week 2 chiasm, Signs, Sets, Philemon 2.0, 10 Commandments are a Wedding

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Devotions (WITH PARTNERS)
Part 1)Phillipians 3
Part 2) Letters

Part 3) "In England, they drive on the ______ side of the road"
Part 4).  Whole class:
 Watch this video: Are you on crack?
 (you'll need  info from it  for Forum 2.1)

"Gaithers on Crack":



Artists mentioned in the video (you'll need this list for forum 2.1:

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"S" WORD

Remember how Paul..the same Paul who wrote Philemon..used the "S" word in Philippians 3?  In the original Greek he used the word "skubala," which your class Bible translates "rubbish,"  but the word is much close to the English S-word.  More on that word use here

Oh, here's a link to buy the T shirt (or bib or hat..or)

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SELECTIVE ATTENTION 

I recommend  showing this video to a group or class ,and doing it this way.

Show the first  (Regional Emmy winner) video  below starting at 4 second mark, telling the group that no one should say anything, or make any noise, while watching; just concentrate hard on following the instructions:

Here is the backstory.

OPTIONAL  (didn't do in class)TED Talk   by Daniel Simons:

OPTIONAL  (didn't do in class)Christopher Chabris'  talk at Google about this:

OPTIONAL  (didn't do in class Here's a great spoof version:

Of course people have made endless variations:

Remember, instead of terns quiz Week 5, replace with a signs quiz.  Mix and match signs and names of sign.

Here are the first   8 signs and

answers:

 for quiz: Recurrence

XXXXX

    RECURRENCE

a word, phrase, or idea is intentionally repeated throughout a text.  .

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What if a real congressman really didn't know the real ten commandments?

What did you learn about interpreting a text watching this video?  How did you decide on genre etc?

P

How many sides in a stop sign?

What color is a  stop sign?

How many sides on a YIELD sign?

What color is a  YIELD sign?

Watch AFTER you have answered:

--- CHIASMS

Finish these sentences.  How did you know what to say?  

• ------
• The first shall be last...
• When the going gets tough....
• I am stuck on Band-Aid...
• It's not the size of the dog in the fight..
• You should do unto others...
• God is good all the time
• John F Kennedy; "Ask not what your country can do for you...."
• Am I drinking wine, or is..
• Accept rejection..
• Whoever exalts themself will be humbled.
• Never let a fool kiss you....
• Zaccheus was a wee little man...
• There's no understanding without...
• Woe to those who call good evil..
• They don't care about how much you know until ...
• The right to bear arms is slightly less ridiculous than ...
• Let us never negotiate out of fear..
• The sabbath is made for man..
• You come to be baptized by me, when..

CHIASM 

From the ridiculous:

• "I am stuck on Band Aid..
• "Never let a kiss fool you..

To the sublime:

• "Ask not what your country can do for you..
• "God is good all the time.."
• "When the going gets tough.."
• "Accept rejection.."

To the biblical:

• The first shall be last...
• Whoever humbles themself will be exalted...
• You do unto others...

 Who found the chiasm on p74 of Grimsrud book ?

   

Chiasm(definition) ).. once you are attuned to seeing them in Scripture (and most ancient literature) it seems they are everywhere.

Sometimes they are.
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CHIASMs they can grow larger, and the parallelism can be more general, thematic.

And getting over VERSE-ITIS helps a lot in seeing chiasm in the big sweep.  This is Genesis 6:

Or the tower of Babel in Genesis 11:

link

And we're only in the FIRST book of the Bible (:

Sometimes chiasms  are are so large that they  almost become a genre..or encompass an entire book.

In fact, they can become as large as life,  See
James B. Jordan, “Chiasm and Life” in Biblical Theology Basics:

“Very much of human life is ‘there and back again,’ or chiastic. This is how God has designed human beings to live in the world. It is so obvious that we don’t notice it. But it is everywhere. This shape of human life arises ultimately from the give and take of the three Persons of God, as the Father sends the Spirit to the Son and the Son sends the Spirit back to the Father. We can see that literary chiasm is not a mere curiosity, a mere poetic device to structure the text. It arises from the very life of God, and is played out in the structure of the lives of the images of God in many ways and at many levels. It is because human beings live and move so often chiastically, that poets often find themselves drawn to chiastic writing. God creates chiasms out of His inner life, and so do the images of God.

Biblical chiasms are perfect. That is, they are perfectly matched to the human  chiasms they address and transform. As we become more and more sensitive to Biblical chiasms, we will become more and more sensitive to one aspect of the true nature of human life under God. We will be transformed from bad human chiasms into good human chiasms. In this way, becoming sensitive to chiasm can be of practical transformative value to human life, though in deep ways that probably cannot be explained or preached very well.

One further thought. We saw in our previous essay that chiasms often have a double climax, one in the middle and the greatest at the end. The food we bought at market is put away in the cupboard and refrigerator when we get back home. Moving forward to a final climax is what all literature does, whether it has a middle climax or not. (Shakespeare’s five-act plays always move to a climax in the third and in the fifth acts.) This is just another way that human life matches literary production, in the Bible as well as in uninspired human literature. Becoming familiar with the shape and flow of Biblical texts will have a transforming effect on human life.”

James B. Jordan, “Chiasm and Life” in Biblical Theology Basics.

-link, Michael Bull’s blog: Theology you can eat and drink

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Mike Rinaldi, a Visalian, and filmmaker (and Fresno Pacific grad) told this   story at the first "Gathering to Bless Christians in the Arts":
Blake Snyder, the screenwriter behind the classicSave The Cat"  book became a Christian not long before he died. 

Often at this point in such a story, folks ask "Who led him to Christ?" 

Go ahead and ask. 

The answer is: 

Chiasm. 

It happened in large part because Mike, not even knowing if such a well-known and busy writer would respond to his email,  asked him if he had heard about chiasm. 

Turns out Snyder was fascinated with it all, and Mike was able to point out chiastic structure and shape in scriptwriting....and one thing led to another...and then in Scripture. 

All roads, and all chiasms, lead to the Center and Source. 


Mike, of course, learned chiasm in THIS CLASS.

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Headsup One of the best ways to PRACTICE interpreting a text is by doing in class something you do all the time:

Interpreting the text of a song/music video..especially when you can "Venn it" with two versions.

Notes from previous cohorts on the 2 versions of the song:

 

Songs as text: 







TEXT reading practice.. Song interp ..
Sleep Like a Baby version 1


Morning, your toast
Your tea and sugar
Read about the politician’s lover
Go through the day
Like a knife through butter
Why don’t you
You dress in the colours of forgiveness
Your eyes as red as Christmas
Purple robes are folded on the kitchen chair

You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like someone else’s suicide
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight

Dreams
It’s a dirty business, dreaming
Where there is silence and not screaming
Where there’s no daylight
There’s no healing, no no

You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight

Hope is where the door is
When the church is where the war is
Where no one can feel no one else’s pain

You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Sleep like a baby tonight
Like a bird, your dreams take flight
Like St. Francis covered in light
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight

 "Sleep Like A Baby   ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVE VERSION

In the morning when you wake up

You won’t have much
But you’ll have enough
When you are weakest
I’ll be strong enough for you

Dreams
Yeah, the ones where you are fearless
Can’t break what’s broken
You are tearless
Steal back your innocence
That’s what they stole from you

You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Not everything can be so black and white
There are demons in the broad daylight
But you can sleep like a baby tonight

Stop
Where you stand right now
Just stop
Don’t think or look down at the drop
The people staring from the street
Don’t know what you’ve got

You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
No, not everything can be so black and white
There are demons in the broad daylight
But you can sleep like a baby tonight

Hope is where the door is
When home is where the war is
Where nobody can feel no one else’s pain

You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Not everything can be so black and so white
There are demons in the broad daylight
You’ve got to sleep like a baby tonight
Sleep like a baby tonight
Where you stand
Where you fall is where I kneel
To take your heart back to where you can feel
Like a child, a child

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We read Philemon again, and watched this,

Remember, just because NT Wright assumes it's about a slave, feel free to disagree

Notes from video:

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Some comments from class discussion on Philemon:

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1) Don't trip on  the word "saints."  In the Bible it just means "Christians."  Even Dave is a saint, not just holy people like Michelle.  Remember Paul wrote two letters to some bad Christians who were getting drunk at communion and having sex with relatives (1 and 2 Californians, I mean Corinthians), and he called even them "SAINTS."

-2) 

Don't trip on "the church that meets in your house."   The Bible knows nothing of official church buildings; they didn't exist yet.  They met in homes, and churches were small.  This doesn't mean Philemon had a large house, or was necessarily wealthy.

-
3)Remember how important it is to use our class translation (NRSV), especially for verse 16.  We noted how one translation (NLT) changes the meaning.

Click this to see how our translation and three others compare.  Extra credit if you text Dave by beginning of Week 3 and explain how they change it.

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4)

Could Philemon and Onesimus were  BOTH master/slave  AND literal brothers?

Not likely, unless they were half-brothers.  

Hmm.  See this from Tim Gombis:

F. F. Bruce suggests that the two may be related in just this way.  He says, “Such a state of affairs would be not at all unusual: if, for example, Onesimus were the son of Philemon’s father by a slave-girl, then Onesimus and Philemon would be half-brothers, but Onesimus (unless emancipated) would still be a slave.”
.. Paul does not say that the “in the flesh” relationship is one of master-slave.  They are related “in the flesh” as beloved brothers.  The interpretive debate is whether this means “fellow human” or “actual brother.”
If Philemon and Onesimus are in fact half-brothers, then much of the consensus view is unthreatened.  Onesimus is still regarded as a slave in the household of Philemon and in some way brought harm to Philemon and has made his way to Paul.  Paul sends Onesimus back to Philemon urging the latter to receive the former as Paul himself.  The consensus view would need modification, however, to recognize the additional factor that while Philemon is the freeborn master of the household, Onesimus is now Philemon’s brother in the Lord, having been converted to Christian discipleship by the Apostle.  This new relationship in the realm of “the faith” goes beyond the already-existing relationship in the realm of natural relations, in which they are also brothers, sharing a common earthly father.
My main contention in these posts is that commentators must take Paul’s reference to Philemon and Onesimus as  "BROTHERS IN THE FLESH" (adelphoi en sarki )with greater seriousness.  It is highly unlikely that Paul regards the two as sharing in a common humanity.  It is far more likely that they are actual brothers.  -TIM GOMBIS

5) We hinted there could be a helpful chiasm in Philemon..Further hint: check verse 5 in our class translation

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Here's an extra credit  assignment,  We didn't do this section (in yellow) in class.

Read the following, and then post in the comments section below your 1-3 sentence response by Sun night. Then try hard to find one funny or ironic thing (by any stretch of the imagination) not mentioned here, and mention it. 

Post your answer at the bottom of this summary page  where it says "post a comment." If you don't have one of the accounts listed, just sign in as "Anonymous" (but be sure  to put your name or initials in the actual post, so you get extra credit.

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HUMOR IN PHILEMON??

"I could command you, but I appeal to you out of love”? 

“Any decision you make will be spontaneous and not forced”? 

“Oh, by the way, I won;t mention....actually I will...that  you owe me your own self” ?

Paul’s language and literary approach in Philemon  have been much maligned, yet little understood.  He has been read as being (at best) disingenuous and passive-aggressive, or (at worst) sycophantic and manipulative to a degree that borders on messianic complex.   I believe a third way unpacks the dilemma and makes salient sense of the intuitive embarrassment and discomfort we feel overhearing Paul’s appeal.   In a word: humor.   In several words: a mosaic (and not at all prosaic) humor based loosely (?) on the “holy fool”  tradition and rhetorical device of prosopeion; a holy humor laced liberally with a playful but profound twist of (almost) irony and mimetic self-reference.   All of this is of course at great risk, and presupposes a deep, abiding and adamantine trust between sender and recipient.

Is Paul being authoritarian to a fault, all the while claiming the opposite?   No, St. Paul is smarter…and not smarmier… than that.  He is more humble than he has been given credit for; and decidedly not proud of his own humility.  Per McLuhan, his medium masterfully matches—even equals and incarnates—his message.

On humor in Philemon, consider Marcus Barth:

"Humor is, according to Wilhelm Busch, 'where one laughs, in spite of it,' even in the face of grave situations...Indeed, Philemon has a hard choice to make, but the decision-making process is sweetened as much as possible--by humor.

In contrast to the doctrinal style of Romans;  the irony and sarcasm found in Galatians; to the apologetic, wailing, and aggressive passages of Second Corinthians; and to other idiosyncrasies of other letters, in Philemon the use of contrasts is a sign and means of underlying good humor. Humor is, according to Wilhelm Busch, where one laughs, “in spite of it," even in the face of grave situations.

 The mighty apostle of the omnipotent Lord Christ is a prisoner in Roman hands (w. 1, 9-10) and chooses the role of a beggar before Philemon (vv. 8-9). 

The child Onesimus was created by a father in chains (v. 10), who was, according to some versions of verse 9, an old man! 

A pun is made on the name Onesimus ("Useful") in verse 11.

 God's purpose in permitting separation was to establish eternal union (v. 15).

 Paul and Philemon are business partners, and Onesimus can substitute for Paul by being the third man in the association (v.17)

 Philemon is much deeper in debt to Paul than the apostle eventually is to the slave  owner (vv 18-19). Paul hopes confidentially that he will benefit from Philemon — not only materially but by finding rest for his troubled heart (v 20).

.... Overflowing obedience is the sum of complete voluntariness (v. 21.)

 A man whose chances for quick release from prison were less than certain invites himself to a private home for the near future (v. 22).

  All or at least a part of these elements can be considered, or are, humorous.

It is not certain whether Paul intended this impression, and whether Philemon was capable and willing to appreciate jokes pertaining to his relationship to Onesimus and to Paul. But together with other earliest hearers and readers of PHM, modern readers are by no means prevented from responding with a smile or a chuckle. The dreadfully serious issue of the slave Onesimus's future is treated  lightly — a fact that reminds of the role of slaves in Greek and Latin comedies. Obviously bitterness is neither the only nor the best way of reacting to grave issues. Indeed, Philemon has a hard choice to make, but the decision-making process is sweetened as much as possible — by humor. (Barth and Blanke, 2000, pp. 1115; 18-19)

Read this section in context here

And this   from Sarah Ruden, in Paul Among the People :

The letter to Philemon...is full of inside jokes and high-as-a-kite invocations of the transcendent...Paul joyfully mocks the notion that any person placing himself in the hands of God can be limited or degraded in any way that matters.  The

letter must represent the most fun anyone ever had writing while incarcerated. link

Finally, see this from   David Barr:

Interesting..

Interpreting a text is a lot like assembling a puzzle.

And what if pieces are missing (Like the backstory in Philemon)??

Great "Three Worlds"{ work assembling this as a class:

'

==One of the most helpful ways of understanding the Bible...and life..is SET THEORY.

You will need to know the three sets for Moodle 2.1  and other assignments.

Many successful signature papers incorporate set theory.

All three sets explained with examples in this video:

We didn't show this clip in class yet, but it is helpful:

FUZZY SET:

Great examples of Fuzzy Set from Rob Bell: The Marker Trick AKA "Yup!":

These illustrations come from Dave's video/Rob Bell's video:

-When does a mountain begin?

-Is it about predestination or free will?

-Faith or science?

These can be debated...as the border can be fuzzy...Thus :
"Fuzzy sets"

Here below is some help on Fuzzy Sets. These readings will help:

• new nets: bounded sets, fuzzy sets, or centered-sets?
• 
  

Centered set illustration:

A man I know well had just gotten in a classic "first fight" with his wife. He did something uncharacteristic of him: He jumped in his car, and began speeding (literally) away from the situation.
Because he was a believer, he at least had the sense to pray; even as in his fast car he was contradicting his belief. But he prayed, for some reason this prayer; "Lord, I really need to hear from you!"
At that precise moment, a moment he was to remember the rest of his life, the man was strangely prompted to turn on the car radio. Immediately, a voice came over the radio:"Hey Leadfoot! Turn around, go back to your wife, and tell her you’re sorry!"Let me tell you, gentle reader;

When that happened to me….
…I turned around, went back to my wife, and told her I was sorry!
And it doesn’t change my theology of "God was speaking audibly and directly to me" at all to reveal the way God spoke. At the exact moment I was speeding away from home, and shot up that prayer while turning the dial on, a Christian disc jockey who was broadcasting live felt prompted to say:
"Hey Leadfoot! Turn around, go back to your wife, and tell her you’re sorry!" link

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THESIS: The Ten Commandments are a ________

.

Off the top of your head, list words and ideas that come to mind when you think of the story of the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mt Sinai.

Then scroll down for the question..

Was "wedding" on your list?

                                        .....or "love"?

What does all this have to do with a wedding?

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AS A WEDDING:

We watched "HE LED YOU LIKE A BRIDE," a  Ray Vander Laan "Faith Lessons" video  from Mount Sinai.  Here is the complete video, which elaborates on this

thesis.  You'll be writing on this for Moodle  2.1.

Here's a study guide for the video:..

see pp.197-251  here

"Waffly Wedded Wife":



Bonus: the processional: (didn't show in class):

FROM GRIMSRUD BOOK:

Why when asked for examples of commandments d,o 9 out of 1o students answer with  one of the negatives: Thou shalt NOTs?

WHY DO WE  THINK OF THE COMMANDMENTS MORE LIKE  FUNERAL THAN A WEDDING?

Often when I officiate weddings, and the groom is nervous, I try to lighten the mood. I pull out my little black book in front of all the groomsmen and fake a shocking, "Oh my goodness, I accidentally brought my funeral book by mistake!! But I'll just read from it anyway..i mean it's the same idea. Is that OK?" Then there is a laugh of relief when they realize I'm kidding!

But at Margaret and Paul's wedding.....

for the first time, I couldn'tfind my wedding book right away, so i did actually bring the funeral book instead. It didn't really matter, as after doing years of weddings I don't need the book, I just use it to stick little sticky notes in for the sermon, prompts, names etc....oh, and to look pastoral and cool.

So I just crossed out the big title "FUNERAL" on the spine with a black marker, so folks wouldn't see it while I was up front (:

Then for a laugh and a few pics, after the service, I rubbed off the ink so you could read it.

 

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