Doug Strong and Jess Bielman offer this short volume intent on reimagining and reoffering an ancient medieval metaphor (the “workshop”) for contemporary practices of theological education that are integrative of the life of the academy and the church together. The volume proposes to take readers on a journey of recovery. Chapter 1 introduces the ancient construct of “apprenticeship” as a means of education in theology and ministry that is intentionally hands-on and oriented around a relationship of discipleship rather than simply courses taken independently with hopes that the student will gain integrative mastery on their own. Foundationally this is a call to mentorship that is facilitated via Spirit-empowered transformational experiences in community, discipline, and vocational holiness and wholeness.

Despite the noted issues with this volume, it still offers a refreshing rethinking of the moves within theological education that have tended to turn it into business and a cognitive intellectualist project rather than the personalizing and transforming Spirit empowering encounter it is meant to be for the sake of the individual, the Church, and the world. This book might function well for a group of professors, administrators, pastors, and students to read together over several weeks of discussions centered around the journey into the “workshop” re-storying proposed. As such it might just offer the “academy opportunity to make it a place of spiritual and intellectual flourishing for the sake of the church’s health” (144). May it be so.

Reviewed by Rick Wadholm Jr.

Publisher’s page: https://wipfandstock.com/9781532689093/workshop-of-the-holy-spirit/

Preview Workshop of the Holy Spirit: https://books.google.com/books?id=SyKcEAAAQBAJ

Dr. Gary Tyra has served in pastoral ministry and is currently a professor at Vanguard University where he teaches theology courses. He is also the author of several other books, these include Getting Real and The Holy Spirit in Mission [Editor’s note: See the review by Malcolm Brubaker]. In The Dark Side of Discipleship he addresses the subject of spiritual warfare. He has written this book because he has seen many believers who are not well prepared in this area of their Christian lives.

The main body of the book begins with an introduction, after that the text is divided into four major parts. One of the subjects Tyra raises in the introduction, and refers to at other points in the book, is the subject of faithfulness. He feels that there are three key areas in which disciples of Jesus need faithfulness. They need to have spiritual faithfulness, moral faithfulness, and missional faithfulness (page 1). One thing that can disturb or disrupt this faithfulness is the activity of the devil (page 2). He attacks believers in such key areas as “worship, nurture, community, and mission” (page 9). Though the reality of the devil is downplayed by some believers, especially in the West, he should be taken seriously (pages 2, 7). The author says that there are at least 238 references to an evil spiritual being in the New Testament (page 3). In the introduction Tyra states that the purpose of the book is to enable believers “to experience a vibrant, fruitful, enduring walk with Christ” (page 4) in spite of the attacks of the devil. He sees spiritual warfare as an important component of “spiritual endurance training” (page 6).

Part Two is called “Forewarned is Forearmed: How the Devil Seeks to Derail Christian Discipleship.” This section is made up of four chapters. The chapter titles pretty much explain the focus of each chapter. Chapter 3 is called “Seduction: The Devil and Christian Worship, Chapter 4 is “Deception: The Devil and Christian Nurture, Chapter 5 is “Alienation: The Devil and Christian Community, and Chapter 6 is “Temptation: The Devil and Christian Mission.” These chapters deal with four key areas in which Christians will be attacked by the devil. Tyra mentioned them in the introduction of the book (page 9). In these chapters he identifies various ways in which Christians are attacked and how these attacks can be dealt with.

Part Four is called “Standing Firm in the Faith: Why the Devil Must be Dealt With.” This section is made up of two chapters, chapters 9 and 10. Chapter 9 deals with the ultimate “why” question. This question is “If God is both great and good, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?” (page 226). As he seeks to address this question Tyra interacts with the writings of Gilbert Bilezikian and Gregory Boyd (pages 227-445). Both of these authors hold to the open theist point of view (page 233). While Trya values some of the insights of these writers he does not agree with everything they have written. In Chapter 10 the author writes about God’s end game. Here he offers some adjustments to the theology of Bilezikian and Boyd. He also writes about God’s justice with regard to things like the world (pages 260-261), the cross of Christ (pages 262-263), and the church (pages 269-273).

In the conclusion, Tyra wraps the book up with mention of a Bible verse that he has cited a number of times in the course of the text. The verse is the one in which Jesus speaks about receiving the commendation of the Lord for being good and faithful servants (Matthew 25:21). It is possible, and defeating the devil is one of the things that needs to be done in order for it to happen.

One thing you will not find in the book is a section on exorcism. The author does allude to it a couple of times (pages 197-198) but does not go into any detail about it. He knows some readers would be interested in this aspect of spiritual warfare. But he does not cover it because while Scripture does speak about this ministry Tyra believes that the majority of the New Testament focuses on the believer’s drawing near to God (page 198). The main focus of the book is discipleship. That is, preparing yourself, and others, to stand up against the attacks of the evil one. In this regard, I think The Dark Side of Discipleship has some good information and insights to offer. Christians will find profitable material that can help them identify and defeat the devil’s  work in their lives.

Reviewed by John P. Lathrop

Publisher’s page: https://wipfandstock.com/9781532691218/the-dark-side-of-discipleship

Every follower of Jesus is called to be a disciple maker. In this excerpt from his book, The Community of God, Pastor Doug Bursch shows us that the New Testament says discipleship happens in and through community.

God cares equally about the individual and the group. He does not give preference to the development of one over the other. With the formation of Eve, God created humans to exist as communal beings, dependent upon each other and their Creator to be one. Before sin entered the world, God declared that “it is not good” for Adam to be alone. What was true for Adam, remains true for every human being. For the children of God to understand fully the goodness of God, we must dwell in meaningful ways with each other. Consequently, community plays a crucial role in any healthy discipleship process.

Jesus discipled through community

This article is Chapter 12 from Douglas S. Bursch, The Community of God: A Theology of the Church from a Reluctant Pastor (Seattle, WA: Fairly Spiritual, 2017), 240 pages, ISBN 9780692868386. Read the review by John Lathrop.

Community was central in New Testament discipleship. Jesus ministered through a group of disciples. The New Testament church continued Jesus’ ministry and discipleship model after Christ’s ascension. In the New Testament, almost every stage of discipleship and growth occurred within the gathered community, specifically through ministry pairings.

Jesus did not minister the kingdom of God alone. Instead, he began his official ministry on Earth by gathering a group of disciples. Jesus ministered to and with disciples because he was fully God but also fully human. Just as it was not good for Adam to be alone, it would not have been good for Jesus to be alone or minister alone. God created humans for community. To rightly express his humanity, Jesus needed to abide with and work through meaningful human relationships. If Jesus had not shared his ministry with other people, he would not have been the perfect expression of a righteous human. To exhibit the perfect expression of humanity, Jesus shared his ministry with others. Through his incarnation, Jesus allowed himself to be dependent upon human relationships. He shared the plan of God with a community of disciples. In gathering the twelve, Jesus showed us that the gospel is fully realized in and through community.

In Jesus’ communal method of discipleship, he did not individually disciple his followers before bringing them into the larger group. Instead, he asked each disciple to join him and learn about him within a community of followers. The disciples discovered God and themselves within and through fellowship with each other. Their knowledge of God and their ministry giftings developed together. Jesus took twelve equally ignorant disciples and discipled them as an interactive group.

A guest article from Alyssa Lillo, a student at Oral Roberts University.

Introduction

Educational principles in North America reflect the ways in which young people are taught, trained, and developed to become responsible mature adults in society. Similarly, Christian discipleship is the way in which new believers are developed to become mature Christians in the Body of Christ. In Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus commands his disciples to go and make disciples, known as the Great Commission. Jesus spent his entire ministry, which lasted three and a half years, training his disciples.[1] Jesus purposely called his disciples, established relationship with them, travelled with them, taught them to pray, and showed them how to live in light of his message. The Great Commission is an exhortation from Jesus who wanted his disciples to go and do likewise. Jesus’ methods of discipleship were influenced by his Jewish heritage and the Greco-Roman world. Additionally, the Great Commission (Matt 28:16-20) provides an example of how the disciples were to continue training new followers of Christ.

“The Exhortation to the Apostles” by James Tissot

Discipleship

Historical Background to Discipleship in the Greco-Roman and Jewish Society

Jesus was a Jewish man trained in Torah. He also lived in the Greco-Roman world, which influenced the way his disciples perceived discipleship. In ancient Rome, it was a common practice for young men to become students to older or more experienced men for their chosen vocations.[2] Whether it was manual labor or educational, many would spend considerable time to learn in specific areas.[3] To the culture outside of Judaism, the closest form of discipleship was better known as an apprenticeship. A student or the student’s father would seek out and pick a teacher to learn from for an agreed period of time.[4]

Philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, championed discipleship in the Greco-Roman period. Socrates, a Greek philosopher, developed the Socratic method, which was teaching by asking questions.[5] He gathered a following of several young men. Plato was one of Socrates’ students and Aristotle was one of Plato’s students. The Greco-Roman teaching method exemplifies master-student relationships that would have been familiar to Jesus. Although the religion was very different, some of the methods of discipleship of the Graco-Roman society was similar to the Jewish culture.

What has God called you to do? In this chapter from Your Call to Work & Mission: Following Jesus 24/7, Lois Olena shows why and how followers of Jesus should participate in caring for the creation God has made.

It’s Sunday morning, and your adult class welcomes the day’s speaker. She steps up to the microphone and begins talking about the environment. The “E” word! “Oh my,” you wonder, “Is this church turning liberal? Has it started down the path of political correctness that will lead to new age, tree-hugging, nature worship—against which the Bible warns” (Rom. 1:25).

Image: Tim Swaan

You cringe as the speaker continues on about the state of the earth. She shares statistics about air and water pollution, water scarcity, the destruction of rainforests, global warming, and desperate polar bears. Your mind questions, “Isn’t this just propaganda?” She goes on about the state of our oceans and waterways, biodiversity issues, habitat destruction, extinction of species, depletion of the ozone layer, and more.

Overwhelmed, your head swims, and your blood pressure rises. “What can I do about all this?” You think, “Besides, isn’t the earth going to just burn up anyhow at the end of days?¹ What difference will it make if I recycle in the face of such massive global problems?” You let out a quiet sigh and find yourself wishing this class would focus on something relevant to living as a disciple of Jesus.

“Creation Care as Discipleship” by Lois E. Olena is chapter 12 in Stephen Lim, ed., Your Call to Work & Mission: Following Jesus 24/7 Whole-Life Discipleship (AGTS, 2015). Available from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary online bookstore.

Too often these questions characterize the Christian approach to what has traditionally been called “environmentalism.” Believers have approached the topic of care for the earth with doubt and confusion. How we answer such questions, however, depends on the extent to which we can understand the why of God’s call to steward creation and how to do so.

Why Should Christians Care for Creation?²

Believers should care about creation because of what is happening to it. But even more important for Christians is what God’s Word says about it. Let’s look at both reasons.

Environmental Realities

It only takes a few moments of searching the Internet using phrases such as, “state of the environment,” “global warming,” or “pollution,” in order to see the earth’s “groanings” written about so long ago by the Apostle Paul (Rom. 8:22). Although various political, scientific, and religious groups differ on the causes of these realities—most contemporary environmental maladies are easily recognizable as crises in need of increased human awareness, cooperation, and action in order to improve global health.³ Global realities require that we tend to the earth if creation is to avoid continuing damage and thrive as God intended. To show no concern for these environmental realities, notes biblical scholar Christopher J. H. Wright, is “to be either desperately ignorant or irresponsibly callous.”⁴

David Augsburger, Dissident Discipleship: A Spirituality of Self-Surrender, Love of God, and Love of Neighbor (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006), 245 pages, ISBN 9781587431807.

Augsburger, an American Anabaptist author, currently professor of pastoral care and counseling at Fuller Seminary, explains that his book’s purpose is to unfold a “radical, spirituality” that he defines as “tripolar in combining love for God, others and self.” He opines that Anabaptism is “revolutionary stuff” in the present century when “spiritual passivity, collective helplessness, a sense of religious futility, and exhaustion with the disciplines of traditional spirituality have turned so many away from formal religion, church doctrine and theology”. He further considers that the Anabaptist tradition, as experienced in the Mennonite, Amish and Brethren faith communities, exceeds its spiritual contexts and appears also in Catholic, Protestant, and predominately in Charismatic and Pentecostal forms of spirituality. He views the Anabaptist alternative as having “an attitude of subversive spirituality, a stubborn set of commitments, and a radical obedience to the Sermon on the Mount” that seeks a new and closer relationship with Jesus Christ.

The author enlarges his discussion by defining the eight practices inclusive of Anabaptist spirituality: “radical attachment; stubborn loyalty, tenacious serenity; habitual humility, resolute nonviolence, concrete service, authentic witness and subversive spirituality”. It is through the understanding and practice of these disciplines that one avoids monopolar and bipolar spiritualities to practice tripolar spirituality: an inwardly directed, upwardly compliant and outwardly committed lived theology that connects “the experience of personal transformation, divine encounter (the God-ward journey) and the relation of integrity and solidarity with the neighbor”. The author explains that the unity of tripolar spirituality is essential to Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness. This spirituality is also evident in the Pentateuch, Prophets and Psalms; in the Magnificat in of Luke’s Gospel; in Paul’s epistles, and historically throughout the Middle Ages in, for example, St. Francis of Assisi, the Waldensians, and the Anabaptists of the sixteenth century.

David Augsburger is Senior Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Augsburger provides the reader with soul searching questions. For example, no longer need we ask “What would Jesus do?” but rather “What do I do with Jesus”? as I meet him in the enemy, the abandoned, the needy, the sick and the dying. He poignantly illustrates the validity of the previous question by quoting the prayer of a volunteer serving food to homeless people near the White House: “‘Lord we know you’ll be comin’ thru this line today. So help us treat you well’”.

Augsburger does well in his nuanced theological discussion of authentic community, as he contrasts the meanings of “false” versus “true” community. He opines that community is where one learns virtues, not where one chooses values. In particular he connects Gelassenhiet, defined as serenity, contentment and calmness of spirit, to the experience of fulfillment in community, through sacrifice and service, as opposed to an isolated self-actualization. Gelassenhiet combines the qualities of “fortitude and faithfulness” that lead one away from the self-serving aspects of a false spirituality.

A major strength of Augsburger’s presentation is his emphasis on the lived theology of imitation as practice: the call to mimetic behavior in following Jesus. He embraces “the politics of Jesus” which he explains as a movement downward rather than the embrace of power, influence and success. He explains dissident discipleship as the practice of reverse theology: countering the prosperity gospel and reassessing one’s present culture to compare cultural philosophy and its practices in the light of biblically-defined discipleship. He emphasizes the contrast between triumphalism versus the theology of suffering: Christ’s triumph was in and through sacrifice and suffering; the Savior’s self-giving for others. The author is careful to make a distinction in the differences between teaching religion and actually living religion. He emphasizes that “Authentic embodiment is the basis for [valid] witness.” Authentic witness is not based on the charisma of one person, or “the perfection of a particular life”, but is “the presence of a community of witnesses who verify, validate and authenticate their life together.”

 Introduction

“Nondiscipleship is the elephant in the church.” So Dallas Willard¹ pictures the obviousness and enormity of the problem. Richard Foster agrees, “Perhaps the greatest malady in the Church today is converts to Christ who are not disciples of Christ—a clear contradiction in terms. This malady affects everything in church life….”² Brian McLaren asks, “Why aren’t we making better disciples?…Why aren’t people becoming more holy, joyful, peaceful, content, and Christ-like?…Why are so few of our good Christian people good Christians?”³

Are these observations overly bleak? Thom Ranier’s survey⁴ of members from many churches asked, “What is your evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the church’s discipleship program?” Only 4.6% rated their church’s program either “very effective” or “effective”. Another survey⁵ found that nearly one-fourth of Christians felt that they were sliding backward in their spiritual growth, while 40% felt stagnated. In addition, it found no correlation between the length of time believers had been Christians and their spiritual maturity. After extensive research into the state of discipleship in America, George Barna concluded that though the vast majority of churches have a discipleship program, consistent spiritual growth is rare, and mourned the fact that in their attitudes and actions Christians appear little different from nonbelievers.⁶

Nudges do not budge pachyderms.
By RegBarc, via Wikimedia Commons.

That Jesus commanded the Church to make disciples is unquestioned (Matt 28.19-20). Once people become believers, they are enabled by God’s Spirit to undergo the process of transformation into the likeness of Jesus (II Cor 3.18), becoming mature (Eph 4.13), complete (James 1.4), and fruitful (John 15.2, 8). As they cooperate with God, this is a present and continuing process; Paul declares, “We are his workmanship ….” (Eph 2.10). The Bible clearly states discipleship’s command, enablement, and goals. Then what has gone wrong? How has the elephant of nondiscipleship made its home in the Church? Will tweaking existing programs produce mature and zealous Christians? Unfortunately, nudges do not budge pachyderms. The effort must match the size of the problem. Failure to appreciate the magnitude of the problem will only result in inadequate remedies. Without comprehensive change in their approach to ministry, churches can expect minimal results.⁷ The first part of this paper identifies six hindrances to discipleship which the Church must seriously engage. The second part proposes nine strategies needed to move the malignant mammal from our midst. Because the goal is to provide an overview for analysis and dialogue, thorough treatment of each point must await a longer work.

Hindrances

Six areas of hindrances to discipleship exist—two each in the Church, in the culture, and within individuals. Specific hindrances will be mentioned in each area.

Inadequate Goals

In many ways churches in this country have settled for goals far short of the discipling component of the great commission. It needs to determine more appropriate objectives for ministry. Below are listed a number of these inadequate goals contrasted with the correct paradigm for ministry. The adoption of one or more of these goals can hobble the attainment of ongoing spiritual growth.

Growing Attendance vs. Life Change

Churches and pastors tend to equate growth in attendance with success. As long as it increases, ministry appears to be effective. Eighty percent of church growth, however, is simply transfer growth. Bill Hull suggests, “The wrong question for the church is, How many people are present? The right question is, What are these people like?”⁸ The goal of discipleship is not numerical change, but life change.

For most readers of The Pneuma Review, this will not be an easy book to read. Graham Ward, professor of contextual theology and ethics at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, writes with a density and against a backdrop of contemporary philosophical debates that will simply be impenetrable to those without a graduate level theological education. Be that as it may, the argument developed here, an extension of a much larger project Ward has now prosecuted in the many other books he has written over the last dozen or so years, deserves attention by those in the renewal movement who are concerned about Christian discipleship in the twenty-first century.

In brief, the two central theses of this volume, captured in its title, is that all Christian discipleship has a political character, and the call to discipleship in our time involves the embodiment of a postmaterial form of life. Postmaterialism, Ward suggests, is a counter-cultural posture that not only resists the materialistic consumption of an unbridled capitalist way of life but also rejects the de-materialized virtual reality inhabited by an increasing percentage of the contemporary world. The former materialist mentality is hedonistic and self-absorbed, while the latter dematerialist trend perverts the embodied and material nature of men and women created as good in the divine image. The response, then, ought to be a postmaterialist theology, even metaphysics – as opposed to the claims regarding ours being a post-metaphysical era which actually masks the deployment of bad or destructive metaphysical assumptions- of the body, both at the personal level of intersubjective relationships and at the political level of ecclesial-social interactions.

Renewal church leaders and even scholars may contrast material with spiritual, thus assuming that a postmaterial citizen is one who is (in their mind) oriented toward the spiritual, other, or next world. Ward is indeed focused on what he calls throughout his book “the eschatological remainder,” the incompleteness of Christ-with-us in history and the heralding of partially present but yet to-appear-in-the-future kingdom. However, while this eschatological remainder names what we hope for, it is different from a false optimism that claims to fully know such hopes; instead, hope is shaped in part by what we don’t know. Thus the eschatological remainder serves as an apophatic check on our kataphatic theological commitments. Yet this eschatologically rich theological vision is clear also to highlight, because of Ward’s emphasis on a theology of the body, the very concrete, palpable, and political nature of Christian discipleship. To dwell in Christ (as St. Paul has it) is also to have Christ dwelling in us as embodied, social, economic, and political creatures, with embodied, social, economic, and political interactions with those around us. Thus to be disciples is to act out the way of Christ in the world, precisely the nature of public and political life. Being postmaterial therefore does not mean being spiritually minded if such involves being of no earthly good; on the contrary, being postmaterially and spiritually engaged with discipleship involves political witness, interaction, and engagement.

Most discipleship methods and books admonish believers to do things, but a growing love relationship with our God should be the primary goal of the Christian life.

Discipleship methods vary from church to church, denomination to denomination. I have been in a few of each. New believers are typically instructed to read the Bible, pray at least x number of minutes a day, go to church, tithe, attend small groups, and perform a litany of other activities. However, we would be hard-pressed to find classes or instructions on (for example) “The Necessity of Loving God First”, or “Steps to Divine Intimacy.”

Is it assumed that new believers have a built-in love for God that cannot be augmented in any way or that they do not need help in learning how to love God intimately, as Jesus put it, with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strength?

‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment (Mark 12:30).¹

Maybe churches do not think that they need to teach believers the primacy of loving God in all of life. Maybe it is assumed believers already do or will. If this is the case, those churches need to change their discipleship methodology.

As we have seen in Mark 12:30, God’s priority is for His people to engage in a love relationship with Him, and from that mutual relationship, commandments and Christian duties are done naturally, from a heart consumed with love for God. Augustine is believed to have said, “Love God, then do as you please.” When we focus on loving the Lord foremost, all the other desires and motives we have will reflect a loving spirit garnered in those times of intimate communion with God.

Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

When we delight ourselves in God, He will fill our hearts with those desires He wants us to have. Then when those desires turn into actions, the actions will be done from a heart that not only has delighted itself in God first, but also continues to delight itself in Him even while those actions are being performed.

Many figures throughout church history emphasized the primacy of loving God. Below is a small sampling:

Bernard of Clairvaux, d. 1153

“You want me to tell you why God is to be loved and how much. I answer, the reason for loving God is God Himself; and the measure of love due to Him is immeasurable love.”²

Albertus Magnus, d. 1280

“I have had the idea of writing something for myself on and about the state of complete and full abstraction from everything and of cleaving freely, confidently, nakedly and firmly to God alone, so as to describe it fully (in so far as it is possible in this abode of exile and pilgrimage), especially since the goal of Christian perfection is the love by which we cleave to God.”³

The Power of the Cross: The Biblical Place of Healing and Gift-Based Ministry in Proclaiming the Gospel

Following Christ’s Example: A Biblical View of Discipleship

by  Don Williams

Jesus’ pattern for making disciples can show us how to live and minister today.

Is the Church both to bear Jesus’ kingdom message and exercise his kingdom ministry by casting out demons and healing the sick? The answer of some is an emphatic “no”! For them, the time of Christ and the apostles was unique. The claim has been made that “as the age of revelation came to a close, the signs ceased also”¹ and that “Christians who pursue miraculous signs are setting themselves up for satanic deception.”²

Our answer to whether the Church should bear Jesus’ kingdom message and exercise his kingdom ministry is an emphatic “yes”! We will fail to see this responsibility if we fail to place the discipling work of Jesus in its historical context and read the Gospels accordingly. How then did people teach and learn in the ancient world? What did discipleship mean?

Teaching and Learning in Antiquity

In Israel and her surrounding milieu, learning was based on an intimate relationship between a teacher and his or her pupil. Lindblom notes, “In the Orient teachers have always gathered around themselves disciples … to receive their instruction and pass on their ideas.”³ Even the “writing prophets” of the Old Testament were no loners. Jeremiah had his secretary Baruch and his friends in court (Jer. 26:24; 36:4; 45:1). Isaiah instructs, “Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples” (Isa. 8:16, RSV). There are two reasons for this intimate personal relationship between the teacher and his student. First, teaching was largely transmitted orally. Second, this teaching was to be lived out by being with the teacher and imitating his life.

Since learning takes place in personal relationship, Ben Sirach exhorts the prospective student to find a wise man: “Take your stand in the throng of elders: which of them is wise? Attach yourself to him” (6:34). He should hound him: “If you see a man of understanding, go to him early,/ And let your feet wear out his doorstep” (6:36). The Pharisees and their rabbinic leaders agreed. They were “Torah-centric” (Torah meaning “revelation” written and oral). Rabbi Hillel says, “More Torah, more life” (Aboth II.8). Rabbi Shammai advises, “Make thy Torah a fixed duty” (Aboth I.15) But how is this to be done? Johoshua ben Perahjah answers, “Make to thyself a teacher” (Aboth I.6).⁵

Since ancient culture was basically oral, the first vehicle of learning was the spoken word.⁶ Plato valued it over the written word because once speech was transcribed it had no life; it could not answer back (Phaedrus 275d). The French Old Testament scholar, Roland de Vaux, notes, “Most teaching … was done by word of mouth. The teacher told his story, gave explanations and asked questions; the pupil repeated the story and asked or answered questions. This method of teaching continued under the Rabbis. …”⁷ Ben Sirach exhorts his student: “Be willing to listen to every godly discourse,/ And do not let any wise proverb escape you” (6:35). Likewise the Pharisees stressed the importance of hearing Torah. Joezer of Zeredah says: “Let thy house be a place of meeting of the wise, and dust thyself with the dust of their feet and drink their words with thirst” (Aboth 1.4).

Since their tradition was oral before it was written, the Pharisees also valued memory. Johannan ben Zaccai (second half of the first century A.D.) sums up one of his disciples as “a plastered cistern that loseth not a drop” (Aboth 2.11). His input equaled his output. The nature of oral tradition demands this kind of receiver. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day mostly studied Torah by rote and quoted it from memory, preserving it with precision and accuracy.⁸