So, another day in the Holy Land on Mt. Zion, and what can I say it was great. I had a test in Physical Settings this morning, which went well, and the rest of the day off. As you might be thinking, yes I am converting to a middle eastern life style.....very laid back. Unbelievably I took some time to do laundry, some homework, and I played soccer. Even as I write this I am lounging around drinking hot Tea...hmmm I love Israel. But seriously, at supper today I went to Forum table, which is where students meet with Dr Wright and have a discussion about...well anything.
The discussion today focused on Midrash CHAZAL. What is Midrash CHAZAL? (you don't even know it but I just used a Rabbinic teaching method, I asked a question to begin discussing the topic) Well, M.C is a method used by practicing Jews to interpret the Holy Scriptures. By using M.C they attemp to fill into Biblical stories information that is missing. They try to understand the purpose of the scripture text, what is being said, why it's being said, and then they try to fill in the missing information to get the whole picture.
The question that we adressed today was: As Christians how do we view M.C, and is it useful for our own interpretation of scripture? The cool part of this discussion was that there was a wide range of answers that we as Christians came up with. People voiced there opinions and beliefs and it was an important time of growth. We also discussed what interpretation is and what authority interpretation has in comparison to the authority of scripture. We discussed some questions many us had, and though we may not have gotten a clear, clean cut answer it has brought us to a greater curiosity in terms of what we believe about some of these things. The question I asked that has been on my mind was: Is there importance to reading and maybe interpreting Extra-Biblical Texts such as the Gospel of Thomas, or Philip? I can honestly say that I know now, after hearing what was said in the discussion, what I believe on this issue.
I guess what I'm getting at is that this forum or discussion is just one of the examples to show that I am truly maturing in my faith here in Jerusalem and that real Christian growth is happening in my life. I have been blest to be here and to have this oppertunity to grow, and I'm glad that this experience is just getting underway.