Have you been wondering about the timeline of the Southern Kingdom?  Desperate to find out about Deuteronomistic History?  Looking for outlines for nearly all the OT books?  Well do I have a treat for you.  One of my favorite professors (he is on our blog roll as Anumma) is taking pedagogy to the world of web 2.0.  When I took his class we had to memorize outlines for books of the Bible and create hardcopy notes (which I have lost) to study for our INTENSE mid-term and final exams.  But those were the good old days.  This term he had his class create a Wiki (an online collaboration of ideas and notes) so that they could build off the collective whole.  There work is impressive and is available to anyone who is interested in seminary level information about the OT.  My mathematical mind really likes the outlines and timelines, but there is lots of info for the harvesting.

While I will never be a seminary prof (thank God) I am inspired by this type of learning.  I am waiting for an opprotunity when a small group or Bible study could have a Wiki, a blog, or a discussion board…….. [Read more →]

I had a great experience today at the monthly gathering of a confirmation class I co-teach. In trying to teach the narrative of the Hebrew Bible in one four-hour Saturday morning gathering, we decided to focus on telling the story of the People of Israel through the lens of their relationship with God and understanding of the closeness and presence of God in every part of their life. We ran through the story, from Creation and Noah to the Ancestral Period, from the Judges to the divided Kingdom, exile and building of the 2nd Temple, acting out the parts and moving about the room. We worked through the Ancient Israel understanding of God by looking at the Hebrew names of God and viewing artwork ascribed to that name. It was an interactive and amazing lesson, but without the worship service that we participated in first, I don’t think it would have connected in such a deeply personal way………. [Read more →]