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An Authentic Life 1.1 for pdf - Universalist Radha-Krishnaism

An Authentic Life 1.1 for pdf - Universalist Radha-Krishnaism

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Marv questioned whether Moses ever really existed<br />

or whether an exodus from Egypt ever took place as<br />

the Bible described. He saw Israel <strong>for</strong>med by alternative<br />

communities starting in the Judean hill country.<br />

The original J strand of the Pentateuch was King<br />

David’s founding document <strong>for</strong> a united Israel and as<br />

much of a political statement as religious.<br />

One sobbing young female student said, “How<br />

can I ever preach on the Books of Moses again after<br />

what we’ve done to them?”<br />

Marv explained, “It’s possible to develop a<br />

second naiveté with this in<strong>for</strong>mation as background.<br />

One can also look at things as real within the narrative<br />

world of the story.”<br />

I thought, “How can we not preach this stuff?<br />

This is great. People should know about it.”<br />

I was never one <strong>for</strong> dumbing down sermons or<br />

Bible studies to the lowest common denominator, and<br />

that often got me in trouble with my congregations. I<br />

asked Marv to be my advisor and mentor, and he graciously<br />

accepted.<br />

There was much activism regarding Central<br />

American issues at the seminaries and in the Bay Area<br />

that I joined in. During intersession, I took a class on<br />

Central American refugees at the Jesuit school taught<br />

by an activist. It included field work.<br />

In the spring, I took a class called Evangelism<br />

and Social Witness at PSR taught by Leontine Kelly,<br />

the first black, woman bishop in the United Methodist<br />

Church. She was a strong, outspoken Christian<br />

preacher and a leader on peace and justice issues. I<br />

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