Courses

In Biblical times, the way to study scripture was through listening and discussion … the Hebrews knew to interpret the text on at least four different levels. 

The levels we will be looking at on this nine-week course are:

• Literal — did it or did it not actually happen?
• Allegorical — what is the message revealed within this story?
• Metaphysical — how does this relate to me and my life?
• Mystical — what can we learn about the relationship between God and humanity?

The Literal level was deemed to be by far the least important of the four but it is this kind of reading of sacred text which is generally followed by fundamentalist and evangelical groups.

This online course will examine selected texts from both Hebrew and New Testaments looking at the depths within them and interpreting them through the lens of Jewish mysticism, often known as Kabbalah. Kabbalah is a Hebrew word meaning ‘receive’ so we will also use Lectio Divina. This practice dates back to the early centuries of the Christian Church and was established as a monastic practice by St. Benedict in the 6th century. It is a way of learning to savour Scripture through contemplation so that we can receive inspiration and hear how it speaks to us personally.

We will work with both Hebrew and New Testaments.

Questions and suggestions for Bible extracts for us to study will be welcome — this could be your chance to work through any long-standing issues you may have with a text that, read literally, may appear to be nasty, brutish and even cruel.

Course outline:

1. Introduction – four levels of the Bible, four ancient texts. Hermaneutic. Sabbath Eve.
2. Creation – in all its levels and the ‘fall.’
3. The law of three – the perennial pattern of order, disorder, re-order and how the Bible demonstrates it, including Torah, Prophets and the Wisdom texts.
4. Four Gospels
5. Sacrifice – from human through animal through scapegoat to crucifixion
6. That violent vengeful God
7. The role of the feminine
8. Death and resurrection
9. Your choice – your favourite or least favourite stories.  
10. The Christmas story

Facilitator: Rev. Maggy Whitehouse, author of 12 books on Judaic mysticism and the Bible including A Woman’s Worth: The Divine Feminine in the Hebrew Testament. Maggy is a worship leader on West Devon Methodist Circuit and co-host of the podcast, Train Wrecks for Jesus.

Dates: We start on Thursday 20^th October. The course runs each Thursday up to and including 15^th December.

Location: Zoom.

Time: 8pm BST/GMT

Price: £135 for the full course or £20 per session.

For more details, contact Maggy via Facebook messenger or on maggy@maggywhitehouse.com

This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls” – Jeremiah 6:16.