Deuteronomy 04: Violence

Redemption Church KC Sermon Podcast

1. In his sermon, Tim discussed two parallel narratives in scripture and the stories and framework that lead into each of the two. These stories are the flood story in Genesis and the conquest narratives in Deuteronomy. Tim pointed out that in both of these stories, instead of shalom, there is chaos, barrenness, violence, and war. He went on to say that, in scripture, violence is a creation-level problem that is portrayed as the fundamental human problem and that this violence results in humanity being unable to fulfill its intended purpose of bearing the image of God. To what extent do you feel that violence in our world and culture today impedes our collective ability to bear the image of God? To what extent do you feel that violence within yourself and your world impedes your ability to bear the image of God?

2. In helping us to engage and grapple with the portrayals of divine violence in Deuteronomy, Tim suggested we can work to deepen our reading of scripture, and to find more depth and sophistication in our understanding of how scripture functions. Tim said that in the Bible, we have “the inspired testimony of the Hebrew people, as they were coming to know their God over many centuries.” He went on to say that, “God let God’s children tell the story, and they get it wrong as much as they get it right.” Suggesting we remember the way a child’s description of his father and mother evolves over the course of a lifetime, Tim reminded us that the stories about God in Torah are not told by fully grown, theologically mature cultures. Later in his sermon, Tim also said, “Scripture is this incredible narrative that shows us what happens when they get God right, and when they get God wrong.” He also said, “The Bible is the testimony of a people who wrestled with God over thousands of years. They did their best to try to tell the story faithfully," and that, "when they failed, they tried again and failed better.” What’s your response to these ideas? How do you feel in response to this framing of the Bible? What thoughts come to mind? What kinds of feelings rise to the surface as you consider and reflect on this set of ideas and how you relate to scripture today and/or how you have in the past? Are there different statements among the above that most engage your imagination?

3. In his closing prayer, Tim prayed for us as “we struggle with our own violent hearts.” What surfaces for you in response to being (implicitly) asked to acknowledge and struggle with violence within yourself? When you think of violence, what first comes to mind? Does it feel like something far away or something more immediate? When you think of violence within yourself, what does that mean to you? What ideas and feelings surface for you? How do you understand it? Who do you first think of as the recipient of that violence? Who or what else might come to mind?