Genesis Webinar 6/9/2025
The Webinar on The Genesis session, held on June 9, 2025, was very informative. Thank you for this presentation. Rabbi Michael Hilton and Professor Beattie were a wonderful duo when they expanded the many layers and nuances of the Hebrew language. At the beginning of the lecture, Rabbi Michael gave examples of “word play” in Genesis Chapter 2, verse 23. It is the recognized passage “Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called ‘woman’ for out of man this one has been taken”. On my own study and prayerful reading of these passages, I have never grasped the powerful, intrinsic meanings.
During the times I try to discover the heartbeat of God in scripture, I have found it best not to take most of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures literally. Over these many years, it has only been through courses, such as these, that I could trust my heart and mind to keep searching for the truth behind the printed word in sacred scripture. Many times, during the past 50 years I have had to lay to rest the scriptures because the words no longer were sacred but had become a path others used to defile and demean all of God’s creation.
The recommended reading listed Phyllis Trible’s book “God and The Rhetoric of Sexuality”. The resources suggested Chapter 4, “A Love Story Gone Awry”. I am beginning to realize I need to buy a tablet because the material takes me many hours to read. It is difficult to sit for long periods of time at the computer. Most of the time, I make copies and keep them in an organized large binder for the Sophia course material. This time I decided to purchase a used edition of Phyllis’ book and I am so relieved I made that choice! Her entire book is remarkable.
I am so jealous but very grateful to the Biblical and Theological scholars who can decipher the clues in a text and redeem the scripture for me.