"Orientalism" revisited

The class I am teaching on modern hermeneutics concludes this week. There have been stimulating discussions in the class sessions as we have reviewed the history of biblical interpretations in the church, with a particular emphasis on the contributions of women, Latin American scholars, and those in a "postcolonial" world in these last 200 years. The title of this last group is to denote biblical scholars in countries which shed the domination of European and American imperial rule after World War II, and who now look back on the contributions that "western" missionaries made in the 19th and 20th century, and approach these with a "hermeneutic of suspicion".

To say more about what is meant by the term Orientalism, let we start with the picture at the left, a French painting of the early 19th cenury of the "Battle of the Pyramids". This was when French troops under Napoleon defeated a Mamluk Egyptian force in 1798 and temporaily occupied Egypt. Napoleon hoped to expand his empire by adding much of the Middle East, even offering to become a Muslim (which would have included being circumcised) to complete the deal. (The offer was rejected by Islamic leaders, and the British with their control of the seas soon ended his dream for a near eastern empire). If you want to read a recent book about all this, see: Mirage, Napoleon's Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt, by Nina Burleigh. But what Napoloeon did which had more far reaching results was to bring an eager group of scientists with him (one great discovery being the Rosetta Stone, which allowed modern scholars to translate the hieroglyphic writings of ancient Egypt into modern languages). This produced a tremendous fascination for all things Egyptian and Near Eastern. Also, by the mid 19th century, missionary zeal in England and the United States led to the influx of Protestant teachers, at first intent in helping to revive the Coptic Orthodox Church, but then to establish their own schools and churches. One of the anchoring points for our class in hermenuetics has been to review the hermenuetical principles of John Calvin, which would have been a part of their teachings here in Egypt. These were taken from a book by Gerald Bray, entitled: Biblical Interpretation, Past & Present.

This fascination with all things of the "East" produced an outpouring of books and articles, written by European and American authors which interpreted for the "West" what the cultures and religions of these Middle Eastern lands were, seen through the lenses of westerners, who too often began with a superiority complex. A book (pictured on the right) we are using to explore this dynamic was written in 1978, and begins with this comment:

Orientalism is a history of the ways in which the West has discovered,

invented and sought to control the East. [This term Orientalism] tells

us more about the Occident than it does about the East.

Edward Said was writing at the time of the establishment of the state of Israel, and notes how the earlier pictures of the East played a significant part in attitudes in the West toward Islam and Arabs as well as in the development of the views of Zionism and Christian Zionism.

And one particular comment which caught my eye, given the recent events in the Gaza territory (remember, this book was written in 1978), was his evaluation of the life of the Arab Palestinian as distressing: a result of the web of racism, cultural stereotypes, dehumanizing ideology, which puts these people at the bottom of the garbage heap. When we add the dynamic of terrorism and Muslim extremist of a few to this already devastating picture painted of these human beings, we begin to understand how perceptions built up over decades and centuries can cloud our vision and can influence our policies.

One of the over-all objectives of this class and of others in the graduate program is to encourage the students to question what they have previously been taught and to evaluate it in the light of the scholarship of others and their own abilities and perceptions, hence, "a hermeneutic of suspicion".

More later. Hope all are well. Roger R.

January Course on Biblical Interpretations begins

Greetings again in the new year from Egypt. This week I am beginning to teach a three week course entitled: "Hermeneutical Developments in the 20th Century". Hermeneutics is the way by which we seek to draw out all possible meanings of a Bibical text, by using the methods and insights developed by biblical scholars of different times and different contexts, as well as our own - so that we can apply these truths to our own lives and witness. These movements which came to fruition in the 20th century were by women, Latin Americas Liberation theologians, and biblical scholars in countries which freed themselves from Western colonial rule after World War II (now called the postcolonial hermeneutic).

Let me illustrate some of this by translating the last line of the part of a poem (to the right) about Bishop Oscar Romeo, who was martyred in El Salvador, Central America for standing against the oppression of the ruling junta and siding with the oppressed poor of the land. The last line translates:

(as you accompanied them)

"The poor taught you how to read the Gospel".

As a priest in the Roman Catholic Church in the 20th century, he would have learned all the traditional methods of interpreting the Scriptures which had been developed from the beginnings of the Christian Church, but now in his love and care for his people he came to see the Gospel through their eyes. This transformed his ministry.

The second picture was painted by a Sudanese artist, who is now a refugee in Egypt because of the warfare in his own land. As I purchased it, I asked the merchant why the face of one woman and half the face of another seemed to have been left unpainted. He assured me that it was not because the artist had not finish his work (in his desire for a sale), but that it represented a part of southern Sudanese culture that expresses itself in a dualism, the opposing forces of light and darkness, or what is hidden in shadow and what is visible in the sunlight. I wished that I had had more time to visit with him, and I have been unsuccessful so far in contacting the artist to ask more about this.

But for now, one thing the painting suggested to me is how the different phases of the moon are visible to all in the nighttime sky (as in these faces). Because of how the sun's light is reflected from it to earth we sometimes see a full face (but only one half of the moon), and a half face -in shadow and in light, and a time when all the moon is all in shadow. I have no way of knowing if this was the artit's intention, or if it holds any credence (for I am still an amateur art student). But I think that it is possible to describe how we know others in much the same way, (where parts are in light and parts in shadow) As I start the class, I am going to put a toy parrot on the table in the classroom and ask each student to describe what he or she sees (without moving around to view it from other angles) or asking others. The point of this simple exercise will be that we also experience life from our own vantage point and through our own lenses. We need help from others to expand and enhance our knowledge. (Maybe it is a little like the limits of our knowledge of the moon we had before cameras and people from earth were able to take pictures from the dark side).

In the matter of interpreting the Scriptures, we will be looking into how others help us with the areas (with our limited perspectives and locations) which we may not have yet seen clearly. Often those who received the Scriptures in their own languages for the first time in the great mssionary movements of the 19th century are now (postcolonial hermeneutics) questioning just how much of Western culture and values came along with the Bible, even in the ways it is intended to be interpreted. This is called a "hermeneutics of suspicion". Women were the first to point out that most biblical scholars over the centuries were men, and too often had a decidely male-centered perspective. We will explore what these "new" colleagues from other countries and others cultures, and women, can teach us.

As I write this, the presiding bishop of the ELCA, Dr. Mark Hanson, and many synodical bishops are completing their trip to Jerusalem. If you want to learn more about their reflections, check to see what is written on the ELCA web page (elca.org) or your synod's web page. Could help us to understand more of what is happening and what we can do.

Peace, justice and joy, Roger R.

Greetings in the 12 Days of Christmas

Hello from Cairo. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Actually living here I get to celebrate two Christmases, the one in the West and in 12 days, the one in the Middle East. Has something to do with different calendars and long held traditions. I want to continue to introduce the second year students in the graduate program to you and say a few words about the topics for their dissertations. My last blog already talked about Fouad, his new job in our office and his desire to research the influences of Midianite religion (via the father-in-law of Moses) on Egyptian monotheism.

Rania, the one women currently in the program, is married to a divinity student at ETSC and they have one child. They serve in a Baptist church here in Cairo. She is a great help to the faculty and students in translating the lectures of "western" professors whose ability in Arabic does not permit to teach in that language, yet. She is a fine person and a role model of other Egyptian Christian women who want to advance their educations as far as the society here permits them to do so. At the present time, the Presbyterian Synod of the Nile, an independent church in the world-wide "Reform" tradition, does not permit women to serve as ordained leaders.

The topic for her dissertation is the development of the concepts of "Son of God" and "Messiah" in the Hebrew Bible and the Intertestamental period until they become merged in the confessional declarations for Jesus by the disciples in the Gospels. She first became interested in this period of history in a class taught in the Fall of 2007 by Dr. Julius Scott, and wants to use this opportunity to learn more about the many developments during that time. The recent discoveries of the documents of the Qumran community and other "intertestamental" records will be helpful for tracing the developments. Dr. Willem deWit, our new professor in Biblical studies, will be her advisor.

Musa, our student from the Sudan, plans to return to his country after completing his dissertation in later Spring of 2009 to teach at the Biblical school where he had taught before coming to Cairo. Like Daniel who graduated last year, he must be away from his family for a year at a time. A generous gift from Presbyterians in the United States pays for his tuition and other seminary expenses, his room and board here, and also provides a modest gift to help his family with their living expenses while he is away. The graduate program has educated students from several other Middle East countries, some of whom have returned to teach in their home countries, and others have gone on to study in Europe and in the United States.

The topic for his dissertation will be the concepts of "true" and "false" grace in the writings of Paul and the Letters of James and Jude. Musa is quite concerned that Christians in his own country have confused and distorted the teachings of Paul and other New Testament writers. So, he hopes to contribute Biblical insights that will be helpful in his own church and context. Musa is also in the Biblical studies concentration and has had to study advanced Hebrew and Greek with the other students. He started speaking his native dialect in the Sudan, learned English in school, and now preaches in Arabic and English to a refugee Sudanese community in Cairo.

Wagdy is a second student in the Christianity in the Middle East section (along with Fouad). He is active as a translator with a major book publisher in Egypt which produces books in Arabic and English. He has been asked to write an article for them on the current attitudes in Egyptian Christianity on Israel and Zionism, which will appear shortly.

His topic is the responses of the Presbyterian Church in Egypt during the turbulent years of the 1960s, when Egypt won its independence from England under the leadership of Abdul Nasser. These were years of an attempt at a union betweeen Syria and Egypt into an Arab League. They were also years when the new constitutions of Arab countries included provisions to retain Islam law as the basic for government, posing problems for Christian communities in Egypt and elsewhere. He hopes to provide some insights from that period which will be helpful for Christians in Egypt in the future.

John Daniel, nicknamed the "Greek Guy" by his classmates because he comes from Athens and serves an international Christian group with ministries throughout the Mediterranean, has many skills. Fluent in modern and koine Greek he is being used by the seminary to introduce the divinity students to the Greek language of the New Testament. He became interested in the modern scholarship on the first three Gospel (called the Synoptics by scholars because of their simularity and their differences from the Gospel of John) from a class last year by Dr. Paul Dilley. Paul is now back in the United States and has obtained a teaching position at a university in the Mid-West.

John Daniel will use his expertise to suppport the theory that Matthew and Luke both had copies of Mark's Gospel when they wrote theirs, and used his basic outline. He will discuss the changes in the Greek verb tense by these two later evangelists from what Mark had written. Like the other students, John Daniel will have an advisor and will defend his dissertation (about 70-80 pages in length) before a panel of three professors, one of whom will be from outside our seminary community. One of the things which makes this writing more difficult is that these students have all learned English as a second language. This often means that they first attain the ability to communicate verbally in a classroom situation before developing the writing skills needed to complete a dissertation.

A blesseed new year to all. Roger R.

Meet my Colleagues

Greetings again from Cairo:

I want to introduce you to the two persons who share the responsibilities for the programs in the master's program with me at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. The first is professor Willem Jan deWit who has been send by his mission society in the Netherlands for a period of seven years. He has been teaching Greek and Latin in a school there and is also well versed in Hebrew, and in the area of Biblical studies. This will be a great help to the program here to have a scholar for a significant number of years who can make the adjustments he feels are best for that program. In the past we have had to rely on a visiting professor who would stay a year or a term, and had to make adjustments as these people resources became available. He will teach two classes each term, alternating with advanced Hebrew and advanced Greek, and Old Testament and New Testament exegesis. He is completing his Ph.D. dissertation on contemporary religious thought in "Post-Christian" Amsterdam.

His Dutch mission society supports his work here, and this is another example of how the seminary benefits from the support of institutions outside of Egypt. He is learning Arabic, and sometime in the future may be able to teach in the seminary's other programs which train church leaders for the Presbyterian Church of the Nile (also referred to as the Coptic Evangelical Church in Egypt). Those programs are all in Arabic. We share the apartment in Nasr City, which is about a 30 minute drive from the seminary (when there is no traffic).

During these last few years the seminary has been investigating how it can offer programs which aid the graduate-pastors in their work once they leave the seminary. ETSC has now contracted with an international group called "Development Associates International" (DAI), which operates a world wide ministry out of Colorado in the U.S.). This Christian evangelical group is more than ten years old and has been offering a three year program throughout the world in church adminstration and strategic planning, mainly through distance learning (CDs and internet contacts), as well as having two, one-week classes with the professors on campus. Upon completion of the assignments and a thesis, which is to be a strategic long range plan for the place where these leaders are serving, the seminary will award them a master's degree in church administration. Although the program is technically under my supervision, the work of the "co-ordinator" will be by an Egyptian who speaks both Arabic and English. Meet Fouad Shaker, a second year graduate student who has been hired to work two days a week to oversee this program.

Fouad is well qualified, having worked in programs as varied as youth ministry in the Presbyterian Church in Egypt and on archeological digs throughout the country. The dissertation he is beginning as part of his master's degree is going to be on the possibile influences of the Midianites (Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses) on Egyptian thought at the time of the Pharoahs. He will try to show some influences leading toward monotheism. His plan is to complete this by June of 2009.

In addition to the administrative duties with DAI, Fouad will be responsible for setting up small groups of the students (most of whom will be parish pastors), who will meet monthly to support one another in the program. He is an excellent resource to them as they deepen their knowledge on how to minister to their people. If you want to learn more about DAI and the program they are offering with ETSC and at other locations through the world, you can visit their web site at: http://www.daintl.org/.

Blessings in this Advent season. Will try to write again in about two week. In Christ, Roger R.

By the way, let me remind you that the work I have been doing here is supported by the Global Missions Division of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. (We would appreciate contributions to help finance my work - Go to the ELCA web site for more information). We are agressively recruiting someone to take my place, to begin work in August of next year (2009). If you know of someone who might be interested, go to the ELCA web site and to Global Missions service oppprtunities. Applications are being sought until March, 2009. Thank you

Another Class Begins

Greetings again from Cairo. We have just started another class in the Fall term. In the first picture you see Dr. Jan Opsal, a professor from the School of Mission and Theology, in Stavanger, Norway, who will be the instructor, and some of the students participating in the class. It is titled: "Sharing the Same Prophets - Men in the Muslim and Christian Scriptures". Dr. Jan is in the blue shirt, and a second student from Norway, Kate, is on the left, with some students you have met before.

The course will review the stories of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus as they are portrayed in the Qur'an and Hadith (traditions) of Islam, and the Old and the New Testament of Christians. It will use the same format as the course Dr. Jan taught on "Women in the Muslim and Christian Scriptures" last January. This combined course signals a growing partnership between his institution and the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. It is hoped that in the future some ETSC students will travel to Stavanger for a semester or two as part of their studies program.

Because of Dr. Jan's tight schedule the class will meet for only four weeks (til mid December) and for a longer period of time each Tuesday and Wednesday.

We are pleased that this relationship between our two schools is continuing. Dr Jan will also teach two of our Scholar's Seminars on Tusday afternoons while he is here. These are open to all faculty, other students who speak English, and guests from the wider academic community in Cairo

To the left is the syllabus for the class and a book which I want to recommend which follows the same plan as Dr. Jan's class. Let me quote a few sentencs from the introduction to the book to give you some idea of how this works. Under the subtitle: "Joseph Meets Joseph" the author Dr. John Kaltner writes:

A comparative analysis of the Joseph story in the Qur'an and the

Bible that is informed by narrative criticism allows us to come to a

fuller understanding of the rhetorical dimension of the two texts.

{The Bible and the Qur'an are} put in conversation with each other

in a prolonged and detailed way. (p. xix + xx)

He goes on to say that we can "listen in" on that encounter (between Joseph and Joseph) as though we were sitting in a circle with the two different story tellers, each intent on telling the story in such a way as to convey what that person wishes to say.

Worth looking into. The book should be available in the United States. Its full title is: "Inquiring of Joseph, Getting to Know a Biblical Character through the Qur'an", from a series called "interfaces", Barbara Green, Editor. It is published by the Liturgical Press out of Collegeville, Minnesota.

Last week I presented the prospectus for my January course on "Biblical Hermeneutics in the Modern World" at a Scholar's Seminar. One definition of "Hermeneutics" is the study and the methods we employ to get the most out of the Biblical texts. This is what I will try to do in my class. That is what Dr. Jan is doing in his class. If you would like a copy of the text I used in my presentation, you can write me at my e-mail address: rogerrab39@yahoo.com.

Hope you are well. Roger

Doing Research in Egypt

Greetings from the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. We are well into our fall term. One of the classes I am teaching is to help students identify and research the topic they will develop into a master's thesis in the last half of their second year. This involves using a book entitled: "The Craft of Research", by Wayne Booth. The course also helps to provide tips for the students as they study and write in English, a second language for each. Pictured here are some of the students and faculty who attended a recent "Scholar's Seminar", an opportunity to have faculty and students present "papers" which can be discussed and reviewed. Next week, the five students on their second year will present the "tentative" subject for their dissertations. We want them to demonstrate a knowledge of what they have learned in classes in Biblical Studies or Christianity in the Middle East, and then to make an original contribution to their field of research. This will analyse original sources and will also connect with an interest in their own lives and ministries. I will discuss these with you in a later blog.
Pictured to the right is a professor in Church History at the seminary, The Rev. Wageeb, who led the seminar on how to access resources on line from the United States. The seminary subscribes to a service called "ATLA" (the American Theological Library Association), which offers its users a way to review and download resources from hundreds on valuable periodicals produced over the last several years. It will be too costly for this or any seminary to order all of these and to store them. The Rev. Wageeb, who graduated from the master's program several years ago, is presently teaching at ETSC, and is pursuing his doctoral degree at the University of Birmingham in England. It is an important goal of the seminary to provide for the study of its Egyptian teachers aboard, so they can increase in their scholarship and teaching ability. The Presbyterian Church in America shares an objective with The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to train indigenous leaders and scholars so that they can assume more responsibility for the ministry of their churches. Missionaries from the United States seek to aid in this development and in effect want "to work themselves out of a job". We also will welcome the contributions to be made in the future by "non-western" scholars. The Rev, soon to be Doctor Wageeb, is one of these.

Hope all are well. Will write again soon.

Roger Rogahn

First week of school

Greetings again from the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. We have just completed our first week of the Fall term. The first picture shows most of the first and second year students in the master's program, and the teacher from the Netherlands, Professor Jan deWit. The woman with blond hair (as you can imagine) is the visiting student from Norway. The stairs are at the front entrance of the administrative and classroom building of the seminary. The
classes will run until late December. Professor deWit is teaching a course on Isaiah, and I am teaching two classes, Christianity in the Middle East - III (1800 to the present) and a course which helps students with their research and in writing a dissertation during their second year. I will let you know soon what their topics will be.

In November and December we will welcome back a professor from Norway, Dr. Jan Opsal. He will bring some students with him and teach a course entitled: "Sharing the Same Prophets, Men in the Muslim and Christian Scriptures". It will examine the ways that five men, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, are portrayed in the Qur'an and Hadith, and in the Christian Bible. It should be as interesting and stimulating as the one he taught last January on the women of our traditions. I am also looking forward to teaching a class in January entitled: "Principles of Biblical Interpretation (Hermeneutics) in the 20th century". This will include a study of feminist interpretations, interpretations from Latin America "liberation" scholars, and what has come to be called: "Post-Colonial Hermeneutics", the writings of Middle Eastern, African and Asian Biblical scholars, who, while acknowledging their debt to European and American teachers, are developing their own "contextual" interpretations. Should be quite a challenge to teach.

The second picture shows the participants in the seminary retreat, which was held the week before school started. Its purposes were: to welcome new students, to renew friendship with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students, and to hear
about the summer practical experiences they had. In addition to the 4 years of study, divinity students at ETSC work each summer in a field assignment, and are also required to do one year of internship after graduation before being eligible for ordination in the Presbyterian Synod of the Nile. There is a great need here for pastor/developers, particularly in the rural ares where the Synod has land and buildings and small communities of faith, but no ordained leaders. I hope to be able to visit some of these ministry sites during this school year.

That is all for now. Hope you are well. Blessings, Roger Rogahn