Mini 🧵: Bible Memorization

When I was in 6th grade, I attended a rather large youth group at a rather large church. Because of this, we were able to have small groups within the youth group. This particular year, the leader put in charge of the 8 or so 6th grade girls was an amazing pre-med student who took her mentor position seriously. She told us that she wanted us together to memorize the book of James.

THREAD: Born Under the Law: The Mosaic Covenant
(Part 3 of an Advent Mini-Series: The Incarnation, the Parousia, and the Covenants of Israel) > “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4)

Mega🧵™️: Ignorance, Arrogance, and the Specter of Christian Antisemitism

I have watched with dismay and heartbreak over the last week as a particularly ugly and virulent form of hatred towards Jewish people has reared its head both on social media and in real life. This recent wave of antisemitism did not occur in a vacuum.

Resource Recommendation 🧵:
Bible Study Tools

In honor of Simchat Torah, I thought it would be fun to share some different principles and resources that have helped in deepening my study of the Bible. Feel free to reply/QT with your own favorite tools and study strategies as the below are far from exhaustive!

Seeing reports of the IRGC amassing troops at the border of Iraqi Kurdistan. After weeks of bombarding this region, it looks as though Iran might be preparing for a ground incursion against Kurdish targets. Why this region in particular, since there doesn't seem to be an obvious provocation?

🧵: Atonement: Covenantal Covering
As it is Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), I wanted to share a shorter (for me!) thread on some musings around the word "כפור" (kippur, that is, atonement) and attached concepts from the Scriptures. (I realize that "atonement" has plenty of theological controversies surrounding it, but those are not addressed in this thread.

Story 🧵: Flowers on the Front Lines

(I woke up with this memory fresh on my mind, probably as Kurdistan so much in the news, and thought I would share.)

The first time I visited Iraqi Kurdistan, the Kurds were holding the line against ISIS advancement in northern Iraq. It was February 2017, and the battle of Mosul was still being fought.

I was there with an NGO (FAI), and we hoped to do a series of food and water distributions as well as pop-up medical clinics in the liberated sections of Mosul.

5 years ago, I received advice that I think has has a huge positive impact on my life, so I thought I would share it in the hope it might be helpful to others.

If you are a single person who values marriage and family, practically support the marriages and families around you. Watch your married friends’ children so that they can have a break. Not only will you have practically contributed to the health of your friends’ marriage, you are building inter-generational friendships with their children and investing in their development.

Found this little treasure sorting through some old papers! If anyone is curious what the suggested reading was for English Lit undergrads at Wheaton College in the 70s, wonder no more! General / Old and Middle English Lit /The Renaissance / Seventeenth Century / Eighteenth Century / Romantic Literature / Victorian Literature / Modern British Literature

#Silly Story Thread: Little India, the FBI, and Machine Gun

In the mid to late aughts, I worked at a small community center and book store in the heart of Chicago’s Little India. (By a funny coincidence, this neighborhood was on Devon Avenue!)

🧵Thread: Abortion, the Rite of the Jealous Husband, and the Cup of Wrath in Numbers 5:11-31 (Some thoughts about the laws pertaining to the woman suspected of adultery (sotah), the rite of the jealous husband, and what (if anything!) this has to do with the current dialogue surrounding the reversal of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court of the United States.)

🧵Thread: Stolen Valor and Womanly Courage

A Reading of Proverbs 31:10-31

(My Shavuot offering to you this year. ☺️) After taking a very informal poll of my female friends, both Christian and Jewish, the “Proverbs 31 woman” or the “eishet chayil” (woman of valor) praised in Proverbs 31:10-31 is met with mixed feelings at best. Who is this woman?

THREAD: Prisoners of Hope (Between two “Blesseds”) When the Rabbi Jesus and his disciples made the journey from Jericho to Jerusalem, his followers were brimming with anticipation.

Story THREAD:
Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord

As notification after notification pops up on my phone of the grim developments in Ukraine, I can’t help reliving one of the more crushing experiences of my own life that happened in the wake of advancing Russian forces. (Generally, I try to keep my Twitter content more informational and less personal, but thought that writing out this story might perhaps encourage others and myself. I in no way want to equate the following with the large-scale, horrific things happening in Ukraine as I tweet.)

THREAD: SON OF ABRAHAM
(Part 2 of and Advent Mini-Series: The Incarnation, the Parousia, and the Covenants of Israel) As the gospels open and the narrative of scripture resumes after the relative silence of the intertestamental period, we are met with this statement:

THREAD: Advent and Maranatha
(Intro to an Advent Mini-Series on the Incarnation, the Parousia, and the Covenants of Israel) Advent marks the beginning of the church calendar and is a time of expectant hope, both as the season leading up to the celebration of Jesus’ birth (the Incarnation) as well as the anticipation of the return of Jesus as King (the Parousia.)

THREAD: Tisha b'Av and the Maranatha Cry
or
The Fast that Will Be a Feast

[Image: The Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by Francisco Hayez] (Despite trying to cut myself off at a natural point with my biblical holiday threads on Shavuot, I went back and looked at my Tisha b'Av thread from last year and found it somewhat lacking.

THREAD: Iran's Role in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

faimission.org/wire/roots-of-…

When the latest round of conflict between Israel and Gaza broke out, I was eager to hear the opinion of my friend who spent years as part of the security infrastructure in Israel. Given only that information, it would be easy to make assumptions about his policy positions regarding the Palestinian territories, but you would most likely misjudge him. His opinions are hardly standard Zionist fare, and he defies political categories.

THREAD: Ending Exile, A Meditation on Shavuot

Three quick notes before I begin:

One, it is a bit surreal to be sitting in Israel and writing about the hope given to us at Pentecost as death and mayhem follow riots, rocket launches, and airstrikes. ("All other ground is sinking sand," as the hymn writer says.)

THREAD: Dealings with Iran

In the last few weeks, the Middle East has seen

-Attacks on US coalition forces in Iraq by Iranian proxy militias (bbc.com/news/56249926, nytimes.com/2021/02/15/wor…)

-An Israeli minister accuse Iran of eco-terrorism bbc.com/news/world-mid… -US and Israeli strikes on Iranian proxy militias in Syria (nytimes.com/2021/02/25/us/…, jpost.com/breaking-news/…)

THREAD: Universe Reversed: A Meditation on Purim

[Image: “The Festival of Esther” by Edward Armitage. The Royal Academy of Arts Collection.]

Of all the holidays of the Jewish liturgical calendar, Purim is perhaps the most exuberant. Children dress up in costumes, and friends send portions of food to each other. Many give gifts to the poor and throw lavish parties with plenty of food and drink.