Volume 1
Number 4
March 2002

Highlights of this issue:

Jay Neal to Lead Workshop for ACA Religion and Philosophy Faculty

The Appalachian College Association is sponsoring a workshop for ACA religion and philosophy faculty on Macromedia's Flash program at Cumberland College on May 30-June 1, 2002.  Jay Neal, Director of the duPont Instructional Technology Center at Ferrum College, will lead the workshop.

The workshop will begin with an evening meeting on Thursday, May 30 and run through noon on Saturday, June 1.  Participants will learn the basics of Flash in the context of using the program for teaching in the liberal arts and religion/philosophy in particular.  While most of the workshop will be taken up with learning these basics, Dr. Neal encourages participants to bring one relatively simple item such as a class handout or map that can be animated using Flash and used by the instructor immediately upon his or her return to campus.

The ACA will cover the costs of registration, food, and lodging for participants while at the workshop.  Travel costs will be covered by the participants themselves.  Participation will be limited to the first twelve registrants from among ACA religion or philosophy faculty.  Other liberal arts faculty may sign up on a wait-listed basis.    Interested faculty can sign up for the workshop by filling out the form at http://www.acaweb.org/Vcenter/Religion/registration_form_for_flash_workshop.asp.  Sign up soon!

Featured Web Site

Virtual Karak Web Site Features Cross-Cultural Work of Several ACA Faculty

The Virtual Karak Resources Project is a cooperative venture of faculty at several ACA campuses who are interested in the culture, geography, and history of Jordan.  Led by Gerald Mattingly of Johnson Bible College and Dr. John Wineland of Kentucky Christian College, the project features a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of the region.  The project is funded through the Appalachian College Association.

The KRP is a regional project examining the Karak district of central Jordan. In particular it examines past and present resources utilized by the people of this region. It involves a multidisciplinary approach in attempting to understand the cultural and political history of the region, and to explore the current social and environmental status of the region. The team includes researchers in anthropology, archaeology, history, geology, soil science, archaeobotany, ceramic typology, hydrology, and religion. Numerous articles have been published, and many conference reports and papers, as well as informal presentations, have been made by KRP members since 1995.

The web site includes a wealth of archaeological data related to this important part of the Middle East, including maps and surveys of archaeological technique.  It includes a large photo gallery featuring various aspects of this fascinating land, including snapshots of important archaeological sites as well as scenes from daily life in modern Jordan.  The site also includes detailed historical analyses of a number of important ancient sites in the region.

Working with Mattingly and Wineland on this project are Murl Dirksen, Daniel Hoffman, Richard Jones, and Nathaniel Tucker from Lee University, David Fiensy from Kentucky Christian, Don Garner from Carson-Newman College, and John Mark Wade from the Emmanuel School of Religion.

Book Review

Penchansky, David. What Rough Beast? Images of God in the Hebrew Bible. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1999. 123 pp.

In this short and very readable volume, David Penchansky turns his always-sharp attention to selected characterizations of God in the Hebrew Bible. Penchansky does not simply follow well-worn theological paths, however. Rather, Penchansky here elects to focus on six less familiar--some might even say obscure--biblical narratives that portray a bizarre and frightening God. Penchansky's treatments include "YHWH the Monster: The Insecure God (Genesis 3)," "Uzzah, YHWH's Friend: The Irrational God (2 Samuel 6)," "The Fatal Census: The Vindictive God (2 Samuel 24)," "Nadab and Abihu, Martyrs: The Dangerous God (Leviticus 10)," "The Bloody Bridegroom: The Malevolent God (Exodus 4:24-26)," and "The Mad Prophet and the Abusive God (2 Kings 2:23-25)."

The chapter treating 2 Samuel 24 may be the best of the bunch. Penchansky carefully, though briefly, considers the ambiguities that bedevil this text: Why is God angry with Israel? Why is a census sinful? But even better than Penchansky's literary acumen is his frank handling of the theological dimensions of the text. In his treatment of 2 Samuel 24, Penchansky confronts head-on the frightening portrayal of God that this chapter presents. The God depicted in 2 Samuel 24 is a God so angry with Israel as to be willing to command Israel's king to sin in order to provide a pretext for punishment. David is caught on the horns of a dilemma: if he obeys God, he sins by taking the census; if he disobeys God, he sins by not taking the census. Penchansky notes the Chronicler's attempt to evade this difficulty in the parallel passage by assigning responsibility to Satan, but 2 Samuel 24 itself resists any such rewriting. Nor can the events of 2 Samuel 24 be construed as a test in any way that is scrupulously faithful to the letter of the text. This chapter of Israel's story leaves its readers with a dark and frightening image of God, one that Penchansky helpfully unpacks in this essay.

The other chapters run along similar lines, facing up squarely to the scary God who occasionally appears in the pages of the Hebrew Bible. No doubt some readers will consider Penchansky's treatment to be overly negative. Such a reaction should be tempered, however, by a reminder of Penchansky's purpose. Penchansky does not offer this volume as a comprehensive account of the portrayal of God in the Hebrew Bible. In that sense, the subtitle of the book is slightly misleading. Rather, this volume purports only to examine certain neglected, darker aspects of that portrayal. Readers who wish to understand the Hebrew Bible well, whether for critical or confessional reasons (or both), cannot afford to neglect such texts. Penchansky provides an admirable treatment, such that What Rough Beast deserves a place on the bookshelf alongside such now-classic studies as James Crenshaw's Whirlpool of Torment and Phyllis Trible's Texts of Terror.

Reviewer:

Christopher Heard, Assistant Professor of Bible, Milligan College.  Dr. Heard is the author of Dynamics of Diselection (Society of Biblical Literature, 2001).

Call for Contributors and Ideas

The religion and philosophy section of the Virtual Center needs your ideas and contributions.  You can help by:

• making suggestions regarding the types of materials you would like to see on site

• submitting materials for posting on one of the sections of the site

• send the site manager information about special events on your campus related to the study of religion or philosophy (lectureships, grants and awards, faculty publications)

• submit links to be published on the webliography maintained on the site

• information for feature articles relevant to the stated purposes of the site.

You can submit materials  for the Religion and Philosophy Virtual Center by emailing the editor to submit materials.

What Is the Religion and Philosophy Virtual Center?

The Virtual Center, sponsored by the Appalachian College Association, is a set of webs designed to serve as teaching tools for faculty in the various ACA colleges and universities.  

The purposes of the religion and philosophy section of the Virtual Center are:

• to serve as a teaching resource for teachers of religious studies and philosophy

• to provide opportunities for collaborative work in pedagogy in religion and philosophy

Contact the editor

The editor of Raphael is R. Garland Young, Professor of Religion at Cumberland College, 7887 College Station Drive, Williamsburg, KY  40769

Office -- 606-539-4465

 Jay Neal to Lead Flash Workshop for ACA Religion and Philosophy Faculty

Featured Web Site:  Virtual Karak Resources Project

Christopher Heard reviews David Penchansky's What Rough Beast?  Images of God in the Hebrew Bible

Text hyperlinks won't work in your email program?  Here are the URLs to all of the hyperlinks in this newsletter:

ACA Virtual Center
http://www.acaweb.org/VCenter

Virtual Karak Resources Project
http://vkrp.org

Johnson Bible College
http://www.jbc.edu

Kentucky Christian College
http://www.kcc.edu

Carson-Newman College
http://www.cn.edu

Emmanuel School of Religion
http://www.esr.edu

Dr. Christopher Heard
http://www.milligan.edu/rcheard/

Milligan College
http://www.milligan.edu

Cumberland College
http://www.cumber.edu

Email the Editor
mailto:gyoung@cc.cumber.edu

Religion and Philosophy Section of ACA Virtual Center
http://www.acaweb.org/VCenter/Religion/Religion.htm

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