Jim Lindsay, Ph.D. (contact me @ contactus@timberlinechurch.org)
Dr. Jim Lindsay is Associate Professor of Middle East History Department of History Colorado State University.
Description: In the Torah and the Prophets, God reaches out to His human creation. The initiative and the message are His. God communicates; we receive. It is up to us to choose to accept, to obey, to turn a deaf ear, even to reject.
In the Psalms, however, human beings reach out to God. The initiatives and the petitions are human; and it is God who chooses to respond or not. As a powerful record of the human quest for God, the Psalms provide the basic patterns of Jewish as well as Christian worship and liturgy. They shape the prayer life and the spiritual activities of both the individual believer and the congregation. In this course we will examine how the Psalter addresses concerns unique to the people of ancient Israel as well as the enduring human desire to connect with and experience the very creator and sustainer of the universe.
Class Schedule:
September 9: Introduction to the Tanakh/Hebrew Bible and the Psalms
September 16: Psalm 1: Moral Man; Immoral Society
September 23: Psalm 8: God and Man
September 30: Psalm 19: The Excellence of Torah: An Anti-Pagan Polemic
October 7: Psalms 15 and 24: Morality and Worship: Who may dwell on your holy hill?
October 14: NO CLASS
October 21: Psalm 48: A Hymn of Zion
October 28: Psalm 82: Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!
November 4: Psalm 93: The Lord is king!
November 11: Psalm 94: How long shall evil prevail?
November 18: Psalms 10 and 13: How long will you hide your face from me?
Psalm 22: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Psalm 150: Praise the Lord! … Praise him for his mighty deeds!
2 Comments on “Psalms: The Prayers of Ancient Israel (Fall 2007)”
Glad to see Prof. Lindsay is going to teach another class! I’ve always learned alot and grown in my walk from his past classes. Thank you for being willing to teach us again!
Your teaching is awesome! I love it! My attention, it captured completely. You are a great speaker: educational, attention grabbing, touch of humor and serious too. Your teachings have an unusual enticing effect on the human need or desire to learn. It seems as if one can never get enough: Always desiring more. You are a true professional and I thank God for your teachings.