In class on Wed., 10/1, I’ll be presenting my ancient document, the Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah. I will give everyone with a one page handout that includes all of the information I will present. But if you can’t wait, you can get it at this link. schul-handout-re-martyrdom-and-ascension-of-isaiah3
Enjoy!
Scott
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Time for another question…We have a library full of books and computers and software that allow us to research in amazingly complex and comprehensive ways. Yet in the end we have to admit that there’s an AWFUL lot we don’t know about the Bible and how passages were constructed, cross-referenced, used and interpreted by the author. It has me wondering if, as a church, we should feel more at liberty to draw more on tradition (the dreaded “T” word!) to assist us in our understanding of the Bible. Tradition has a bad reputation in the Protestant church, but we utilize it to some extent whether or not we admit it. What do you think? Is there more room for tradition in our exegetical tasks than you previously thought? I look forward to reading your thoughts!
My ancient document presentation will be on The Martyrdom of Isaiah. Follow this link if you’d like to read an electronic version of it. You might also be able to use this link to access other documents within the OT pseudopigrapha.
After our first class, I was impressed by the intellectual rigor of the analysis of Psalm 22’s usage in the passion narrative. But in the end, this was a very academic exercise designed for a very academic setting.
Many in the class expressed that they took this class so that they would be better able to translate the place and purpose of the OT to folks in the congregation.
So I invite you to comment on this question: How do we apply something like the Psalm 22 analysis in a Sunday School class or sermon in a way that is faithful to the scholarship yet accessible to normal folks who come to church each Sunday but who are not theology scholars?
Well… I have some ideas… and I didn’t get to the end of my presentation which will finish next time… but I would love to hear how others of you would respond to Scott’s question!
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I felt like I was watching an exegetical math equation/problem.
If the previous sentence doesn’t make sense, then another way I could put it is an exegetical dance. For us we can do the really complicated version, as Scott has pointed out, but our congregation can only do the most basic of steps. Perhaps if we leave out the really complex parts of the exegesis and bring them the meat that will be sufficient. For those who are curious how and why we have come up with the deeper parts of the exegesis we can give them the option of talking to us in private. I’m not advocating “talking down to the congregation,” I’m proposing a solution that gives people the answers that they want without them needing our somewhat extensive background information. Please feel free to set me straight on this one. 
Scott,
I read the link that you posted about The Martyrdom of Isaiah. His death gives a whole new prespective of what it means to die with the Holy Spirit on your lips.