EfM Year 1 Chapter 1: Thoughts on the Hebrew Testament--The Stream of God's People

This post begins a series of posts on my EfM (Education for Ministry) studies at Trinity Episcopal Church. We are a group of twelve EfM students with two facilitators, Ann and David. We meet on Monday evenings. Education for Ministry, or EfM, is a four-year study. Year 1 focuses on the Hebrew Testament, Year 2 on the Christian Testament, Year 3 on church history, and Year 4 on theological choices, which I think means different theological systems of thought. The idea is to reflect on the course material, relate it to one's own life, and see how it speaks to one's ministry.

Chapter 1 of EfM Year 1 is an overview of the Hebrew Testament.

For me, the main interesting thought in Chapter 1 is the image of the long, ancient stream of God's people in which we stand. The course materials, of course, emphasize that the men and women of faith in the Hebrew Testament are part of our stream of faith.

I, of course, see the stream of faith as going much farther back in time, far back into the reaches of prehistory. I stand in the stream of faith, not only of the men and women of faith in the Hebrew and Christian Testaments, but also of these people.

• The Neanderthal people who covered their graves with flowers
• The Stone Age people who painted beautiful scenes of animals on the cave walls of Lascaux
• All who loved the great Mother Goddess