Lynn Japinga - From Daughters to Disciples: Womens Stories from the New Testament

From Daughters
to Disciples

From Daughters
to Disciples

Womens Stories from the New Testament

Lynn Japinga

2021 Lynn Japinga

Group Discussion Guide 2021 Westminster John Knox Press

First edition

Published by Westminster John Knox Press

Louisville, Kentucky

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Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible are copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and are used by permission. Scripture quotations marked TLB are from The Living Bible copyright 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Book design by Drew Stevens

Cover design by Barbara LeVan Fisher, www.levanfisherdesign.com

Cover art: Black Madonna, 2004 (woodcut print in oils), James, Laura (Contemporary Artist) / Private Collection / Bridgeman Images

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Japinga, Lynn, 1960- author.

Title: From daughters to disciples : womens stories from the New Testament / Lynn Japinga.

Description: First edition. | Louisville, Kentucky : Westminster John Knox Press, 2021. | Includes index. | Summary: In this second of two volumes, Lynn Japinga acquaints readers with the women of the Bible. This Bible study introduces and retells every female character who contributes to one or more New Testament stories, diving deeply into what each womans story means for us today with questions for reflection and discussion Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020047402 (print) | LCCN 2020047403 (ebook) | ISBN 9780664265700 (paperback) | ISBN 9781646980000 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Bible. New TestamentBiography. | Women in the Bible. | Bible. New TestamentBiography.

Classification: LCC BS2445 .J37 2021 (print) | LCC BS2445 (ebook) | DDC 225.9/22/082dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020047402

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020047403

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In honor of Dr. Jane Bach, Dr. Jane Dickie,

and the Rev. Dr. Leonard Kalkwarf;

and in memory of the Rev. Dr. Wayne Boulton,

the Rev. Dr. Elton Bruins, and the Rev. Dr. Robert Palma

teachers, mentors, friends.

Contents

I am grateful to my students at Hope College, with whom Ive been studying these texts for almost three decades. The stories provoke their anger, perplexity, curiosity, insights, and occasional delight. I appreciate their questions and their honesty.

Doug Van Aartsen carefully read the entire manuscript and offered many perceptive comments. Pamela Valkema proofread the final version. I am grateful for her sunny disposition, patience, and organizational skills. She makes my life easier. Ruth Lowry read several chapters and caught a number of errors. The members of the Religion Department at Hope College discussed two chapters at a colloquy meeting. Phil Munoa answered my questions about Greek.

I did not benefit from Kyle Dipres rigorous editing because he was busy with life, love, and law school. He did read a couple of early chapters and was a constant source of encouragement.

Laurie Baron again served as my book whisperer with her intuitive and grace-filled editing and conversation.

The 8th Street McDonalds provided space where I could get something done when I was stalled out. The crew there tolerated my loitering, even beyond closing at times, and expressed interest in my work. I was and am graced by their kindness.

The librarians at Hope College and Western Theological Seminary were patient with my repeated renewals and requests for interlibrary loans.

Hope College funded a summer of research and writing with a Nyenhuis Faculty Development Grant.

I appreciate the editorial and production staff at Westminster John Knox Press. Their wisdom and attention to detail have saved me from many errors.

My parents, Roger and Wilma Winkels, and children, Mark Japinga and Annie and Jordan Carrigan, continue to be great sources of encouragement and support. My grand-dog Wrigley, on the other hand, offered no insight at all into the women of the New Testament and probably delayed the project with his requests for walks and attention, but he provided much needed exercise and delight.

This book is dedicated to Hope College professors Jane Bach, Wayne Boulton, Elton Bruins, Jane Dickie, and Robert Palma and to my seminary internship supervisor, Leonard Kalkwarf. They taught me how to be a teacher, a scholar, and a pastor. I am indebted to them for their persistent care and concern over the last four decades. Everyone should have such mentors and friends.

When I was in high school, many decades ago, I decided to read through the Bible. I was already kind of a geek at sixteen. When I noticed contradictions or strange stories, I added them to a list of questions I kept in the back of my Bible. When I finished, I went to my pastor with my questions. He was not a cool, hipster pastor in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. He was older than my parents, and a little intimidating. I plowed through my list of questions and he patiently answered them. He did not dumb down his answers or oversimplify or demonstrate the slightest bit of criticism. I do not remember his answers, but I remember that this was safe space. He respected and honored my curiosity and my intellect. He encouraged my effort to engage with the Bible and understand it.

In college I attended a fundamentalist church for a while. The pastor preached through Pauls First Letter to the Corinthians in excruciating detail, and I was intrigued. He proclaimed the definitive interpretation of the Bible. Meanwhile, I was studying religion in college and encouraged by my deeply Christian professors to explore the contradictions and complexities of Scripture along with the examples of divine grace. There were many days when I found it difficult to live in the tension between the two views of the Bible. The preacher had all the answers, which we were expected to agree with and obey. The professors created a safe space to explore the ambiguities of the Bible. This questioning focus eventually carried the day for me. I have spent almost three decades teaching and preaching about the Bible, the history of Christianity, and the role of women in religion and society.

Last summer I taught a course on women in the Old Testament to pastors who were working on an advanced degree in preaching. At the end of the week, they all preached sermons on some of the most violent and difficult texts in the Bible. Many of us were repeatedly in tears after hearing these creative and sensitive sermons that conveyed the beauty, pain, and vulnerability of the stories. As we evaluated the course, they thanked one another for creating a safe space where they could discuss the difficult stories and then try to preach about them. The feelings of trust and safety they built together enabled them to take risks and try new approaches in their sermons.