Just an hour before our class began, Jo Ann’s father, Dr. Arthur Schneider, who had been in home hospice care, passed away. The sudden shock of what happened meant that Jo Ann opened up the Zoom room and then was able to make her husband Dan and Randy Schafer co-hosts.
Dan, Randy, David, Dave, Karen, Diana, and Merrill attended. Jo Ann dropped in a bit at the end.
Below is Dan’s summary of what was discussed:
At our meeting of December 13, 2021, we ran a little overtime in our discussion of Romans chapter 12 from a Jewish perspective. We came to a general consensus that many of the instructions of this chapter dovetailed nicely with many similar injunctions of the Torah and the Jewish tradition in general, i.e. Romans 12, verse 9: “love must be sincere, hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” We reflected on the similarity among religions with regard to love. Generally for it.
There was a brief discussion of the term “gifts” used in this chapter, and how it relates to Christian groups in existence today who believe they exercise miraculous powers. These are the “charismatic” and “Pentecostal” churches.
We asked the question if anyone present had had a “spiritual” experience that they regarded as life altering. This was in response to reading the correspondence of a man (the apostle Paul) who was said to have had such an experience himself. A variety of responses included experiences while young that encouraged seeking meaning in life, and others from later in life, including “out of the body” near death experiences. Some people were convinced by their experiences of the existence of the “soul”, and that life does not “end” at the “end of life.”
We had to stop, ending a lively, fascinating discussion.
Note from Jo Ann: I really liked it when Dan asked about sharing religious experiences! David had an experience that God was present in high school. Merrill is alive after an almost near-death experience. I (Jo Ann) shared about in college I looked up on the ceiling and silently said, “God, I give you my life.” From there, as a young person, I sought others that were excited about peace and love and God. I was attracted to Jesus Freaks (not really Jesus, but the loving God they were into) and got my wish to live in a commune with God loving people right in Long Beach for the first three years of our marriage. Even though I never really believed in “the Jesus thing,” I have always been aware of God’s presence in my life.
We will study Romans Chapter 13 next week.
If anyone has anything to add to this summary, please do!
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