In the Beginning 02: ha adam and ezer kenegdo

Tim taught about the Hebrew behind our English translations of Genesis 2,  breaking down the true meanings of “ha adam” (the human” and “ezer kenegdo” (delivering opposite.) He taught about how the entrenchment of patriarchy in culture led to unsuitable and inappropriate translations of these terms and fueled the proliferation of patriarchal ideas about exclusion based on gender in Christian society.  In looking at these realities, how are you left feeling? What surfaces for you as you consider the long-standing and far reaching impacts for people of all genders in our society, now and in the past?  What thoughts, ideas, and assumptions of your own are challenged, changed, or supported by this information? How does your own gender identity impact your responses to today’s teaching & to this quote?

Tim said the following: “Patriarchy is all over the Bible, but it is not the message of the Bible… and grown-up Christianity involves learning to make that distinction.  “Grown up Christianity is shaped by the Bible Jesus read, and knowing it well enough to know that it argues against patriarchy….. “Any hierarchical social system bent on excluding and scapegoating people based on race, ethnicity, nationality, or even religion runs counter to the terms God has set for creation. And grown up Christianity can see this reality and resist it in whatever ways God might be leading them.  “Grown-up Christianity knows that the exploitation of the earth for fossil fuels and natural resources all so that we can consume more and more products without limits cannot lead to shalom and flourishing… “Grown-up Christianity has been shaped by the Bible Jesus read, and by these creation narratives that can give us a whole new imagination so [that we’re] able to see and confess that we need to make changes. We need to find ways to take care of each other - especially those on the margins - to make sure [that] all of God’s children get in on the blessings of life and can be full participants in the human vocation.” What do you make of this idea of “grown up Christianity” and the ways Tim has described some its attributes? Where do you feel resistance? What feels intuitively “right” to you?  If you were to describe “grown up Christianity,” how would you characterize it? What might you add, modify, or change?

No matter where you are in your own life and faith stories, what might it look like for you to become more “grown up” in your Christianity? If you need to spend a little time considering that question in order to come up with some meaningful ideas, please do.  What does it mean to lean into grown up Christianity? What’s yours to do and challenge in your own personal faith? As part of the closing prayer, Tim said, “we’re so dehumanized by many parts of our culture.”  With that statement and today’s sermon in mind, how do you see your role in moving our larger culture toward more humane and humanizing experiences of life for all, particularly in light of today’s sermon?