Religious Anthropology December 10, 2013

Doctrine of Illumination The basic thrust of the Holy Spirit’s illumining or enlightening work relates primarily to our welcoming of the truths of Scripture rather than to our understanding of them.

In illumination, the Spirit’s job is not to do our work for us In illumination, the Spirit’s job is not to do our work for us. Read the quote on page 64. P 65 – Pretext or Context: Meaning comes from the top down, not from the bottom up, from the larger units of Scripture to the smaller units.

Meaning from the top-down Genre: Type of communication Big idea of the unit of thought Big idea of the paragraph Sentence Meaning from the top-down Word

Case Study: The Importance of Context Pp67-70 – The proper and improper interpretation of Mathew 18:19-20. - Common mis-interpretation: - Verses and Chapters (Stephanus): - Textual context of passage: - Historical context of passage: - Proper interpretation:

Commonly misinterpreted Scriptures

Philippians 4:13 - Common misinterpretation: - Silent reading of Philippians 4. How do you feel about the chapter division? - Meaning in context:

Religious Anthropology December 11, 2013

Matthew 23 Homework Take 5-10 minutes to finish up or add nuanced observations to your Matthew 23 Critical Reading. Switch with your partner and look at their observations.

Meditation What do you think of when you hear the word meditation? What do you think Biblical Meditation is?

Jesus’ Meditation: Matthew 4 In the wilderness on what was Jesus meditating? What we learn from Jesus’ mediation: 1. He meditated on long chunks of Scripture rather than isolated verses Larger portions give us a full thought, not a fragmented idea We see the connections between the parts of a larger unit of thought We give the Holy Spirit more to work with in renewing our minds 2. Jesus allowed previous experience of God’s people to inform is response Parallels between 40 years in the wilderness and Jesus’ 40 days. 3. Meditation gives specific God-centered responses to temptation.

Defining Meditation 2 parts p88-89 שִׂיחַ – siach – to muse about, to consider deep at length – non-verbal. הָגָה – hagah – to growl, utter, speak, or muse - verbal

Defining Meditation Feedback Loop

Lectio Divina – p91 4 parts: Lectio Meditatio Oratio Contemplatio

Lectio Divina – Concerns? 1. Sometimes pits informational against formational 2. Pulls everything through an individualized formational keyhole.

How to start meditating? Start by combatting 4 main hindrances: 1. Business 2. Noise 3. People 4. General Distraction Three tips pp95-96