Adult Spirituality Group notes

This week: 
The Chapter 1 & 2 history helped paint a picture of the tumultuous revolutionary social/political context that Jesus was immersed in and communicated about, e.g.,

"As for the towns of these people that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance," God told the Israelites, "you must not let anything that breathes remain alive. You shall annihilate them all--the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canannites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jubusites--just as the Lord your God has commanded" (Deuteronomy 20:17-18).

Knowing the context helps one sift his 2,000 year message to our present day context.  (Some expressed interest in the book, (see URL) The Sins of Scripture:  Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love, by John Shelby Spong.) 

Jesus was Jewish and quoted old testament scriptures in his talks.  Rose Bailey mentioned that our church should invite (see URL) Rabbi Ted Falcon, who is a member of the Interfaith Amigos, for a sermon about: 
• How renewal of the covenant/10 commandments occurs several times in the Bible to supersede violence.
• How should we interpret the Old Testament today?

For next week:
Please be ready to discuss chapter 3, p. 25+ "You Know Where I Am From" and chapter 4, p. 34+ "The Fourth Philosophy".   Thanks!