Our discussions have become so lively and fun! The class on Monday 12/27/2021, was no exception. Merill, Dan, Jo Ann, Karen, Cindy, Dave, Diana, David, Randy, and Robin attended.
Below is a short summary of what we discussed put together by Dan:
In regard to Romans 14, one of the first of our discussions was about the origin and purpose of the Jewish dietary laws. Merrill asked if health benefits were the original purpose of the Jewish dietary laws. David mentioned that beginning in the 19th century scholars began to notice the apparent health benefits of kosher food preparation, but that traditional interpretation is that the dietary laws did not offer any explanation of their purpose. Dave said that he thought that the dietary laws were traditional without a health purpose. Dan said that that the dietary laws could have developed from a traditional belief that these practices were healthy.
Randy made mention of some internal contradictions in the chapter, especially since it was ambiguous about who was right about eating non-kosher food. It appears to say “you are both right.”
When we read the associated notes for Romans Chapter 14, Randy summarized it as “mumbo jumbo.”
Particular offense taken at the term “weak” being applied to those who only ate vegetables, presumably Jewish people who only ate kosher food. There was a brief discussion of shabbat and mention of Christians regarding Sunday as a Christian shabbat. Or not.
We learned that this was the first time Paul referred to the “Kingdom of God.” There’s a song Dan and Jo Ann remembered from the 1970s with the lyrics “The Kingdom of God is not meat or drink but righteousness, peace, and joy.” We have included in this blog post the two of us singing that song for everyone’s entertainment at the bottom of this post.
We also learned that David’s daughter is a rabbi in Newport Beach!
We appreciate everyone who took part today. We apologize for any omissions. Please reply with any additional comments. You guys are awesome!
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