Faith Development Opportunity: The New Testament as a Spiritual Tool
The Rev. Dr. Scot Giles is offering an eight-session program on the New Testament. This is not a simple survey course. It’s a serious “deep dive” into the material, using the Contemplative Tradition as a touchstone. In this tradition, much of the New Testament is understood as metaphorical and directly relevant to our spiritual lives today. Participants should only sign up if they agree to the learning covenant described below. The material may surprise you and will definitely surprise your more orthodox friends.
We will meet on Sunday evenings, every two weeks, on the Zoom platform. Introductory session: April 6, 7:00–8:00 pm. Remaining sessions: 5/4, 5/18, 6/1, 6/15, 6/29, 7/13, 7/27. Maximum 20 participants.
Register by completing the form below.
Covenant
- Participants agree to attend all sessions as far as possible. The material is cumulative and it’s not fair to others to have to take time to review material already covered.
- Participants agree to purchase and use the current scholarly translation of the Bible for the class, and no other translation. Every translation of the Bible is to some degree an interpretation, and some are shockingly inaccurate. The current scholarly edition is the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Updated Edition (NRSVue). It’s readily available for as low as $9. A few free Bibles will be available from the church office.
- Participants agree to purchase and read the course textbook, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg. It is available in various formats for around $13 (used copies for around $5). If this class goes well, we will offer a look at the Old Testament next year, and this book will be the textbook for that class as well.
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