My wacky life...victories and defeats...and God's grace

My wacky life - victories and defeats...yesterday (Apr. 27, 2016) as an example:

9:00-12:00 - encouraging meeting with the HET-Pro team in St-Légier...things are moving forward!!!

12:30-16:15 - probably still deep in thought and distracted, I filled car tank with wrong gas in Bulle (regular instead of diesel)...then got the tank emptied and the fuel line cleaned by the wonderful "Garage Kolly" in Le Mouret (wow, the engine still works!)

16:30-18:00 - ...finally arriving home in Tentlingen...understandably not too pleased with myself...I started translating a letter destined for Pope Francis (German to English) for friends promoting women's participation in the life of the Church (a worthy cause!)

19:00-21:00 - spent a great evening with the VBG-Group in Fribourg, teaching how to read the Bible like in the early church (together, reading through an entire book and aloud).

Moral: even if you do something dumb (and expensive) during the day (like the second event above), you can still accomplish something useful. Don't give up...the grace of God is greater than our sin and failures!

Roland Meynet and rhetorical criticism

It was a pleasure to follow a seminar with Roland Meynet on his theory on Semitic rhetorical analysis. He has spent most of his career developing and applying this approach to biblical literature. One of his main contentions was that biblical scholars were focusing on one type of rhetoric, namely Greco-Roman rhetoric, to the neglect of other types of rhetoric in the world. Semitic languages like Arabic and Hebrew needed more attention. I find his research especially helpful for poetic texts and sections of prose abounding in various types of parallelism.

Roland Meynet, Traité de rhétorique biblique, Rhétorique sémitique 11, Gabalda, 2013.

Roland Meynet et Jack Oniszczuk, Exercices d'analyse rhétorique biblique, Rhétorique sémitique 12, Gabalda, 2013.

John Moles -

We're very sorry to hear about the passing of John Moles at Newcastle University. Brillant classics researcher; instrumental as founder and editor of Histos journal. I'll miss his friendship and our exchange of ideas regarding historiography and St. Luke's writings. He was key in helping me to explore new avenues of research. 

We extend our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. 

'Oldest' Koranic fragments - amazing discovery in a university library!

One of the oldest fragments of the Koran (Islam's holy book) was just waiting a hundred years to be identified as such in the library of the University of Birmingham. Further research will be conducted to verify the initial

results.

Here is what makes this find so fascinating: the parchment (sheep or goat skin) has been dated from between 568 and 645. This places the manuscript very close to the period when Mohammed claimed to receive revelations, between the years 610 and 632 A.D. The scribe may have even heard Mohammed's preaching.

I'm intrigued by what these pages might reveal of the textual history of that early (or earliest) period of the Koran. Specialists (textual critics and Islamic scholars) must be anxious to read this manuscript for themselves.

Here's more information about this discovery:

Article in English

Article in French

A treat from Niger: the best peanuts in the world (in a whisky bottle)

Anyone who has lived in West Africa knows that the best peanuts are bought on the street. They are usually sold in bottles of gin or whisky (see photo). Excellent example of recycling!

Recently our daughters came back from a trip to Niamey and brought us two wonderful bottles of whisky...filled with delicious Nigerien peanuts. These were one of our favorite snacks in Niger, either roasted or caramelized.

Now, take a look at the whisky bottle itself. I've never tried this brand, and I'm not really enticed to do so either. A whisky called "Lava" doesn't seem too promising to me. The "Best Quality" on the label doesn't convince me either.

The bottle is perfect though. I'll stick to Lava's peanuts.

"The way of peace" according to Zechariah (in French)

I really enjoy writing for Vivre, a magazine of the FREE (Fédération romande des églises évangéliques). After some months following publication, they post our articles on their Web site. Here's my article on the expression "the way of peace" in Zechariah's prayer in relation to the wider "way motif," which develops progressively in the Gospel of Luke and continues in the Acts of the Apostles.

Click here to read the article in French.

"iCafé Fribourg" - Proud to be a part of this adventure!

It's about time I write an entry on the "iCafé Fribourg", which was inaugurated last August (2014).

The Bible Groups for Students in Fribourg, a recognized UniFr association, opened this lovely place for university and professional school students in Fribourg. It's a place to hangout, drink various types of delicious coffee and tea, practice languages (German, French and English), attend conferences, eat scrumptious meals, etc. We're trying to keep the place open as often as possible, but we need more volunteers (iCafé is a nonprofit organization). The "iCafé" ("i" for international) means we promote cross-cultural interaction between different linguistic and cultural groups. Being officially bilingual, Fribourg is a great place to attempt to cross cultural boundaries and climb over linguistic barriers. At our last meal, raclette was served to folks from more than ten different nationalities. We talked about the funny, and not so funny, experiences we have had as foreigners in Switzerland (greetings, money, work, how to have or not have arguments, privacy and isolation, etc.). I'm looking forward to more events where we can share openly about our experiences as pilgrims in this big, often scary world and as guests in this small, beautiful country! Although I am a Swiss citizen (thanks  to my wife!), I still have a lot to learn in order to survive and thrive here!

The "iCafé Fribourg" is located in Avenue de Beauregard 3 (Canisius building), just a short walk from Fribourg's main bus/train station. 

For more info, please see the following web pages in English (international.vbg.net/fribourg), French (www.gbeu.ch/fribourg), or German (www.fribourg.vbg.net).

N.T. Wright's conference - 10-13 June 2014 - University of Fribourg

The Center for Faith and Society (site in German, part of the Institut for Ecumenical Studies, UniFr) organized their first-ever conference by inviting N.T. Wright, biblical scholar and former Anglican bishop. Not bad for a start! Almost four hundred participated in this four-day event. Congratulations to the team for putting this event together. People from various Christian traditions and theological persuasions attended and...it all happened very peacefully ;-)

L to R: N.T. Wright, Ulrich Luz, Markus Lau, James Morgan

I had a small but enjoyable part in this event. I gave the devotional on Monday morning, then I helped to lead the Question and Answer session on Wednesday afternoon with my colleague Markus Lau (see picture). It was good to explore Wright's thoughts on Paul as a Jewish thinker whose mind and heart were transformed through his encounter(s) with the risen Christ and the Holy Spirit.

With my keen interest in Luke's writings (Luke and Acts), Wright's lectures helped me again to imagine what Paul encountered (with his missionary team) as "the apostle to the nations" and how he responded to genuine pastoral concerns through his convictions as a "Messianic Jew." Wright's lectures were mostly based on his recent books: "Paul and the Faithfulness of God" (Part IV in "Christian Origins and the Question of God").

Ivory Coast comes to Fribourg

Drs. Appoh François Kouamé and James Morgan

One of the benefits of living in Fribourg and working at the University is to be a part of an international community. In the hallways and classrooms you hear many languages and accents. Since I spent almost ten years in Niger, it is a pleasure for me to have colleagues and students from Africa: Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Cameroun, Benin, etc.

In my first participation in the jury of a doctoral defense here, I was really glad that the candidate was from Ivory Coast. It was a touch of grace and made me feel at home in front of the audience in that academic atmosphere. Appoh François Kouamé wrote about a subject that is very close to his heart as pastor and teacher: the notion of blood brothers and brothers in Christ (the dissertation title, De "frères de sang" à "frères en Christ". L’appel des premiers disciples : prolégomènes à l’herméneutique de la fraternité spirituelle). In general, the question of brotherhood in Africa is more keenly felt in families and churches than in western culture. It can help or hinder spiritual unity in African churches. Kouamé explores this question by beginning with an analysis of passages in the Bible regarding brothers and then focuses on the two sets of brothers that Jesus chose as his disciples. If you are interested in this topic, you can find it here (in the collection of e-theses at UniFr).

Experiencing God’s love

One of the joys of working with university students is to hear and see how God has become real to them. I'd like to share about two students in the nursing program in Fribourg, Gloire and Simona.

Gloire says that he was a teenager like the others: he liked football, friends, and naturally...girls. One week, some of his friends asked him to go to a concert in their church at the end of the week. On the moment, he said yes, forgetting that there was a party at the same time. So, when the day of the concert came, he was looking for excuses the whole day to avoid the concert. Yet, since he promised to go, and being a man of his word, he finally decided to go. He got there late, and people were already praising God and dancing. He felt like joining them, but his pride kept him from doing it. When the preacher asked people if they wanted to receive Christ as their savior, he didn't get up. But when a friend pronounced the word "divine," that really struck him and he really felt the fulness of God's love for him. That evening was an awesome experience that gave him a new start and direction in his life! Gloire is in one of our Bible groups, and his love for God really shines through him.

Simona grew up in a Christian home. Her family attended church regularly and her faith was growing. She learned about Jesus and loved him. Yet, when she was in early teens, her world fell apart one day when her parents told her and her sister that they were going to divorce. Three days later, Simona’s mother left the country. Simona didn’t see her again for six months. In fact, Simona didn’t want to see her ever again, but at this point she had to live with her. She was angry with her parents and with God. She thought: Why didn’t God help me? Why didn’t he help my parents understand and love each other again? At that point, she decided that she wasn’t going to pray anymore. Yet, that didn’t last long, she remembered the special moments that she had experienced with God in her childhood. She couldn’t forget God. She realized that he was calling her to draw close to him. Through prayer and reading the Bible, her world began to make sense again because God was consoling her and giving her a new joy. Simona's life continues to demonstrate God's love and joy in tangible ways.

Gloire and Simona have two things in common. They are both training for the nursing field, and they have a contagious, joyful faith in Jesus Christ. What a blessing they are to their fellow students, hospital patients and staff!