May 12-June 23 (7 weeks)
The first book of our Bible asks us to think back to beginnings (the name of the book – in English and in Hebrew is literally ‘first things/beginning things”
We will spend some time with these formative stories and consider how they have shaped, not just the modern church, but our modern selves.
These are stories that nurtured Jesus’ faith as a young person – stories that shaped his story-telling style and that informed his understanding of the intersection of human life and divine creative interactions. These are history with a twist – tales told to offer us (and the original audience) a way to navigate the world that God calls ‘very good.’
Week one – Myth, truth, fact – how does the Bible fit?
- We will start with conversations about the relationships between (what we call) myth, truth, and fact. How can we take these ancient stories seriously without taking them ‘literally?’
- How do we enter this ancient storytelling mode while maintaining our modern (or post-modern) integrity?
- How does the Bible fit into this understanding of ‘myth?’