V People Can Be Bound to Each Other in a Community And

ANCHORS

A PRIORI God is the basic assumption of the Bible. This assumption of the existence of God is called "a priori" which means "first." You can see this understanding in the first verse of the first book of the Bible, "In the beginning, God. . ." Because this is an assumption, nothing in the Bible is intended to convince anyone of the truth that God exists.

The stories of scripture are stories of the ways in which people have experienced and understood God. Different stories illustrate different understandings. It is impossible for us to know all about God, but each new understanding can in- crease our ability to experience God.

AKEDAH Akedah (ah-kee-dah) is the Hebrew word meaning "binding". It is an idea that runs through the Bible (see story of sacrifice of Isaac). Binding can be physical (e.g. "frozen in place") or it can be the kind of bond that comes from love.  People can be bound to each other in a community and  People can be bound to God through covenant.

ARAPHEL Araphel (air-a-fel) is a Hebrew word which means "thick darkness." It may mean a physical struggle or an inner, psychological struggle. In the ancient Hebrew understanding, this idea of thick darkness was related to the chaos in which God es- tablished order in the act of creation. Thick darkness is also the covering that hides God from human eyes since the sight of God is more than humans can bear.

BARA The doctrine of Bara or Creation says that God is the source of everything else in the universe. This is why the Bible begins with stories about God as the Creator. The idea that everything else is created implies the existence of a creator, i.e. God. This way of understanding the world means that our world is not the result

1 of some cosmic accident. This understanding also has implications about the purpose and nature of human beings and other animals, indeed everything that exists. Since we are creatures, we have a responsibility to and a relationship with the rest of the world to try to live out the purpose of the Creator. The way in which God creates and the world in which God creates give us ideas about what the Creator might be like.

BERITH Berith (burr-ith) is a Hebrew word meaning "covenant." One way of understanding a covenant is a "contract of the heart." It is an agreement in which a stronger being promises to take care of and protect a weaker being if the weaker being will give his/her loyalty to the stronger. In the Bible, the relationship between God and people is defined by a series of covenants in which God offers people the op- portunity to be in relationship with him.

CHAPHES Chaphes (kah-fez) is a Hebrew word meaning "to delight in" or "to be eagerly mindful of." It is related to the idea of "glory." People used to use the expression "he glories in it" to refer to someone who celebrated or delighted in something. God delights in creation and wants people to delight in being with Him. The idea of glory develops into splendor, majesty, and joy. The perfect relationship is based in and headed for chaphes. This spiritual joy is not dependent upon the happiness of the moment.

COMMUNITAS Communitas is a Latin word meaning "family" or "community." The faith of the people of the Bible is not a faith for hermits and solitary people. It is a relational faith, which means that the understanding of God is supposed to make a differ- ence in the way in which people treat each other and live together. We see this idea in scripture in the ways in which God calls people and helps people to live in families and communities. Communities are created out of common values,

2 goals, and needs. Because they depend on communication, this idea develops into the idea of a "message" and a mission to tell the message (communication).

GER Ger (plural gerim) is a Hebrew word meaning "sojourner, traveler, or resident alien." The people of the Bible find themselves over and over again in the posi- tion of strangers or "gerim". An alien is someone who does not belong or fit in where he/she finds himself/herself. If you have ever felt isolated, alone and different, you have an understanding of what it is like to be "ger".

HOSPITALITY Hospitality in the Bible means our welcoming acceptance of other people and also God's welcoming acceptance of us. The value of hospitality is emphasized in many stories. The people of God are called to practice a theology of welcome, opening their community to strangers, because all hospitality has its origin in God.

MEMORIA Memoria (mem-o-ree-ah) is a Latin word that refers to the understanding and per- spective that comes from living through an experience and reflecting on that experience. Although it is not exactly like memory, it is related. The stories of the Bible are "memoria" in the sense that the people realized that God had been present in their history when they thought about it. This kind of reflection is one way to discover the presence of God in our own lives today. When we celebrate great events of our faith, we are participating in memoria.

ENCOUNTER The three words we will use to describe the experience of being in the presence of God are Numinous, Epiphany, and Theophany. Theophany and epiphany usually refer to an experience that involves seeing something that convinces us God is present.  Numinous refers to a subjective feeling of attraction and fear ("awe") that ac- companies the presence of God.

3  Epiphany is a sudden realization of a manifestation of God's presence within the natural world.  Theophany is a supernatural manifestation of God's presence that is accompa- nied by some sort of “special effects.”

VOLUNTAS Voluntas is "will" as in "an act of will," being willing to do what God asks. It means following God's will and deciding to do something because you think God wants you to do it. It is very closely related to obedience and faith. Voluntas is the making of a hero in scripture. When God calls someone and they agree to do God’s will, God gives them the skills and power they need to succeed. Watch for this pattern in the stories of Old Testament heroes.

4 5 Listening Assignment