Linda Sexson class visit, 16 November
Alright, these are my notes from Dr. Linda Sexson's visit to 212 this last Wednesday. She presented a wealth of information, of which I probably got less than half into my note, but I'll give this a shot anyway...Notes:
The Parable:
-expectations disrupted
-familiar terms become unfamiliar, uncanny
New Testament v. Hebrew Scriptures (aka Christian Old Testament, aka "Tanak")
-Tanak: A combination of the words Torah, Prophets and Writings; not entirely secured in the Canon during Jesus's time (hadn't all "measured up")
-Jesus usually quotes from Prophets, specifically the Isaiah scroll
-Jesus understands himself as a Jew and Hebrew Scriptures are his sacred texts
-Jews, Gentiles saw him as the Messiah
-"Messiah" means "annoited"
-"Christ" is the Greek translation of Messiah; it is a title, not a name
New Testament parts: 1. Gospels (4); 2. Epistles, many written by Paul; 3. Apocalypse of St. John (Revelation, no s on end!)
-Gospel means "Good news"
And...
-What we know from the New Testament about early Christendom:
-Many communites being formed in Middle East
-Great effort underway to describe the life of Jesus
-These communities were all autonomous, Paul attempted to bring them together
-Difference between Prophets (Old Testament) and Book of Revelation:
-Prophets concerned about polytheism, idolatry, etc. Preached "Exclusive Yahwism" (Basis of Judaism,
Christianity and Islam), also concerned with social justice
-Birth, worship of Jesus caused tension for "Exclusive Yahwism"
-Decalogue (10 Commandments): 1st section - Worshipping God; 2nd section: How to treat others
-Apocalyptic thinking: "we are living in the end time, the curtain is about to fall"
-Cosmic forces of good and evil
-Discussed in highly symbolic and allegorical terms
-Christ was for some a political hope: Jews were without a leader and wanted another King David
-He is also seen as an apocalyptic figure, ushering in a new era; a combination of political and metaphysical
desires
-Gospels:
1. Mark (oldest)
2. Matthew
3. Luke
These three are known as they "synoptic Gospels" (syn = similar, optic = vision; similar vision) because of their similarities to eachother.
and the fourth Gospel: John, an otherworldly, spiritualized (different from spiritual, Dr. Michael Sexson points out) description of Jesus, probalby latest Gospel
Gospel of Thomas: rediscovered in the 20th century, placed by many in the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th centuries.
-Other scholars say that Gospel of Thomas is the earliest, because unlike the other Gospels, it doesn't tell the life story of Jesus, but rather a collection of his sayings (makes sense because people during time of Jesus would be more interested in his sayings rather than his biography).
Thomas Jefferson: criticized by the "religious right" of the late 18th/early 19th centuries for not being religious enough
-He had created a Bible of strictly the sayings of Jesus; TJ was looking for a Jesus who was both reasonable and
compassionate, a "product of hte enlightenment" just like Jefferson.
Did Jesus speak in Parables?
-Complaints about this in the New Testament, e.g. Gospel of Matthew
-sense of the esoteric (just for insiders)
-is a parable a secret saying?
-Parables talk about something unnameable in regular language
-Parables also exist in Daoist, Buddhist and Hindu sacred texts, so not exclusively Christian
-Hebrew Bible: "Mashal" = Proverb
-Parable doesn't equal Proverb
-What is the unpleasant surprise in the parable of the "Good Samaritan?"
-Answer: that the Samaritan is the "good guy"
-A parable should push us to where we haven't been before; it should upset our expectations
And finally, my own parable, compiled from fellow classmates' topics (activity at end of class):
Ideas: Mike Tyson, Baking dessert, and Shoes
-Mike Tyson was baking dessert for the county fair when he spilled pudding on his shoes. Now he has to buy new Birkenstocks (it doesn't make sense - that's the point)
Excuse the randomness of this post, haphazard indentations, hyphen use, etc. It's very late...
posted by Bryan Kelly @ 2:30 AM
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