Our Family Tree

Jacobs discovers his heritage as he studies the Bible.  "These are no longer meanigless names.  These are men I'd spent my year with.  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.  This was a chain that- if [you] continued spouting names for several hours- would presumably include...A.J.Jacobs. {and you} Who am I to break thousands of years of tradition?  Circumcision is a crazy, irrational ritual.  But here's the thing: It's my crazy, irrational ritual.  So maybe I shouldn't dismiss it."  (p.321)

Do you think of the Bible as your family story?

What rituals do you have in your family?

You Gotta Have Faith

Welcome to our last section of Book Club!  We will be discussing the end of the book for the next few days.

Jacobs points out an interesting thing about faith.  "The emphasis on faith is a key difference between Judaism and modern evangelical Christianity.  Judaism has a slogan: deed over creed.  There's an emphasis on behavior.  But evangelical Christianity says you must first believe in Jesus, then the good works will naturally follow." (p. 257)

What do you think?

Which does your faith community emphasize?

Rest Awhile

Tomorrow will begin our discussion on the last section of the book and thus conclude our first Book Club.

But for today we focus on rest.  Jacobs found resting to be one of the most difficult mandates to follow.  He says, "resting is, paradoxically, difficult.  The writer Judith Shulevitz talks about how avoiding business requires much effort.  She's right.  You can't talk about work, you can't even think about work." (p. 251)

Do you struggle with this as well?
What is most difficult about choosing not to work?
How has modern technology helped or hurt your effort?

The Passover Lamb

Jacobs spends some time explaining the significance of the Passover lamb in the Old Testament.  "The lamb at that first Passover was key,  because it provided the blood that saved a nation.  God ordered the Israelites to paint the lamb's blood on the doorposts- the secret sign so that the Angel of Death would know to skip over their houses and not slay their firstborn." (p.235)

How does this relate to Jesus in the New Testament? (This is a slam dunk for any of you that completed Jeff Cavins' Timeline study with me last year)

The Holy Land

Jacobs describes his trip to Israel.  He makes some interesting observations about this little country.

"On the good side, it can humble you.  Even physically it humbles you.  The vastness of the desert...the height of the Western Wall...the echoing interior of the Church...and the history.  All those millions of seekers who have walked the exact same cobblestone streets asking the exact same questions." (p.227)

Have you been to Israel?  Tell us about it.

Would you like to Israel someday?  Why or Why not?

Are You A Groupie?

Jacobs makes an interesting observation on p. 253.  He points out "the people of the Bible were 'groupies.' You did what the group did, you observed the customs of your group.  Only the crazy Europeans came up with the idea of individualism.  So what you are doing is a modern phenomenon."

This struck me.  It is true that most ancient religions practice as a group.  As a Catholic, I find this to be true.  But I never really thought about the pursuit of individual faith as a new concept.  Any quick scan of the Acts of the Apostles shows that the Apostles and early Christians worked as a group.  So what happened?  Is it for the better?  What are your thoughts?

Ba-a-a

Jacobs discusses the significance of shepherds in the Bible.  He tells about how easily the sheep are managed. "A loud 'Hey!' or a tossed stone, and the sheep fall right into place."(p 212)  He further explains how Moses was prepared to lead the people out of Egypt because he was a shepherd in his former career.

Jesus said to Peter, "feed my sheep" meaning us.

Are we like sheep?  Or have we lost that sheepish feeling?  What difference does it make?

I'd love to know your thoughts.