seminary — Seminary Stowaways

The Bible Mafia

Today we’re talking about Bible translations. What if I told you that there is a person standing between you and the pure, unadulterated Word of God. No, it’s not Satan. It’s the translator. And also maybe the committee that commissioned the translator. If that sounds weird to you, don’t worry it sounded weird to me too. I mean, a translator just looks at an old manuscript and copies into another language the words that are there, right? Maybe. But what if there is no English equivalent for that word, or what if punctuation is missing!? What then? And it begs the bigger question of how do we decide which translations are most trustworthy and which ones are just rubbish! We’ll get into all that on today's episode.

Articles:
https://www.seminary.edu/bible-politics-and-theological-bias/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2014/10/01/the-politics-of-bible-translations/

Wesleyan Quadrilateral:

http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/wesleyan-quadrilateral

Ben Stuart’s Sermon:

https://faithbridge.org/sermon/is-the-bible-corrupted/

God Said Nap

Welcome aboard, Stowaways, to the eighth episode of Seminary Stowaways, where we make the lively discussion of the seminary classroom accessible to everyone. Today we’re talking about Sundays. Or, Saturdays, if you want to be really-hard core. The Sabbath. The most ignored commandment, and in my mind, kind of the weirdest. It hardly seems to have the same urgency as “Do not murder”. It’s for people who make their own schedules and enjoy leisurely mimosa-brunches on Saturday. Not for people who wake up to children jumping on their faces or who are SERVING brunch on Saturday. In this episode, Luann walks us through an exploration of the Hebrew roots of Sabbath and explains the difference between keeping the Sabbath and embracing Sabbath-keeping practices. And that un-relenting business of life that make a day of rest seem both unattainable and lazy? Well, we get to the bottom of that too.

A Better View of the Mountain

Welcome aboard, Stowaways! This week on Seminary Stowaways, we welcome our first guest, friend of the pod, Brion Daugherty. Brion spent 4 years working on his PhD in Old Testament at the University of Bristol, in addition to being a super brain he’s a down-to-earth, lovely person. And he was kind enough to answer all our questions as we prepare to jump head-first into Worship Practices. We’ll be running into the Old Testament everywhere we turn in this class, but first, we needed to know: “Why does the Old Testament matter so much?” “Can you be a good Christian and not know anything about the Exodus or the Passover?” Stick around for this one, folks.

My Thinking Cap

This week Luann and I are take some time to build a framework before we jump into the next class that she tackled in seminary: Worship Practices. We’re doing this because the class turned out to be totally different that she expected. Like any class, content is very influence by the teacher, and her teach this term came from a very strong viewpoint. Luann found herself dissatisfied with the explanations that she was being given. As she asked more and more questions, well… it started to reminded her of the days that drove her away from the church all those years ago. And that led to many conversations between the two of us. About the very specific theology this professor embraces, about the places where critical thinking isn’t always welcome and even (eventually) about Worship Practices).

Blind Date

Lectio Divina, is an approach to scripture that focuses on presence and listening rather than study. It’s an ancient practice, but it’s seen a resurgence in recent days, and has actually stirred up a bit of Controversy within Christian circles. What is all the fuss? Well, stick around and we’ll unpack it all together.

Animal Messengers and Other Ways to Hear From God

This week Luann is sharing what she’s been learning in seminary about discernment, as explained by beloved writer, philosopher and pilgrim, Henri Nouwen. Is discernment a gift or a discipline? How does God want to speak to us? What is required on our part? What if we don’t feel like God is saying… much of anything? And what does Nouwen say about the worst possible thing God might be saying to us: Wait.

Hannah ConnorFebruary 11, 2019seminary, stowaways, discernment, nouwen, Henri nouwen, christianity, christian, spirituality, spiritual, conversation, women, men, bible, church

God Is Like a Hot Dog

Where do spiritual disciplines come from and why are they such a central and challenging part of the Christian faith? What exactly are they? Can we opt out? Make up our own? Luann shares what she’s been learning about spiritual practices in seminary. Don’t miss it, Stowaways!

Episode 1 - Calling

What is calling and how can it help us navigate tricky decisions and process our past experiences? Join Luann Riley and Hannah Connor to learn more in this episode of Seminary Stowaways.

Hannah ConnorJanuary 14, 2019calling, christianity, christian, bible, belief, seminary, stowaways