Hebrew Bible and Christian Scriptures

the banks of the Ganges River in Varanasi

So, we’ll wake up this morning (if we got any sleep on the train) in Varanasi. One of the oldest cities in the world, Varanasi is the holiest of Hindu cities, reportedly founded by the Hindu god Shiva about 5,000 years ago. It is one of the seven sites of pilgrimage for Hindus and often the place where Hindu persons travel to die. The Ganges (pronounced Gahngah) has its own significance. (the following is quoted from Wikipedia. I know, I’m lazy, but I don’t know a better way to summarize.)

The Ganges is mentioned in the Rig-Veda, the earliest of the Hindu scriptures. According to Hindu religion a very famous king Bhagiratha did Tapasya for many years constantly to bring the river Ganges, then residing in the Heavens, down on the Earth to find salvation for his ancestors, who were cursed by a seer. Therefore, Ganges descended to the Earth through the lock of hair (Jata) of god Shiva to make whole earth pious, fertile and wash out the sins of humans. For Hindus in India, the Ganges is not just a river but a mother, a goddess, a tradition, a culture and much more.

Some Hindus also believe life is incomplete without taking a bath in Ganges at least once in their lives. Many Hindu families keep a vial of water from the Ganges in their house. This is done because it is prestigious to have water of the Holy Ganges in the house, and also so that if someone is dying, that person will be able to drink its water. Many Hindus believe that the water from the Ganges can cleanse a person’s soul of all past sins, and that it can also cure the ill. The ancient scriptures mention that the water of Ganges carries the blessings of Lord Vishnu’s feet; hence Mother Ganges is also known as Vishnupadi, which means “Emanating from the Lotus feet of Supreme Lord Sri Vishnu.”

In team news, it’s Lee Fox’s birthday so we’ll be celebrating that! We’ll also be discussing form and function and how those two things interplay. I’m not trying to freak anyone out, but Varanasi isn’t the safest place in the world – so keep us all in mind as we move around wisely. Reminder, my buddy’s name is Casey.

Quote of the Day

“There will always be a cross somewhere int he midst of the Christian solution to evil, a cross of pain involved in not returning blow for blow; a cross of natural, human bitterness felt in the experience of hatred and returning love in its place, of receiving evil and doing good; a cross reflected in the near impossibility of counting oneself blessed in the midst of persecution, or of hungering and thirsting for justice, or in being merciful and peacemakers in a world which understands neither. Between us and fulfillment, between us and everlasting justice, between us and salvation of this suffering world, there will always stand the paradox of the cross, a cross not for others, but for us.” – Vincent Donovan, Christianity Rediscovered

in honor of our transportation tonight as we head to varanasi

We’ll be wrapping up our time in Kolkata today and boarding the infamous night train to Varanasi. Some of the more hilarious stories that were brought back from the last trip took place on the train, so I’m intrigued by this journey.

Quote of the Day

“If I am afraid to speak the truth lest I lose affection or lest the one concerned should say, ‘You do not understand,’ or because I fear to lose my reputation for kindness; if I put my own name before the other’s highest good, then I know nothing of Calvary love.” – Amy Carmichael

Today is our last full in day in Kolkata : we’ll be leaving for Varanasi tomorrow night.The guide says that we’ll be questioning how we ever lived how we used to – I’m sure that’s accurate as to where I am as you read this.

Thought of the Day

Recall the power of God to act in history; to heal the sick and lame, liberate the captive and challenge the demons, to resurrect the dead. Do we see the same power in our time? How do you make sense of the suffering and the power of God? What part do we play in affecting, living the power of God in time and history? As we called to combat evil?

Note from me: The above questions, penned by Stroope, are pretty much the questions that drove me to seminary. I’m four semesters in and still only have whispers of answers. I’m hoping for India to inform the answers.

Quote of the Day

“Solidarity is needed if the Gospel is to be proclaimed with credibility.” – Amy Carmichael

Happy Sunday, y’all! Wherever you’re attending/worshiping/sleeping – hope it’s restorative and restful. We’ll be attending a baptist church in Kolkata. For those of you who know my relationship with the institutional church, you know how uncomfortable I am at times attending services at churches I am not a part of. I’ve been to a few at this point on the trip, so I’m not sure where I’ll be – emotionally – on this morning. Also, it’s still hotter than the very center of the Sun, so I may be crabby. Pray to any and all gods that I’m not.

Thought of the Day

Consider the effect of your efforts in alleviating hunger and hurt or in righting wrongs. In the face of so much bad stuff, sickness, hurt, poverty, abuse, and death; what difference does it make to care, to act, to sacrifice. Why do anything? Have we asked these questions so many times that they are meaningless?

Quote of the Day

“Be patient toward all that is unresolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live anything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” – Ranier Maria Rilke

The guide is vague about our days in Kolkata. Probably because Kolkata defies words. When I return, I will attempt to tell stories through pictures, but I make no promises. I am told we’ll be spending our time serving : feeding children, washing clothes, cleaning dishes, etc. I know from past experience that serving people who live in abject and systemic poverty and who are oppressed by all systems is something that weighs heavily on me. I have a feeling that this city and the things I deal with here will be the hardest for me to articulate once I arrive stateside.

Thought of the Day

Place yourself in the position of the majority of believers around the world – dispossessed, powerless and poor nobodies. Do they in their suffering hear and live the Good News differently? Where or what is their hope? How might one who constantly suffers, is always hungry, or lives with abuse do theology?

Quote of the Day

“Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected… Hoarding is idolatry.” – Bonhoeffer, Cost of Discipleship

rickshaw in kolkata

I’m going to spend today beginning the attempts at making sense of Kolkata – the crowds, the heat, the beggars, the temples, the churches. Kolkata was the seat of the British Raj and is now known as the ‘cultural capital’ of India. It is distinctively Bengali. It’s the home of many poets, novelists and artists – including the author of my assigned reading book R. Tagore. Stroope notes that we’ll find the people of Kolkata unusually friendly.

Sometime during this span of time (from the 11-15) we’ll be working with Mother Theresa’s Home for the Dying. I’m anxious to be emotionally destroyed in that way. This city, more than some of the others, is where we’ll be getting our hands ‘dirty’ as we serve alongside Indians.

Quote of the Day

“Don’t look for big things, just do small things with great love. The smaller the thing, the greater must be our love.” – Mother Theresa, Come Be My Light

The phrase the typical introduction begs the question, how do we type introductions. The typology would have to include the spectrum from research introduction such as Eissfeldt, Fohrer and Zenger Einleitung in das Alte Testament to the more popular introduction such as Anderson. The research introduction is thorough with extensive bibliography and often outlines the contours of the debate in the field. However, they are almost always seen as impenetrable for the typical undergraduate or even seminarian. Collins volume The Hebrew Bible tries to moderate the reference introduction and the accessible introduction. Gottwald’s A Light to the Nations (1959) before his methodological conversion embodied first in his book the Tribes of Yahweh and the subsequent introduction The Hebrew Bible: A Socio-Literary Introduction (1985)

Share This

We’re spending the day on another jet plane – flying from Jaipur (leaving at 8:10am) to Kolkata (landing at 3:40pm) through Mumbai. Looong travel day, kids, and I’m sure I’ll be quite done with airplane seats at this point. The guide makes the note that we’ll be leaving the dry heat of Jaipur to the sauna of Kolkata. So, that’s a happy thought. Kolkata is one of the cities I’ve been anticipating the most – so I’m sure this day of travel will be tiresome. Send happy thoughts of positivity my way. Thanks.

Quote of the Day

“The victory of the gospel was worn not by the cleverness of its preachers and theologians, and certainly not by its programs for social justice, but by the blood of the martyrs. And let us not forget that the most notable examples of vital Christian mission today are to be found in places where success in worldly terms has been denied.” – Lesslie Newbigin

elephant parade in jaipur

All the guide says about today is that we’ll enjoy an “unusual, extravagant meal at Choki Danini Cultural Center.” So clearly, I have no idea what that means, but I’m intrigued. We’ll also be spending the day with friends of ours who work in the city, blessing them as we go. Stroope encourages us to question what it means to be pilgrims. “Envision yourself as an exile, a stranger, sojourner or alien on a pilgrimage. What does it mean that we’re ‘strangers in a strange world’?” I encourage you to do the same.

Quote of the Day

“The diaspora church of the first centuries of the Christian era was a movement. The earliest Christians didn’t even call themselves ‘church,’ let alone ‘the church.’ That came later. They thought of themselves rather, as the people of ‘the Way.’ They were in transit; they were moving.” – John Douglas Hall

Jal Mahal in Jaipur

While in Jaipur, we’ll be staying among the flowers downtown. It’s often called “The Pink City”: The whole city was painted pink to welcome the then Prince of Wales when he visited Jaipur in 1853, and it still blushes pink (although a rather dirty shade of pink) even after more than 150 years later. The capital of Rajasthan and the crowded, frenzied streets of carts, animals and children will be our home until the 10th. Jaipur is best known for gemstones, turbans, and crowded bazaars. Also the city of forts and palaces – ripe for exploration – which is what we’ll be doing today. This area is unique in all of India – religion looks different, traffic looks different, buildings look different. It is one of my sister’s favorite cities in the country and I’m anxious to explore it with her in mind.

Quote of the Day

“The task ahead is to descandalize the form of Christian mission without removing the scandal of the gospel itself. There will always be something foreign about the Christian mission – we are driven by it beyond ourselves. Its message meets us in our native condition as an alien thing, either as a stumbling block or as foolishness, which we can surmount only radically transcending ourselves.” – Carl Brataan