One of the biggest challenges to reading and understanding the Old Testament is that very word “Old”. The time and place and events of then are so very far removed from the time and place and events of now, yet we claim as Christians that the Bible is a book that transcends time and place. Working to bridge the distance between the worlds of 21st century Christians and ancient Israelites will greatly aid us in interpreting those words for this time. A host of issues that were of great theological significance for them then remain crucial ones to us now, yet our differing contexts have shaped the way we think about them in different ways. This series will explore several of these issues with the hopes that gaining insight into the world of the “Old” Testament might create opportunities for it to speak to us in new ways.
The specific topics will be:
April 18: “Law”
April 25: Justice
May 2: Violence
May 9: Love
May 16: Family
May 23: The Cycle of Life
Led by Dr. Melissa Jackson.
Born and bred a Tarheel, Dr. Jackson grew up in a small NC town just west of Charlotte and did an undergraduate degree at UNC. Her path subsequently followed a “work, then a degree, then work” pattern, a path which meandered through workplaces including Habitat for Humanity and youth ministry in a local congregation and through institutions including BTSR (MDiv) and the University of Oxford (DPhil). This path has now returned her to her Richmond alma mater where she is currently serving as Visiting Professor of Old Testament.
