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Interview: Theology Professor tells about cell groups and Sunday schools in Southern Baptist Church
by Peter Menkin
We talked by phone of the design of the Southern Baptist Church, and I note that it is comprised of more classroom and educational setting than worship space. That isn’t to say worship space is small. We also talked about cell groups, a recent phenomenon of Sunday school where people gather to study scripture and other related Church matters in a small group, sometimes in a home setting.
Will you tell me something of the beginnings of this “movement” in the Southern Baptist Church, and how it has grasped the imagination of Church goers?
Southern Baptists were formed in 1845 around values of winning souls, educating and training members for effective Christian living and service in the US and around the world. In 1909, a man named Arthur Flake was recruited from Mississippi to work for the Baptist Sunday School Board in Nashville. At that time, there were about a million persons in Southern Baptist Sunday schools. In forty years, that number would grow to six million and well beyond. Some of this growth was due to a book Flake wrote entitled How to Build a Standard Sunday School, which was studied by over a million Southern Baptist workers. This book taught Flake’s famous five-fold formula for Sunday school growth:
1) Know the possibilities,
2) Enlarge the organization,
3) Enlist and train leaders,
4) Expand the space, and
5) Go after the people. Southern Baptist pastors often recited the Flake mantra that “the formula works only if you work the formula!”
Who came up with the Cell Sunday School, or small group, and how have Sunday School students of various ages responded to this?
Can you tell us where in the Bay Area or even California or the U.S. where this is more popular, and something of the character of the Southern Baptist Church that takes this methodology of direction.
(I know, methodology is a big word, so if you want to provide an example to help take it out of the professional level that only the Sunday School teacher really grasps, please do. Or do most Southern Baptists grasp this Small Group or Cell Group Sunday School method today?)
Southern Baptist innovative pastor Ralph Neighbour Jr. first brought cell groups to the attention of SBC churches. He studied the tremendous growth of cell group churches in Korean and published a book called “Where Do we Go from Here?” He later backed away from the argumentative tone of the book, which really argued that cell groups and Sunday school were incompatible in the same church. His book lays out the principles and best practices for starting and multiplying cell churches.
The attraction for Southern Baptists for the cell or small group method has been fourfold. First, Southern Baptists are pragmatists and love to look into if not imitate what’s successful. It’s hard to argue with the success of the Yoida Full Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea with its near 800,000 well disciple members.
That church is based on cell groups.
Second, Baptists love what’s biblical. They want to be “New Testament churches.” The cell group or house church appears to be the norm for the spread of Christianity in the first century through the ministry of the apostles and other early missionaries.
Cell groups look more like those New Testament house churches than do Sunday School classes on church property, so many SBC churches are moving in that direction.
Third, buildings cost so it is more cost effective and less limiting to growth to simply have cells meet in homes.
Fourth, people wanting to explore Christianity are thought to be more comfortable in a home of a friend as opposed to a classroom on church property. So many SBC leaders believe that cell or small groups meeting in homes is the better way of reaching new people with the gospel.
The education of a Southern Baptist starts in the baby years, and goes through childhood to adulthood, a Discipleship program of some magnitude in conception, and thought out in a curriculum and almost systematic consideration for periods of human development. So I understand in my conversations with various people in the Church who are knowledgeable in the training and education of members, including the education of ministers. You educate ministers at Golden Gate Baptist Seminary located just north of San Francisco in Mill Valley.
As one knowledgeable in such, will you talk a little in this email correspondence about how this helps to make Southern Baptists the “Sunday School Church,” and talk a little of the emphasis for each age range in what they study or look to learn about. Please say something of the Biblical imperative, and the evangelical imperative of the Southern Baptist, if you will.
Southern Baptists (SBs) made their Sunday Schools a center for both evangelism and discipleship and built their campuses accordingly with educational space for all ages equal to or greater than worship space.
To assist this focus of the churches, the Baptist Sunday School Board (now called LifeWay Resources) publishes age-graded Bible teaching literature organized around a cyclical curriculum to cover the sixty-six books of the Bible over a five year period.
SBs were and are serious about sharing the gospel and its implications through the Sunday school and small groups. Most Sunday school leaders are trained to be aware of developmental issues at the formative stages of human development and how the gospel and knowledge of Scripture is best acquired and applied at that stage.
Churches receive coaching and training from their local or state networks called associations at the area level and conventions of churches at the state level. Most of these training events are led by women and men trained in education ministry and human development at one of the many Southern Baptist colleges or six Southern Baptist seminaries for graduate theological education and ministry training.
Most Southern Baptist pastors have a “heart for souls” meaning that they believe God’s Spirit works in the hearts of persons who receive a clear presentation of God’s love and so are drawn into a personal and enduring walk with God.
SBs believe that the mission of Jesus as God’s Son was to remove any barrier to relationship with the holy and loving God through His sacrifice on the cross outside Jerusalem 2000 years ago. It is the Spirit’s work to make that event current as conviction and commitment in lives today.
Southern Baptists are the most self-critical when it comes to whether or not people are being baptized and new churches are being started.
How can a baby go to Sunday School, or a small child? What does this mean for the baby or child?
Infants and young children go to Sunday School as brought by their parents. They learn experientially that church is a safe, loving and interesting environment. They hear music and songs of Jesus and this lays down a rich positive affective memory for their later development as they become more abstract thinkers and are able to read and learn in primary school.
The Sunday school is a large part of Christian life in the Southern Baptist Church. Please let us know why is there so much time spent on Biblical study, and how does a child get to be introduced to the Bible? Can you tell us what you tell the Sunday school Ministers what it is in Christian formation that is key to Sunday school for adult disciples and young people. Tell us, too, what is new in the life of young people in their Christian education. I understand from what I’ve been told this can mean going into the world in a missionary way to help others. What is the lesson here, and what is the need for this for a member in his religious life as a member of the Church?
One of the more interesting changes that is occurring in Sunday School and small group ministry among SBs is the movement, from students to adults, to practice “what we preach” by going on mission locally, regionally, nationally or internationally to show and share the good news.
Teenagers, college students and committed adult adults in many SBC churches regularly build homes and churches, aid at disaster relief sites, conduct training conferences related to health, life and Scripture, and conduct soccer and basketball camps.
This has become so effective that 80% of all meals cooked at Red Cross Disaster Sites are cooked by Southern Baptist volunteers. In preparation for these mission events, the volunteers are trained in personal spiritual formation.
Often called “having a quiet time,” SBs are taught and exhorted to spend time with and for God each day. Many practice the spiritual rule of well known SB evangelist, Billy Graham, “fifteen minutes a day to listen to God (read the Bible), fifteen minutes to talk with God (prayer) and fifteen minutes a day to talk with people about God (gospel evangelism).
Because SBs believe in regenerate church membership (you must have been converted to be a member) and in priesthood of the believers (all members are ministers together), pew sitting in not enough. And the key instrument for mobilizing the members into ministry has been the Sunday school.
What is the role of the Sunday School teacher or staff member in the experience of practicing what is preached?
Church leaders, whether Sunday School teachers or staff members, are the early adapters and eager interpreters of the Sunday sermons. Sometimes the subject of discussion during Sunday School is the sermon. In those instances the teacher leads the members in thinking through the implications and applications from the morning message.
About Rick Durst, who answered the questions in this interview:
Director of eCampus
Professor of Historical Theology
Ph.D. Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary
M.Div. Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary
B.A. California Baptist College
Dr. Rodrick Durst has served as faculty and administration at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary since 1991. He served eleven years as the Vice President of Academic Affairs and, prior to that, three years as the Director of the Southern California Campus.
Dr. Durst loves the classroom. He teaches theology and history from a leadership formation perspective. His passion is for developing life-changing ways of communicating and teaching Christian truth for transformation, retention and rapid reproduction.
His current research includes study of emerging church movements, ecclesiology for rapid cell and simple church multiplication, research into a biblical doctrine of the Trinity, and faith and film.
Dr. Durst tests what he teaches in his local church and in interim pastorates.
He loves cooking, hiking, and art. He and his wife, Kristi, belong and serve at BayMarin Community Church (SBC), San Rafael. The Dursts have three children and one grandson, Donovan.
(These notations are taken from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary website.)
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Play review: Spiritual drama played in North Berkeley by Actors Ensemble--rewarding production
by Peter Menkin
The problems of living in community were dramatized for this rewarding play, "As it is in Heaven" from Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. On a cool night Linda and I visited the comfortable theatre that is part of a recreational center, getting there via directions by MapQuest that led us directly to the foot of the location we wanted to be: Live Oak Theatre, Berkeley, CA USA.
Known better as Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, and well said since the all woman cast of this "Spiritual Drama" was polished and practiced, that their rehearsal and study paid off shown well in the performance we attended on a Saturday night.
The able and even dramatically imaginative directing by Jeremy Cole in his last production of the 2009 season played so well that with nary a hitch the dance and singing, the dialogue and drama moved ahead and movingly in a choreographed series of conversation, angel sightings, character dialogue of a revealing kind on the backgrounds of these dedicated Shaker women. The women were afterall both entertainingly and skillfully played as their 19th Century simplicity of lifestyle and faith in God in Christ at their Kentucky village in Pleasant Hill.
Written with obvious compassion and feeling by playwright Arlene Hutton, this sometime comic and amusing portrayal is a two-act pleasure. As we expected, the evening was a good one as both Linda and I became involved in the lives of these devout and dedicated women of special character and conviction. The musical singing was soothing, melodic enough without being harmonic (appropriately so for Shakers, we learned), and all in all the event was worth the 50 minute drive from where I live in Mill Valley, CA (north of San Francisco).
The North Berkeley location is well lit, and the man behind the ticket counter amusing as he took our money or did the will-call ticket check-in with a little story or a few words to each patron in line. An hospitable experience by the young man who wore a fashionable hat while keeping the line going.
The theatre house blurb notes of the play: "Based on actual events from the Era of Manifestations in the late 1830's, "AIIIH" interprets a time when reports came to light of young Shaker girls experiencing unusual trancelike activities, communication with angels, and descriptive journeys to heavenly places."
Let me note that the Deacon was well played and with a fierceness that was convincing and effective. The elder of the Shaker village women showed her steadfast willingness to keep the community stable and long lasting, though required to make tough decisions about the lives of her flock. An admirable and mature performance by the actress was obvious. In fact, the entire range of performance was mature in outlook and rendering, no small feat given the various emotions and situations of a living kind the women practiced in their work of getting along, living together in religious community.
In conclusion, let the playgoer know that this ensemble play acting will entice and even bring joy with some edification to the fortunate theatre goer who takes the extra measure of checking out Actors Ensemble of Berkeley's very good production of "As It is in Heaven." Certainly, this is a theatre that gives value for the price of admission judging by this show, the first Linda and I have attended.
Addendum:
When: October 23rd - November 21st, Fridays and Saturdays, with an extra show on Thursday, November 19th. All shows 8pm.
What: "As It Is In Heaven"
Who: Actors Ensemble of Berkeley
Where: Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck Avenue (@ Berryman) in Berkeley
Public Info: (510) 649-5999 (510) 649-5999 www.aeofberkeley.org
Admission: All shows - $15 General Admission; $12 for Seniors and Students (w/ I.D.). To order tickets online, go to www.aeofberkeley.org. To reserve tickets, call (510) 649-5999 (510) 649-5999.
Contact: Eric Carlson (510) 525-7511 (510) 525-7511 - unknown5@earthlink.net
Contact: Alan Barkan - sleeping.dog2@gmail.com
Director Jeremy Cole
Musical Director Alexis Lane Jensen
Assistant Director / Props Martha Luehrmann
Stage Manager Jose Garcia
Set Norm De Veyra, Shu Ping Guan
Costumes Elizabeth Van Buren
Lighting Alecks Rundell
Producer Alan Barkan
by Peter Menkin
The problems of living in community were dramatized for this rewarding play, "As it is in Heaven" from Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. On a cool night Linda and I visited the comfortable theatre that is part of a recreational center, getting there via directions by MapQuest that led us directly to the foot of the location we wanted to be: Live Oak Theatre, Berkeley, CA USA.
Known better as Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, and well said since the all woman cast of this "Spiritual Drama" was polished and practiced, that their rehearsal and study paid off shown well in the performance we attended on a Saturday night.
The able and even dramatically imaginative directing by Jeremy Cole in his last production of the 2009 season played so well that with nary a hitch the dance and singing, the dialogue and drama moved ahead and movingly in a choreographed series of conversation, angel sightings, character dialogue of a revealing kind on the backgrounds of these dedicated Shaker women. The women were afterall both entertainingly and skillfully played as their 19th Century simplicity of lifestyle and faith in God in Christ at their Kentucky village in Pleasant Hill.
Written with obvious compassion and feeling by playwright Arlene Hutton, this sometime comic and amusing portrayal is a two-act pleasure. As we expected, the evening was a good one as both Linda and I became involved in the lives of these devout and dedicated women of special character and conviction. The musical singing was soothing, melodic enough without being harmonic (appropriately so for Shakers, we learned), and all in all the event was worth the 50 minute drive from where I live in Mill Valley, CA (north of San Francisco).
The North Berkeley location is well lit, and the man behind the ticket counter amusing as he took our money or did the will-call ticket check-in with a little story or a few words to each patron in line. An hospitable experience by the young man who wore a fashionable hat while keeping the line going.
The theatre house blurb notes of the play: "Based on actual events from the Era of Manifestations in the late 1830's, "AIIIH" interprets a time when reports came to light of young Shaker girls experiencing unusual trancelike activities, communication with angels, and descriptive journeys to heavenly places."
Let me note that the Deacon was well played and with a fierceness that was convincing and effective. The elder of the Shaker village women showed her steadfast willingness to keep the community stable and long lasting, though required to make tough decisions about the lives of her flock. An admirable and mature performance by the actress was obvious. In fact, the entire range of performance was mature in outlook and rendering, no small feat given the various emotions and situations of a living kind the women practiced in their work of getting along, living together in religious community.
In conclusion, let the playgoer know that this ensemble play acting will entice and even bring joy with some edification to the fortunate theatre goer who takes the extra measure of checking out Actors Ensemble of Berkeley's very good production of "As It is in Heaven." Certainly, this is a theatre that gives value for the price of admission judging by this show, the first Linda and I have attended.
Addendum:
When: October 23rd - November 21st, Fridays and Saturdays, with an extra show on Thursday, November 19th. All shows 8pm.
What: "As It Is In Heaven"
Who: Actors Ensemble of Berkeley
Where: Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck Avenue (@ Berryman) in Berkeley
Public Info: (510) 649-5999 (510) 649-5999 www.aeofberkeley.org
Admission: All shows - $15 General Admission; $12 for Seniors and Students (w/ I.D.). To order tickets online, go to www.aeofberkeley.org. To reserve tickets, call (510) 649-5999 (510) 649-5999.
Contact: Eric Carlson (510) 525-7511 (510) 525-7511 - unknown5@earthlink.net
Contact: Alan Barkan - sleeping.dog2@gmail.com
Director Jeremy Cole
Musical Director Alexis Lane Jensen
Assistant Director / Props Martha Luehrmann
Stage Manager Jose Garcia
Set Norm De Veyra, Shu Ping Guan
Costumes Elizabeth Van Buren
Lighting Alecks Rundell
Producer Alan Barkan
Interview: LifeWay Southern Baptist teacher David Francis about Sunday school, the strong program
by Peter Menkin
In a letter via email, LifeWay’sDavid Francis, Director, Sunday school, Discipleship, Church & Network Partnerships, LifeWay Church Resources, supplies a response to this writer’s inquiry regarding Southern Baptists, the Sunday School Church.
He responds in part to questions asked of Sharon Ely Pearson of the Episcopal Church in her earlier interview. The answers themselves provide a context for his statement. But note his email carries this quotation: “As God works through us . . . We will help people--through churches--know Jesus Christ and seek His Kingdom by providing biblical solutions that spiritually transform individuals and cultures.”
The questions with answers are found below this email letter, an informative and full reply that has the mark of inspiration and spontaneity:
The email letter:
Sunday school remains a strong program of ministry in Southern Baptist churches. On a typical Sunday in our denomination, about 6 million people will gather for worship in SBC congregations. About 4 million will attend Sunday school, or two out of three worshipers. My estimate is that these folks will attend one of more than 400,000 Sunday school classes. Well over half of those who attend one of these classes, typically meeting on Sunday mornings before or after a worship service, will be adults.
In an analysis I conducted with Eric Geiger, co-author with LifeWay President Thom Rainer of the popular book Simple Church, we found that in a sample of the SBC's most vibrant churches, over 87% operated Sunday school--or its functional equivalent by another name--as the critical "second step" in their church's discipleship process. 50% of these groups simply called the program "Sunday School." The rest used a different term, although I would agree with one of the comments made in response to the Episcopalian article that most of the folks still just call it "Sunday School" regardless of any new, official, cool name!
The other 12.5%? Those churches' primary "Step 2" strategy was off-campus small groups--at least for the adults. This is a shift in Southern Baptist church practice, to be sure. Nevertheless, Sunday school remains very strong. You can find a copy of a summary of that project here.
In terms of broader "faith formation," the term preferred by your Episcopal source, Sharon Ely Pearson, Southern Baptist churches have traditionally operated another program ministry to help members grow more deeply in their faith, defend its doctrines, and equip themselves for ministry and missions.
This program is typically called "Discipleship" or "Discipleship Training." That name has evolved more than "Sunday School." It was originally "Baptist Young People's Union," then "Training Union," then "Church Training," then "Discipleship Training," and now typically just "Discipleship" or some name that includes the word, such as "University of Discipleship."
Typically, the occasion for "Discipleship" offers a variety of elective options. That occasion has typically been on Sunday evenings, before an evening service. In some churches, the occasion is Wednesday evenings. In others, these elective courses are offered at various times throughout the week.
The important thing to note is that in terms of "faith formation," this program ministry represents sort of a "third step" in a discipleship process where worship attendance is step 1 and a Sunday school class or small group is step 2. Hope that makes sense! Or provides you some ammo for a probing question!
Part of our assignment at LifeWay is to provide curriculum materials for both Sunday school and Discipleship groups. Our full name is LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, and we are governed by a Board elected by the convention, and are therefore an SBC entity. We enjoy a broad base of customers from many denominations, however.
LifeWay also operates a chain of LifeWay Christian Stores and produces Bibles and trade books through our B&H Publishing Division, along with the products and services offered through the division where I work, LifeWay Church Resources.
The Interview:
Is salvation individual, and if it is how the congregational or Church experience does enter into the experience and faith formation process? In what way does LifeWay introduce a concept of individual salvation and the salvation of the congregation and Church?
Salvation is individual for Baptists over against a "covenant" understanding of salvation held by those in some faith walks (such as the Presbyterian Church in which I was raised!). Here is a link to the article on "Salvation" from the Baptist Faith & Message, a statement generally agreed to (but not a creed that is binding on) by Southern Baptists: http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp#iv.
Jerry Vogel, Director of Childhood Ministry Publishing at LifeWay, wrote: "Salvation is definitely an individual response/decision. The church experience for children should include some type of small group learning experience. LifeWay resources begin at birth to lay the foundation upon which God's Spirit can work and draw each child unto Himself in a personal relationship.
These concepts from birth through Preteen are represented in our Levels of Biblical Learning document showing the natural progression of learning precept upon precept by children. Significant adults in the church congregation provide the environment of unconditional love and trust building needed for children to begin their faith journey.
A well-planned scope and sequence provided in LifeWay childhood resources (continued throughout all of LifeSpan, providing foundations for salvation for all focus age groups beyond childhood) helps guide teachers along a balanced journey of creating learning environments for children to "hear, know and do" God's Word.)"
Note: The Levels of Biblical Learning document Vogel refers to is quite impressive, and is a great visual depiction of how LifeWay approaches 10 basic biblical concepts from a developmental view.
Here's a link to an online version:
It has a sister document, Levels of Bible Skills:.
Together, these documents illustrate our approach to "Faith Development." We have similar guidelines that guide our approach to students (youth) and adults: http://www.lifeway.com/studentstrategy/
http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/mainpage/0%2C1701%2CM%25253D200730%2C00.html?cid=RDR-Adults (click on "Connect Grow Serve Grow" handout in toolbar on right if interested)
How is Sunday school Christian oriented? That is student and teacher?
Sunday school teachers must be Christians. The students need not be. That includes adults. We promote Sunday school as "open groups practicing open enrollment."
I have coined a five-word definition of an open group: "Expects new people every week." An open group is an intentional mixture of believers and unbelievers, Baptists and non-Baptists, veteran and "rookie" church-goers. In fact, any person can enroll in any Sunday school class at any time, without making any obligation--to become a church member or even a Christ follower.
The way I say it is "Enrolling in Sunday School does not make you a church member or obligate you to become one." I also have a five-word definition of this concept of "open enrollment:" You can belong before you believe." Even if you never choose to believe. These principles are two of the distinctive of how Sunday school is practiced in many Southern Baptist churches.
What new directions are taken with students, re previous decades? Please speak to the new wave experience of Cell Groups.
I actually "debated" LifeWay's small groups specialist, Rick Howerton, in a live on-line format recently on the topic "Sunday School vs. Small Groups." This "debate" is still available for viewing online here. .
The number one challenge for the small group movement is the question, "What do you do with the kids?" Or, more seriously, at least from the standpoint of faith development, "What do you do meaningfully with the kids?" LifeWay has a brand new resource, Small Group Life that attempts to address that question.
In addition to inexpensive Bible study guides for each participant, who are flexible enough to be used either every week or every other week, free online helps are available for Bible-centered activities with the kids--written in such a way that a teenager can execute the plans--that connect conceptually to the material being studied by the parents. Samples available here.
Does praise of God enter into the equation of Sunday school? What component does this hold in the formal Curriculum?
Music has historically been an important element of Southern Baptist Sunday Schools. Back in the pioneer days of the Sunday school movement, when Sunday Schools met many places where there was no organized church or formal worship/preaching experience, Sunday Schools conducted "opening assemblies," where participants gathered together before going to their individual age-group classes. Singing was an important part of this "general assembly."
Fewer and fewer churches continue this practice today, but some do. In terms of curriculum, all of LifeWay's Sunday school materials for preschoolers and students include music as an important element. Preschool music is available as a separate resource, a CD-ROM that includes additional teaching materials as well as music.
My wife and I teach pre-K kids in our church. Yesterday, we began a unit on prayer. I put the CD in the player and set it to repeat a song about thanking God. After hearing it all morning, the kids were ready to sing it when we gathered for "large group time" to hear the Bible story. In LifeWay's curriculum materials for elementary children, the music CD is included in the Leader Pack. Words to all songs on the CDs are printed in the back of the leader guides. LifeWay's innovative curriculum for youth, KNOWN, includes an mp3 playlist:
http://www.lifeway.com/known. Music as well as serial dramas are a feature of LifeWay's DVD-driven youth curriculum, called Fuel.
What is the prime difference in approach between youth and children, and where does it break? Will you tell us something of the "care and feeding of babies" in the Sunday school experience and approach? This seems unusual, that babies get religious education.
LifeWay is one of the few--if not the only--publisher that produces a line of Sunday school curriculum especially for babies. We believe strongly that that the preschool years are the most important in spiritual as well as physical, emotional, and intellectual development. If nothing else, babies can learn that church is a safe place to go and that people who care for me there love me and love Jesus. One of the Levels of Biblical Learning documents focuses on babies and what we believe they can learn about 8 basic biblical concepts.
What music do you use?
Think I answered that above. We have actually been pleasantly surprised at the success of the new Baptist Hymnal (also published under the name Worship Hymnal) which LifeWay Worship published just last year as the "hard goods" part of an ambitious next generation online platform called The Worship Project. http://www.lifeway.com/worship if you're interested in learning more. This project promises to put great musical accompaniment at the fingertips of even the smallest church.
Why do you think Sunday school practice, that is the Sunday school itself as educational entity in the individual church is so high in the Southern Baptist church? I note the Wall Street Journal article says Sunday Schools are on the decline:
"Why Sunday Schools are Closing," by Charlotte Hays says, "Fewer children are having that experience, though. Like West Olive United Methodist, many churches have drastically curtailed or given up entirely on Sunday school for children. Two years ago, Bruce Morrison, an official with the Missouri Baptist Convention, wrote about attending a "ministry conference where several denominations were represented." During a break, he recalled, "I overheard a discussion between several of the attendees about the value of Sunday school in today's culture. The implication was that Sunday school ministry in the local church is obsolete."
Two responses, not in order: (1) I would recommend that a careful reader of the cited article read the comments posted in response to the online article. Some challenge the accuracy of the reporter's conclusions. Enough said. (2) Sunday School--or more broadly, Bible study in age/life-stage appropriate groups--is just important to Southern Baptists.
Maybe it's a cultural thing. A historical thing. And it is typically year-round. No summer break. Not just for kids while mom and dad go to worship. For the typical Southern Baptist church, the first two steps of its disciple-making process are worship and assimilation/foundational discipleship/fellowship/ministry through small group Bible study. As I note in the conclusion to an analysis conducted as a follow-up to the popular book Simple Church, "What could be simpler? Accomplishing the first two steps of your discipleship process, with every member of the family, on one trip to the church?!?" (Just Google "Sunday School in Simple Church" if you'd like to see the entire paper.)
I was interested to hear you say the worship experience is number one in the Sunday school experience. Will you say more about that and something of the role of the Sermon?
I think my point is the same as above: The worship service is the primary/first step in the discipleship process for most churches today. Sunday school used to be. In fact, Southern Baptist churches were not asked to report worship attendance until 1990, at which time average annual Sunday school attendance was 85% of reported worship attendance. That ratio has steadily declined to a about 2/3, with a typical Sunday finding 4 million people in Southern Baptist Sunday Schools and 6 million people in worship (including preschoolers being cared for during worship, children's worship, any separate youth worship services, etc.).
That is still strong versus the same ratio in other denominations. (Assemblies of God and Nazarenes may give us a run for the money!)
Images: (1) Man at prayer. (2) Dramatic Praise "Chef" Chantéa Kirkwood and the LifeWay choir, led by LifeWay Worship Director Mike Harland, perform in "The Joy of Christmas," LifeWay's 2007 Christmas program. Photo by Kent Harville. (3) Quiet white Snow creates a peaceful scene around Holcomb Auditorium at LifeWay's Glorieta Conference Center outside Santa Fe, N.M. Photo by Kent Harville. (4) The preacher Billy Graham, April 4, 1966. This is a representational and popular photograph of the Reverend (Wikipedia has photo). He is currently 91 years old. (5) Gathered Dozens of men come forward to commit and rededicate their lives to Jesus Christ during an invitation offered at the Be the Man conference May 8-9, at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center. Photo by Kent Harville. Photographs courtesy LifeWay. Slideshow photographs, courtesy LifeWay (Southern Baptist Church).
by Peter Menkin
In a letter via email, LifeWay’sDavid Francis, Director, Sunday school, Discipleship, Church & Network Partnerships, LifeWay Church Resources, supplies a response to this writer’s inquiry regarding Southern Baptists, the Sunday School Church.
He responds in part to questions asked of Sharon Ely Pearson of the Episcopal Church in her earlier interview. The answers themselves provide a context for his statement. But note his email carries this quotation: “As God works through us . . . We will help people--through churches--know Jesus Christ and seek His Kingdom by providing biblical solutions that spiritually transform individuals and cultures.”
The questions with answers are found below this email letter, an informative and full reply that has the mark of inspiration and spontaneity:
The email letter:
Sunday school remains a strong program of ministry in Southern Baptist churches. On a typical Sunday in our denomination, about 6 million people will gather for worship in SBC congregations. About 4 million will attend Sunday school, or two out of three worshipers. My estimate is that these folks will attend one of more than 400,000 Sunday school classes. Well over half of those who attend one of these classes, typically meeting on Sunday mornings before or after a worship service, will be adults.
In an analysis I conducted with Eric Geiger, co-author with LifeWay President Thom Rainer of the popular book Simple Church, we found that in a sample of the SBC's most vibrant churches, over 87% operated Sunday school--or its functional equivalent by another name--as the critical "second step" in their church's discipleship process. 50% of these groups simply called the program "Sunday School." The rest used a different term, although I would agree with one of the comments made in response to the Episcopalian article that most of the folks still just call it "Sunday School" regardless of any new, official, cool name!
The other 12.5%? Those churches' primary "Step 2" strategy was off-campus small groups--at least for the adults. This is a shift in Southern Baptist church practice, to be sure. Nevertheless, Sunday school remains very strong. You can find a copy of a summary of that project here.
In terms of broader "faith formation," the term preferred by your Episcopal source, Sharon Ely Pearson, Southern Baptist churches have traditionally operated another program ministry to help members grow more deeply in their faith, defend its doctrines, and equip themselves for ministry and missions.
This program is typically called "Discipleship" or "Discipleship Training." That name has evolved more than "Sunday School." It was originally "Baptist Young People's Union," then "Training Union," then "Church Training," then "Discipleship Training," and now typically just "Discipleship" or some name that includes the word, such as "University of Discipleship."
Typically, the occasion for "Discipleship" offers a variety of elective options. That occasion has typically been on Sunday evenings, before an evening service. In some churches, the occasion is Wednesday evenings. In others, these elective courses are offered at various times throughout the week.
The important thing to note is that in terms of "faith formation," this program ministry represents sort of a "third step" in a discipleship process where worship attendance is step 1 and a Sunday school class or small group is step 2. Hope that makes sense! Or provides you some ammo for a probing question!
Part of our assignment at LifeWay is to provide curriculum materials for both Sunday school and Discipleship groups. Our full name is LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, and we are governed by a Board elected by the convention, and are therefore an SBC entity. We enjoy a broad base of customers from many denominations, however.
LifeWay also operates a chain of LifeWay Christian Stores and produces Bibles and trade books through our B&H Publishing Division, along with the products and services offered through the division where I work, LifeWay Church Resources.
The Interview:
Is salvation individual, and if it is how the congregational or Church experience does enter into the experience and faith formation process? In what way does LifeWay introduce a concept of individual salvation and the salvation of the congregation and Church?
Salvation is individual for Baptists over against a "covenant" understanding of salvation held by those in some faith walks (such as the Presbyterian Church in which I was raised!). Here is a link to the article on "Salvation" from the Baptist Faith & Message, a statement generally agreed to (but not a creed that is binding on) by Southern Baptists: http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp#iv.
Jerry Vogel, Director of Childhood Ministry Publishing at LifeWay, wrote: "Salvation is definitely an individual response/decision. The church experience for children should include some type of small group learning experience. LifeWay resources begin at birth to lay the foundation upon which God's Spirit can work and draw each child unto Himself in a personal relationship.
These concepts from birth through Preteen are represented in our Levels of Biblical Learning document showing the natural progression of learning precept upon precept by children. Significant adults in the church congregation provide the environment of unconditional love and trust building needed for children to begin their faith journey.
A well-planned scope and sequence provided in LifeWay childhood resources (continued throughout all of LifeSpan, providing foundations for salvation for all focus age groups beyond childhood) helps guide teachers along a balanced journey of creating learning environments for children to "hear, know and do" God's Word.)"
Note: The Levels of Biblical Learning document Vogel refers to is quite impressive, and is a great visual depiction of how LifeWay approaches 10 basic biblical concepts from a developmental view.
Here's a link to an online version:
It has a sister document, Levels of Bible Skills:.
Together, these documents illustrate our approach to "Faith Development." We have similar guidelines that guide our approach to students (youth) and adults: http://www.lifeway.com/studentstrategy/
http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/mainpage/0%2C1701%2CM%25253D200730%2C00.html?cid=RDR-Adults (click on "Connect Grow Serve Grow" handout in toolbar on right if interested)
How is Sunday school Christian oriented? That is student and teacher?
Sunday school teachers must be Christians. The students need not be. That includes adults. We promote Sunday school as "open groups practicing open enrollment."
I have coined a five-word definition of an open group: "Expects new people every week." An open group is an intentional mixture of believers and unbelievers, Baptists and non-Baptists, veteran and "rookie" church-goers. In fact, any person can enroll in any Sunday school class at any time, without making any obligation--to become a church member or even a Christ follower.
The way I say it is "Enrolling in Sunday School does not make you a church member or obligate you to become one." I also have a five-word definition of this concept of "open enrollment:" You can belong before you believe." Even if you never choose to believe. These principles are two of the distinctive of how Sunday school is practiced in many Southern Baptist churches.
What new directions are taken with students, re previous decades? Please speak to the new wave experience of Cell Groups.
I actually "debated" LifeWay's small groups specialist, Rick Howerton, in a live on-line format recently on the topic "Sunday School vs. Small Groups." This "debate" is still available for viewing online here. .
The number one challenge for the small group movement is the question, "What do you do with the kids?" Or, more seriously, at least from the standpoint of faith development, "What do you do meaningfully with the kids?" LifeWay has a brand new resource, Small Group Life that attempts to address that question.
In addition to inexpensive Bible study guides for each participant, who are flexible enough to be used either every week or every other week, free online helps are available for Bible-centered activities with the kids--written in such a way that a teenager can execute the plans--that connect conceptually to the material being studied by the parents. Samples available here.
Does praise of God enter into the equation of Sunday school? What component does this hold in the formal Curriculum?
Music has historically been an important element of Southern Baptist Sunday Schools. Back in the pioneer days of the Sunday school movement, when Sunday Schools met many places where there was no organized church or formal worship/preaching experience, Sunday Schools conducted "opening assemblies," where participants gathered together before going to their individual age-group classes. Singing was an important part of this "general assembly."
Fewer and fewer churches continue this practice today, but some do. In terms of curriculum, all of LifeWay's Sunday school materials for preschoolers and students include music as an important element. Preschool music is available as a separate resource, a CD-ROM that includes additional teaching materials as well as music.
My wife and I teach pre-K kids in our church. Yesterday, we began a unit on prayer. I put the CD in the player and set it to repeat a song about thanking God. After hearing it all morning, the kids were ready to sing it when we gathered for "large group time" to hear the Bible story. In LifeWay's curriculum materials for elementary children, the music CD is included in the Leader Pack. Words to all songs on the CDs are printed in the back of the leader guides. LifeWay's innovative curriculum for youth, KNOWN, includes an mp3 playlist:
http://www.lifeway.com/known. Music as well as serial dramas are a feature of LifeWay's DVD-driven youth curriculum, called Fuel.
What is the prime difference in approach between youth and children, and where does it break? Will you tell us something of the "care and feeding of babies" in the Sunday school experience and approach? This seems unusual, that babies get religious education.
LifeWay is one of the few--if not the only--publisher that produces a line of Sunday school curriculum especially for babies. We believe strongly that that the preschool years are the most important in spiritual as well as physical, emotional, and intellectual development. If nothing else, babies can learn that church is a safe place to go and that people who care for me there love me and love Jesus. One of the Levels of Biblical Learning documents focuses on babies and what we believe they can learn about 8 basic biblical concepts.
What music do you use?
Think I answered that above. We have actually been pleasantly surprised at the success of the new Baptist Hymnal (also published under the name Worship Hymnal) which LifeWay Worship published just last year as the "hard goods" part of an ambitious next generation online platform called The Worship Project. http://www.lifeway.com/worship if you're interested in learning more. This project promises to put great musical accompaniment at the fingertips of even the smallest church.
Why do you think Sunday school practice, that is the Sunday school itself as educational entity in the individual church is so high in the Southern Baptist church? I note the Wall Street Journal article says Sunday Schools are on the decline:
"Why Sunday Schools are Closing," by Charlotte Hays says, "Fewer children are having that experience, though. Like West Olive United Methodist, many churches have drastically curtailed or given up entirely on Sunday school for children. Two years ago, Bruce Morrison, an official with the Missouri Baptist Convention, wrote about attending a "ministry conference where several denominations were represented." During a break, he recalled, "I overheard a discussion between several of the attendees about the value of Sunday school in today's culture. The implication was that Sunday school ministry in the local church is obsolete."
Two responses, not in order: (1) I would recommend that a careful reader of the cited article read the comments posted in response to the online article. Some challenge the accuracy of the reporter's conclusions. Enough said. (2) Sunday School--or more broadly, Bible study in age/life-stage appropriate groups--is just important to Southern Baptists.
Maybe it's a cultural thing. A historical thing. And it is typically year-round. No summer break. Not just for kids while mom and dad go to worship. For the typical Southern Baptist church, the first two steps of its disciple-making process are worship and assimilation/foundational discipleship/fellowship/ministry through small group Bible study. As I note in the conclusion to an analysis conducted as a follow-up to the popular book Simple Church, "What could be simpler? Accomplishing the first two steps of your discipleship process, with every member of the family, on one trip to the church?!?" (Just Google "Sunday School in Simple Church" if you'd like to see the entire paper.)
I was interested to hear you say the worship experience is number one in the Sunday school experience. Will you say more about that and something of the role of the Sermon?
I think my point is the same as above: The worship service is the primary/first step in the discipleship process for most churches today. Sunday school used to be. In fact, Southern Baptist churches were not asked to report worship attendance until 1990, at which time average annual Sunday school attendance was 85% of reported worship attendance. That ratio has steadily declined to a about 2/3, with a typical Sunday finding 4 million people in Southern Baptist Sunday Schools and 6 million people in worship (including preschoolers being cared for during worship, children's worship, any separate youth worship services, etc.).
That is still strong versus the same ratio in other denominations. (Assemblies of God and Nazarenes may give us a run for the money!)
Images: (1) Man at prayer. (2) Dramatic Praise "Chef" Chantéa Kirkwood and the LifeWay choir, led by LifeWay Worship Director Mike Harland, perform in "The Joy of Christmas," LifeWay's 2007 Christmas program. Photo by Kent Harville. (3) Quiet white Snow creates a peaceful scene around Holcomb Auditorium at LifeWay's Glorieta Conference Center outside Santa Fe, N.M. Photo by Kent Harville. (4) The preacher Billy Graham, April 4, 1966. This is a representational and popular photograph of the Reverend (Wikipedia has photo). He is currently 91 years old. (5) Gathered Dozens of men come forward to commit and rededicate their lives to Jesus Christ during an invitation offered at the Be the Man conference May 8-9, at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center. Photo by Kent Harville. Photographs courtesy LifeWay. Slideshow photographs, courtesy LifeWay (Southern Baptist Church).
Reflection on Wellspring
A poem
By Peter Menkin
Revised February 14, 2009
We reflect in words.
The colors of the room
where we go to reflect
are present to the bright
morning time, windows clear to day
letting in much light and largeness
that the privacy of the heart
is awake, more so.
How we are in slumber is noticed during awakening,
and being more alive in the eternal
we grasp time together.
These times allow us with God, to come, go
abide
with knowledge; we are passing through,
journeying with what is given.
That is the renewing sigh of gift.
The season is changing as we come to the end of Pentecost, knowing the
risen Lord.
New living members grow
among the spirit's times, we in quiet pray:
present growing light,
illumine us.
We are in these bodies that are
flesh of man and woman as before time itself;
we know the ancient, and feel our humanity.
Audio reading by poet is here:
A poem
By Peter Menkin
Revised February 14, 2009
We reflect in words.
The colors of the room
where we go to reflect
are present to the bright
morning time, windows clear to day
letting in much light and largeness
that the privacy of the heart
is awake, more so.
How we are in slumber is noticed during awakening,
and being more alive in the eternal
we grasp time together.
These times allow us with God, to come, go
abide
with knowledge; we are passing through,
journeying with what is given.
That is the renewing sigh of gift.
The season is changing as we come to the end of Pentecost, knowing the
risen Lord.
New living members grow
among the spirit's times, we in quiet pray:
present growing light,
illumine us.
We are in these bodies that are
flesh of man and woman as before time itself;
we know the ancient, and feel our humanity.
Audio reading by poet is here:
Summer weather ballyhoo rejoice heat wave
by Peter Menkin
Audio reading by poet is here:
by Peter Menkin
Hot comes the days,
to languor
and avoid the warm; wait
evening after sunset
hour of cool; summer sends
messages with earlier sunset,
darker morning, laze to late
wakening and night good
with Sunday that special time.
Come festive days, wanted weather.
Straw hats, suits, shorts, lace
gown, khakis; costumed for roller
skating go the mother-daughter duo,
costumed things grown up growing.
And there the grandmother sachet for
granddaughter from the ice cream
store where flavors abide (many).
Do, yes, heat wave people talk,
eat ice cream (cones and Sundays)
yogurt, while children delight
heat wave, hot, warm today.
Two Christenings, (three months and
four years) twenty years later
dialogue of pulpits in one sermon;
many rejoinders of September
heat wave; coolness desired must.
What a good report this weather
brings in blazing ballyhoo rejoice.
Audio reading by poet is here:
Saturday, October 31, 2009
The October days are here,
We reflect on two Apostles
“…he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off…”
Homily
Peter Menkin, Obl Cam OSB
Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal)
Mill Valley, CA USA
(North of San Francisco)
Wednesday Eucharist, October 28, 2009
Deuteronomy 32: 1-4
Ephesians 2: 13-22
John 15: 17-27
Psalm 119: 89-96
In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Words from Deuteronomy, and they well describe the words an Apostle speaks. An introduction to this Homily about Apostles:
Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak
Let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
May my teaching drop like the rain,
My speech condense like the dew;
Like gentle rain on grass,
Like showers on new growth.
For I will proclaim the name of the LORD;
Ascribe greatness to our God!
The Rock, his work is perfect,
And all his ways are just.
A faithful God, without deceit,
Just and upright is he…
The October days are here, Fall is here, the season of change--for winter is coming and at this time we look to see the light change. Days grow shorter. The weather is cooler here north of San Francisco in Mill Valley, and it is sometimes necessary to turn the heat on in the evening.
Last night was like that, colder, and as I thought of God and reflected on what it meant to be an Apostle, my mind was infected with the change of weather and light, even the darkness that now has gathered at this early yet still into the evening hour of the day.
I thought… and my heart said they are Apostles who spoke of God, spoke to and into the world, and gave us hope, having been commissioned by Christ himself when alive. Almost mythical in dimension, they are separate from the special yet regular disciple. When sent out into the world to speak the Good News Apostles had that wonderful and special spirit upon them: The Holy Spirit. They are the special disciples of Christ, extraordinary and unique in the history of the world.
Today I speak of Saint Simon, the Zealot, and Saint Jude. Lesser known Apostles, but still of that special group so filled with the Spirit of God and willing to bring their holiness and message, as messengers, out to the world itself:
Mankind was waiting to hear, though they knew them not, they knew the Lord Christ not, they knew the Good News not.
Heralds is what they were, and their spirit lives still, renewed through generations and remembered generation by generation.
Let us speak briefly of these two men on their special day when we celebrate them.
Here we are on this day remembering Simon.
Here we are on this day remembering Jude.
Jude is the only Apostle I can remember who has a special place in the world of print, for you can find him in the classified section of newspapers. Albeit a small place, a small advertisement, but the heart that placed the ad offers a public message bringing the word vibrantly if almost unknown in its content to the greater world. It is a message of last hope, a message of Gospel dimension in 6 point type, so is a prayer to Jude.
First, what are these small prayers, these pleas for help in the last moments and days of hope, directed in plea to Jude for aid.
In that 6 point type are even there building blocks of the Church?
As Origen writes in a homily on the Book of Joshua, “Like living stones, let ourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
So his quote from the Bible goes in his message, “…in this building of the Church there must also be an altar. From this I conclude that those of you who are ready and prepared to give up your time to prayer, to offer petitions and sacrifices of supplication to God day and night, such people I say will be the living stones out of which Jesus will build his altar.”
Jude is little known, but famous too as last to be noticed, for in history he was confused with Judas, so as overlooked and almost forgotten, he became the Saint for those of lost causes and final hope appealed to in time of (needed) prayer, prayers given in their offering petitions and sacrifices of supplication to God.
It is a quiet and not so directly proactive an Evangelical way of Apostleship for which Jude is best known, but he is in this way of the Lord building the Church.
Jude: known as patron saint of lost causes.
As for Simon the Zealot, the book, “Celebrating the Saints,” says:
There is no indication in the Gospels whether Simon moved from the Zealot party to be a follower of Christ or, on the other hand, if after the resurrection he became a supporter of that group seeing it as a response to God’s call to proclaim the Kingdom.
Again, Origen urges us to be stones as were the Apostles, stones for God…
…united in belief and purpose, let us hope that God may find us stones fit for his altar.
Simon the Zealot, not to be confused with Simon Peter, was an Apostle who built the Church. As we move towards the end of the Church year and a remembrance of All Souls
and All Saints, as we see the light change and remember soon those who have died, the words of Psalm 119 commemorating this day are a reminder of Simon the Zealot’s devotion and the will of God:The LORD exists forever;
Your word is firmly fixed in heaven.
Your faithfulness endures to all
Generations;
You have established the earth, and
It stands fast.
By your appointment they stand today,
For all things are your servants.
Is it not a comfort, these words of the Psalm?
The Church lives.
The LORD exists forever.
This is where the power of that word spoken by Simon the Zealot and Jude came from. Their words came from Christ in a commissioning:
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself so that they also may be sanctified in truth.
That beautiful section of John is worth a look, it is John 1: 17-27. It concludes:
“Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these known that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
The Apostles are a glorious group, and they were faithful and zealous in their mission. As the Collect of the day says, let us pray,
…so we may with ardent devotion make known the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…
These lovely words from Ephesians make a better ending to this Homily than anything I could write. Do these words not say what the Apostles did for all of us:
So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God…
• The Lord bless us and keep us. Amen.
• The Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious to us. Amen.
• The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace. Amen.
Audio of Homily as given at Church of Our Saviour, Mill Valley, CA USA:
Monday, September 28, 2009
Peacemaker blessed, may he banish
From us striving and hatred:
Archangel Michael (Hymn 282)
“The Hymnal 1982,” Episcopal Church USA
Homily
Peter Menkin, Obl Cam OSB
Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal)
Mill Valley, CA USA
Wednesday Eucharist, September 30, 2009
Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 1994
Genesis 28: 10-17
Revelation 12: 7-12
John 1: 47-51
Psalm 103
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us speak of angels, one in particular with who all are familiar as they are familiar with their Bible: Michael… Holy Archangel Michael: Prince of Angels, Prince of Light, Defeater of Satan, Helper of Mankind, Leader of Armies of Angels.
One prayer regarding Angels said for evening time reads:
That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill
…we entreat you, O Lord.
Angels are higher than man in the order of celestial beings, supernatural these spirits of God fight evil, for it is said Michael defeated Satan himself. Thank God.
One Episcopal sermon states of Angels: Angel, of course, means messenger, and Archangel means first or highest messenger. The angels deliver messages and do God's bidding. According to Tradition, Michael is the archangel who battled Lucifer, the fifth archangel who began the first war in Heaven…
[Grace Church in Providence, 14 September, 2008,
Preached by: The Rev. Rich Bardusch]
My Homily is a list of the wonderful attributes of Michael and angels in general. For example, Pope Leo XII prayed this prayer:
Saint Michael, Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
Those devoted to angels offer to God in Christ a form of Christian life characterized by:
• Gratitude to God for having these heavenly spirits of sanctity and dignity aid man;
• A devotional attitude that lives in the constant presence of God’s Holy Angels;
• That there is serenity and confidence granted us by this knowledge of angels when facing difficult situations;
• That the Lord guides and protects the faithful through the ministry of Holy Angels.
Who is so brave, noble, and mighty a warrior in heavenly things as Michael?
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world -- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
-- Revelation 12:7-9 [RSV]
In matters celestial, who aids us as does Michael? It is said that at the time of death, Michael helps each of us cross over to the afterlife. He is a minister of God.
At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time; but at that time your people shall be delivered, every one whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
--Daniel 12:1-3 [RSV]
Just speaking these wonderful words of promise is worthwhile.
Many people believe there is healing in angels, and when a stressful or negative experience causes pain, either physical or emotional pain, it's wonderful to call on the Archangel Michael. He is supreme helper in any experience that brings up fear. If you need an additional convincer of his ability to lead and give courage, know he was one of Joan of Arc’s voices.
Great and heroic is Michael.
Tradition declares that Michael entered upon his role of defender at the time of the biblical patriarchs. The wonderful historic Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob tells us, it was Michael who rescued Abraham from the furnace into which he had been thrown by Nimrod Michael, the told Abraham that Lot had been taken captive, and Michael protected Sarah from being defiled by Abimelech. He also announced to Sarah that she would bear a son, and he rescued Lot at the destruction of Sodom.
An amazing and mythical angel of power and might, we know that as messenger and helper of mankind, there are forces of good led by God’s goodness. These celestial creatures of spirit have been in places of Biblical history Midrash of Hebrew scholarship says. Angels and Michael in particular are known to the Old Testament, as we see.
It is said that Michael prevented Isaac from being sacrificed by his father by substituting a ram in his place. Later Michael prevented Laban from harming Jacob According to one source, it was Michael who wrestled with Jacob and who afterward blessed him.
The midrash Exodus Rabbah holds that Michael exercised his function of advocate of Israel at the time of the Exodus also, when Satan (as an adversary) accused the Israelites of idolatry and declared that they were consequently deserving of death.
A wonderful statue of Archangel Michael stands at an entrance of England’s Coventry Cathedral. Dramatic and bold, magnificent, this statue proclaims the victory of the Church, the victory of good over evil, the vanquishing of Satan. Coventry Cathedral was ruined in the Second World War, and it is fitting that the Archangel Michael as bold leader of Heaven’s Angels did aid in the defeat of the Axis Powers by the Allies. That he is helpfully responsible for the rebuilding of the Cathedral and instrumental in the preservation of the Church.
My favorite quote from the Bible about Michael is this one:
Once when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing before him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him, ‘Are you one of us, or one of our adversaries?’ He replied, ‘neither; but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshipped, and he said to him, ‘What do you command your servant, my lord?’ The commander of the army of the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy.’ And Joshua did so.
--Joshua 5:13-15 [NRSV]
But of course, our Gospel tells us from John there is an angel quality to the Apostles, but more that at the end angels will appear.
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you,” you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.
--John 1: 47-51
I believe Angels help us to believe, not because we believe in angels, but because angels believe in us. It is angelic to have faith. It is celestial to hold the heavens and God in Christ in ones heart. It is angelic to turn towards the good, to have mercy, to believe. It is angelic to hold as spirit the awesome magnificence of life and our creator.
Glorify the Lord, O spirits and souls of the righteous,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever…
Let us glorify the Lord: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him for ever.
Amen.
Audio of Homily is here:
Friday, September 11, 2009
Preacher and Word of Holy Spirit
A poem by Peter Menkin
September 10, 2009
September, days of Pentecost,
What comes here now...?
Sensibly bring to talk about sermons:
The Holy Spirit.
Modern days, 21st Century days
In this State, in this County, in this town;
let’s not speak of religion,
Or faith, or spiritual terms
This post Christian era—
Its despair of no God, Christ(?)
What is: What comes?
Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost—
That Word, the Word,
What comes here now.
Speak in sermon, spontaneously
We say, and mention the work
Of the Holy Spirit in this enterprise
Of preaching, saying from the pulpit,
The lectern, standing before the faithful,
Of Gospel: breathing language.
Tame words, not so--always, but passion
Of history, time, man, Christ
And God, Holy Spirit. Always.
What comes here now...?
I believe, so the preacher preaches,
And he writes or says extemporaneously
Talk driven and meant for listening to & for
Of Pentecost, the tongues of language and flame,
Its working ways come forth! Halleluajah!
Christ is Risen, come Holy Spirit.
Photo by Rick White of Mill Valley, CA USA. A retired travel photographer for TWA, among others, Rick also worked in advertising at noteworthy Chicago agencies as an art director. This recent photograph by him taken Summer, 2009 is titled, "Sunflower."
Audio reading of poem by poet is here:
Monday, August 24, 2009
The problems with U.S. Textbooks in their religious instruction, report on a study, by Peter Menkin
In a reliable and even remarkable study, The Institute for Jewish & Community Research, located in San Francisco, published a work on religion in American textbooks. These textbooks, used in the United States’ schools, make many errors of religious fact—surprising and even egregious errors.
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The book is titled, “The Trouble with Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion,” published by Lexington Books, a division of Rowman and Littlefield, Publishers..
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http://www.lexingtonbooks.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=^DB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0739130935.
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The effort of five years by the late researcher Gary Tobin, PhD (former President of the Institute), and Dennis Ybarra, MBA, was discussed both by email and webcam..
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Part One: The interview begins .
Dennis Ybarra says via email:.
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How many textbooks are in the study? I’ve a copy of the Executive Summary, found on your website www.TroublewithTextbooks.org :.
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I reviewed 28 textbooks. Up until now, I declined to segregate the 28 into subsets of pass or failing overall because the content in each of them is so “all over the map.” Meaning that in the four areas we analyzed: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Israel, many are very good in one area and terrible in another. .
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Why do you say some are “…good in one area and terrible in another?”.
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Part Two: What Jewish and Community Research says of themselves, an introduction.
The introduction to the Executive Summary boldly notes for the book:.
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“The Trouble with Textbooks sounds the alarm about how textbooks disparage some groups and teach historical distortions. Our schools are supposed to instill young people with American values and provide students with the knowledge necessary for good citizenship. Instead, textbooks are filled with mistakes and misrepresentations.”.
.
The research was conducted under the funding by and auspices of The Institute for Jewish and Community Research, whose tri-fold purposes are as “…an independent think tank devoted to creating a safe, secure, and growing Jewish community. We provide research to the Jewish community and the general society, utilize our information to design and develop innovative initiatives, and educate the general public and opinion leaders.”.
.
They explain: .
.
(1) “The Institute conducts survey research about religious prejudice.” .
.
(2) “The Institute engages in research about megagifts in American philanthropy, giving to higher education, and philosophies of giving. We also specialize in research about Jewish philanthropy, including foundations and motivations for giving to Jewish causes.” .
.
(3) “We study the demography of the Jewish people, looking at how Jewish identity is defined and expressed. We examine issues relating to inter-marriage, conversion and the racial and ethnic diversity of the Jewish people.”.
.
Regarding their study on textbooks, the Executive Summary explains that people of religious faith will find the errors obvious, once they look at the textbooks. The Institute’s Dennis Ybarra urges parents to read their child’s textbook, and says the Executive Summary is readable and useful to school boards in San Francisco’s Bay Area, and in the United States..
.
Part three: The interview again… then the chart.
.
Some remarks by the writer of this article:
To the religious, whether Christian or Jew, some substantive facts are important. Jesus was a Jew. Jesus lived in Israell, or the Hebrew area of the world which was Judah and Israel. Jesus is without qualification considered the Messiah by Christians, and it is Biblical that he rose from the dead, not only a tradition or belief. As a central part of the faith, that is vital, for Easter is the most important Christian Holiday of the year..
.
These, as I say, are important points: even very significant. A substantive religious instruction for Jews and Christians is that Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. This is not a vague or questionable teaching. It is clearly visible and part of a believers set of understandings, let alone a general reader of the Bible..
.
That there are many concerns relevant to today’s Jewish tradition, for I did note many quotes from the Jerusalem Post to get to the “moral” side of the article using the words of the researchers. These are Jewish faith moral concerns, and valid. Jews have a valid and highly regarded moral sense, so I think and is popularly believed. Christians, too, will find these same concerns with their moral dimension, for afterall the two faiths share various areas of teaching for the Old Testament is part of the Christian Bible. Christians and scholars, as well as parents and those whose lessons these are will find the issues and their controversies of moral as well as historic and factual concern of accuracy alone..
.
.The textbooks fail to meet the devotional practices as they are in fact practiced. Here is a chart from the work:.
.
Islamic teachings are treated as historical truth while Judaism and Christianity are presented with a skeptical tone.
Textbook publishers pass on material that proselytizes for Islam rather than more properly teaches about Islam.
.In looking through this comparison chart that notes the language used for Beliefs of the three major religions in the selected textbooks, the chart shows starting on the right: The textbook name and publisher; the religion (as Judiasm, Christianity, Islam). Read carefully for wording, for the differences are subtle, even in nuance. The implication though slight here begins to show a pattern, making the affect of approach to each weighted in a different manner: “story”/”revealed”; “claimed”/”revelation received”; “claimed”/received revelation from Allah”, and so on..
.
Table 5.1: Comparison of Language Used for Beliefs of the.
Three Major Religions in Selected Textbooks.
.
Textbook. Judaism. Christianity. Islam.
The World (Pearson/Scott Foresman) . Caption to a picture of a seder plate: “Foods on the seder plate are symbolic of an ancient Hebrew story.” . . “The pilgrimage, or hajj (haj), to Mecca is an essential part of Islam, the religion revealed to Muhammad . . . .” .
World History: Continuity and Change (Holt). Glossary entry: “Ten Commandments Moral laws Moses claimed to have received from the Hebrew God Yahweh on Mount Sinai.” . . Glossary entry: “Qur’an Holy Book of Islam containing revelations received by Muhammad from God.”.
.
World Civilizations: The Global Experience (Pearson). . Glossary entry: “Jesus of Nazareth” reads in part, “prophet and teacher among the Jews; believed by Christians to be the Messiah . . . .” . Glossary entry: “Muhammad Prophet of Islam . . .; received revelations from Allah in 610 C.E. and thereafter . . . .” .
Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction. (McDougal Littell). . “According to the New Testament, Jesus of Nazareth was born around 6 to 4 B.C.” “According to Jesus’ followers, he rose from the dead. . . .” . “Muhammad’s teachings, which are the revealed word of God . . . , are found in the holy book called the Qur’an.” .
World Cultures and Geography - Eastern Hemisphere (McDougal Littell). Teacher’s Planning Guide:.
“[Section] Overview: Key Ideas.
Birthplace of Three Religions . . ..
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all share common traits.” .
“Judaism is a story of exile.”. “Christians believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah.”. “The Qur’an is the collection of God’s revelations to Muhammad”.
.
Glencoe World History (McGraw-Hill). “Then, because of drought, the Israelites migrated to Egypt, where they were enslaved until Moses led them out of Egypt. . . . Some interpretations of recent archaeological evidence contradict details of the biblical account.”. . .
.
.
.
.
Further in its introduction, the study says:.
.
Some supplemental materials are inflammatory. They posit that Israeli Jews are white European colonialists in the same unsavory category as the imperialist European countries..
.
• The Arab nations never attacked Israel. Arab-Israeli wars “just broke out,” or Israel started them. .
• Arabs nations want peace but Israel does not..
• Israel expelled all Palestinian refugees..
• Israel put the Palestinians in refugee camps in Arab.
lands, not Arab governments..
.
Questions we asked of Dennis Ybarra, again, regarding the study..
What was your methodology?.
Please tell us more?.
What about San Francisco’s Bay Area schools and textbooks?.
Were there other errors of note you want to mention in the textbooks? These may be from any of the textbooks, not just those used in San Francisco’s Bay Area..
.
“This is another error: Excepting the Old Testament’s poetry, the Jews produced very little of note in any of the art forms. . . . There is no record of any important [early] Jewish contributions to the sciences.” (World Civilizations, Thomson Wadsworth).
.
We found that, in many of the 28 textbooks, the following:.
.
1. Negative stereotypes of Jews appear in textbooks..
2. Textbooks misrepresent the close relationship between Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity..
3. Textbook material from Muslim advocacy groups glorifying Islam over Judaism and Christianity is placed in textbooks verbatim by compliant publishers. .
.
The writer of the article notes again...
The moral question of fairness, of the impartiality and objective nature of textbook quality is not dealt with very much in this article. News media have offered the story in a context of fairness, the moral condition of attitude and fact regarding religious content..
As a note, this writer wants to add that researcher Dennis Ybarra believes textbook publishers may not be “purposefully creating errors,” but they are responding to what they are handed, many times without much review and as it was handed to them..
.
The researcher says, “We did not speak to publishers as part of the research. Our purpose was to identify the problems. During my research I noticed that the textbook publishing world was amazingly closed..
.
“No one from the major industry players was willing to publicly criticize the way textbooks are written, the textbook adoption process and its less than desirable results, or textbook content. The one or two exceptions from published sources were from people who had left the industry.”.
.
.
What has the press said about the book, so far?. .
Part Four: What others say, including quotes from this study’s researchers as published elsewhere .
In a particularly pointed article both researchers are interviewed. The Jerusalem Post of September 25, 2008 says in its headline, “U.S. textbooks misrepresent Jews and Israel.”.
.
These are quotes from that Jerusalem Post article written by HAVIV RETTIG GUR
These quotes highlight words said by the researchers published in the newspaper and include those of the late Gary Tobin:.
.
In their treatment of Judaism, too, the textbooks showed a negative bias, according to the study. They often expressed a view that “Jews and Judaism are legalistic,” and that “Jews care only about the letter of the law and ignore its spirit,” the study found. The Jewish God is presented as “stern and warlike,” and not compassionate, as is highlighted in other religions. In some instances, Jews are charged with deicide in the killing of Jesus. .
.
The study also found that 18 textbooks used “unscholarly and disparaging ‘Old Testament’ terminology for the Jewish scriptures when discussing the origins of Judaism.” .
.
The study compared language used in describing Jewish and Christian belief with that describing Muslim belief. “The textbooks tend to be critical of Jews and Israel, disrespectful about Christianity, and rather than represent Islam in an objective way, tend to glorify it,” says Ybarra. .
.
“Textbook publishers often defer completely to Muslim groups for their content [on Islam] because they want to be sensitive to Muslim concerns,” he explained. “So they write that Mohammed is a prophet of God, without the qualifier you should have in a public school that shows you’re teaching about religion, rather than teaching religion.” .
.
One example among the many cited in the study is in World History: Continuity and Change, in which a glossary entry on the Ten Commandments describes them as “Moral laws Moses claimed to have received from the Hebrew God Yahweh on Mount Sinai.” .
.
The same glossary describes the Koran as a “Holy Book of Islam containing revelations received by Muhammad from God” - without a conditional qualifier. .
.
“Islam is treated with a devotional tone in some textbooks, less detached and analytical than it ought to be,” the study finds. “Muslim beliefs are described in several instances as fact, without any clear qualifier such as ‘Muslims believe… .’ .
.
“No religion should be presented in history textbooks as absolute truth, either on its own or compared to any other, or they all should be.” .
.
.
What some others think of the work is offered on the book jacket, and one quote goes this way (an endorsement):.
“The Trouble with Textbooks is a very important book not only for Jews but for the entire Christian community. This volume is an excellent tool for anyone who is interested in balanced information that is fair and reliable concerning Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.”.
Rev. John J. Keane, SA, general council member and ecumenical officer,.
Franciscan Friars of the Atonement.
.
.
.
All quotations “excerpted from Executive Summary, Trouble with Textbooks, TroublewithTextbooks.org”.
.
Addendum:
The textbooks of the study listed here:
1. Arreola, Daniel. D., Marci Smith Deal, James F. Peterson, and.
Rickie Sanders. World Geography. California teacher’s ed..
Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2006..
2. Beck, Roger B., Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor,.
and Dahia Ibo Shabaka. Modern World History: Patterns of.
Interaction. Teacher’s ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2005..
3. Beck, Roger B., Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor,.
and Dahia Ibo Shabaka. Ancient World History: Patterns of.
Interaction. Teacher’s ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2005..
4. Beck, Roger B., Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor,.
and Dahia Ibo Shabaka. World History: Patterns of Interaction..
Student ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2003..
5. Bednarz, Sarah W., Ines M. Miyares, Mark C. Schug, and.
Charles S. White. World Cultures and Geography: Eastern.
Hemisphere and Europe. Teacher’s ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal.
Littell, 2005..
6. Berson, Michael J., ed. World History. (Harcourt Horizons)..
Teacher’s ed. Orlando: Harcourt, 2005..
.
.
7. Boehm, Richard G., Claudia Hoone, Thomas M. McGowan,.
Mabel C. McKinney-Browning, Ofelia B. Miramontes, and.
Priscilla H. Porter. Ancient Civilizations. (Harcourt Brace Social.
Studies). Teacher’s ed. Orlando: Harcourt Brace, 2002..
8. Bulliet, Richard W., Pamela Kyle Crossley, Daniel R. Headrick,.
Steven W. Hirsch, Lyman L. Johnson, and David Northrup. The.
Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. Advanced placement ed..
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005..
9. Carrington, Laurel, Mattie P. Collins, Kira Iriye, Rudy J..
Martinez, and Peter N. Stearns, eds. World History: The.
Human Journey. Student ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and.
Winston, 2003..
10. Carrington, Laurel, Mattie P. Collins, Kira Iriye, Rudy J..
Martinez, and Peter N. Stearns, eds. World History: The Human.
Journey, Modern World. Teacher’s ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart.
and Winston, 2005..
11. Hanes, William T. III, ed. World History: Continuity & Change..
Annotated teacher’s ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,.
1999..
12. Harcourt Horizons, ed., The World. (Harcourt Horizons)..
Teacher’s ed. Orlando: Harcourt, 2003..
13. Helgren, David M., Robert J. Sager, and Alison S. Brooks..
People, Places, and Change. Teacher’s ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart.
and Winston, 2005..
14. Sager, Robert J., and David M. Helgren. World Geography Today..
Teacher’s ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2005..
.
15. Bentley, Jerry H. and Herbert F. Ziegler. Traditions and.
Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past. Boston: McGraw-.
Hill, 2006..
.
25. Jacob, Heidi H., and Michal L. LeVasseur. The Ancient World..
(World Studies). Teacher’s ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:.
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005..
26. Stearns, Peter N., Michael Adas, Stuart B. Schwartz, and Marc.
Jason Gilbert. World Civilizations: The Global Experience. 4th ed.,.
Advanced placement ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006..
.
27. Adler, Philip J., and Randall L. Pouwels. World Civilizations..
4th ed., Instructor’s ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson,.
2006..
28. Upshur, Jiu-Hwa L., Janice J. Terry, James P. Holoka, Richard.
D. Goff, and George H. Cassar. World History Since 1500: The.
Age of Global Integration. vol. 2. Belmont, CA:.
Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2002..
16. Boehm, Richard G., David G. Armstrong, Francis P. Hunkins,.
Dennis Reinhartz, and Merry Lobrecht. The World and Its.
People. Teacher’s ed. New York, McGraw-Hill/Glencoe, 2005..
17. Farah, Mounir A., and Andrea Berens Karls. World History: The.
Human Experience. Student ed. New York: McGraw-.
Hill/Glencoe, 2001..
18. Greenblatt, Miriam and Peter S. Lemmo. Human Heritage: A.
World History. Teacher’s ed. New York: McGraw-.
Hill/Glencoe, 2006..
19. Lamm, Robert C. The Humanities in Western Culture. Boston:.
McGraw-Hill, 1996..
20. Spielvogel, Jackson J. Glencoe World History. Teacher’s ed. New.
York: McGraw-Hill/Glencoe, 2005..
.
21. Ahmad, Iftikhar, Herbert Brodsky, Marylee Susan Crofts, and.
Elisabeth Gaynor Ellis. World Cultures: A Global Mosaic..
Teacher’s ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall,.
2004..
22. Boyd, Candy D., Geneva Gay, Rita Geiger, James B. Kracht,.
Valerie O. Pang, C. Frederick Risinger, Sara M. Sanchez. The.
World. (Scott Foresman Social Studies). Teacher’s ed..
Glenview, IL: Pearson/Scott Foresman, 2005..
23. Ellis, Elisabeth G., and Anthony Esler. World History:.
Connections to Today. Student ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:.
Prentice Hall, 2001..
24. Jacob, Heidi H., and Michal L. LeVasseur. Medieval Times to.
Today. (World Studies). Teacher’s ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:.
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005..
25. Jacob, Heidi H., and Michal L. LeVasseur. The Ancient World..
(World Studies). Teacher’s ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:.
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005..
26. Stearns, Peter N., Michael Adas, Stuart B. Schwartz, and Marc.
Jason Gilbert. World Civilizations: The Global Experience. 4th ed.,.
Advanced placement ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006..
.
27. Adler, Philip J., and Randall L. Pouwels. World Civilizations..
4th ed., Instructor’s ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson,.
2006..
28. Upshur, Jiu-Hwa L., Janice J. Terry, James P. Holoka, Richard.
D. Goff, and George H. Cassar. World History Since 1500: The.
Age of Global Integration. vol. 2. Belmont, C.
.
The Jewish and Community Institute, San Francisco emphasizes that one of their important purposes is to bring to public understanding, both in their own community and that of the larger communities, that Jewish people are comprised of many kinds of colors, races, peoples. It is a diverse people, explains Dennis Ybarra in a webcam background interview with this writer. This YouTube is a Jewish prayer, chosen because the institute engages in a business of research into subjects as diverse as the Madoff philanthropy scandal, this study on textbooks, and areas of Jewish identity, including its wide ranging composition of faith by many nationalities.
YouTube notes say of this video: Sonia Wieder-Atherton plays a jewish prayer.
.Final part: Notes on the article by the writer of the interview about and review of “Trouble with Textbooks”
This article’s Writer’s notes: This writer wants readers to recognize that the controversies of this textbook study take into account Muslim influence on the factual reports, so the researchers say and in fairness this report offers..
.
It is important to know that the Muslim influence on textbook content is very high, and regarded by Christians and Jews as not the kind of representation of their religious views that expresses in a fair manner their beliefs. Of course, judge for yourself as either a parent, a teacher, or an academic. Clearly, teachers bring in supplemental materials on subjects, many times from their home or own research on behalf of a school. They do so with that supplied by their school. Are students endangered with ignorance to basic beliefs. Maybe not in a crisis sense, but this writer agrees with the researchers that they are being mised..
.
Certainly, Muslims are entitled to their way of looking at these things. One salient and important point, and though not until the end is it mentioned again as a moral issue regarding press motivations for covering this story, is that of fairness and accuracy of viewpoint, representation, and religious belief and fact as due to the individual faith. Your comments are invited as a reader of this article..
.
–article by Peter Menkin, Mill Valley, CA USA
In a reliable and even remarkable study, The Institute for Jewish & Community Research, located in San Francisco, published a work on religion in American textbooks. These textbooks, used in the United States’ schools, make many errors of religious fact—surprising and even egregious errors.
.
The book is titled, “The Trouble with Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion,” published by Lexington Books, a division of Rowman and Littlefield, Publishers..
.
http://www.lexingtonbooks.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=^DB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0739130935.
.
The effort of five years by the late researcher Gary Tobin, PhD (former President of the Institute), and Dennis Ybarra, MBA, was discussed both by email and webcam..
.
Part One: The interview begins .
Dennis Ybarra says via email:.
.
How many textbooks are in the study? I’ve a copy of the Executive Summary, found on your website www.TroublewithTextbooks.org :.
.
I reviewed 28 textbooks. Up until now, I declined to segregate the 28 into subsets of pass or failing overall because the content in each of them is so “all over the map.” Meaning that in the four areas we analyzed: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Israel, many are very good in one area and terrible in another. .
.
Why do you say some are “…good in one area and terrible in another?”.
.
This is because the sections in one of these areas may be exemplary while others are egregious. ..
.
Part Two: What Jewish and Community Research says of themselves, an introduction.
The introduction to the Executive Summary boldly notes for the book:.
.
“The Trouble with Textbooks sounds the alarm about how textbooks disparage some groups and teach historical distortions. Our schools are supposed to instill young people with American values and provide students with the knowledge necessary for good citizenship. Instead, textbooks are filled with mistakes and misrepresentations.”.
.
The research was conducted under the funding by and auspices of The Institute for Jewish and Community Research, whose tri-fold purposes are as “…an independent think tank devoted to creating a safe, secure, and growing Jewish community. We provide research to the Jewish community and the general society, utilize our information to design and develop innovative initiatives, and educate the general public and opinion leaders.”.
.
They explain: .
.
(1) “The Institute conducts survey research about religious prejudice.” .
.
(2) “The Institute engages in research about megagifts in American philanthropy, giving to higher education, and philosophies of giving. We also specialize in research about Jewish philanthropy, including foundations and motivations for giving to Jewish causes.” .
.
(3) “We study the demography of the Jewish people, looking at how Jewish identity is defined and expressed. We examine issues relating to inter-marriage, conversion and the racial and ethnic diversity of the Jewish people.”.
.
Regarding their study on textbooks, the Executive Summary explains that people of religious faith will find the errors obvious, once they look at the textbooks. The Institute’s Dennis Ybarra urges parents to read their child’s textbook, and says the Executive Summary is readable and useful to school boards in San Francisco’s Bay Area, and in the United States..
.
Part three: The interview again… then the chart.
.
• The name “Palestine” is used liberally and innacurately. Prior to the Roman suppression of the Jewish revolts and the Romans’ renaming of the land as a punishment for the revolts, the land was not known as Palestine...• “Palestine” is referred to as the location of Jesus’ ministry even though.
the word is unknown in Christian sources..
• Christianity is described a having been founded “by a young Palestinian named Jesus.”.
Some remarks by the writer of this article:
To the religious, whether Christian or Jew, some substantive facts are important. Jesus was a Jew. Jesus lived in Israell, or the Hebrew area of the world which was Judah and Israel. Jesus is without qualification considered the Messiah by Christians, and it is Biblical that he rose from the dead, not only a tradition or belief. As a central part of the faith, that is vital, for Easter is the most important Christian Holiday of the year..
.
These, as I say, are important points: even very significant. A substantive religious instruction for Jews and Christians is that Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. This is not a vague or questionable teaching. It is clearly visible and part of a believers set of understandings, let alone a general reader of the Bible..
.
That there are many concerns relevant to today’s Jewish tradition, for I did note many quotes from the Jerusalem Post to get to the “moral” side of the article using the words of the researchers. These are Jewish faith moral concerns, and valid. Jews have a valid and highly regarded moral sense, so I think and is popularly believed. Christians, too, will find these same concerns with their moral dimension, for afterall the two faiths share various areas of teaching for the Old Testament is part of the Christian Bible. Christians and scholars, as well as parents and those whose lessons these are will find the issues and their controversies of moral as well as historic and factual concern of accuracy alone..
.
.The textbooks fail to meet the devotional practices as they are in fact practiced. Here is a chart from the work:.
.
Islamic teachings are treated as historical truth while Judaism and Christianity are presented with a skeptical tone.
Textbook publishers pass on material that proselytizes for Islam rather than more properly teaches about Islam.
.In looking through this comparison chart that notes the language used for Beliefs of the three major religions in the selected textbooks, the chart shows starting on the right: The textbook name and publisher; the religion (as Judiasm, Christianity, Islam). Read carefully for wording, for the differences are subtle, even in nuance. The implication though slight here begins to show a pattern, making the affect of approach to each weighted in a different manner: “story”/”revealed”; “claimed”/”revelation received”; “claimed”/received revelation from Allah”, and so on..
.
Table 5.1: Comparison of Language Used for Beliefs of the.
Three Major Religions in Selected Textbooks.
.
Textbook. Judaism. Christianity. Islam.
The World (Pearson/Scott Foresman) . Caption to a picture of a seder plate: “Foods on the seder plate are symbolic of an ancient Hebrew story.” . . “The pilgrimage, or hajj (haj), to Mecca is an essential part of Islam, the religion revealed to Muhammad . . . .” .
World History: Continuity and Change (Holt). Glossary entry: “Ten Commandments Moral laws Moses claimed to have received from the Hebrew God Yahweh on Mount Sinai.” . . Glossary entry: “Qur’an Holy Book of Islam containing revelations received by Muhammad from God.”.
.
World Civilizations: The Global Experience (Pearson). . Glossary entry: “Jesus of Nazareth” reads in part, “prophet and teacher among the Jews; believed by Christians to be the Messiah . . . .” . Glossary entry: “Muhammad Prophet of Islam . . .; received revelations from Allah in 610 C.E. and thereafter . . . .” .
Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction. (McDougal Littell). . “According to the New Testament, Jesus of Nazareth was born around 6 to 4 B.C.” “According to Jesus’ followers, he rose from the dead. . . .” . “Muhammad’s teachings, which are the revealed word of God . . . , are found in the holy book called the Qur’an.” .
World Cultures and Geography - Eastern Hemisphere (McDougal Littell). Teacher’s Planning Guide:.
“[Section] Overview: Key Ideas.
Birthplace of Three Religions . . ..
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all share common traits.” .
“Judaism is a story of exile.”. “Christians believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah.”. “The Qur’an is the collection of God’s revelations to Muhammad”.
.
Glencoe World History (McGraw-Hill). “Then, because of drought, the Israelites migrated to Egypt, where they were enslaved until Moses led them out of Egypt. . . . Some interpretations of recent archaeological evidence contradict details of the biblical account.”. . .
.
.
.
.
Further in its introduction, the study says:.
.
Some supplemental materials are inflammatory. They posit that Israeli Jews are white European colonialists in the same unsavory category as the imperialist European countries..
.
• The Arab nations never attacked Israel. Arab-Israeli wars “just broke out,” or Israel started them. .
• Arabs nations want peace but Israel does not..
• Israel expelled all Palestinian refugees..
• Israel put the Palestinians in refugee camps in Arab.
lands, not Arab governments..
.
Questions we asked of Dennis Ybarra, again, regarding the study..
What was your methodology?.
We selected the 28 textbooks that include all major publishers and a smaller one that we thought would cover all the most widely used in U.S. public schools. Once we purchased those, we did a survey of at least two school districts in each “non-adoption” state. (California adopts K-8 on a statewide basis.) For adoption states we had the list of approved textbooks. By this we confirmed that we had included all the most widely used textbooks...
Please tell us more?.
I analyzed thousands of pages of textbooks. We also looked at related supplemental materials and professional development teacher trainings. The textbooks we examined included teacher, student, and advanced placement editions. ..
.
We performed a detailed content analysis of student materials, including student textbooks, websites, and handouts, and of teacher materials, including teacher’s editions of textbooks, curricula, lesson plans, teacher training materials, websites, and more. The content analysis of the textbooks focused on four subject areas:.
.
• Jewish history, theology, and religion.
• The relationship between Judaism and Christianity.
• The relationship between Judaism and Islam.
• The history, geography, and politics of the Middle East.
What about San Francisco’s Bay Area schools and textbooks?.
I did take a look at what books were in use in the San Francisco Unified School District. ..
.
In general, getting information on what books are used in the myriad primary, middle, and secondary districts in the region is very time consuming if the information is not posted on a website. .
.
One must determine the proper contact person at the district who handles curriculum, call the person and hope he or she is in the office. Once you reach the person, you must hope they are cooperative (even though as a public agency they must be transparent)..
.
For high school, San Francisco Unified does use McDougal Littell’s Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction, Traditions & Encounters by McCraw Hill, and World Civilizations: The Global Experience by Pearson, all of which we reviewed..
.
Were there other errors of note you want to mention in the textbooks? These may be from any of the textbooks, not just those used in San Francisco’s Bay Area..
.
“This is another error: Excepting the Old Testament’s poetry, the Jews produced very little of note in any of the art forms. . . . There is no record of any important [early] Jewish contributions to the sciences.” (World Civilizations, Thomson Wadsworth).
.
We found that, in many of the 28 textbooks, the following:.
.
1. Negative stereotypes of Jews appear in textbooks..
2. Textbooks misrepresent the close relationship between Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity..
3. Textbook material from Muslim advocacy groups glorifying Islam over Judaism and Christianity is placed in textbooks verbatim by compliant publishers. .
.
The writer of the article notes again...
The moral question of fairness, of the impartiality and objective nature of textbook quality is not dealt with very much in this article. News media have offered the story in a context of fairness, the moral condition of attitude and fact regarding religious content..
As a note, this writer wants to add that researcher Dennis Ybarra believes textbook publishers may not be “purposefully creating errors,” but they are responding to what they are handed, many times without much review and as it was handed to them..
.
The researcher says, “We did not speak to publishers as part of the research. Our purpose was to identify the problems. During my research I noticed that the textbook publishing world was amazingly closed..
.
“No one from the major industry players was willing to publicly criticize the way textbooks are written, the textbook adoption process and its less than desirable results, or textbook content. The one or two exceptions from published sources were from people who had left the industry.”.
.
.
What has the press said about the book, so far?. .
Since the publication of The Trouble with Textbooks and all the interviews I’ve done, the only comment or reaction I’ve seen from the publishers is in a USA Today article by Greg Toppo December 1, 2008. ..
.
Their trade association spokesperson asserted therein that publishers thoroughly vetted their material on religion and their products were fair to all religions. Fox News religion correspondent Lauren Green clearly stated in her March 7, 2009 report about bias in textbooks about Islam (in which I appeared) that the publishers all declined her offer of the opportunity to comment on the issues we raised. .
In fact Fox posted the phone numbers of the major publishers recommending their viewers contact them and complain. I later heard through the grapevine that, in response, the publishers shut down those numbers and that no member of the public was subsequently able to get any live person on the line..
.
I’m sure it’s because the publishers feel trapped in a no win situation, being buffeted by pressure from all sides. Among our most important findings is that “in putting out flawed books the publishers have not been malicious, but unable to successfully navigate the economic, political, and cultural pressures brought to bear on the content of their books.” [p. 154] .
.
Part Four: What others say, including quotes from this study’s researchers as published elsewhere .
In a particularly pointed article both researchers are interviewed. The Jerusalem Post of September 25, 2008 says in its headline, “U.S. textbooks misrepresent Jews and Israel.”.
.
These are quotes from that Jerusalem Post article written by HAVIV RETTIG GUR
These quotes highlight words said by the researchers published in the newspaper and include those of the late Gary Tobin:.
.
In their treatment of Judaism, too, the textbooks showed a negative bias, according to the study. They often expressed a view that “Jews and Judaism are legalistic,” and that “Jews care only about the letter of the law and ignore its spirit,” the study found. The Jewish God is presented as “stern and warlike,” and not compassionate, as is highlighted in other religions. In some instances, Jews are charged with deicide in the killing of Jesus. .
.
The study also found that 18 textbooks used “unscholarly and disparaging ‘Old Testament’ terminology for the Jewish scriptures when discussing the origins of Judaism.” .
.
The study compared language used in describing Jewish and Christian belief with that describing Muslim belief. “The textbooks tend to be critical of Jews and Israel, disrespectful about Christianity, and rather than represent Islam in an objective way, tend to glorify it,” says Ybarra. .
.
“Textbook publishers often defer completely to Muslim groups for their content [on Islam] because they want to be sensitive to Muslim concerns,” he explained. “So they write that Mohammed is a prophet of God, without the qualifier you should have in a public school that shows you’re teaching about religion, rather than teaching religion.” .
.
One example among the many cited in the study is in World History: Continuity and Change, in which a glossary entry on the Ten Commandments describes them as “Moral laws Moses claimed to have received from the Hebrew God Yahweh on Mount Sinai.” .
.
The same glossary describes the Koran as a “Holy Book of Islam containing revelations received by Muhammad from God” - without a conditional qualifier. .
.
“Islam is treated with a devotional tone in some textbooks, less detached and analytical than it ought to be,” the study finds. “Muslim beliefs are described in several instances as fact, without any clear qualifier such as ‘Muslims believe… .’ .
.
“No religion should be presented in history textbooks as absolute truth, either on its own or compared to any other, or they all should be.” .
.
.
What some others think of the work is offered on the book jacket, and one quote goes this way (an endorsement):.
“The Trouble with Textbooks is a very important book not only for Jews but for the entire Christian community. This volume is an excellent tool for anyone who is interested in balanced information that is fair and reliable concerning Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.”.
Rev. John J. Keane, SA, general council member and ecumenical officer,.
Franciscan Friars of the Atonement.
.
.
.
All quotations “excerpted from Executive Summary, Trouble with Textbooks, TroublewithTextbooks.org”.
.
Images: (1) Trouble with Textbooks; (2) Dennis Ybarra; (3) The Late Gary Tobin. All photos courtesy of Institute of Jewish and Community Research, San Francisco
Addendum:
The textbooks of the study listed here:
1. Arreola, Daniel. D., Marci Smith Deal, James F. Peterson, and.
Rickie Sanders. World Geography. California teacher’s ed..
Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2006..
2. Beck, Roger B., Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor,.
and Dahia Ibo Shabaka. Modern World History: Patterns of.
Interaction. Teacher’s ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2005..
3. Beck, Roger B., Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor,.
and Dahia Ibo Shabaka. Ancient World History: Patterns of.
Interaction. Teacher’s ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2005..
4. Beck, Roger B., Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor,.
and Dahia Ibo Shabaka. World History: Patterns of Interaction..
Student ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2003..
5. Bednarz, Sarah W., Ines M. Miyares, Mark C. Schug, and.
Charles S. White. World Cultures and Geography: Eastern.
Hemisphere and Europe. Teacher’s ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal.
Littell, 2005..
6. Berson, Michael J., ed. World History. (Harcourt Horizons)..
Teacher’s ed. Orlando: Harcourt, 2005..
.
.
7. Boehm, Richard G., Claudia Hoone, Thomas M. McGowan,.
Mabel C. McKinney-Browning, Ofelia B. Miramontes, and.
Priscilla H. Porter. Ancient Civilizations. (Harcourt Brace Social.
Studies). Teacher’s ed. Orlando: Harcourt Brace, 2002..
8. Bulliet, Richard W., Pamela Kyle Crossley, Daniel R. Headrick,.
Steven W. Hirsch, Lyman L. Johnson, and David Northrup. The.
Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. Advanced placement ed..
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005..
9. Carrington, Laurel, Mattie P. Collins, Kira Iriye, Rudy J..
Martinez, and Peter N. Stearns, eds. World History: The.
Human Journey. Student ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and.
Winston, 2003..
10. Carrington, Laurel, Mattie P. Collins, Kira Iriye, Rudy J..
Martinez, and Peter N. Stearns, eds. World History: The Human.
Journey, Modern World. Teacher’s ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart.
and Winston, 2005..
11. Hanes, William T. III, ed. World History: Continuity & Change..
Annotated teacher’s ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,.
1999..
12. Harcourt Horizons, ed., The World. (Harcourt Horizons)..
Teacher’s ed. Orlando: Harcourt, 2003..
13. Helgren, David M., Robert J. Sager, and Alison S. Brooks..
People, Places, and Change. Teacher’s ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart.
and Winston, 2005..
14. Sager, Robert J., and David M. Helgren. World Geography Today..
Teacher’s ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2005..
.
15. Bentley, Jerry H. and Herbert F. Ziegler. Traditions and.
Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past. Boston: McGraw-.
Hill, 2006..
.
25. Jacob, Heidi H., and Michal L. LeVasseur. The Ancient World..
(World Studies). Teacher’s ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:.
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005..
26. Stearns, Peter N., Michael Adas, Stuart B. Schwartz, and Marc.
Jason Gilbert. World Civilizations: The Global Experience. 4th ed.,.
Advanced placement ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006..
.
27. Adler, Philip J., and Randall L. Pouwels. World Civilizations..
4th ed., Instructor’s ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson,.
2006..
28. Upshur, Jiu-Hwa L., Janice J. Terry, James P. Holoka, Richard.
D. Goff, and George H. Cassar. World History Since 1500: The.
Age of Global Integration. vol. 2. Belmont, CA:.
Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2002..
16. Boehm, Richard G., David G. Armstrong, Francis P. Hunkins,.
Dennis Reinhartz, and Merry Lobrecht. The World and Its.
People. Teacher’s ed. New York, McGraw-Hill/Glencoe, 2005..
17. Farah, Mounir A., and Andrea Berens Karls. World History: The.
Human Experience. Student ed. New York: McGraw-.
Hill/Glencoe, 2001..
18. Greenblatt, Miriam and Peter S. Lemmo. Human Heritage: A.
World History. Teacher’s ed. New York: McGraw-.
Hill/Glencoe, 2006..
19. Lamm, Robert C. The Humanities in Western Culture. Boston:.
McGraw-Hill, 1996..
20. Spielvogel, Jackson J. Glencoe World History. Teacher’s ed. New.
York: McGraw-Hill/Glencoe, 2005..
.
21. Ahmad, Iftikhar, Herbert Brodsky, Marylee Susan Crofts, and.
Elisabeth Gaynor Ellis. World Cultures: A Global Mosaic..
Teacher’s ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall,.
2004..
22. Boyd, Candy D., Geneva Gay, Rita Geiger, James B. Kracht,.
Valerie O. Pang, C. Frederick Risinger, Sara M. Sanchez. The.
World. (Scott Foresman Social Studies). Teacher’s ed..
Glenview, IL: Pearson/Scott Foresman, 2005..
23. Ellis, Elisabeth G., and Anthony Esler. World History:.
Connections to Today. Student ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:.
Prentice Hall, 2001..
24. Jacob, Heidi H., and Michal L. LeVasseur. Medieval Times to.
Today. (World Studies). Teacher’s ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:.
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005..
25. Jacob, Heidi H., and Michal L. LeVasseur. The Ancient World..
(World Studies). Teacher’s ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:.
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005..
26. Stearns, Peter N., Michael Adas, Stuart B. Schwartz, and Marc.
Jason Gilbert. World Civilizations: The Global Experience. 4th ed.,.
Advanced placement ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006..
.
27. Adler, Philip J., and Randall L. Pouwels. World Civilizations..
4th ed., Instructor’s ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson,.
2006..
28. Upshur, Jiu-Hwa L., Janice J. Terry, James P. Holoka, Richard.
D. Goff, and George H. Cassar. World History Since 1500: The.
Age of Global Integration. vol. 2. Belmont, C.
.
The Jewish and Community Institute, San Francisco emphasizes that one of their important purposes is to bring to public understanding, both in their own community and that of the larger communities, that Jewish people are comprised of many kinds of colors, races, peoples. It is a diverse people, explains Dennis Ybarra in a webcam background interview with this writer. This YouTube is a Jewish prayer, chosen because the institute engages in a business of research into subjects as diverse as the Madoff philanthropy scandal, this study on textbooks, and areas of Jewish identity, including its wide ranging composition of faith by many nationalities.
YouTube notes say of this video: Sonia Wieder-Atherton plays a jewish prayer.
.Final part: Notes on the article by the writer of the interview about and review of “Trouble with Textbooks”
This article’s Writer’s notes: This writer wants readers to recognize that the controversies of this textbook study take into account Muslim influence on the factual reports, so the researchers say and in fairness this report offers..
.
It is important to know that the Muslim influence on textbook content is very high, and regarded by Christians and Jews as not the kind of representation of their religious views that expresses in a fair manner their beliefs. Of course, judge for yourself as either a parent, a teacher, or an academic. Clearly, teachers bring in supplemental materials on subjects, many times from their home or own research on behalf of a school. They do so with that supplied by their school. Are students endangered with ignorance to basic beliefs. Maybe not in a crisis sense, but this writer agrees with the researchers that they are being mised..
.
Certainly, Muslims are entitled to their way of looking at these things. One salient and important point, and though not until the end is it mentioned again as a moral issue regarding press motivations for covering this story, is that of fairness and accuracy of viewpoint, representation, and religious belief and fact as due to the individual faith. Your comments are invited as a reader of this article..
.
–article by Peter Menkin, Mill Valley, CA USA
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Let us Speak of Holiness this morning:
Bernard of Clairvaux
A homily
Peter Menkin, Obl Cam OSB
Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal)
Mill Valley, CA USA
Wednesday Eucharist,
August 19, 2009
Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 1994
Ecclesiasticus 39: 1-10
John 15: 7-11
Psalm 139: 1-9
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Let us speak of Holiness this morning, God’s Holiness, as we learn of Bernard of Clairvaux. This is his Feast Day in our Episcopal Church.
From a hymn attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot, born in 1090, at Fontaines, near Dijon, France:
My Shepherd, now receive me;
my Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me,
O source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me with words of truth and love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me to heavenly joys above.
This is a request of God in Christ by a man who founded 162 monasteries, was a man who deeply admired Mary, Mother of God, and is considered a man of God’s wisdom and holiness.
Herewith this is a remark, a statement, part of Psalm 139…
Friend of God, yes. Man of God’s wisdom, yes. Man of Holiness, yes.
Regarding Mary, history tells of Bernard:
He considered and admired the feminine in the holy, in the divine story, as Bernard played the leading role in the development of the Mary cult. One of the most important manifestations of the popular piety of the twelfth century, the Virgin Mary had played a minor role and it was only with the rise of emotional Christianity in the eleventh century that she became the prime intercessor for humanity with the deity. She is sometimes referred to as the “fourth part of the Trinity,” for Mary is a feminine figure much admired and even referred to in prayer to this day. We pray,
A Cistercian Monk, Bernard, is considered in this manner by our readings today, reflecting the three-fold manner of his character and relationship with God and man. He died at Clairvaux, 21 August, 1153:
· Bernard is wise, with the wisdom of God.
· Bernard is Holy, with a Holiness of God.
· Bernard is friend of God, as the New Testament tells us of friendship with God. This is the way to abide in God.
Our Gospel, says:
So part of our reading from John for today, tells us of Bernard’s love in Christ, and his friendship with God in Christ.
In this way is Bernard found wise, so another of our readings tells us:
It is as a holy man we remember Bernard of Clairvaux today.
An internet search on Answer.com received this definition of holiness: “The New Testament Greek word that translates KADOSH is HAGIOS. In the New Testament it is everywhere used of Christians. Christians are said to be HAGIOI (plural.) All the English translations here read ‘saints’. Paul writes letters to congregations in a dozen different cities, always beginning his letter, "To the saints in...( Corinth , Philippi , wherever.) To be holy, a saint, is simply to be different.”
Holiness is that which allows us to be separate --as we are closer to and with God. It is that of separation as seen in hagios from hagos, which denotes "any matter of religious awe" (the Latin sacer); and that of sanctioned (sancitus). That which is hosios has received God’s seal.
Thomas Aquinas says, "All who worship God may be called 'religious', but they are specially called so, who dedicate their whole lives to the Divine worship, and withdraw themselves from worldly concerns, just as those are not termed 'contemplatives' who merely contemplate, but those who devote their whole lives to contemplation". The saint adds: "And such men subject themselves to other men not for man’s sake but for God's sake," words which afford us the keynote of religious life--so it is called.
What we are speaking of is the inner dynamic within and between God and man. And it has the most dramatic effects, bringing uprightness, happiness, yearning, treasuring, and delight.
The late Anglican Reverend Professor Daniel Hardy, defines Holiness.
Daniel Hardy explains more:
All these rest on what we might call three 'I's':
(1) That the Lord is 'I am, always with you' -- ever faithful and loving to us;
(2) That this Lord gives and 'spirits' another 'I', responsive to the 'I am' and responsible for us, who abides with us;
(3) That this 'I am, always with you' gives and 'spirits' the 'I' that each of us is, to be responsive and responsible.
Reverend Professor Daniel Hardy explains, also: When the 'I' that I am, or you are, is within the 'I' that Jesus is, and thereby with the 'I' that the Lord is, our hearts will burn within us as we remember him. There we will know holiness and peace, and give faith, hope and love to each other.
Bernard of Clairvaux writes in his paper on the Song of Songs:
A Prayer attributed to Bernard goes:
Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast;But sweeter far Thy face to see,
And in Thy presence rest.
Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find
A sweeter sound than
Thy blessed Name,O Savior of mankind!
We know that Bernard of Clairvaux, the historic figure of the Middle Ages, was a defender of the twelfth century Church, known for his ardor he preached love of God, “without measure.”
A Holy Man, we thank God on this day for his life.
Bernard is wise, with the wisdom of God. Bernard is Holy, with a Holiness of God. Bernard is friend of God, as the Gospel tells us of friendship with God.
· May the lord bless us and keep us. Amen.
· May the Lord make his face to shine up us and be gracious to us. Amen.
· May the Lord life up his countenance upon us and give us peace. Amen.
Bernard of Clairvaux
A homily
Peter Menkin, Obl Cam OSB
Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal)
Mill Valley, CA USA
Wednesday Eucharist,
August 19, 2009
Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 1994
Ecclesiasticus 39: 1-10
John 15: 7-11
Psalm 139: 1-9
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Let us speak of Holiness this morning, God’s Holiness, as we learn of Bernard of Clairvaux. This is his Feast Day in our Episcopal Church.
From a hymn attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot, born in 1090, at Fontaines, near Dijon, France:
My Shepherd, now receive me;
my Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me,
O source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me with words of truth and love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me to heavenly joys above.
This is a request of God in Christ by a man who founded 162 monasteries, was a man who deeply admired Mary, Mother of God, and is considered a man of God’s wisdom and holiness.
Herewith this is a remark, a statement, part of Psalm 139…
You search out my path and my lying down, /and are acquainted with all
my ways. /Even before a word is on my tongue,/ O Lord, you know it completely… /Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; /is is so high that I cannot attain it.
Friend of God, yes. Man of God’s wisdom, yes. Man of Holiness, yes.
Regarding Mary, history tells of Bernard:
He considered and admired the feminine in the holy, in the divine story, as Bernard played the leading role in the development of the Mary cult. One of the most important manifestations of the popular piety of the twelfth century, the Virgin Mary had played a minor role and it was only with the rise of emotional Christianity in the eleventh century that she became the prime intercessor for humanity with the deity. She is sometimes referred to as the “fourth part of the Trinity,” for Mary is a feminine figure much admired and even referred to in prayer to this day. We pray,
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our
death…”
A Cistercian Monk, Bernard, is considered in this manner by our readings today, reflecting the three-fold manner of his character and relationship with God and man. He died at Clairvaux, 21 August, 1153:
· Bernard is wise, with the wisdom of God.
· Bernard is Holy, with a Holiness of God.
· Bernard is friend of God, as the New Testament tells us of friendship with God. This is the way to abide in God.
Our Gospel, says:
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept
my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you
so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
So part of our reading from John for today, tells us of Bernard’s love in Christ, and his friendship with God in Christ.
In this way is Bernard found wise, so another of our readings tells us:
If the great Lord is willing,/ he will be filled with the spirit of understanding; /he will pour forth words of wisdom of his own/ and give thanksSo goes part of our reading from Ecclesiasticus (the Apocrypha) for today, tell us of Bernard’s wisdom.
to the Lord in prayer./ The Lord will direct his counsel and knowledge, /as he
meditates on his mysteries.
It is as a holy man we remember Bernard of Clairvaux today.
An internet search on Answer.com received this definition of holiness: “The New Testament Greek word that translates KADOSH is HAGIOS. In the New Testament it is everywhere used of Christians. Christians are said to be HAGIOI (plural.) All the English translations here read ‘saints’. Paul writes letters to congregations in a dozen different cities, always beginning his letter, "To the saints in...( Corinth , Philippi , wherever.) To be holy, a saint, is simply to be different.”
Holiness is that which allows us to be separate --as we are closer to and with God. It is that of separation as seen in hagios from hagos, which denotes "any matter of religious awe" (the Latin sacer); and that of sanctioned (sancitus). That which is hosios has received God’s seal.
Thomas Aquinas says, "All who worship God may be called 'religious', but they are specially called so, who dedicate their whole lives to the Divine worship, and withdraw themselves from worldly concerns, just as those are not termed 'contemplatives' who merely contemplate, but those who devote their whole lives to contemplation". The saint adds: "And such men subject themselves to other men not for man’s sake but for God's sake," words which afford us the keynote of religious life--so it is called.
What we are speaking of is the inner dynamic within and between God and man. And it has the most dramatic effects, bringing uprightness, happiness, yearning, treasuring, and delight.
The late Anglican Reverend Professor Daniel Hardy, defines Holiness.
So holiness is not to be seen, but it is found in those whose hearts are formed by the inward laws given to Moses by the Lord. Moreover, it is found again in those whose hearts are formed by the consistent faithfulness of the
Lord in the crucified and risen Christ. And the benefits go beyond what we saw
in the passage from Nehemiah. Then there was uprightness, happiness, yearning,
treasuring, delight, and their lives were filled with the unfathomable presence
of the Lord, whose holiness and joy flooded their hearts. But now there is a
'spiriting' of human hearts that makes them responsive and responsible, a people
affirmed by the Lord and marked by inner peace, meaning and purpose, faith, hope
and love. All these rest on what we might call the three I’s.
Daniel Hardy explains more:
All these rest on what we might call three 'I's':
(1) That the Lord is 'I am, always with you' -- ever faithful and loving to us;
(2) That this Lord gives and 'spirits' another 'I', responsive to the 'I am' and responsible for us, who abides with us;
(3) That this 'I am, always with you' gives and 'spirits' the 'I' that each of us is, to be responsive and responsible.
Reverend Professor Daniel Hardy explains, also: When the 'I' that I am, or you are, is within the 'I' that Jesus is, and thereby with the 'I' that the Lord is, our hearts will burn within us as we remember him. There we will know holiness and peace, and give faith, hope and love to each other.
Bernard of Clairvaux writes in his paper on the Song of Songs:
… (M)etaphor shows that we cannot of ourselves come to Christ in our Lord,
unless he draws us by his grace, which is laid up in his storerooms: that is, in
the mysteries of Faith, which God in his goodness and love for mankind hath
revealed, first by his servant Moses in the Old Law in figure only, and
afterwards in reality by his only begotten Son Jesus
Christ...
A Prayer attributed to Bernard goes:
Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast;But sweeter far Thy face to see,
And in Thy presence rest.
Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find
A sweeter sound than
Thy blessed Name,O Savior of mankind!
We know that Bernard of Clairvaux, the historic figure of the Middle Ages, was a defender of the twelfth century Church, known for his ardor he preached love of God, “without measure.”
A Holy Man, we thank God on this day for his life.
Bernard is wise, with the wisdom of God. Bernard is Holy, with a Holiness of God. Bernard is friend of God, as the Gospel tells us of friendship with God.
· May the lord bless us and keep us. Amen.
· May the Lord make his face to shine up us and be gracious to us. Amen.
· May the Lord life up his countenance upon us and give us peace. Amen.
Recording of Homily is here:
Humor: On Cafeteria Catholic and...Cafeteria Protestant, an article
by Peter Menkin
This writer of “Cafeteria Catholic, the article” has a Protestant friend who picks and chooses from her salad what she likes: More tomatoes, maybe extra radishes, but not so much green lettuce. At 77 she has a license, one would think. For another example, she isn’t Methodist, but attends the Methodist Church where she can help feed the homeless every month. She is a woman of charity, a good Christian, and God knows she knows her Bible liking to attend Baptist and Evangelical Church Bible studies. She also goes with a friend to both Roman Catholic Bible Study and Roman Catholic services, where she gets a blessing--not wine and wafer, and complains strongly of being denied Communion. A blessing is not enough for her, and that is understandable. I consider her a kind of Cafeteria Protestant.
Yet usually, the real Cafeteria picker and chooser of religion are called a Cafeteria Catholic. In an effort to find out more, here is a short article on the Cafeteria Catholic by a non-Roman Catholic. Consider this writer’s observation and research. Consider it amusing as well as telling, for after all, a sense of humor helps when presenting a serious subject. (May these words be palitable.)
In an effort to get to the bottom of the matter, this reporter contacted the offices of two well known Cafeteria Catholics, Maria Shriver and Nancy Pelosi. There was no reply at the time of posting this article. (Maria Shriver is wife of the Governor of California, and Nancy Pelosi is the Congresswoman from San Francisco.)
These were their questions, the same ones to be posed to each:
• Do you lead a Eucharistic life, and if so how so?
• Are you a regular Sunday Church goer? If unable to go Sunday, do you go Saturday evening?• Is it all right to be a Cafeteria Catholic, as you have self defined your particular inclination of practice regarding certain Roman Catholic Church doctrine?
• Have you enjoyed Church?
• Can you tell us where you worship?
• What is central in your religious life as a worshiper?
• Will you tell us what a Cafeteria Catholic may be?
• What did you have for lunch this week?
Here is a definition of cafeteria: “…self-service restaurant in which customers select various dishes from an open-counter display. The food is usually placed on a tray, paid for at a cashier's station, and carried to a dining table by the customer.” This from the 2006 Encyclopedia Britannica computer loaded reference program. Everyone knows Britannica is authoritative, whereas Wikipedia is by someone out there in internet land—lots of whomever-someones.
As for Cafeteria Catholic, there was no reference to it. There is reference to: Catholic Recoveries of Protestant Territories (from Protestantism). Also under Cafeteria Catholics is listed Automats: In full Horn & Hardart Automat any of a chain of cafeterias in New York City and Philadelphia, where low-priced prepared food and beverages were obtained, especially from coin-operated compartments.
This isn’t to imply Cafeteria Catholics are organized. They are not. And they are not out of fashion or business.
In an email correspondence with an informed blogger on the subject, this comment helped start the ball rolling. And let me remind you, this is a serious subject for my Toronto based blogging acquaintance, and this writer agrees. But let’s indulge ourselves in some pie. The “Malt Monk”, as he is called and who is a cradle Roman Catholic of 50 years:
If you are Catholic, you must accept the entire Truth; not just the parts that appeal to you. We must also accept some of the blame for current problems.. because the Church is and will be made up of sinners.
I understand and agree with the Magisterium and Authority of The Catholic Church that comes from Jesus and is passed through His Disciples (Apostles/Bishops/Priests) through time.
I mean, where do people think the bible came from... it didn’t drop from the sky… it came from the appointed followers of Jesus.. The Royal Priesthood and lineage of our faith.
The Church doesn’t make new rules to be fashionable with ‘modernism’.
Our good sport, and informed blogger's blog is here: http://www.maltmonk.com .
Here is a quote from his blog that does what Britannica fails to do. Malt Monk defines Cafeteria Catholic:
This is an expression that applies to those calling themselves ‘Catholic’ that want to pick and choose whatever they like about the faith and decide the breadth and width of each topic.
In recent news; some of the chosen people (celebrities) are publically calling themselves ‘cafeteria catholics’ and wearing this as a badge of honour. Comments like ‘I consider myself a Catholic in good standing; but I disagree with a lot of the teachings of the Church’... or ‘I don’t believe’... And then they proceed to spew their narrow minded canned jargon that is emitted by most of these uninformed sheep.
They stand in their cafeteria line and take similar servings from what is processed and served up by the media-celebrity chefs. Or they simply take it upon themselves to decree their opinions.
So Malt Monk defines our term.
This reporter meditated on the subject while at Church, and by coincidence these words from the hymn, “All Who Hunger Gather Gladly” resonated as a more serious lesson for religious people of various denominations: “Taste and see the grace eternal /Taste and see that God is good.” The first words tell more: “All who hunger gather gladly, holy manna is our bread…”
by Peter Menkin
This writer of “Cafeteria Catholic, the article” has a Protestant friend who picks and chooses from her salad what she likes: More tomatoes, maybe extra radishes, but not so much green lettuce. At 77 she has a license, one would think. For another example, she isn’t Methodist, but attends the Methodist Church where she can help feed the homeless every month. She is a woman of charity, a good Christian, and God knows she knows her Bible liking to attend Baptist and Evangelical Church Bible studies. She also goes with a friend to both Roman Catholic Bible Study and Roman Catholic services, where she gets a blessing--not wine and wafer, and complains strongly of being denied Communion. A blessing is not enough for her, and that is understandable. I consider her a kind of Cafeteria Protestant.
Yet usually, the real Cafeteria picker and chooser of religion are called a Cafeteria Catholic. In an effort to find out more, here is a short article on the Cafeteria Catholic by a non-Roman Catholic. Consider this writer’s observation and research. Consider it amusing as well as telling, for after all, a sense of humor helps when presenting a serious subject. (May these words be palitable.)
In an effort to get to the bottom of the matter, this reporter contacted the offices of two well known Cafeteria Catholics, Maria Shriver and Nancy Pelosi. There was no reply at the time of posting this article. (Maria Shriver is wife of the Governor of California, and Nancy Pelosi is the Congresswoman from San Francisco.)
These were their questions, the same ones to be posed to each:
• Do you lead a Eucharistic life, and if so how so?
• Are you a regular Sunday Church goer? If unable to go Sunday, do you go Saturday evening?• Is it all right to be a Cafeteria Catholic, as you have self defined your particular inclination of practice regarding certain Roman Catholic Church doctrine?
• Have you enjoyed Church?
• Can you tell us where you worship?
• What is central in your religious life as a worshiper?
• Will you tell us what a Cafeteria Catholic may be?
• What did you have for lunch this week?
Here is a definition of cafeteria: “…self-service restaurant in which customers select various dishes from an open-counter display. The food is usually placed on a tray, paid for at a cashier's station, and carried to a dining table by the customer.” This from the 2006 Encyclopedia Britannica computer loaded reference program. Everyone knows Britannica is authoritative, whereas Wikipedia is by someone out there in internet land—lots of whomever-someones.
As for Cafeteria Catholic, there was no reference to it. There is reference to: Catholic Recoveries of Protestant Territories (from Protestantism). Also under Cafeteria Catholics is listed Automats: In full Horn & Hardart Automat any of a chain of cafeterias in New York City and Philadelphia, where low-priced prepared food and beverages were obtained, especially from coin-operated compartments.
This isn’t to imply Cafeteria Catholics are organized. They are not. And they are not out of fashion or business.
In an email correspondence with an informed blogger on the subject, this comment helped start the ball rolling. And let me remind you, this is a serious subject for my Toronto based blogging acquaintance, and this writer agrees. But let’s indulge ourselves in some pie. The “Malt Monk”, as he is called and who is a cradle Roman Catholic of 50 years:
If you are Catholic, you must accept the entire Truth; not just the parts that appeal to you. We must also accept some of the blame for current problems.. because the Church is and will be made up of sinners.
I understand and agree with the Magisterium and Authority of The Catholic Church that comes from Jesus and is passed through His Disciples (Apostles/Bishops/Priests) through time.
I mean, where do people think the bible came from... it didn’t drop from the sky… it came from the appointed followers of Jesus.. The Royal Priesthood and lineage of our faith.
The Church doesn’t make new rules to be fashionable with ‘modernism’.
Our good sport, and informed blogger's blog is here: http://www.maltmonk.com .
Here is a quote from his blog that does what Britannica fails to do. Malt Monk defines Cafeteria Catholic:
This is an expression that applies to those calling themselves ‘Catholic’ that want to pick and choose whatever they like about the faith and decide the breadth and width of each topic.
In recent news; some of the chosen people (celebrities) are publically calling themselves ‘cafeteria catholics’ and wearing this as a badge of honour. Comments like ‘I consider myself a Catholic in good standing; but I disagree with a lot of the teachings of the Church’... or ‘I don’t believe’... And then they proceed to spew their narrow minded canned jargon that is emitted by most of these uninformed sheep.
They stand in their cafeteria line and take similar servings from what is processed and served up by the media-celebrity chefs. Or they simply take it upon themselves to decree their opinions.
So Malt Monk defines our term.
This reporter meditated on the subject while at Church, and by coincidence these words from the hymn, “All Who Hunger Gather Gladly” resonated as a more serious lesson for religious people of various denominations: “Taste and see the grace eternal /Taste and see that God is good.” The first words tell more: “All who hunger gather gladly, holy manna is our bread…”
Monday, August 10, 2009
Gratitude in Joy & Sorrow
A poem by Peter Menkin
August 10, 2009
A poem by Peter Menkin
August 10, 2009
Gratitude I have--
Had--
This sense of acceptance,
Called giving thanks in a praise.
Of words,
And thoughts for God, Creator
And sustainer—
My gratitude for my preservation,
Bringing me to this new day--
As the Prayer goes.
How kind the thought comes
Of the goodness of God, though
Sorrow is our lot.
As is said, “Human condition.”
Contradiction. For sorrow is the daily sense,
The feeling, the experience, the existential
Day that finds the Other.
In gratitude.
Contradiction. Yes, we are in sorrow
Of the body, of the head, of the experience
Of living that at the same time is joy.
That enveloping experience of emotion—
A happiness that is not happiness.
But the mystery of gratitude for
Joy, sense of kind thought and human condition
And thoughts for God, Creator.
As the Prayer goes in Christ.
We are thankful in living for life, the gift;
In gratitude, in gratitude again
For our Creation.
As the prayer goes in Christ.
Audio reading of poem by poet is here:
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