#9 - Change

In class Thursday, we started planning out our project. We split into groups and started throwing around ideas and questions that we wanted to use to poll different campus groups regarding their opinions. In keeping with the original "recreating the 1st century" theme (which ironically, I think we discarded), I started thinking about how they solved issues in the first century. There weren't social networking sites, surveys, cell phones, or any other modern media that makes it so easy for us to communicate our ideas and make ourselves heard. They couldn't whip out the camcorder and record an interview with a prominent member of society. There is plenty of literature regarding the Roman Senate and the large scale government, but what other bodies were in place to take care of the mundane, day-to-day issues. If, in this course, we really want to see the world the way Jesus saw it, would it help to look at it with a perspective that we may not be as comfortable with?

#8 - Genealogy

In looking at Matthew's genealogy, it seems as if the contemporary world view is trying to portray Jesus in a poor light. Man y ancestors were promiscuous, unfaithful, or unknown in their times. He was a descendant of a collection of sexual immoral women, powerful, but corrupt kings, and people of no societal importance. How is it that this combination of ancestors was chosen to represent both Christ and David?

#7 - Duality

It seems as if every aspect of the Gospels serves a dualistic purpose. Matthew's segments of 14 generations aren't just indicating his relationships to family, but serves as a sign for David. Gematria seemed like a really interesting application to me. The idea that a letter can serve as a number and a representative of an entire lineage, idea, or other concept provides a lot of potential for how a culture can communicate. Their writing isn't just a way to pass on information, but serves almost as a code that is shared only amongst those "in the know." It makes it easier to try and understand how the "underground" Christian community in 1st century Rome could have operated.