B
ob Robinson will again lead his beloved advent Bible study. He leads us into a deeper understanding of the lectionary texts that inform our Advent. What do the the prophets say about the coming of a Savior? How do the Gospel describe the birth of Christ, or not? What do Paul and the other earliest Epistle writers say about Christmas?
Each year these sessions are some of the best attended Adult Forums. Bob has a way with opening up the Scriptures. Not surprising as he is — for many newcomers to Old First who may not know — an ordained minister in the Christian Church and Disciples of Christ with standing also in the UCC. He is also the Anna Burkhardt Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Lutheran Theological Seminary here in Philadelphia.
Bob’s interests lie in the theory and practice of interpretation and particularly in the application of current literary techniques to the interpretation of the Bible. Behind that interest is a desire to see the Bible read with understanding and confidence by all Christians. Approaching the Bible as a consummately profound literary work allows the sort of disciplined observation and probing discussion that leads to deeper understanding of the Word of God for our lives.
He has written a commentary on the Book of Genesis. The commentary uses such familiar literary terms as character, plot, theme and allusion to knit together a holistic picture of the book. At the same time he is attempting to return to the history of interpretation of Genesis to learn from earlier readers, many of them sublimely brilliant, what they saw as most important in each passage and how that message spoke to the life of their community of faith.
Please join Bob for these next four weeks of Bible study!
