Pilgrim Notes

Reflections along the way.

Author: Doug Floyd (Page 5 of 8)

Building Hope Amidst the Ruins

June 5, 2014 / / 6 Comments

building hope

In the lonely haunts of forsaken places, the people of God are building hope.

What does building hope look like? It looks like a glimpse, a hint, a promise of God’s coming Shalom. The Lord rescues the children of Israel from a world built and sustained by slavery. He leads them on pilgrimage through the stark barrenness of the wilderness. Far away from the Nile and the bounty of Egyptian food, his people face the threat of no water and no food. Stripped of necessary provisions, the people of God learn that we do not live by bread alone but by “every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3). Continue reading

Asking Questions in Torah

May 5, 2014 / / 4 Comments

questions in torah I’ve got a questions about asking questions in Torah, and maybe you can help. I am trying to collect questions in Scripture and think about how they relate to questions in our lives. I am also thinking about how we group questions. A few cursory searches have revealed several interesting approaches to grouping questions from a range of viewpoints including teachers developing questions for tests, philosophical questions, grammatical questions, rhetorical questions and more.

Even as I ask questions about questions in Torah, I want to hear how other people think about questions in their own lives. Continue reading

May 3, 2014 / / 0 Comments

“Flowers laughing in the sunlight of their sprightly names. Earth will write them up in its book of rising accounts.” John Hollander

Change My Way of Thinking

April 29, 2014 / / 0 Comments

 

way of thinking

“Gonna change my way of thinking
Make myself a different set of rules
Gonna change my way of thinking
Make myself a different set of rules
Gonna put my good foot forward
And stop being influenced by fools”

On his Slow Train Coming album, Bob Dylan sang, “Gonna change my way of thinking.” (See BobDylan.com). He is talking about a change rooted in “a different set of rules” that take shape in him putting his best foot forward. These lines sound like they could be informed by the psalmist who is meditating upon Torah. Continue reading

Richard Hooker on Scripture: Simplicity Not Simplistic

April 29, 2014 / / 0 Comments

richard hookerRichard Hooker suggests that Scripture presents the Gospel with an Evangelical simplicity, but he cautions against simplistic approaches to Scriptural interpretation. According to Charles Miller in “Richard Hooker and the Vision of God,” Hooker warns against simplistic Scriptural study approaches that fail to grasp the rich history, complexity of content, and hierarchy of laws given in Scripture. Continue reading

April 27, 2014 / / 0 Comments

“Deep in the Sunday
village, forlorn, the sound of swings
in the empty schoolyard
clinking against
their cold steels standards, like diminished
church bells…” – Sidney Lea

Learning How to Live Until We Die

April 22, 2014 / / 0 Comments

learning how to live

We are learning how to live, how to walk, how to speak, how to love until we breathe our final breath. We continue growing up even as we are growing old. The way of life is also a way of continuous catechism.

Catechism might be understood as formalized instruction in the doctrines of the church for young people preparing to take communion or for new converts to the faith. On a very basic level, catechism is simply a manual of instruction that may include some forms of memorization that help a person entering into the life of a new community, a new field of work, a new language. Continue reading

Law, Order and Life in Torah

April 21, 2014 / / 0 Comments

law

I’ve been studying Richard Hooker’s debate with Thomas Cartwright about the nature of Scripture, wisdom and creation, and I thought meditate upon their debate in relation to Torah. Here are a few thoughts about humanity, order and Torah.

The Ten Commandments are given to Israel immediately after the Lord leads them through the Red Sea and rescues them from the grasp of Egypt. The Ten Commandments are given again right before Israel crosses the Jordan and enters into the Promised Land. These words, the heart of Torah teach the children of Israel how to live in this world of time and space. These words instruct the people how to live in this world, whether crossing the wilderness, conquering the new land or settling in their new homes. By rehearsing the wisdom of God revealed in Scripture, the people learn how to orient their lives in relation to God, to other people and to the land (and the rest of creation). Continue reading

The Way of Information

March 8, 2014 / / 1 Comment

father_son

The word information seems synonymous with content or facts or data. In fact, we regularly use the word information to talk about an accumulation of ideas or bits of knowledge around a particular topic. The very form of the word might also clue us into another more ancient and more specific use of the word inform.

in-form

The MIddle English enforme or informe refers to “give form or shape to” and “form the mind of,” “teach.” The Latin informare comes from “in” or “into” and forma “a form.” As I pause over the word “information,” it makes me think of Torah. The way of Torah is a way of relational instruction: parent to child. The parent images the The Lord as Father of His people who instructs them from His holy mountain, leads them through the wilderness, and shapes them into a nation of priests and kings. At its root, information is a way of formation not simply of accumulation. Continue reading

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