This isn’t common, but this past week included 2 presentations. I mentioned the Monday presentation previously and the link to the web page for the newspaper article coverage. The newspaper spread was posted on the JTH bulletin board. This presentation on The Psalms and Music was more informal, speaking to many involved in professional church music as choir directors and worship leaders, as well as many JTH students. I could be more conversational, and I even incorporated a joke spontaneously: What do you call a person who hangs out with musicians? A drummer! Yes, this is a self-deprecating joke, as I am a choir reject and a wonderfully mediocre drummer. It was a good match for the message!
On Thursday, I was at Uppsala University presenting a paper in an Old Testament seminar. It was a privilege to be there as part of the largest Department of Theology in Sweden. The seminar was not too big, with 8 people in total, including 3 JTH students, but that makes it easier to have a more comfortable conversation. I presented this paper also at an OT seminary at Lund University last fall, where there was a smaller group, but one was a bit defensive in the discussion–including an eye roll! I was warned that Uppsala may be even less receptive. So, I was a bit concerned that I would get some significant push-back to my ethical call for “multi-epistemological exegesis” in order to have an broader conversation that integrates ways of knowing from the Majority World/Global South. I asked a few friends to pray. My prayer team was amazing! The response to my paper was rather engaging and stimulated a meaningful conversation. There were some questions that had a healthy skepticism, but it was represented in a way that implied, “Help me understand what you meant by …” or “How would you deal with …” rather than seeming to imply, (cue the eye roll) “This is not convincing at all!” I was pleased by the conversation to help me strengthen my understanding, and I was encouraged to have the support of the 3 JTH students.
I am proposing a version of this for the International Society of Biblical Literature conference in Helsinki 30 July to 3 Aug this summer. I will then stay in Helsinki another day for the Christians for Biblical Equality conference, where I have been asked to speak. Curiously, they have invited me to speak in the missions track instead of the exegetical/biblical interpretation track. I told them that I would be willing to fill gaps, so this must be a gap. However, I submitted my session description today. This session will be more fun to prepare with the inspiring stories of Tanzanian women, but I will also incorporate a bit of intercultural biblical interpretation that I prepared for my PhD defense lecture on the Book of Ruth.
Session title: “If you teach the mama, the whole family will learn.”
Description: Economically, teaching girls has the most significant impact of the development dollar, such as seen in education and health outcomes. Come and hear inspiring stories of “education for liberation” from my experiences as a missionary teacher among the Maasai in Tanzania, East Africa. Beyond economics and development, this session develops the title’s theme with a biblical application from the Book of Ruth, incorporating intercultural interpretation and illustrated by stories of Tanzania women.
(Perhaps I need to replace “dollar” to be cross-cultural!)
With blessings,
Beth