Walking the Bible

Late Pentecost Season, 2017

Sundays, 10:1511:05 am in the Parish House Annex
Pohick Episcopal Church

The Reverend Donald D. Binder, PhD

Course Description

This class will focus on several segments from the Old Testament, using as a springboard a trio
of books by the author Bruce Feiler, the most popular of which is Walking the Bible. Although
Feiler comes at the text as a travel writer exploring his Jewish roots, he is also sensitive to
ecumenical concerns associated with the biblical sites he visits, especially the enduring religious
tensions between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. This very sensitivity will allow us to look at the
biblical texts not just for their historical and theological insights, but also for their application to
inter-religious dialogue.

Outline of Class Meetings

October 1 Introduction

!Overview of the Course

!Theological, Historical, and Ecumenical Considerations
!Suggested Resources

October 8 The Call of Abram & Sarai

!The City of Light?

!Walking by Faith
!The Birth of Monotheism

October 15 Sojourning in the Promised Land

!By the Oaks of Mamre

!Call Me Ishmael
!No Laughing Matter

October 22 Gods Vizier

!A Lucky Imprisonment?
!A Monotheistic Pharaoh
!Genesis: From Creation to Grave

(Over)
 2

October 29 A Pharaoh Who Did Not Know Joseph

!Slaving over a City

!A Divine Contest
!The Paschal Mystery

November 5 Wilderness Wanderings

!From the Frying Pan into the Fire

!Meeting God at the Mountain
!Promise Delayed

November 12 Choose Ye This Day!

!Entry into the Promised Land

!Mountain of Blessing, Mountain of Curse
!The Forgotten Israelites

November 19 Jerusalem Takes Center Stage

!Joab Does a Shaft Job

!A Compromise Capital
!Messianic Overtones

Recommended Reading/Viewing:

The Bible. Our primary source, in various English translations: NRSV, NIV, ESV, etc.

Bruce S. Feiler. Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths. New York: Morrow, 2002.

Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses. New York:
Morrow, 2001.

Where God Was Born: A Journey by Land to the Roots of Religion. New York:
Morrow, 2005.

Walking the Bible. Produced by WGBH, 2006.

Leander Keck, ed. The New Interpreters Bible, vols. I-II. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994.

All classes will be held in the Parish House Annex, 10:1511:05 am.