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11:26 Why is Bathsheba not
named in this verse?
11:27 How long was the
period of mourning? Does this sound like “traditional marriage” and traditional
“family values”?
12:1 How did Nathan know
about what David had done?
12:1b-6 Why does Nathan
tell a story rather than simply confronting David? How could David not realize
or understand what Nathan was doing?
12:5-6 Has David pronounced
his own sentence/punishment?
12:7-10 Nathan speaks truth
to power. Who is serving Nathan’s role
in American society and politics today?
12:11 There would indeed be
trouble in David’s house, but where his wives ever taken from him?
12:11 Can you spell “t-r-a-n-s-p-a-r-e-n-c-y”?
Transparency is often needed following a cover-up.
12:13 Does David’s reaction
surprise you?
51:1 Does it make any
difference to one’s interpretation or application of this Psalm if the “me” was
or was not David? Is there a difference
between “steadfast love” and “abundant mercy” or is this just a Hebraic poetic
literary device?
51:2 Ditto “wash” and
“cleanse” as well as “iniquity” and “sin”?
51:3 See above.
51:4 Was David’s sin
against only God? What about Uriah? When we sin, is our sin against God only or
also against the image of God in others?
51:5 Is this a proof text
for the doctrine of original sin?
51:6 Is this more poetic
parallelism, or is there a theological point being made here, that truth is
similar to, or the same as, wisdom? What is the secret heart?
51:7 Why hyssop? I remember when it seemed like snow was
pretty white, but more recently it seems to contain a lot of soot.
51:8 What bones have been
crushed and why? Is the reference to crushed bones a metaphor?
51:9 When it comes to God
and sin, can we assume “out of sight, out of mind”? God may see and know everything, but what if
God chooses to turn away and forget?
51:10 Does this verse
envision a heart and spirit transplant or transformation? How about a spiritual
stint?
51:11 Would God ever cast
anyone away? Would God ever take back
the holy spirit. Note the lower case “h”
and “s”. I think this Psalm does not
assume a Doctrine of the Trinity and one ought not to impose a Christian
Doctrine on a Jewish text.
51:12 Parallelism aside, in
my English speaking mind, I cannot but help making a distinction between
“Restore” and “sustain”, but I doubt the distinction exists in the original
Hebrew. You be the judge.
4:1 You perhaps either love or loathe Paul’s use (overuse?) of “therefore”
(although some do not consider Ephesians to be authentically Pauline(. What precedes his “therefore”? Does this verse presume a Doctrine of
Election? What sort of life is a worthy life?
4:2 What does it mean to bear with one another in love?
4:3 What is the unity of the Spirit? What is the bond of peace?
4:4-6 How do we interpret these verses in light of the Roman Catholic and
Protestant split and the plethora of Protestant Denominations as well as the
distinction between Evangelical/Conservative and Progressive Christianity?
4:7 What was the measure of Christ’s gift?
4:8 Where is this said?
4:9-10 Why are these verses in parenthesis? Why are they here?
4:11 What distinguishes the various offices or functions that are named? Do
you think this list was meant to be exhaustive?
4:12-13 Why did Christ give gifts. What is the full stature of Christ?
4:14 Does it sometimes seem that adult Christians have never grown beyond
their children’s Sunday school understanding of the Scripture and Christian
faith? By using the “We” does the author suggest that he too was once a child? Whom might the author had in mind when
referring to people’s trickery and craftiness?
4:15 How does one speak the truth in love? Did Nathan speak the truth in
love to David in today’s First Reading?
4:16 It seem the author has a holistic, communal understanding of the
church.
6:24 I wonder how many
boats there were. Is “looking for Jesus”
merely a physical activity? After all,
this is the Fourth, and often a multivalent, Gospel. Where these people “seekers” in the modern
sense?
6:25 This is not the most
profound question to ask someone after looking for them and finally finding
them. Imagine climbing a mountain in search of enlightenment from a master and
upon arrival, instead of asking “What is the meaning of life?” you ask “When
did you come here?”
6:26 Jesus does not answer
the question asked of him but rather assaults their motivation for their
looking for him. Did he want them to come looking for him because of the signs
he had done?
6:27 This is a
theologically loaded verse. Have fun unpacking it. What “seal” is being
referred to?
6:28 What are the works of
God?
6:28-29 As much as I love
this Gospel, these two verses seem to suggest that what is important is either
faith as trust or right belief, not right action.
6:30 An interesting
reappearance of “work” and “sign” in light of the preceding verses. Are “work”
and “sign” interchangeable?
6:31 Why are these people
and Jesus so obsessed with food, bread and manna?
6:32-33 Was manna the true
bread from heaven?
6:34 What about the manna
needing to be consumed the day it was gathered?
What about the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer “give us this day our daily
bread”? And these people are asking for bread always?
6:35 One of the “I am”
sayings found in the fourth Gospel. How
does bread keep one from being thirsty?
ADDENDUM
I am currently serving at the Interim Pastor of The Presbyterian Churchof Cadiz, worshiping at 154 West Market Street, Cadiz, Ohio, every Sunday at
11:00 AM. Please
like The Presbyterian Church of Cadiz on facebook.
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