Summary of New Testament From a Jewish Point of View Class - April 3 and April 10, 2023

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Jo Ann was away, so below are summaries of two weeks of our class written by Dan:

I am not sure who attended on 4/3/2023, but on 4/10/2023 Jo Ann, Dan, Steve, Karen, Randy, Robin, Dave, Neil, Merrill, Jessica, and Odette attended.

Monday, April 3, 2023

“We read the first epistle of Peter chapters 1 and 2. We had a discussion about who wrote the letter. Some thought it credible that Peter could have dictated the gist of the letter to a scribe, who could have polished up the Greek, while others of us were doubtful. There were several quotes from the Tanach, ie: “be holy for I am holy”. 

Much of the discussion centered on the question of suffering. Why do humans suffer, especially why do innocents like children have to suffer? IPeter offers a partial explanation, stating that suffering helps us to become better people. The suffering of innocents, though, remains a mystery, at least for our group. Steve offered the thought that suffering can be a test of our faith. Neil suggested that “God is like a painter” and that the meaning of our suffering may not be plain in our lives but will ultimately be revealed when we see “the big picture”.

We look forward to IPeter 3 next week. Shalom.”

Monday, April 10, 2023

 “Doesn’t everyone know that wives must submit themselves to their husbands? Well it must be true, for so it is written in IPeter chapter 3. I presume the writer was a man, for as it is written: “ wives faults are many, but husbands faults are only two: everything they say and everything they do.”


I think we came to the conclusion such wifely submission may be prevalent among the Haredi. Maybe. There’s a choice bit of mansplaining in verse 7 that husbands should treat their wives with respect because women are the weaker sex. Anyway, these sentences help explain the long history of the poor treatment of women in our society. Unfortunately similar sentences in other holy books have made such mistreatment pretty universal. Sigh.

We went to the latter part of chapter 3 and read of the admonishment “repay evil with blessing”. The writer said further that suffering for doing good is a blessing. It is similar to the precept of Kiddush HaShem, which refers to private and communal conduct which reflect well, instead of poorly on the Jewish people. Thank you Rabbi Wikipedia. A good week to you all!”

As always, if I missed anything that should be included in this summary, please add by clicking the comment button below.


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