Hope4ce



Section A – Selection of passages that inform the educational design. The passage that most informed the design and implementation of my educational event was Psalm 8. My initial research began with seeking out passages that reiterate that humans are made in the image of God as that is, I believe, the source of the intrinsic value of the children our policy seeks to protect. Children in particular are full of the potential of all that they will become and all that they will do to reflect God’s goodness in the world. During that research I came to appreciate what Psalm 8 had to offer this project in terms of what value and responsibility God places upon humanity. It ties back to the creation story with language that speaks to humanity as being made in the image of God. It was quoted by Jesus in Matthew 21, shedding light on the questions I had about the meaning of verse 2. It was quoted in Hebrews and was attributed to Jesus, giving definition to the view of humanity revealed in Psalm 8. Section B – Description of methods and resources. The exegetical approach I used was influenced most by the suggestions of John H. Hayes and Carl R. Holladay in Biblical Exegesis: A Beginner’s Handbook, Third Edition, to especially let the questions that arise from the text guide the method rather than step through a list of every type of criticism in turn. Their suggested process for engaging the text is to 1) Allow the text to set the agenda letting the questions arise out of your dialogue with the text itself. 2) Let the questions point to the appropriate methodology, exegetical technique, or type of criticism. 3) Use the tools appropriate to a given exegetical technique. 4) Once some basic questions and tentative answers are developed, do a preliminary synthesis of these findings. 5) Conclude the analysis by sorting, prioritizing and making connections. 6) Synthesize the findings into a coherent interpretation of the passage CITATION Hay071 \p 186-189 \y \l 1033 (Hayes and Holladay, 186-189). The resource books that were useful in answering the questions that arose from my exegetical work with the text were Out of the Depths: The Psalms Speak for Us Today, by Bernhard W. Anderson, 1983; The CEB Study Bible, Joel B. Green, general editor, 2013; The Harper Collins Study Bible NRSV, Wayne A. Meeks, general editor, 1993; The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (NIB), Walter J. Harrelson, general editor, 2003; book section The Book of Psalms: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections, by J. Clinton McCann, Jr., of The New Interpreter’s Bible (NIB) A Commentary in Twelve Volumes – Volume IV, 1996; The New Interpreter’s Bible (NIB) One Volume Commentary, edited by Beverly Roberts Gaventa and David Petersen, 2010; Reformation Study Bible-ESV, edited by R. C. Sproul and Keith A. Mathison, 2010, accessed using . I also used to access several newer and some older translations of the chosen text including, NRSV, CEB, NIV, NLT, The Message, Good News Translation, Complete Jewish Bible, and American Standard Version.Section C - Interpretation. The first step in my chosen method was to allow the text to set the agenda, letting the questions arise out of my dialogue with the text itself. I started my dialogue with prayer and several readings of the text using the NRSV. Then, since I could not read the psalm in Hebrew, I read the text in more than one modern translation CITATION And83 \p 10 \y \l 1033 (Anderson, 10). Q #1) One of the first things I noticed about Psalm 8 was the pattern of levels of power and I was curious to explore that more. Q #2) Several questions arose concerning confusion about the meaning of v.2 and the juxtaposition of mentioning very young children in the same sentence with the enemy and avenger. It seemed curious that nursing infants could silence the foe and I wondered how that could speak to our task of protecting children from abuse. I also wondered why some translations mentioned founding a bulwark, safe and secure, and laying a strong foundation, while others translated v.2 as ordaining praise, drowning out enemy talk, teaching children to give God praise. I wanted to find out more about the meaning of this verse. Q #3) Another question I asked was what are human beings that God is mindful of them? My assumption going into this text was that the value of humanity lies in the bearing of God’s image and while the text does not specifically mention that, I thought that careful attention to answering this question which lies at the heart of the psalm would speak to that concept. My desire was to gain some insight into the value of the children that our policy seeks to protect. Q #4) Another question comes from the apparent power and responsibility assigned to human beings noted by the psalmist in the latter half of the psalm. What can human beings do, what should human beings do are questions that directly speak to the task of our project. Q #5) Yet another question comes from the description of God that the psalmist portrays as big and powerful. Faced with the very big problem of designing a policy that will protect children from the horrible effects of child abuse I want to seek help from the very big and majestic God, creator of the universe, so beautifully described and praised in Psalm 8. Finally, what I kept in mind during the whole of the initial study of the text has to do with how we might rightly use the psalm for our purpose. One objective of our project is to inspire and educate teachers and the congregation to value and protect children. As a psalm, I know that this text was used to help people worship. The words are so beautiful and memorable and used today as we sing them in hymns, introits and choir anthems. One of my favorite anthems is based on Psalm 8, and I wonder if our committee can find a way to discern and, in turn, deliver a powerful message about the value of children, the power of God, and the responsibility of humanity to care for our little ones.The second step was to let the questions point to the appropriate methodology, exegetical technique, or type of criticism. Q #1) Answering my questions about the pattern I observed in Psalm 8 involved literary criticism and particular use of form and structure CITATION Hay071 \p 91 \y \l 1033 (Hayes and Holladay, 91). Q #2) My confusion regarding the meaning of v.2 led me to use textural, grammatical, and tradition criticisms CITATION Hay071 \p 45,81,123 \y \l 1033 (Hayes and Holladay, 45,81,123). Q # 3) Seeking evidence of humanity bearing the image of God led me to use textural criticism and even canonical placement for clues CITATION Hay071 \p 42,155 \y \l 1033 (Hayes and Holladay, 42,155). Q #4) Discovering what the text had to say about humanity led to examination of the literary structure of the psalm and some helpful historical criticism CITATION Hay071 \p 56,91 \y \l 1033 (Hayes and Holladay, 56,91). Q #5) Likewise discovering what the text had to say about God also involved literary structure and historical criticism with additional textural criticism used as well. Finally, at least for the first round of research, noticing how Psalm 8 was used and pondering how we might use its message to inform our project involved literary criticism particularly looking at purpose CITATION Hay071 \p 91 \y \l 1033 (Hayes and Holladay, 91).The third step was to use the tools appropriate to a given exegetical technique to investigate my initial questions. Q #1) The interesting pattern of power I noticed in Psalm 8 starts with God’s power, then references humanity in its least powerful form – a nursing infant, then assigns to that babe the power to silence the enemy, then switches back to God’s power of creation of the universe, then follows that with the question of what are human beings with a mood of humility, then moves to the assignment of power to humanity made a little lower than the angels and given dominion over creation, and moving back to finish with the power of God’s majestic name in all the earth. Looking at the text divisions, v.1a and v.9 are the refrains which proclaim the majesty of God’s name in all the earth, and vv.1b-8 are a meditation on God’s glory and creation on descending spatial hierarchy that 1) begins above “the heavens” 2) moves to the “moon and the stars” and 3) focuses on humans and the earth creatures under humanity’s feet (or dominion). Thus human sovereignty is authorized by divine action and contextualized by praise of God’s name in the opening and closing CITATION Har03 \p 758 \y \l 1033 (Harrelson, et al., 758). The refrains that frame the psalm are the proclamation of God’s reign CITATION Kec96 \p 711 \y \l 1033 (McCann, 711), thus indicate God’s sovereignty. When the psalmist considers the magnitude of God’s work, it leads to the question why with the answer being “because God has a vocation for humanity” CITATION Gav10 \p 312 \y \l 1033 (Gaventa and Petersen, 312). Following the hymnic pattern of this praise psalm of A) invocation, B) motive for praise, and C) refrain CITATION And83 \p 151-153 \y \l 1033 (Anderson, 151-153) Psalm 8 sings “descriptive praise” in worship and its purpose is not to flatter God but to bear witness to God’s character, actions, and blessings” CITATION Gav10 \p 308 \y \l 1033 (Gaventa and Petersen, 308). Q #2) Regarding the confusion about how babes can silence enemies, the RSV and NIV translations treat v.2a as a continuation of v.1b inferring that even babies recognize God’s cosmic sovereignty, but the NRSV v.2 implies that God can use even babies (vulnerable, helpless infants) as a power to oppose God’s foes. The words “foes”, ”enemy”, and ”avenger” are probably chaotic forces that God conquered and ordered in the sovereign act of creation; v.2 anticipates vv.3-8 that God uses the weak and seemingly insignificant human creature as a partner in caring for creation that is constantly threatened by its enemy – chaos CITATION Kec96 \p 711 \y \l 1033 (McCann, 711). Also 1) does the praise of children have the power to silence foes? Or 2) does v.2a continue v.1b so that even children recognize God’s majesty in all the earth? Or 3) does psalmist celebrate the power of human speech present even as speech begins? Mt 21:16 quotes this verse to claim that children have the truer perception of perfect praise CITATION Har03 \p 759 \y \l 1033 (Harrelson, et al., 759) suggesting that tradition gives a clue to the interpretation. Pairing military images and children is striking - God is so powerful that God can use babies as the first line of defense, that is, God turns weakness into strength (2Cor 12:9). This, then, looks forward to v.3-8 in which small and helpless human beings are made “only slightly less than divine” in Ps 8:5 CITATION Gre13 \p 847 \y \l 1033 (Green, 847). Maybe praise comes even from babbling babes because this seems to be how it is used in Mt 21:16 (in which Ps 8 is quoted by Jesus in reference to children praising him in the temple), and “founded a bulwark” may mean established strength CITATION Mee97 \p 805 \y \l 1033 (Meeks, et al., 805). Q #3) Regarding my question concerning whether the text speaks to the value of humanity because they are made in the image of God, it does appear that Psalm 8 clearly recalls Genesis 1. God rules but humanity has royal status too – the phrase “a little lower than God” (elohim) and words “crown” “glory” “dominion” are all kingly functions. The phrase “image of God” does not occur but the language and movement of Psalm 8 suggest that humans represent God in the world and that God and humans are partners in the care of creation because God has made the risky choice to allow humanity a level of power subservient only to God which could have been reserved for God only CITATION Kec96 \p 711-712 \y \l 1033 (McCann, 711-712). “Human beings, though related to their natural environment (as shown by the creation stories at the beginning of the Bible), stand over against nature as creatures who are given the high calling to have dominion over the works of God’s creation. They “image” or represent the rule (kingdom) of God on earth” CITATION And83 \p 154 \y \l 1033 (Anderson, 154). While in “little lower than God” the word for God can be translated “heavenly beings” (LXX substitutes the word “angels”), the point is that humanity’s place in creation is an extraordinary gift from God. Human beings, made by God, are like God, who crowned them with glory and honor. Thus humans are accorded royal status CITATION Har03 \p 759 \y \l 1033 (Harrelson, et al., 759). Q #4) What does Psalm 8 tell us about humanity? Psalm 8 affirms humanity’s royal status and dominion in the context of God’s reign, where the primary actor is God and the human subject of the verb is passive. Also the v.4 question lies at the structural and thematic center of the Psalm. The boundaries are God but humanity is at the heart, thus the identity of humanity cannot be understood apart from the relationship with God CITATION Kec96 \p 711 \y \l 1033 (McCann, 711). The idea of human dominion was revolutionary in ancient religious culture. CITATION And83 \p 154 \y \l 1033 (Anderson, 154). Psalm 8 speaks to vocation and portrays humanity as royalty to whom is given responsibility CITATION Gav10 \p 312 \y \l 1033 (Gaventa and Petersen, 312). The dominion charge echoes Gen 1:26-28 in which humans rule over “all things” but not over one another and includes taking care of creation not exploiting it CITATION Har03 \p 759 \y \l 1033 (Harrelson, et al., 759).Q #5) What does Psalm 8 tell us about God? The word “name” connotes character and essence. The titles “our Lord” or “our Sovereign” address a king, and the word “majestic” is used of kings. The proclamation of God’s reign frames the psalm and v.1b-2 extends God’s sovereignty beyond earth to the heavens. Speaking to God’s character in vv.3-4 is that God does choose to be “mindful” and to “care for” humanity CITATION Kec96 \p 711 \y \l 1033 (McCann, 711). Psalms of praise usually have to do with character and power of God demonstrated in works of creation and acts of faithful love CITATION Mee97 \p 799 \y \l 1033 (Meeks, et al., 799). In that culture gods were within nature, but in Psalm 8 God transcends the cosmos - God is not within the cosmos CITATION And83 \p 154 \y \l 1033 (Anderson, 154). The fourth step was to be done once some basic questions and tentative answers were developed, and that was to do a preliminary synthesis of these findings. The way in which I organized the synthesis was to utilize the communications triangle employed by those who study linguistics and adapted for use in biblical interpretation as explained in Biblical Exegesis: A Beginner’s Handbook CITATION Hay071 \p 22-23 \y \l 1033 (Hayes and Holladay, 22-23). I initially organized my findings on note cards by question, however, in using the communications triangle the information could be reorganized to group the information by which part of the model the criticism addressed. The most helpful aspect of this reorganization was to use the model to interrogate the text in terms of the psalmist’s initial communication, the original shape of the text, the world of ideas shared by the original parties to the communications, and the original audience’s hearing, understanding, and reception of the communication CITATION Hay071 \p 24 \y \l 1033 (Hayes and Holladay, 24). Then, the model encourages one to go beyond that to think of how the text may have been received by others in Old Testament times, in the time of the gospels, and in the time of the epistles. An example of some OT perspective that opened up a whole new analysis that proved very useful for the project happened when I came across some canonical criticism regarding the placement of Psalm 8. The issue of human suffering arose and became an important part of the interpretation of the passage and making meaning for the project in terms of the evil of child abuse and its related suffering. The placement in the canon of Psalm 8, in which humans are a “little lower than God” and “crowned…with glory and honor” (v.5) comes right after Psalms 3-7, in which the human creature suffers miserably. This suggests that the royal status and vocation of humanity are not diminished by suffering. In fact, we may conclude that to be created in the “image of God” inevitably means we will suffer. Also, “that divine partnership with humanity inevitably involves God in suffering,” too. Job rejects the Psalm 8 view of humanity’s royal status but then moves to reclaim it as he learns that royal status and vocation involves suffering as well as glory CITATION Kec96 \p 712-713 \y \l 1033 (McCann, 712-713). Another insight into Psalm 8 is evidenced by another audience, the writer of Hebrews 2:5-9, who in turn quotes Psalm 8:5-6 and applies it to Jesus. The juxtaposition of Psalms 3-7 and Psalm 8, along with the use of Psalm 8 in the book of Job, anticipate the NT understanding of the identity of God and humanity. Hebrews 2:6-8 quotes Psalm 8:4-5, 6b, and Hebrews 2:9 apply Ps 8:5 to Jesus. It appears on the surface that the author of Hebrews has simply understood the phrase “son of man” as a Christological title. The Hebrew term man and son of man when used in Psalm 8 both refer to all humankind. However, it may also be the case that Hebrews 2, as a whole, points in the same direction as Psalm 8, namely the inseparability of suffering and glory for both God and humanity. It is Jesus – “the reflection of God’s glory” (Heb 1:3) and the complete embodiment of authentic humanity – who conclusively reveals that God’s glory is not incompatible with suffering and thus that the suffering of human beings does not preclude their sharing in the glory of God. Psalm 8, Hebrews 2, and the NT as a whole call human beings to live under God’s rule and to exercise “dominion over…all things” in the same way that God exercises dominion: as a suffering servant CITATION Kec96 \p 713 \y \l 1033 (McCann, 713). The fifth step was to conclude the analysis by sorting, prioritizing and making connections. One of the major reasons to engage this text was to develop an understanding of the value that God places upon humanity, and in particular the children that our policy seeks to protect from child abuse. Finding the question, “what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” at the physical and thematic center of the psalm was an appropriate anchor from which to reach upwards through the created heavens to find God above it all, and reach down through the created animals, birds, and fish, and down even to the depths to peer at whatever passes along the paths of the seas to survey the creation over which human beings have dominion. Pondering the royal status, vocation, and image bearing nature of humanity that Psalm 8 evokes was unsettling in the context of a project to protect children from humans who might abuse them – an unquestionably evil act that would inflict long-time suffering and impairment to that child’s life. Being made a little lower than God and given such responsibility seems to grant humanity way too much power and Psalm 8 viewed as the Old Testament worship song did not quell the disturbing feeling. God seemed too far above and too uninvolved having appointed humans to take care of business on God’s behalf. Needing God and exploring further the sovereignty of God helped to keep the question of humanity well within the framework of God’s majesty as the refrains envelope Psalm 8. Discovering, while exploring the meaning of v.2, that Jesus quoted Psalm 8 in Matthew 21:16 was an important re-centering away from the humanity focus of my study of Psalm 8 to the perfect embodiment of the “son of man” made a little lower than God and given dominion over creation. A Christian, modern use of Psalm 8 needed Jesus at the center. Also, that the quote in Matthew 21:16 came within the story of Jesus cleansing the temple further illuminated the question of what should we do in response to evil - and that is we should resist it. As Jesus resisted the wrongful cheating of the money changers and sellers in the temple, we should resist the wrongful abuse of children in our church. Romans 12:21 says “Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good. (CEB). Because humanity is sinful our only hope to take our responsibility seriously is to follow Jesus who can and did fulfill the role perfectly, work together in community as our Reformed tradition demands, and depend on God through the power of the Holy Spirit to enact dominion appropriately.The sixth and final step was to synthesize the findings into a coherent interpretation of the passage. The primary message that I perceive from interpreting Psalm 8 for the purpose of this project is that God is sovereign and loves the creation, including humanity whom God has called for a special purpose. The God who did not abandon the creation but entered into it in the Person of Jesus Christ is mindful of us and cares for us as both a suffering servant and almighty Lord. We, in turn, are to trust that through the power of the Holy Spirit and in community with one another we are to reflect God’s character and enact God’s love in the world. Section D – Rationale Essay. The Trinitarian shape of my interpretation of Psalm 8 and its resulting Reformed emphasis of acting in community heavily structured and influenced my educational design and implementation. The first part of my interpretation, that God is sovereign and loves the creation including humans whom God has called for a special purpose, is Trinitarian and demonstrates the community God has within the Godhead as well as the relationship humanity has with and for God. Psalm 8 starts and ends with the majestic character of God and cradles within it the question “who are we?” suggesting the very special relationship between God and humans but carefully, and accordingly Reformed, places all of the power with the Creator and very little power with humanity, except for the vocational call. Viewed solely from an Old Testament perspective one would see the status of humanity elevated to just a little lower than God and see the call to dominion, similar to Genesis, as empowering humanity to a lesser degree than God but still quite frighteningly powerful. Viewed from a New Testament perspective, thanks to the references when Psalm 8 was quoted, the interpretation gained the insight of Christ as being made a little lower than God in the incarnation, and fulfilling that call to dominion with all of creation under Christ’s feet perfectly within the will of God. The role of human beings switches quite dramatically to ones who follow Christ in loving the creation as our suffering servant and thankfully relying on the Holy Spirit to help us to follow and know what to do. For this reason during the Explore phase of my educational design I choose to use the “We trust in Jesus Christ” section of A Brief Statement of Faith. Starting with Jesus emphasized the Christocentric perspective needed. The second part of my interpretation of Psalm 8, that it is the God who has not abandoned the creation but has entered into it in the Person of Jesus Christ who is mindful of us and cares for us as a suffering servant and almighty Lord, is Trinitarian as well and demonstrates the need for humanity to act in community. The triune God is a revealer – God reveals love in creation, God reveals love in the incarnation, and God reveals care and guidance in the Spirit – so it is our role to explore, consider, and discern the revelation. During the Consider phase of my educational design the main activity was turning to Scripture and the section of A Brief Statement of Faith we focused on was “We trust in God.” Within the context of the project we needed to discern the will of God, but as sinful human beings how can we know the will of God? It is important to do so in community – with one another, with God revealed through scripture, with the conversation between OT and NT bringing in the perspective of Christ, with the Holy Spirit in prayer, and with the conversations we are blessed to have in our Reformed tradition in the form of A Brief Statement of Faith. Focusing at the core of the educational design with God and Scripture was the foundation and emphasis we needed.The third part of my interpretation of Psalm 8, that we are to trust that through the power of the Holy Spirit and in community with one another we can reflect God’s character and enact God’s love in the world, is Trinitarian and particularly community oriented. Discerning the will of God is particularly tricky and is dangerous if sinful humans think they know and then force others to that will. Thankfully we have the Person of Jesus Christ who perfectly demonstrates that will and the loving character of God. We can see that will in the story of Jesus cleansing the temple in which Psalm 8 is quoted. Thinking of Jesus stopping the wrongdoing in that story with righteous anger also brings to mind the many instances in the Bible where God rejected the pagan act of child sacrifice with abhorrence. Because discerning the will of God requires such careful attention to God who is revealed I chose to use the “We trust in the Holy Spirit” section of A Brief Statement of Faith and tie all of the elements of community mentioned above together in the educational design of the Discern phase of my lesson plan. The exegetical work on the foundational passage of Psalm 8 was a theological exploration of the sovereignty of God and the role of humanity. To the purpose of my project, the question of how should the people of God deal with the evil of child abuse, the work led to an exploration of the doctrine of Sovereignty of God in the face of evil. This doctrine and the rich community available to us in the Reformed tradition is accessible and can be used to appreciate the struggle in the past to discern its meaning. Karl Barth who faced the evil of the Nazi persecution of Jews participated in a major re-thinking of the doctrine which sought to focus the blame for sin and evil on humanity and not God. An understanding of God as trinity and a Christocentric perspective as expressed by Shirley Guthrie was very helpful in answering the disturbing questions wrought by Barth’s re-thinking of doctrine borrowed from John Calvin. Thus careful deference to the Holy Spirit and a look at Reformed theology was an important part of the last phase of my design. Bibliography BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Anderson, Bernhard W. Out of the Depths: The Psalms Speak for Us Today. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1983.BOC. The Book of Confessions. Louisville: The Office of the General Assembly Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 2002.Gaventa, Beverly Roberts, and David, eds. Petersen. The New Interpreter's Bible One Volume Commentary. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010.Green, Joel B, ed. The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Common English Bible, 2013.Harrelson, Walter J, Donald Senior, Abraham Smith, Phyllis Trible, and James C, eds. VanderKam. The New Interpreter's Study Bible New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. Nashville: Abington Press, 2003.Hayes, John H, and Carl R Holladay. Biblical Exegesis: A Beginner's Handbook Third Edition. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007.McCann, J Clinton Jr. "Psalms." In The New Interpreter's Bible Commentary in Twelve Volumes: Volume IV, by Leander E Keck, et al., 639-1280. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996.Meeks, Wayne A, Jouette N Bassler, Werner E Lemke, Susan Niditch, and Eileen M, eds. Schuller. The HarperCollins Study Bible New Revised Standard Version with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books 1st Pbk. Ed. HarperSanFrancisco, 1997. ................
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