The Carpenters will begin a new
discussion series – The Making of the New Testament and the Birth of Christianity - in January. The program
will draw on a wealth of recent Bible scholarship which uses the methodologies of history and the social sciences to gain
new insight into the context and setting of the New Testament. In addition to providing a wider perspective for understanding
the miracle of Christianity, every session will include a new way of looking at an old question, or will address an issue
you may never have thought about. For example:
·
The first New Testament scriptures were not the Gospels but the
letters of Paul, and these written 2+ decades after Easter. Paul wrote them for a purpose but it is highly unlikely that he
thought he was writing the Bible (maybe that’s why he left in those long complex sentences).
· The
Jewish/Roman historian Josephus has a different take on the demise of John the Baptist than the birthday party beheading described
in Mark. Also, John’s persona and message have striking similarities to the people of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Biblical
John the Baptist is somewhat of an enigma. Could there be more here than meets the eye? Also, Herod Antipas gets only minor
Biblical mention as second rate royalty whereas he may have been highly influential in the development of Christianity (the
second rate royalty categorization, however, he earned on merit).
·
Some of us (but definitely not all) have questions about how we
should perceive the many supernatural healing miracles detailed in the Gospels and elsewhere. Was Jesus actually an exorcist?
We’ll explore different ways of looking at this subject.
·
Had any second thoughts about the authenticity of The Passion
of Christ? Wondered whether there could be any substance to the premise of the DaVinci Code? If you’re
skeptical, you’ll find it’s with good reason.
·
While we tend to view the Gospels somewhat like eyewitness news,
they were actually written late in the 1st century, by people who had no concept of eyewitness news. More important,
this was a period when Palestine was torn apart by terrorism, civil war, and an attempt at violent revolution which led to
a disastrous war with Rome. This would seem to represent crucial context and setting, but it is hardly mentioned in the New
Testament. What’s the significance? Maybe everything.
·
Every Sunday when we say the Apostles’ Creed we affirm a
belief in the resurrection of the body. Do you ever wonder exactly what that entails? The canonical Bible isn’t completely
helpful, so we will turn to the extra-canonical Gospel of Peter (although it didn’t make it into the canon it has respectable
credentials) to provide additional insight.
·
Ever recited the Lord’s Prayer in a Catholic service and
found you were the only one still speaking when it came to “For thine is the kingdom”? We’ll go through
the fascinating textual underpinnings of this issue. You may be surprised to find that in essence it’s not really a
Catholic/Protestant matter.
The Carpenters men’s group meets on the second and fourth
Sunday at 8:15 AM. This is an ideal time for new members to give it a try.