching out for him using my big mouth to make him prince. Karen Alkalay-Gut Karen Alkalay-Gut Born in London in the Blitz, Karen Alkalay-Gut's education in the United States was supplemented by Yiddish Shule and extended Bible lessons in Yiddish. In 1972, she moved to Israel and teaches poetry at Tel Aviv University. Her poetry publications include The Love of Clothes and Nakedness (Sivan, 1999), High Maintenance (Neamh, 2001) and So Far So Good (Sivan, 2004). Open Secret: Poetry and Popular Culture (University of Washington Press) will be available in 2007. Copyright © 2007 Bridges Association

Coins, and: Peace, and: Last Days

Coins, and: Peace, and: Last Days Karen Alkalay-Gut (bio) Coins You should always keepsmall change on hand,the chance is always therefor a small exchangewherever you are: ripe figs on a dusty roadsideoffered by a cross-legged Bedouin,strange leaves in a kiosk in Tel Aviv,a Breitling-like watch on a crowded boulevard. . . . If you ask me, you should always buy everything,decide afterward if you've been sated or not. Peace How many wars have we seen?I mean the ones that seared uson the news, in the papers,the wide screen, the water cooleras well as those that hoveredover our heads, gnawed at the door,made only our blankets seema safe place. When I think ofwhat our eyes have seen,our ears have heard [End Page 42] it's no wonderwe can't even dreamof peace as more thanan easy word. Last Days Tell my husband to come for me,she says, pointing her finger to make sureI can see she isn't vague, deluded. Tell him a crimehas been committed against me and that only hecan come to this place and release me from the bedto which they chain me each night. What are you laughing at back there?He's not laughing, I say.He's sympathizing with your plight.He's mocking me. Don't mock. You can't realizehow I suffer here. I don't know whyI am being punished but I know I am innocent,have done no harm to a single soul. Promise me you will go to my husbandtoday and tell him to come for me.I promiseand then cannot bearto visit this paralyzed bodyor even return to her hospital bed. [End Page 43] Promise meAnd then she is dead Her grave, with its long hyphenbetween date of birth and deathwhispers Never mind. [End Page 44] Karen Alkalay-Gut Karen Alkalay-Gut was born in London during the Blitz. Her education in the United States was supplemented by Yiddish Shule and extended Bible lessons in Yiddish. She teaches at Tel Aviv University. Her poetry books include The Love of Clothes and Nakedness (Sivan), High Maintenance (Neamh), and So Far So Good (Sivan). Her latest book, Open Secret: Poetry and Popular Culture (Washington) will be available this Fall. Copyright © 2007 University of Nebraska Press

Teaching the Bible as a common culture

This essay discusses the teaching of Bible in the Israeli public school as reflected in the encounter between new immigrants and long-time Israelis during the two first decades of the state. The Israeli secular curriculum defines the study of the Bible as a prime agent of Zionist acculturation. This definition, however, was challenged by the arrival of new immigrants, pupils and teachers alike, who did not view the Bible – as it was taught in secular schools – as primarily a means of reinforcing the link between Jews and their land. For them, this conception had no resonance in the traditional cultures in which they had been reared, which perceived and taught the Bible as an important component in defining Jewish religious identity. The result was cultural interaction, which expressed itself in various ways. Some immigrants assimilated the prevalent secular view of the Bible, while others expressed reservation and continued to voice criticism. At the same time, there were non-immigrant teachers who adopted immigrant usages, for instance, men covering their heads during Bible lessons. But there was also interaction between teachers of varying background, and here the result was an amalgam, even a fruitful pluralism of approaches.

Lady Gregory's Bible Lessons: <em>The Deliverer</em> and <em>The Story Brought by Brigit</em>

Lady Gregory's Bible Lessons: <em>The Deliverer</em> and <em>The Story Brought by Brigit</em>

I’m Your Father, Boy: A Family Memoir of Barbados

I’m Your Father, Boy: A Family Memoir of Barbados

Making Doctors and Nurses for Jesus: Medical Missionary Stories and American Children

The December 1899 issue ofOur Little Friend, a Seventh-day Adventist Sabbath school paper containing moral instruction, missionary stories, and the upcoming week's Bible study lessons, related the following story to its young readers:

"The Reds Are in the Bible Room": Political Activism and The Bible in Richard Wright's Uncle Tom's Children

When Israel was in Egyptland, Let my people go. Oppressed so hard they could not stand, Let my people go. Go down, Moses Tell old Pharaoh, Let my people go. Despite Ralph Ellison's proclamation that Richard Wright facile answers of Marxism before he learned to use literature as a means for discovering forms of American Negro humanity,(1) Richard Wright could not help but discover various forms of his own African-American heritage. As Ellison has also said, quoting Heraclitus, geography is fate.(2) While first volume of Wright's autobiography, Black Boy, does claim the strange absence of real kindness in Negroes and cultural barrenness of life,(3) it also catalogues many of joys and strengths of that same black life: Thomas Wolfe-like lists of beautiful sights, sounds, smells, and sensations of Southern rural life; lyrical catalogues of folk beliefs that, like Zora Neale Hurston, he recognized as being vital to African-American survival in racially hostile South; indomitable will that Wright inherited from his mother; and, perhaps most importantly for Wright as an artist, his imaginative quest through literature for insight into his own lived experience.(4) It is important to remember that Wright's geographic destiny also included a thorough indoctrination into South's religiosity, a fact also documented in Black Boy, but often overlooked. His initiation into symbology of biblical stories and power of verbally constructed images as taught to him in church formed a vital part of his literary apprenticeship. And while Wright did not embrace church, as an African American from violently Jim Crow state of Mississippi, he certainly did recognize vital role church played as a bulwark against tide of white racism in lives of Southern blacks; he recognized that African-American religiosity provided psychic health for blacks by assuring them that they would not always be oppressed in Egyptland of Jim Crow South; and, moreover, he came to recognize radical potential of church and its ability to equip Southern blacks with an indigenous belief system for hastening and contributing to their own liberation.(5) political, revolutionary lessons Wright learned during his affiliation with American Communist Party (CPUSA) in Chicago allowed him to recognize revolutionary potential within Bible lessons he learned from church. lessons from these seemingly conflicting sources entered into what he once called medium of exchange(6) of his imagination and were transmuted into fictive works of Uncle Tom's Children. Each of collection's stories demonstrates either tragic consequences of life without a church committed to revolutionary politics, or victorious results of a Christian praxis driven by a Marxist demand for social justice. As Abdul JanMohamed has noted, cohesion of Uncle Tom's Children derives from its incremental repetition of themes,(7) with Wright's concerns progressing outward from individual survival toward community solidarity and eventual political activism. Wright revised collection for its subsequent 1940 publication by adding an introductory essay, The Ethics of Living Jim Crow, and a fifth and concluding story, Bright and Morning Star, which make this outward expansion even more explicit. Wright explained his decision to revise collection in How `Bigger' Was Born, introduction to his next work, Native Son. He says, had written a book of short stories which was published under title of Uncle Tom's Cabin [in 1938]. When reviews of that book began to appear, I realized that I had made an awfully naive mistake. I found that I had written a book which even bankers' daughters could read and weep over and feel good about. …

Rosario Rivera: Reaching Lima's Children

Rosario Rivera, a former communist guerrilla, was converted after attending a meeting conducted by evangelist Luis Palau. Her life was transformed, and she redirected her concern for the poor and underprivileged from violent attacks on the political regime to loving outreach to children in a Christian context. She has refused to accept a salary or make appeals for funds, depending, rather, on her personal trust in God to supply what is needed. Her efforts have focused on giving breakfast and Bible lessons to Lima's impoverished children, and by 1986, more than 2,500 children were being reached through the program. Her ministry is not without controversy and problems, but Rivera serves as a role model for women throughout the world who would commit their lives to sacrificial ministry among the poor.

Bible Lessons: The Gospel According to Frye, Girard, Kermode, and Voegelin

Bible Lessons: The Gospel According to Frye, Girard, Kermode, and Voegelin