Phillip, welcome. I don’t think that we have met before, but I see that your spiritual journey resembles mine immensely. Relaxing into our faith is a very James phrase, and yes, you will find that.

Some years ago I studied Deuteronomy with a Hebrew speaking Jesuit, and it was a true revelation. ‘The Wilderness’ and ‘The Promised Land’ were not…[Read more]

Yes, Barker is very prolific, but I think “Temple Theology” is a very good place to start. I am rereading it at the moment. It’s an early work of hers but you will understand immediately what she is about. She is, by the way, a formidable Hebrew scholar.

Do keep me informed.

You seem to have an extremely good grasp of all that Andrew. These two definitions may be helpful:
Monolatry, literally, worship of one god alone. As a modified form of polytheism, the texts of scripture bear witness to monolatry, meaning “Plenty of gods exist, but you are to worship only one of them.” This is also indicated in the first Com…[Read more]

I couldn’t agree more Andrew. And I also think that we find God in the other, in accepting and not judging the weakness and foibles we find. That is seeing Christ in the other, as we hope we will be seen with our own pain, and need of healing.

Absolutely, Andrew. This is another example of revelation as an ongoing, evolutionary process, which gradually exposes the lie that God is angry and wants to be appeased by blood sacrifice.

Andrew, here is a brief summary of what James is explaining.

The struggle around interpretation is not imposed upon Scriptures, but something that happens within them. For a rather important example, this session looks at the different interpretations offered by Jeremiah and Ezekiel around the question of God’s involvement with child sacrifice. W…[Read more]

Indeed, Andrew. That is the process of inculturation that we looked at in previous modules. And, here in 2.3 we have the struggle around interpretation that is not imposed upon Scriptures, but something that happens within them. For a rather important example, we’ll look at the different interpretations offered by Jeremiah and Ezekiel around t…[Read more]

This is an excellent reading of James’ intent Andrew. As you say, reading the scriptures through the eyes of the Forgiving Victim is not an abstract theological exercise, but rather a learning about human behaviour. Seeing scripture through Jesus’ eyes is an extraordinary learning process, is it not?

Absolutely, Andrew. James’ intention in this section is to introduce two different approaches to reading Scriptures: the Marcionite way of reading and the fundamentalist approach. He then goes on to demonstrate that by approaching Scriptures as a progressive revelation, we can discover new and more true things about God and ourselves. In t…[Read more]

A brilliant description of a chilling event, Andrew.

Well, Andrew we all have our demons of one sort or another and we all have to learn to forgive ourselves and allow ourselves to be loved. We need more heart knowledge and less head knowledge.

I have always found the following advice from the wonderful John Main and Dorothy Day to come from a deep well of experience, humility and compassion,…[Read more]

I think the best way of helping others to see, is to BE what you believe. Francis of Assisi was reputed to have said “preach the gospel, use words if you have to”. If he didn’t say it, he should have !!

So good to hear from you again Andrew.

Andrew, as I read your post, I wonder if you have thought to see all this as relational, not as an abstract concept. James is teaching an anthropology of Christianity, that is, how we relate to one another. Can you think of all the people in your family circle, the workplace and your social life and how you relative to them? Do you ever think…[Read more]

Andrew, I’ve frequently observed that the concept that we desire according to the desire of another seems to be immediately obvious to some people but quite a struggle for others. The idea of the autonomous self really does die hard. Would I be correct in thinking that this is what you are observing here? Can you think of any examples or i…[Read more]

Andrew, when you say “I don’t know that I have attained the ‘converted’ position required to do that yet.” I think that most of us spend our lives trying to attain this position and stay there, so fear not ! It is so easy to slip back into the archaic sacred.

Your description of the plight of the undocumented workers in the US is an excellent…[Read more]

Yes, absolutely Andrew. You cited an excellent example of the unheard voice in 1 Samuel 18. Where might we listen for the unheard voice of the Forgiving Victim in the stoning of Achan? Somehow Joshua and the Israelites’ belief in their own goodness survived the stoning, preventing them from including Achan’s perspective in their account of the…[Read more]

Peter, welcome to the Forum. Yes, indeed, James’ thinking on the ‘social other’ is life changing: “The social other is everything in the world that is other than ‘me’. It is prior to us and includes other people, the climate, the weather, the country, the geography, the atmosphere, the agriculture that enables food to be grown and so on. God…[Read more]

As Part Two looks intensely at the Bible, it can be difficult to find our way into these texts because of the linguistic and cultural issues that separate us from the ancient world. What you have described here as making you queasy or uncomfortable is an excellent example. As James puts it, we can feel as if we’ve stumbled into the middle of a…[Read more]

Exactly.

I like the way that you describe the fickleness of the mimetic crowd and the obvious detachment of Jesus who neither protests nor acquiesces. As you say, he is fully human and fully mimetic, but perhaps he is modelling the Father? What do you think? Apropos, the thought that jumped to mind as I read your thoughts, is that so much mimetic…[Read more]