This week, the topic is "Worshipping and Singing in Community: Psalms Lament and Suffering" Here is a slightly different version of this week's presentation, filmed for an online class. It's a multipart video (7 parts, but only a half-hour total! Watch it in order) by Dave Wainscott (and a few friends) on Psalms and Lament. Watch carefully if you need to review and take notes, as you will be responding in Forum 1.
Part 1 is below Listen to the song which is part 1. Open the lyrics here, and read along as it plays. In a way, treat it like other songs (and Scriptures) we have used in this class: as a text which calls for context and your Three Worlds skills of interpretation. Do your best to discern the main characters , genre, backstory, storyline etc. (It's easier than Philemon!). But also be prepared to process how it made you feel. part 1:
part 2: part 3: part 4: part 5: part 6
part 7: Finish with this song, which Dave prepared you for in part 6:
Morning, your toast Your tea and sugar Read about the politician’s lover Go through the day Like a knife through butter Why don’t you You dress in the colours of forgiveness Your eyes as red as Christmas Purple robes are folded on the kitchen chair
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight In your dreams everything is alright Tomorrow dawns like someone else’s suicide You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Dreams It’s a dirty business, dreaming Where there is silence and not screaming Where there’s no daylight There’s no healing, no no
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight In your dreams everything is alright Tomorrow dawns like a suicide But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Hope is where the door is When the church is where the war is Where no one can feel no one else’s pain
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight In your dreams everything is alright Tomorrow dawns like a suicide But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight Sleep like a baby tonight Like a bird, your dreams take flight Like St. Francis covered in light You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Sleep Like A Baby
Tonight" version 2 (Alternate Perspective Mix)
Wake
In the morning when you wake up
You won’t have much
But you’ll have enough
When you are weakest
I’ll be strong enough for you
Dreams
Yeah, the ones where you are fearless
Can’t break what’s broken
You are tearless
Steal back your innocence
That’s what they stole from you
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Not everything can be so black and white
There are demons in the broad daylight
But you can sleep like a baby tonight
Stop
Where you stand right now
Just stop
Don’t think or look down at the drop
The people staring from the street
Don’t know what you’ve got
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
No, not everything can be so black and white
There are demons in the broad daylight
But you can sleep like a baby tonight
Hope is where the door is
When home is where the war is
Where nobody can feel no one else’s pain
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Not everything can be so black and so white
There are demons in the broad daylight
You’ve got to sleep like a baby tonight
Sleep like a baby tonight
Where you stand
Where you fall is where I kneel
To take your heart back to where you can feel
Like a child, a child
--
(found this online)
It has been hugely productive, revelational and (even) fun to, as part of a class that several others and I teach, have students plot out (on the whiteboard) their timeline.
We then take time to interweave/intertext our personal timelines with the timeline/trajectory of Jesus' life in Matthew's gospel (the thrust of the class).
Especially helpful is the suggestion by Donald Kraybill ("The Upside Down Kingdom") and Ray Van Der Laan ( video) that throughout his earthly life, Jesus was revisited by remixes of the original three temptations ("testations" ) of the devil"in chapter 4.
Kraybill provocatively proffers the following taxonomy of the temptations; suggesting that any later temptation Jesus faced (or we face) is at heart in one of these three spheres:
And....Uh, on that last temptation, the homosexual one, he was in good company, according to a good Book I read:
"Jesus was tempted in every single way humans are..."(click here for the shocking source...but warning, it's a dangerous book for religious folk!)
SO..if every temptation can be filed under one of the three categories:
Economic Religious Political..
or Relevant Spectacular Rule over
..under which does sexual temptation occur?
Note Ron Bell's definition of "sexuality," biblically defined:
"For many, sexuality is simply what happens between two people involving physical pleasure. But that's only a small percentage of what sexuality is. Our sexuality is all the ways we strive to reconnect with our world, with each other, and with God." (Rob Bell, "Sex God," p. 42)...
How might virtually all temptations (the three Jesus faced, or others you could name) be fundamentally economic? Kraybill, you'll remember, calls the bread temptation "economic," but how might any/all others temptations trace to this root/'garbage"? HINT: We noted that he term economics comes from the Ancient Greekοἰκονομία (oikonomia, "management of a household, administration") from οἶκος (oikos, "house") + νόμος (nomos, "custom" or "law"), hence "rules of the house(hold)".[1] ------------------
Note that the baptism of Jesus (chapter 3) and the temptations (chapter 4) should be read together as one literary unit or paragraph ( a "coupling" or "particularization") as two items connected.
Remember how important repeated words are..in this case, "SON":
-The segue is direct..."Then after his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert for temptation by the devil." (Matt. 4:1) (see this amazing assortment of Scriptures, maybe he is "God's devil" after all..)
-In light of that, ask In what other ways do the baptism and temptation connect? How does baptism prepare for temptation?
might better be translated (according to the Greek word used) as:
"SINCE you are the son of God.."
What difference might it make? Is the devil wondering/questioning asking Jesus if he is son of God? Or is he assuming it; he and Jesus both know that he is...and thus "Since you are the Son of God, what kind of ways can I tempt you to use/abuse that Sonship?" -- Van Der lann, in "Jesus Our Desert – The Three Temptations")proposes that the three "temptations" Jesus met in Matthew 4 were the same three that show up (repackaged, revisited) throughout Jesus' timeline on earth...right up to, and especially including the cross (as in, not avoiding it) .Several examples:
Jesus put God ahead of family ("Who are my brothers and sisters?" "Whoveer loves father and mother more than me cannot be my disciple."-Matthew 12:46-48...in fact, how many ways can you find in that whole chapter where Jesus re-encounters versions of one of the testations?
When people reported Herod wanted to kill him, he was not concerned (Luke 13)
When people wanted to make him king by force, he walked away (John 6:15)
When the crowds were hungry, the disciples wanted Jesus to feed them. He refused (Feeding of theMultitude)
The "get behind me, Satan" comment to Peter when Peter suggested Jesus should bypass the cross (Matthew 18)
"go ahead and use Your power; the cross is going to hurt"
The video offered lots of help on how the Testations of Jesus are related to/equated to/hyperlinked to the Testations of Israel in Exodus, Numbers. Deuteronomy. It is no accident that all three testations of Jesus were found in different form in the OT, as well as the Scriptures Jesus used to counter the testations. Though it is obvious who "The Son (of God)" is in Matthew (Jesus), unless we know the literary/historical background, we miss that in the Old Testament, that phrase is used for Israel/God's people. (see Exodus 4:22-23 and especially the way Matt 2:15 quotes Hosea 11:1) Thus...remember this chart :
Now we realize that God tested/the devil tempted the first "SON" in a similar way.
Jesus the Son succeeds (in 40 days) in "reversing the curse" that Israel the Son inherited by not passing it (in 40 years).
Jesus is not only (in a sense) the New Moses,
but (in a sense) the New Israel
(for help on that important point, see this article,
and this).
VanDer Laan suggested that the heart of Jesus' "success" was consistently and persistently keeping the "Shema," and not caving into a (mis)use of power. This is the "binder" of the testations: Love God and neighbor.Thus
Q).Who is Jesus in Matthew?
A.) The One who, unlike Israel, passed the wilderness testations by loving God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength....and refusing to give into using "right-handed" (a la Capon) power.
VanderLaan prefers to translate "tests" instead of "temptations." You have seen that I have coined the word "testations" It would seen that in Scripture that God tests, and the devil tempts...and sometimes both are going on simultaneously.
HERE are some helpful questions you might think about if you want to pursue this topic::
1)What were the three temptations of Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11, Compare any ways Mark's account, Mark 1:12-13 and Luke's account, Luke 4:1-13 differ, and suggest any reasons why.
3)How do the three temptations connect to the historical and literary world of the Hebrew ("Old')Testament?
4)How do the three temptations connect to the contemporary world of Jesus and the disciples?
5)List and discuss several possible ways that versions of the three temptations reoccur and are revisited throughout Jesus' life in Matthew's gospel? (How is Jesus tested/tempted elswhere in Matthew, and how are the temptations versions of a similar one (two, or three) that he faced in the original temptation passage?
6)What are the three core temptations you face, and how have they revisited you throughout your timeline? How would you categorize them using Nouwen's categories? Using the three categories of the "Shema" (heart/mind/might) a la Vander Laan'? Using Kraybill's three categories (1=Economic 2=Religious 3=Political; see chapters 1-4 of "Upside Down Kingdom")
7)What have you learned about passing these tests/resiisting these temptations?
8)What does all of this (the Matt 4 Scripture, and testing/tempting) have to do with the Kingdom?
9)Discuss how the passages that deal with Jesus not being immune to temptation( Hebrews 2:17-18, Hebrews 4:14-16, and Hebrews 5:7-9) affect your views of "Who is Jesus?" and of Jesus' divinity and humanity.
----------- Finally..
Facebook!
I started teaching all this before Facebook announced it was changing it's entire format/interface to "Timeline." As you probably know by now ( If note read all about it here), your Facebook page and wall (oops, the wall is renamed "timeline") is now regeared to feature and celebrate key points (and photos) of your life. Ostensibly, the (eventually mandatory) switch was about the fun of highlighting historical markers of your life. As we all (should) know, it's all about Facebook catching even more personal data about us, so they can better target their ads towards us..
...in an attempt to tempt us.
So, whatever theor motive, I also see the switch as a significant (sign-ificant) sign of the times; there is a hunger in the culture for narrative/story/journey. Such is integral to the postmodern shift of our EPIC times.
So, plot your life and testations...if not oi Facebook, on paper or in your mind.
Who knows what you'll learn.
Maybe how to me more like Jesus...who faced equivalent temptations to all of us..and passed the test.
In any case, the clincher for the argument that the devil's ideas {in the wilderness temptations}aren't all bad comes from Jesus himself. At other times, in other places, and for his own reasons, Jesus does all of the things the devil suggests. Instead of making lunch out of rocks, he feeds the five thousand miraculously--basically the same trick, on a grander scale. Instead of jumping off the temple and not dying, he dies and refuses to stay dead--by any standards, an even better trick. And finally, instead of getting himself bogged down in a two-man presidency with an opposite number he doesn't really understand, he aces out the devil on the cross and ends up risen, ascended at the right hand of the Father as King of Kings and Lord of Lords--which is the best trick of all, taken with the last trump. No, the difference between Jesus and the devil does not lie in what the devil suggested, but in the methods he proposed--or more precisely, in the philosophy of power on which his methods were based...If you are really God, the devil says, do something. Jesus answers, I am really God, therefore I do nothing...The devil wants power to be used to do good; Jesus insists that power corrupts and defeats the very good it tries to achieve. ..the devil in the wilderness overs Jesus a short cut, Jesus calls it a dead end and turns a deaf ear.-Robert Farrar Capon "The Third Peacock," 43-45.
It has got to be the most engaging, practical and liveliest books around...
with the most boring title.
It's "Clinical Theology"
(zzzzz) , Frank Lake's classic...the heavyweight (literally; it's known
in academia as "the big green book" of over 1000 pages) tome. For
years out of print, and the prize possession of only three of my seminary
professors, some bibliophiles (I confess) have been known to spend
years searching used bookstores (before Amazon and EBay) like drug
addicts for a copy. Especially a copy with the (I am serious) fold-out
centerfolds included (Often these are missing when the copy has been
used...kinda like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, eh, John?).
Shawn Rabon, a member of the church I pestered (not a typo) in Delano, Calif. (now in ministry in England) had for years heard me whine that I did not have a "real" copy...just a cheesy cheap counterfeit
condensed ("Condensed"? How dare any mortal put that word in the same
sentence as the immortal Frank Lake! Heresy! Next you you know, they'll
be a condensed Bible!!...oops).
Besides, as you can see by the photo,this is clearly an illicit bootleg:
it is not big OR green!!)
I'll never forget the day that Shawn met my plane into London. I was
thrilled to see him again, we were to spend the night at the airport
hotel before my flight to Israel the next day.
But when I scanned the crowds, and found him...my eyes (and jaws) immediately dropped at the big green book in his hand.
He had scored a copy for me!
I don't think I kissed him..
..until he verified what was too good to be true:
Yes, the centerfolds were included!
We had to steal a peek at them right in the middle of Heathrow International.
(OK, for those worried a bit..the fold-out centerfolds are full of intricate diagrams of
theological and psychological charts...not naked, airbrushed and
hairbrushed babes, These charts are lusted for in some seminary circles)
I still owe you man.
But Shawn, do you remember then going over to the airport newstand;
where we were browsing magazines. On gentleman was sneaking peeks at a
naughty
magazine centerfold, and you (obviously still so in awe at seeing me
again...I understand!!) actually interrupted his fun with "Hey, this is
my pastor from America!"
I am sure he was thrilled. He mumbled something; I think the word "sod" was in his sentence.
(you UK folk know what that means).
But Shawn's genuine evangelistic enthusiasm is refreshing.
Even though I turned a few shades of red.
Now, thirteen years later, the big green book is still my favorite addiction/pornography.
( I get so ongrossed I don't even notice....as much... the scantily-clad women).
Especially the famous dozen centerfold charts. I mean, just look at them!
(note i have the theologian's beer in my hand).
I was leading a seminar on culture and evangelism a few years ago,
drawing as usual from a wide variety of material: from Matrix movie
clips to Nextreformation articles to U2 songs to (of course) Frank Lake's centerfolds.
On the last day, I knew it was time for a "lab." I sent my class out on
the town in groups of three (No, we weren't dressed like Mormons) for
low-key conversations with people. My group walked the parking lot of
the shopping center where the church we were teaching at was located.
I'll never forget Nancy Boyd (pastor of this amazing tribe), bold and loving like Shawn (though not like Shawn),
befriending and praying for a guy sitting is his car. No, we didn't
mention that two of us were pastors. But we noticed a minute into the
conversation he was drinking a beer and had spread open on his
dashboard..an adult magazine centerfold.
We had a good talk, and even prayer.
As we were about to leave, he asked "Are you from that church over there?
We were, we told him.
He said, "I think I went to school with one of the pastors."
- See more at: http://davewainscott.blogspot.com/2008/02/theological-centerfolds.html#sthash.D8URRNWT.dpuf
Centerfolds in Big Green Theology Books
It has got to be the most engaging, practical and liveliest books around...
with the most boring title.
It's "Clinical Theology"
(zzzzz) , Frank Lake's classic...the heavyweight (literally; it's known
in academia as "the big green book" of over 1000 pages) tome. For
years out of print, and the prize possession of only three of my seminary
professors, some bibliophiles (I confess) have been known to spend
years searching used bookstores (before Amazon and EBay) like drug
addicts for a copy. Especially a copy with the (I am serious) fold-out
centerfolds included (Often these are missing when the copy has been
used...kinda like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, eh, John?).
Shawn Rabon, a member of the church I pestered (not a typo) in Delano, Calif. (now in ministry in England) had for years heard me whine that I did not have a "real" copy...just a cheesy cheap counterfeit
condensed ("Condensed"? How dare any mortal put that word in the same
sentence as the immortal Frank Lake! Heresy! Next you you know, they'll
be a condensed Bible!!...oops).
Besides, as you can see by the photo,this is clearly an illicit bootleg:
it is not big OR green!!)
I'll never forget the day that Shawn met my plane into London. I was
thrilled to see him again, we were to spend the night at the airport
hotel before my flight to Israel the next day.
But when I scanned the crowds, and found him...my eyes (and jaws) immediately dropped at the big green book in his hand.
He had scored a copy for me!
I don't think I kissed him..
..until he verified what was too good to be true:
Yes, the centerfolds were included!
We had to steal a peek at them right in the middle of Heathrow International.
(OK, for those worried a bit..the fold-out centerfolds are full of intricate diagrams of
theological and psychological charts...not naked, airbrushed and
hairbrushed babes, These charts are lusted for in some seminary circles)
I still owe you man.
But Shawn, do you remember then going over to the airport newstand;
where we were browsing magazines. On gentleman was sneaking peeks at a
naughty
magazine centerfold, and you (obviously still so in awe at seeing me
again...I understand!!) actually interrupted his fun with "Hey, this is
my pastor from America!"
I am sure he was thrilled. He mumbled something; I think the word "sod" was in his sentence.
(you UK folk know what that means).
But Shawn's genuine evangelistic enthusiasm is refreshing.
Even though I turned a few shades of red.
Now, thirteen years later, the big green book is still my favorite addiction/pornography.
( I get so ongrossed I don't even notice....as much... the scantily-clad women).
Especially the famous dozen centerfold charts. I mean, just look at them!
(note i have the theologian's beer in my hand).
I was leading a seminar on culture and evangelism a few years ago,
drawing as usual from a wide variety of material: from Matrix movie
clips to Nextreformation articles to U2 songs to (of course) Frank Lake's centerfolds.
On the last day, I knew it was time for a "lab." I sent my class out on
the town in groups of three (No, we weren't dressed like Mormons) for
low-key conversations with people. My group walked the parking lot of
the shopping center where the church we were teaching at was located.
I'll never forget Nancy Boyd (pastor of this amazing tribe), bold and loving like Shawn (though not like Shawn),
befriending and praying for a guy sitting is his car. No, we didn't
mention that two of us were pastors. But we noticed a minute into the
conversation he was drinking a beer and had spread open on his
dashboard..an adult magazine centerfold.
We had a good talk, and even prayer.
As we were about to leave, he asked "Are you from that church over there?
We were, we told him.
He said, "I think I went to school with one of the pastors."
- See more at: http://davewainscott.blogspot.com/2008/02/theological-centerfolds.html#sthash.D8URRNWT.dpuf
It has got to be the most engaging, practical and liveliest books around...
with the most boring title.
It's "Clinical Theology" (zzzzz) , Frank Lake's classic...the heavyweight (literally; it's known in academia as "the big green book" of over 1000 pages) tome. For years out of print, and the prize possession of only three of my seminary professors, some bibliophiles (I confess) have been known to spend years searching used bookstores (before Amazon and EBay) like drug addicts for a copy. Especially a copy with the (I am serious) fold-out centerfolds included (Often these are missing when the copy has been used...kinda like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, eh, John?).
Shawn Rabon, a member of the church I pestered (not a typo) in Delano, Calif. (now in ministry in England) had for years heard me whine that I did not have a "real" copy...just a cheesy cheap counterfeit condensed ("Condensed"? How dare any mortal put that word in the same sentence as the immortal Frank Lake! Heresy! Next you you know, they'll be a condensed Bible!!...oops).
Besides, as you can see by the photo,this is clearly an illicit bootleg:
it is not big OR green!!)
I'll never forget the day that Shawn met my plane into London. I was thrilled to see him again, we were to spend the night at the airport hotel before my flight to Israel the next day.
But when I scanned the crowds, and found him...my eyes (and jaws) immediately dropped at the big green book in his hand.
He had scored a copy for me!
I don't think I kissed him..
..until he verified what was too good to be true:
Yes, the centerfolds were included!
We had to steal a peek at them right in the middle of Heathrow International.
(OK, for those worried a bit..the fold-out centerfolds are full of intricate diagrams of
theological and psychological charts...not naked, airbrushed and hairbrushed babes, These charts are lusted for in some seminary circles)
I still owe you man.
But Shawn, do you remember then going over to the airport newstand; where we were browsing magazines. On gentleman was sneaking peeks at a naughty
magazine centerfold, and you (obviously still so in awe at seeing me again...I understand!!) actually interrupted his fun with "Hey, this is my pastor from America!"
I am sure he was thrilled. He mumbled something; I think the word "sod" was in his sentence.
(you UK folk know what that means).
But Shawn's genuine evangelistic enthusiasm is refreshing.
Even though I turned a few shades of red.
Now, thirteen years later, the big green book is still my favorite addiction/pornography.
( I get so ongrossed I don't even notice....as much... the scantily-clad women).
Especially the famous dozen centerfold charts. I mean, just look at them!
(note i have the theologian's beer in my hand).
I was leading a seminar on culture and evangelism a few years ago, drawing as usual from a wide variety of material: from Matrix movie clips to Nextreformation articles to U2 songs to (of course) Frank Lake's centerfolds.
On the last day, I knew it was time for a "lab." I sent my class out on the town in groups of three (No, we weren't dressed like Mormons) for low-key conversations with people. My group walked the parking lot of the shopping center where the church we were teaching at was located.
I'll never forget Nancy Boyd (pastor of this amazing tribe), bold and loving like Shawn (though not like Shawn),
befriending and praying for a guy sitting is his car. No, we didn't mention that two of us were pastors. But we noticed a minute into the conversation he was drinking a beer and had spread open on his dashboard..an adult magazine centerfold.
We had a good talk, and even prayer.
As we were about to leave, he asked "Are you from that church over there?
We were, we told him.
He said, "I think I went to school with one of the pastors."
If, for your paper, you want to consider chiasm in Philemon, after searching out any such structures yourselves (which you are getting good at!) consider:
The first three pages below are from "The Bible Background Commentary"(very helpful) and the last page is the text and study notes from "The NIV Study Bible." They both cover some good historical and literary world background, which you may quote in your paper (not required), and which may help you decide the theme of the book. Click a page to enlarge and read. Once you have a page open, you can click to magnify it.
------------------- Kurt Willems, an FPU seminary student, has posted a helpful 5 part series on Philemon (text links below, audio here):
Perhaps we should approach Philemon by first analyzing its structure. You will observe that the first three verses include the names of five persons: Paul, Timothy, Philemon, Apphia, Archippus. You will further observe that the last three verses (vv. 23-25) conclude with the names of five persons: Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke. Now observe also that the pattern of verses 1-3 is five names plus the phrase "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ." This is precisely mirrored in verses 23-25: five names plus the phrase "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ." The greeting or salutation of the epistle ends with the Lord Jesus Christ. The closing or conclusion of the epistle ends with the Lord Jesus Christ. A perfectly balanced inclusio structurally envelops the tender plea of the apostle on behalf of Onesimus. Paul, Timothy, Philemon, Apphia, Archippus—members of the church; Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke—members of the church. Within the church, something new is occurring! LINK
Alternative views:
a)He might be a slave, but not a runaway. He simply was asking Paul for help in being an advocate. This view solves several problems with the traditional view, and this article is helpful on Paul's style of persuasion/theme of the letter. by Brian Dodd: click here
b)"This is not about a runaway slave at alll. Paul and Onesimus are literal brothers.":
There are several problems with the interpretation that Onesimus is a runaway fugitive slave. There are other examples of letters written in the period that Paul was writing that implore slaves to return to their masters and that implore masters to receive their slaves back graciously. Paul’s letter to Philemon does not follow the same pattern.
In addition, the epistle itself never says that Onesimus is a runaway or a thief, this is simply a presumption. Finally, the entire argument that Onesimus is a slave is based on verse 15 and 16 where Paul uses the greek word doulos to describe Onesimus. Certainly the word can be interpreted as slave, however, the word is used many other times in scripture and does not always mean that the one called doulos is a literal slave. Sometimes doulos refers to a son or a wife, not a slave. That one word is not a definitive identification of Onesimus.
What if Callahan’s interpretation is correct? Onesimus not just a Christian, he is actually a blood brother to Philemon. This interpretation means that the book of Philemon is about reconciliation in families rather than an admonition for the slave to remain obedient and the master to treat the slave fairly. LINK: Philemon...Slave Master?
..and then we encounter these verses which have caused many varied interpretations. Verses 15-16. Callahan translates them as, “For on this account he has left for the moment, so that you might have him back forever, no longer as though he were a slave, but, more than a slave, as a beloved brother very much so to me, but now much more so to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.”[1]
First, there is a grammatical question about how to translate this phrase which many have rendered “no longer as a slave.” Callahan dissects the greek and he argues that the phrase is more accurately translated, “no longer as though he were a slave.” Even with Callahan’s translation, the question remains: Why did Paul choose to use the word slave if Onesimus wasn’t a slave?
The word used is doulos and according to Callahan’s research, it “was a term of both honor and opprobrium in the early Christian lexicon.”[2]
It was thought to be an honor to be called a doulos tou theou or a slave of God. In fact, Paul calls himself a slave of Christ in several of his letters including Romans, Philippians, and Titus, as do other authors of the epistles of James and 2 Peter.
It is also true that the term slave signified subjugation, powerlessness, and dishonor, one who does not have liberty or agency on one’s own.
Callahan argues that Paul is using the term doulos to capture both dimensions of the human condition and is perhaps even making a connection with the Christ hymn in Philippians 2 where he quotes an ancient hymn that exalts the Christ who humbles himself to be nothing, powerless, and empty of the divine dimension, like a slave to the human condition.
Callahan argues that Paul is simply calling Onesimus a slave in the same way that he describes himself as a slave. Onesimus is also a doulos tou theou, a slave of God.
If this is the case, then Paul uses language that indicates Onesimus and Philemon are related, in fact that they are brothers in the flesh. Reconciliation and love between brothers was a special concern for several ancient writers and philosophers. One Roman philosopher named Plutarch writes of the importance of repairing a breach between brothers, even if it comes through a mutual friend...
NOTE also: metaphorical terminology by Paul re: slavery in Galatians 4:7:
"So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir"... actually a verse quite similar to Philemon 16 (first clause the same, second clause family language)
"no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother."
OR MAYBE THE TWO ARE LITERAL BROTHERS AND ONESIMUS IS A SLAVE
Consider the following passage (Philemon 8-18) with these analogies in mind:
Paul (the advocate) : Jesus
Onesmus (the guilty slave) : us (sinners)
Philemon (the slave owner) : God the Father
Martin Luther: "Even as Christ did for us with God the Father, thus also St. Paul does for Onesimus with Philemon"
Accordingly, though I (Paul) am bold enough in Christ to command you (Philemon) to do what is required, yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own free will. For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. LINK: Philemon, an allegory?
Sometimes in a Bible class, I will leave the room for five minutes,
and challenge the students to practice presenting anything they've learned.
It's totally up to them: they can tea- teach it, one person can present etc.
Sometimes I am even brave/dumb enough to say they can choose someone to impersonate (roast/toast( me and my style.
I should have known that with the delightful and daring Pastor D.J. Criner (of Saint Rest Baptist Church) in class, that the class would choose him for that impersonation option (:
It was caught on video ...
I guess I say ":awesome" a lot.
Be sure to catch his whiteboard artwork of me. as well:
Reread Hauer & Young ch 6 “Ezekiel” (pp. 139-140 only)
Ezekiel 8 – 10
Hauer & Young ch 7, “A People’s Poetry: The Book of Psalms” (pp. 148-155 only)
Grimsrud ch 8, “God in the Psalms.”
Psalms 18, 30, 32, 33, 51, 80, 104, 113, 117, 118
Exodus 25 – 31, 35 – 40
Matthew 21:12 – 17
Luke 1: 45 - 55
Hauer & Young ch 12, “John: The Journey to Jesus”(pp. 251-256 and 260-262 only)
John 1 – 4
Hauer & Young ch 14, “Philemon” (p. 324 only)
Philemon (entire) OR 2 Kings 5:1-19 (Choose only one of these)
Preparation Assignments:
Complete “The Historical World” worksheet (attached to the syllabus). This worksheet and the worksheets for Week 6 of this module form the basis for the final paper.
