965 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8bba9cc3aa9b6ce8bb45e2a1ab0b6c7f.mp3 d5031b95b1087aa96c72d43e84bba490 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Eastertide V Series On Being an Easter People Scripture Text II Corinthians 9:10-11, 15 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19900513 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990-05-13 Title A name given to the resource The Motive and Resources For Christian Giving Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 13, 1990 entitled "The Motive and Resources For Christian Giving", as part of the series "On Being an Easter People", on the occasion of Eastertide V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: II Corinthians 9:10-11, 15. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c416979a8cefebc6c6190cddd1d3752b.jpg 93300194ad823c635e7cc0689f16b847 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PR5354.M68 1895 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0324 Title A name given to the resource The Mountain Lovers Description An account of the resource Binding of The Mountain Lovers, by Fiona Macleod, published by John Wilson and Son Company, 1895. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1895 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b9c84fa98f95920fd8bc05ef05c4bc3c.jpg d48f06163d883d9711b6e67cb7cb63b3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ronald Oakes collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs by Ronald Oakes, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and in the U.S. National Guard in the Iraq War. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968/2005 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/628">Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq war photographs (RHC-80)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Iraq War, 2003-2011 Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Veterans Photographs Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Relation A related resource Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-80 Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-80_Oakes-Vietnam-Scan-090618-0079 Title A name given to the resource The mountains of Laos Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 United States--History, Military Marine Corps Military life Soldiers Photographs Description An account of the resource The mountains of Laos are in the background and Oakes and a Forward Observer (FO) are directing artillery fire at suspected enemy concentration points along the Laotian border. This location is as far north and as far west as someone could go in South Vietnam. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Oakes, Ronald Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Ronald Oakes Vietnam and Iraq photographs (RHC-80) Veterans History Project interviews, RHC-27 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vietnam War Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1613aef8471d6e382f2914cfbf5e3d83.pdf fc53d89fd0328daf3ee1d1178d0c78de PDF Text Text Tl1e Musl~egon_ Jewi.-11 Con1n1unity s 1 * Drean1 Slzall Be Fulfilled "Happy ,m? drcy u·/10 J,,.c/1 in Tiry /,<,LISC; Tla•y arc f<,riv<'r praising Tl,cc." DECEMBER, 194=; * �A Vita/ ]eivis/1 Con11nunity Center . This Is The Drean1. of Every Group and Organization. There is no community in all western 1lichigan that is so clo ely knit as the Jewish Community of Greater 1lu kegon. From its people, leaders have emerged to interpret and stimulate the desires, hopes, dreams and a pirations of the community as a whole. A Jewish Center, a central meeting place for the joint and cooperative endeavors of all peoples of Muskegon is the dream of this community. A Center wherein the cultural, communal, ocial and spiritual life of the new ~luskegon . the Muskegon that ha grown so greatly in character and stature . . may be given full outlet and further encouragement. All of Greater ~Iuskegon will benefit by the erection of a Center that will encourage group interest and activate leadership in Jewish and Civic affair . pecifically ... the Center will have adequate facilitie for hou ing social, cultural and religious gatherings, both large and small. The e will include, among variou others, the Congregation, the Children's and the Adults' Religious School, the Sisterhood, the Brotherhood, the B'nai B'rith Lodge, the Hadassah, the United Jewi h Charities, and the Zioni h Organization. But beyond these, the Center will be available to various other civic group aml organizations. 1fie Center U'T;// Belong To You lfze Fu//;//mcnt Is Up To You! �This Jewish Center Will Provide Proper Space and Facilities For Your Spiritual, Cultural and Social Life And Will Be Situated To Best Serve and Represent The Entire Comn~unity. When this dream shall have been fulfilled, men, women and children will meet in prayer within the walls of its beautiful main chapel, with a normal first floor seating capacity for one hundred seventy persons. A flexible seat- 1 1 ing arrangement which includes a balcony will provide a maximum seating capacity of three hundred. As shown on the accompanying floor plans, the first floor also bas a social room or salon and a small chapel of proper atmosphere to serve the requirements of small groups on occasions of meetings for religious purposes. On the ground floor, part of the space is used for heating, ventilating and storage, leaving sufficient area for a complete modern kitchen which adjoins a large recreation room equipped with a stage and other necessary facilities for dinners, dances, or social affairs. In the other parts of the building, in addition to the Rabbi's study, there will be a library and three cheerful rooms having proper size and equipment to meet the Religious School requirements. and which are also planned to serve other useful purposes. The site selected for the Community Center is at the southwest corner of Fourth Street and ,Yebster Avenue Hackley Park. . . directly across from beautiful Here, ample parking facilities, too, are available. This location is truly the ideal choice ... with churches and such institutions as the Hackley Library, the Hackley Art Gallery, the Hackley School, lending } an air of culture to these surroundings. Easily reached by bus and but a l five minute walk from the downtown business district, the Muskegon Jewish Center will in reality be the Center of Muskegon's Jewish life. �FLOOR PLA 1rs T. KINOERGAP.TEN UPPER PART OF CH IP. C.H APE.I- CLASS RM. nn CLASS RM . SECOND COATS T Loe,e,y u. u. J FL00\2. PLAN J ~ ~~~~~~~rn~~ n FIRST 0 FLOO~ PLAN 10' SCALE KITC~EN??. NTP.Y I ~ECREATION e,01LER ROOM HALL Loe,e,y RAe,e,1'5 STUDY SEC. MEN T. CHAll1. 5T011,. T. WOMEN COATS GROUND !=LO012. PLAN �How I~ Thi::- Dreain To Be Realizu.l, and When? Thi will b determin d by your further contribution . plendid tart ha b en made ... and now ... to bring thi · dream to full realization ... you are a ked to make an additional contribution according to your mean. and capacity. The benefit· you will derive out of your contribution cannot be m asured in dollars and cents. It will be an inve tment r turned many time ov r . . . to you . . . to your children and their children. \\ hether your contribution be great or small . . . one day you will know that you have done your . hare ... that your children ·hall proudly read your name among tho ·e which will be inscrib d on a bronze tablet a having made the 'enter pos ·ible. The an wer is for you to upply. If you re pond now ... if you make a. generou a contribution a you can po.· ibly make, and make it at once ... then, upon completion of the archit ct' ba ment will be completed and th final plan· and ·p ification , the balance of the building will go on un- int rrupted until there will ari. e thi: magnificent edifice . . . :\Iu kegon' Jewish Cent r. And, itting within the wall of its beautiful chapel on Rosh Ha.honah, 5707 (1946), you will .ay, 'I helped build it, -and it i our." ay Do It // You Beli~i·c It an Par ft and Your Dream /,a// Be Pu//;//ed. �Officers ... Members o/ T/1e Board o/ Trustees . . . Committees OFFICERS President ...... . .............. . .. ... . . ........................... .. Leo S. Rosen Vice-President .......... . ...... . . . ... ... .. . . . . . . . ...... . ..... . ... J . M. Kaufman Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Lawson Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fred Rod off MEMBERS OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES Harold Rosen Harold Silverman Sol Silverman Fred Stein Joseph Strifling Abe Ashendorf Maurice Golden Sam Klayf Chas. Locke Sam Price Paul Wiener ADVISORY TRUSTEES Harry Fisher Marian Fisher Herman Grossman Sadie Grossman Ely Smith Francis August Jean Berman Harry S. Berman Ruben Berman Hortense Berman COMMITTEES BUILDIN G C OMMITTEE - Co-CHAIRMEN J. M. Kaufman Harold Rosen BANQUET PROM OTION AND STEERING COMMITTEE Maurice Golden-Chairman Louis Berman Hy Braverman Francis Fine Dr. Martin Friedenberg Ed. Krause Dr. Phillip Miller Ted Neumar Sam Rosenbaum Rabbi Louis Satlow Fred Stein BANQUET MENU COMMITTEE BANQUET MUSIC COMMITTEE Sam Rosenbaum-Chairman Joe Aron-Chairman BANQUET FLORAL DECORATIONS BANQUET GUESTS COMMITTEE Lillian Kaufman-Chairman Jerome Fisher-Chairman � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Temple B'nai Israel Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Temple B'nai Israel (Muskegon, Mich.) Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs, scrapbooks, programs, minutes, and other records of the Temple B'nai Israel in Muskegon, Michigan. The collection was created as part of the L'dor V'dor project directed by Dr. Marilyn Preston, and was supported by grants from the Kutsche Office of Local History and Michigan Humanities Council. Original materials were digitized by the University Libraries and returned to the synagogue. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital objects were contributed by Temple B'nai Israel as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Scrapbooks Synagogues Women--Societies and clubs Minutes (Records) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Preston, Marilyn Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Text Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Circa 1920s-2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08_Muskegan_Jewish_Community_Dream_1945 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource B'nai Israel Temple Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945-12 Title A name given to the resource The Muskegon Jewish Community's Dream Shall Be Fulfilled Description An account of the resource Pamphlet asking for contributions to go to the construction of the Temple B'nai Israel. Also includes building floor plans, officers and committees in charge of effort. Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Synagogue fund raising Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by the B'nai Israel Temple as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fcca86cb97c87590a1b1c0990ef31272.jpg 50d904704c08c08cac6ec63171f10bd1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PS1284 .M9 1899a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0208 Title A name given to the resource The Mystery of Choice Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Decorative Designers (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of The Mystery of Choice, by Robert W. Chambers, published by D. Appleton and Co., c.1899. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1899 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b509f87f3a249545eb9939635bffa870.mp3 c1a8f4163a9267465eb4c6f88ed41653 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lent I Series The Human Face of God Scripture Text II Corinthians 5:19 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19870308 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987-03-08 Title A name given to the resource The Mystery of Salvation: God Was in Christ Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 8, 1987 entitled "The Mystery of Salvation: God Was in Christ", as part of the series "The Human Face of God", on the occasion of Lent I, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: II Corinthians 5:19. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cc5a17acfe8b56b1f64ca99387388081.pdf c0d80f13083483ae20aeb840c0e197c7 PDF Text Text The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness From the sermon series on the Book of Job Text: Job 13:15, in four translations Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XII, August 14, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "He may kill me, but I won't stop; I will speak the truth to his face, Translation by Stephen Mitchell "He may slay me, I'll not quaver. I will defend my conduct to his face." Translation by Marvin Pope "If he would slay me, I should not hesitate; I should still argue my cause to his face." New English Bible "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him: But I will maintain my own ways before him." King James   I find it is not so easy to bring Job to a conclusion. I struggled in the last service and am very thankful I don't have such a long struggle this time. I have four manuscripts in various stages of completion, and had to finally quit and say, "So, what's the bottom line?" The last word of Job must be this, I believe, "There is a Mystery of Suffering, in the midst of which we must dare to trust God, even in suffering’s darkest days." In his poem, the author of Job makes it eloquently clear that the innocent suffer, that the kind of world that we live in is a world where cancer strikes "willy-nilly," blood clots form, loved ones are ripped from our lives, and sometimes the wicked prosper and the innocent suffer. The word last week, the voice from the whirlwind, was God's defense against Job's accusation, which comes to expression in the text of the morning, "He may kill me, but I'll not quaver." Job was absolutely convinced that the conventional wisdom was wrong. He was so convinced that the religious establishment didn't have it right, that he was willing to stand with his fist raised to heaven. There were moments of deep pathos when we felt Job reaching out. "Oh that I knew where I might find him," says Job, because he was convinced that he had a case to make. Ironically, Job in some ways still shared the erroneous conventional wisdom of his friends. Job still felt that somehow or other God sent that suffering. And if God sent that suffering, God was unjust, for in his case, God was in the wrong. Job cried out to heaven © Grand Valley State University   �The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness Richard A. Rhem Page 2   and said, "If it takes my life, I'm going to state my case." Well, God showed up, as we noted last week, and out of the whirlwind Job was given a panoramic view of cosmic reality and it literally blew him away. He said, "Well, I knew God is big. I never denied that. I knew if I ever did get my opportunity to state my case I'd probably have no chance against God so now I will be silent." But he was still thinking the same way. Once again the voice sounds and God says, "Job, come on and take my place. What would you do if you were God for a day? Because you see, Job, the issue is not whether or not I have absolute power. The issue is: What does one with absolute power do in a world where there are other values as well, values that I have woven into the fabric of creation—freedom of choice, moral choice, spontaneously offered worship, virtue done for its own sake? How does one guard those values in a cosmos like this as one seeks to manage the world, even if one be God?" God is saying, it seems to me, "The world is not perfect, it is a world where cancer strikes, a world where people die, it is a world where darkness can be oh, so dark, but I, God, given the values to which I am committed and the created order I am weaving together – I, God, am doing the best I can do." Well, where does that leave us? Is that a God in which you can find comfort and security? It certainly isn't the traditional view of God that we have been nurtured on, is it? The traditional view of God that we've been nurtured on is a God of the omni's: omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, knowing all, present everywhere, all powerful, able to do all. Some of us, at least, who have come out of the Reformed tradition have had that large word "predestination" hovering over us throughout all of our days; that is, that all things ultimately are predetermined, that there is a predestinating will of God that determines all that happens. I heard a delightful story the other evening. It was a family story about a young man courting a young lady whose father was a sturdy Christian, of strong persuasion that predestination is indeed the rule, and that God indeed determines all that happens. As they were walking the back 40 acres, a donkey happened to bray and the young man, the interlocutor, said, "You mean at 3:00 in the afternoon on this given date, God determined that that donkey should bray?" The old man said, "Absolutely. My God is a God that makes it so that whatever is going to happen is going to happen, whether it happens or not." (Laughter) Now, Yogi Berra would have been proud to have said that, wouldn't he? If you think about it, "whatever is going to happen is going to happen whether it happens or not," now that's a muscular God, that's a macho God, that's a no nonsense God, that's a God in control. If we want anything, we want God in control, and understandably so. We don't want to be orphans in a pathless wilderness leading nowhere. We don't want to feel abandoned and alone on this spinning mud-heap. But if I hear the voice from the whirlwind correctly, then that old classic idea of God of the omni's is flawed. In the light of what we know about cosmic reality, if we know anything about our world, the cosmos, we know there is a kind of randomness about it. There is an unpredictability, there is the Huizenberg second law of thermo dynamics (which of course, you all © Grand Valley State University �The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness Richard A. Rhem Page 3   understand), a law that on the one hand was able to open a cause and effect universe that had no room for miracle or eruption of the new, but on the other hand shows us that this cosmos is so much more mysterious than we ever dreamed of. Perhaps the people today, who stand in the greatest awe, are the physicists who study the mystery of the universe and are continually mystified at ever deepening reality. So, the God of the whirlwind is a God who suggests that, while this is not a perfect world, God is nonetheless engaged in moving it in that direction, and invites us who are created in the image of God to grow up and to become mature and to join our shoulders to the task as well. It is not so much that I look at God in my pain and say, "Why are you doing this to me?" But rather, I sense the presence of God with me in the midst of the darkness, moving toward the Light. What I really need to know, I think, is what Job needed to know. He longed not to receive a logical and rational answer to the mystery of suffering, but to know that there was someone who would show up, that there was a Voice, that there was Someone engaged and involved. When Job saw that, Job said, "I didn't know. I didn't understand. I didn't realize." If we're honest, I think we would all have to own the fact that we would love to have God simply a littler larger than our parents, a divine parent, someone who could make it all right, someone who could fix it all, soothe it all, salve the wounds. Friends, it isn't so. You know it isn't so. If in that old classic idea of God where God is throwing all the switches and pulling all the strings, there is an awful lot of darkness and pain and horror in this world that then has to be attributed to God. It won't do simply to say that all the darkness and the pain and the horror of the world is the consequence of human sin and rebellion. There is a grand residue of darkness for which there is no explanation, and for which there seems to be no meaning and no purpose. There is a contemporary school of theology that has been very helpful to me. It's called "Process Theology," which does not deny God's ultimate power and purpose, rather sees God neither aloof nor pulling the strings, but rather a God who is in there with us, a fellow traveler, a fellow struggler, a fellow sufferer, One who has invited us to join in the creative purposes that would move reality toward the realization of love and mercy and justice. The vision of Shalom, that beautiful word, which we translate as "peace," is more than peace. It is a vision of the total harmony of things. If I understand the God who speaks through the whirlwind, if I understand the message of the poet-Job, there is a picture there of a God, who, in the midst of this cosmic reality, is far beyond our ability even to conceive. It is a vision of a God who is engaged in the movement toward wholeness and toward Shalom, and invites us to become one with God and the establishment of justice, and the doing of mercy, and the building of community for the purpose of Shalom. A God like that I can trust in the darkness, a God who is for us. © Grand Valley State University �The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness Richard A. Rhem Page 4   This was Paul's conviction. "What can separate us from the love of Christ, famine or nakedness or peril or sword? Know in all things that we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that there is no angel or principality or power or thing in the heights or the depths, nothing in all creation that can ever separate us from the love of God, in Christ Jesus our Lord." That God I can trust in the darkness, believing that God is for us, that God's purposes of love are for wholeness and health and Shalom, and that God is doing all God can do. Given not only God's absolute power, but also God's absolute commitment to our human freedom and our moral choice, and the universe in which there is elbowroom for the reality and authenticity of a human creature living in the image of God. A God like that I can trust. Ironically, the religious always try to protect God and to blunt human responsibility. So that as you read the citation of William Safire in the bulletin states, the translation of Job 13:15, is not as we read it this morning as it is accurately translated, "Though he killed me, yet I will not quaver," but rather the mistranslation of, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him." This translation plays down the darkness and blunts the edge of Job's charge. But ironically the mistranslation may actually better articulate the bottom line in the book of Job. It is said, perhaps even better, in Psalm 23, by the Psalmist who had also struggled with the prosperity of the wicked and yet says, "Whom have I in heaven but Thee, there is none on earth that I desire beside thee." I like it better in the words of Habakkuk who struggled with the place of God in human events, who finally said, "Though there be no olive crop, though there be no cattle in the stall, though all be lost, yet I will rejoice in God, my Savior." There is that witness in our tradition. There is that Biblical witness that is able to say, "Nevertheless... Let it all be stripped away, nevertheless ... I will trust." That's where Job came to rest. And that's finally where Job would invite us to rest. As I said last week, the evidence is divided, the circumstances full of ambiguity. There is no simple and easy unraveling of the knot of the Mystery of human suffering. But, finally, the alternatives are embittered cynicism and cursing the darkness, or trust in God that will sustain one through hell itself— "Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him." © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8fd6010e9c25529043ffde293385aeb4.mp3 7317fab644e3402970396d5eb576e560 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XII Series The Job Series Scripture Text Job 13:15, Romans 8:39 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19940814 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-08-14 Title A name given to the resource The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 14, 1994 entitled "The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness", as part of the series "The Job Series", on the occasion of Pentecost XII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Job 13:15, Romans 8:39. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Hebrew Scriptures Meaning Nature of God Pentecost Presence Shalom Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dc9fb5ec87656c25a44f374a24718fea.pdf 5e804818a1b0ad975f077a7946500f15 PDF Text Text The Nature and Function of Religion From the 1999 Summer Lecture Series How My Mind Has Changed Richard A. Rhem Minister of Preaching and Theological Inquiry Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 13, 1999 Transcribed from the handwritten document As I have been brooding over the ways in which my mind has changed over the course of the last three decades, and especially in the decade of the 90s, I am aware that there has been a major shift in my understanding of the nature and function of religion - the subject of this second lecture. When I determined the four themes to be treated in this series, I was thinking in the broadest of categories that constitute my present understanding, this lecture being the broadest, leading then to how I understand the manifestation or revelation of the Sacred, the Holy, the Mystery we call God which has been articulated and expressed in the tradition in creedal formula, liturgical forms, progress, rituals and music, all of which has been institutionalized in ecclesiastical structures. That is the flow of my thinking as I have attempted to map out how my mind has changed and thereby to express where I find myself as a Christian, as a religious person. But, as I begin to articulate how I understand the nature and function of religion, I become aware that where I find myself is the consequence of several small steps taken as a consequence of a growing awareness that was emerging on the basis of ongoing study, reflection and experience. And that makes me aware that I might have structured this mind change series quite differently. I might have thought through the specific doctrinal formulations that came into conflict with my ongoing experience of being human and of dealing with others in the ambiguity of their lives, as well as simply living in the world with its social, economic, political and religious realities. I could then have dealt with those small steps, one by one, building the cumulative result into a new framework of understanding of religion and specifically, Christian faith. Such an approach would take a great deal of reflection, of reconstruction of how a doctrinal claim of the tradition began to be questioned or how some new insight that proved compelling conflicted with a traditional doctrinal formulation. What were the triggers of the smaller changes that eventuated in a wholesale revisioning of the tradition? © Grand Valley State University   �The Nature and Function of Religion Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Doctrinal systems are just that - systems. We speak thus of systematic theology that gathers biblical data and doctrinal statements into a coherent whole. One will usually begin the re-thinking process with specific questions to the tradition and there is certainly room for some adjustment within a systematic theology, but eventually, if the process of calling in question and reformulation continues, the system itself is broken and a revisioning occurs. I have chosen, for better or worse, to begin with the big picture – how my mind has changed on the nature and function of religion. But, in setting that revision forth, I will obviously make reference to those significant points of conflict and shifts in understanding that eventuated in my present perspective. The Nature of Religion The word religion derives from the Latin: religio from refigare, “to bind back;” re and tigare, “to bind, to bind together.” Among the dictionary’s several definitions, I find “a state of mind or way of life expressing love for and trust in God, and one’s will and effort to act according to the will of God ...,” and also, “any object of conscientious regard and pursuit.” In his classic study, The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James acknowledged a certain arbitrariness in the manner in which he would treat religion, defining it for his purposes as “The feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine.” Hendrikus Berkhof in his Christian Faith, described religion as “The relationship to the Absolute,” and amidst all the diversity of religious expression and content, Berkhof noted that nearly all religions have three elements: “The element of myth, teaching, or proclamation; a sacred rite or cult; and rules for moral conduct.” He goes on, The first concerns the manner in which the Absolute opens up, the second man’s immediate response, and the third the consequences of such knowledge and salvation for his everyday life. (p. 8) Some add a fourth element, Berkhof notes, “That of inner experience, the mystical component of religion.” William James was not interested in the established institutional forms and observances of the respective world religions, but rather, the immediate experience of the Holy, the Sacred, of God in personal experience. In making this point he describes, in contrast, the ordinary religious believer who follows the conventional observances of his country, whether it be Buddhist, Christian or Moslem. Of such a person, he writes, His religion has been made for him by others, communicated to him by tradition, determined to fixed forms by imitation, and retained by habit. (Varieties, p. 24) © Grand Valley State University �The Nature and Function of Religion Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Such conventional observance James calls “second-hand religious life.” That is a critical distinction which becomes obvious when we think about it, but still it is seldom recognized; the great world religions are institutionalized and regularized. There is a teaching, an observance, a way of life and the adherents of the respective religions receive all of this second-hand. It may or may not become the means by which and through which one has a first-hand religious experience. But, it is also obvious that the great religious traditions each had a beginning in some founding, first-hand experience, which then eventuated in the tradition, regularized and routinized. Where does the religious experience arise, an experience that is universally human? In his study, Enduring Issues in Religion, John Lyden writes, ... human experience seems to contain a religious dimension, however we may define that dimension. We cannot ignore the human desire to question our origins and our goals, the meaning and purpose of our existence, the reason for our lives. We strive for something more, even when we are unsure what it is. A mystery pervades our existence - a mystery we can approach through means such as faith, hope and courage. Some have said that no answer can be found to the mystery, for humans have created it and no suprahuman or supranatural answer exists. Perhaps we long for a purpose to our existence, hidden in some other plan of reality and flinch at the idea that there may be no such transcendent purpose. But, even if one chooses to see no purpose, one still acknowledges that the desire to find a purpose is part of human life. For better or worse, we almost instinctively seek meaning, and this is when we enter the religious realm. (p. 12f) Lyden points to what has been perhaps the critical issue regarding the phenomenon of religion: Is it the consequence of God, or the Sacred, or the Holy impressing itself upon the human consciousness, or is it a humanly created, humanly generated phenomenon having no counterpoint, no objective reality beyond the human who would then be simply projecting outward from inward consciousness a Being or Reality of its own creation? This question will need to be faced more in depth in the following lectures when we deal with the idea of revelation or manifestation. I point to it here, however, because this critical issue was raised by the German philosopher/theologian Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) who published in 1841 his The Essence of Christianity, in which he claimed religion was the result of human projection of an infinite, transcendent Being on the screen of reality. In an introductory essay to the Harper Torchbook edition (1957), Karl Barth wrote, © Grand Valley State University �The Nature and Function of Religion Richard A. Rhem Page 4   He [Feuerbach] only wants the honest confession that the alleged mystery of religion is of man: that man is dreaming when he imagines that a Something Other, objectively confronting him, is that ground, that whence, that necessity and that law; is the source from which his wishes and ideals flow, and is the sea of fulfillment toward which they tend. Man is dreaming instead of recognizing that it is his own being, his desire and duty to live as a man, which he, as a religious man, quite rightly equates with God. (p.xvi) Barth quotes Feuerbach thus: In religion man frees himself from the limitations of life; here he throws off what oppresses, impedes, or adversely affects him; God is man’s selfawareness, emancipated from all actuality; man feels himself free, happy, blessed only in his religion, because here only does he live in his true genius, here he celebrates his Sunday. In the opening chapter, “The Essential Nature of Man,” Feuerbach writes, Religion, being identical with the distinctive characteristic of man, is then identical with self-consciousness - with the consciousness which man has of his nature. But religion, expressed generally, is consciousness of the infinite, thus it is and can be nothing else than the consciousness which man has of his own - not finite and limited, but infinite nature. (p. 2) Under a section entitled “The Essence of Religion Considered Generally,” Feuerbach claims without qualification, Consciousness of God is self-consciousness; knowledge of God is selfknowledge. (p. 12) And further: Hence the historical progress of religion consists in this: that what by an earlier religion was regarded as objective, is now recognized as subjective; that is, what was formerly contemplated and worshiped as God is now perceived to be something human. (p. 13) One readily recognizes that these claims will have to be dealt with in the following lecture theme on revelation, scripture and tradition, but I set Feuerbach’s claims here in the discussion of the nature and function of religion because we are focusing on this human phenomenon and no one has pointed as clearly or described so acutely the human element in religion as Feuerbach. In his Does God Exist? (1978), Hans Küng gave extensive treatment to Feuerbach from whom he traced the whole development of modern atheism through Marx, Freud, and finally the nihilism of Nietzsche. He writes. © Grand Valley State University �The Nature and Function of Religion Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Even today - it is scarcely necessary to stress the fact - Feuerbach is anything but passé. From that time onward there has been no form of atheism that did not draw on Feuerbach’s arguments. Even today, then, we must ask seriously if Feuerbach’s critique of religion is not really justified. (p. 204) Feuerbach’s claim must be taken seriously, but Küng’s critique is certainly valid. Even if we grant that there is a good deal of projection in the practice of religion and if we grant that religion is a human phenomenon, that does not establish the non-existence of God. Küng grants the possibility of Feuerbach’s contention: For why should it not be possible for our consciousness, knowledge, aspiration to be oriented to nothing, to a sham and not to a real infinite? Certainly the intention and infinity of our consciousness is still no proof of the existence of an infinite reality independent of our consciousness? (p. 205) However, Küng continues, though this was Feuerbach’s claim, he never proved it. The question must in fact remain open. The only conclusion that logically follows from Feuerbach’s argument is that the orientation of human consciousness toward an infinite does not provide any evidence of the existence or non-existence of an infinite reality independent of our consciousness. (p. 206) I find it fascinating to trace the course of this question from Feuerbach through Karl Barth to the present represented in the work of Gordon Kaufman, recently retired from Harvard. Barth claimed the roots of Feuerbach can be traced to Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834), who published in 1799 his famous lectures On Religion- Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers. In the Forward to a 1994 edition, Jack Forstman wrote of this work that, in it, Schleiermacher had …presented an utterly fresh understanding of religion. It was, of course, not without points of contact in the past, but Schleiermacher’s presentation stood in bold contrast with the views that were prevalent in that time (dogmatic orthodoxy, speculative neology, enlightened “natural religion,” and Pietism). Second, he set forth a view of religion that was in principle free from reliance on authority. Third, he described religion as belonging essentially to the human sphere and thus as essentially limited. Truly religious people are never able to claim that they possess the truth as such, and in its entirety. Fourth, his approach to religion was descriptive and analytical... he tried to “display” what actually constitutes religion. Finally, he tried to show that religion is inevitably social and thus always has a definite form... (p. ix,f) © Grand Valley State University �The Nature and Function of Religion Richard A. Rhem Page 6   In the highly educated, highly cultured Berlin society, Schleiermacher was attempting to make the case for the reality and authenticity of religion and religious observance. The “climate of opinion” disallowed appeal to an authoritarian base or dogmatic formulations of the past. His only alternative in that context was to find a new foundation for religion and he found that new foundation in human nature itself in the “feeling of absolute dependence.” The common element in all howsoever diverse expressions of piety, by which there are conjointly distinguished from all other feelings, or, in other words, the self-identical essence of piety, is this: The consciousness of being absolutely dependent, or, which is the same thing, of being in relation with God. In attributing religion to the feeling of absolute dependence, Schleiermacher was rooting religious life in the human subject, although he was in no sense denying the reality of God. It was God who created the feeling within the human that pointed him or her to such dependence. In placing the root of religion in the human, however, Barth claimed Schleiermacher transformed theology into anthropology. Küng following Barth raised the question: Was Feuerbach not right to see his philosophy as the end phase of a Protestant theology that -as he thought- long before his time had become an anthropology so that he needed only to understand and appropriate its real intentions? Does not the danger become apparent at this point of a theology in Schleiermacher’s style which makes the reality of God dependent on the religious experience and emotional needs of the devout human subject? But is not the danger also evident of a contemporary “political theology” which reduces theology to a “critical theory of history” or of “society”? Is it not clear at this point how close we are to atheism if we do not distinguish between theological and anthropological propositions, if we identify man’s interest with God’s, if we one-sidedly stress God’s nonobjectivity, almost see God as absorbed in our neighbor and the mystery of being, simply as the mystery of love? (p. 214) Küng quotes Feuerbach as declaring unambiguously, My atheism [is] merely the unconscious and actual atheism of modern humanity and science, made conscious, untwisted and openly declared. (p. 211) Karl Barth had respect for Feuerbach, for his passion, his clarity of understanding what he was doing. Barth saw him and his views as the inevitable end to which beginning to talk of God by talking about humanity must lead. Barth’s great reversal of 19th century liberalism, which had been fathered by Schleiermacher and had developed throughout the 19th century in Continental theology, especially in Germany, was the total rejection of beginning with the human © Grand Valley State University �The Nature and Function of Religion Richard A. Rhem Page 7   subject. Barth begins with God, the “Wholly Other” who encounters the human in the Word, a word of judgment and grace. I cannot go into this further except to say that Barth’s strong emphasis on God’s revelation - the word that came “vertically from above” and contradicts humanity was the needed proclamation in post-World War I Europe as the demonic National Socialism was on the rise in Germany. Eventually, however, even his younger admirer and colleague, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, criticized Barth’s theology as marked by “the positivism of revelation.” References: Ludwig Feuerbach. The Essence of Religion. Prometheus Books, 2004. William James. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study of Human Nature. (First published 1902) Create Space Indep. Publishers, 2009. Hans Küng. Does God Exist?: An Answer for Today. (Originally published 1978) Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2006. John Lyden. Enduring Issues in Religion: Opposing Viewpoints. Greenhaven Press, 1994. Friedrich Schleiermacher. On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers. (originally published 1797); Nabu Press, 2010. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/df8c8cc109f896d4156fa63c08482cd4.pdf da03f1427b93014baedcbb583fe82d24 PDF Text Text The Nature and Function of Religion From the Summer 1999 Lecture Series How My Mind Has Changed Richard A. Rhem Minister of Preaching and Theological Inquiry Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 13, 1999 Prepared Text As I have been brooding over the ways in which my mind has changed over the course of the last three decades, and especially in the decade of the 90s, I am aware that there has been a major shift in my understanding of the nature and function of religion - the subject of this second lecture. When I determined the four themes to be treated in this series, I was thinking in the broadest of categories that constitute my present understanding, this lecture being the broadest, leading then to how I understand the manifestation or revelation of the Sacred, the Holy, the Mystery we call God which has been articulated and expressed in the tradition in creedal formula, liturgical forms, progress, rituals and music, all of which has been institutionalized in ecclesiastical structures. That is the flow of my thinking as I have attempted to map out how my mind has changed and thereby to express where I find myself as a Christian, as a religious person. But, as I begin to articulate how I understand the nature and function of religion, I become aware that where I find myself is the consequence of several small steps taken as a consequence of a growing awareness that was emerging on the basis of ongoing study, reflection and experience. And that makes me aware that I might have structured this mind change series quite differently. I might have thought through the specific doctrinal formulations that came into conflict with my ongoing experience of being human and of dealing with others in the ambiguity of their lives, as well as simply living in the world with its social, economic, political and religious realities. I could then have dealt with those small steps, one by one, building the cumulative result into a new framework of understanding of religion and specifically, Christian faith. Such an approach would take a great deal of reflection, of reconstruction of how a doctrinal claim of the tradition began to be questioned or how some new insight that proved compelling conflicted with a traditional doctrinal formulation. What were the triggers of the smaller changes that eventuated in a wholesale revisioning of the tradition? © Grand Valley State University   �The Nature and Function of Religion Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Doctrinal systems are just that - systems. We speak thus of systematic theology that gathers biblical data and doctrinal statements into a coherent whole. One will usually begin the re-thinking process with specific questions to the tradition and there is certainly room for some adjustment within a systematic theology, but eventually, if the process of calling in question and reformulation continues, the system itself is broken and a revisioning occurs. I have chosen, for better or worse, to begin with the big picture – how my mind has changed on the nature and function of religion. But, in setting that revision forth, I will obviously make reference to those significant points of conflict and shifts in understanding that eventuated in my present perspective. The Nature of Religion The word religion derives from the Latin: religio from refigare, “to bind back;” re and tigare, “to bind, to bind together.” Among the dictionary’s several definitions, I find “a state of mind or way of life expressing love for and trust in God, and one’s will and effort to act according to the will of God ...,” and also, “any object of conscientious regard and pursuit.” In his classic study, The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James acknowledged a certain arbitrariness in the manner in which he would treat religion, defining it for his purposes as “The feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine.” Hendrikus Berkhof in his Christian Faith, described religion as “The relationship to the Absolute,” and amidst all the diversity of religious expression and content, Berkhof noted that nearly all religions have three elements: “The element of myth, teaching, or proclamation; a sacred rite or cult; and rules for moral conduct.” He goes on, The first concerns the manner in which the Absolute opens up, the second man’s immediate response, and the third the consequences of such knowledge and salvation for his everyday life. (p. 8) Some add a fourth element, Berkhof notes, “That of inner experience, the mystical component of religion.” William James was not interested in the established institutional forms and observances of the respective world religions, but rather, the immediate experience of the Holy, the Sacred, of God in personal experience. In making this point he describes, in contrast, the ordinary religious believer who follows the conventional observances of his country, whether it be Buddhist, Christian or Moslem. Of such a person, he writes, His religion has been made for him by others, communicated to him by tradition, determined to fixed forms by imitation, and retained by habit. (Varieties, p. 24) © Grand Valley State University �The Nature and Function of Religion Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Such conventional observance James calls “second-hand religious life.” That is a critical distinction which becomes obvious when we think about it, but still it is seldom recognized; the great world religions are institutionalized and regularized. There is a teaching, an observance, a way of life and the adherents of the respective religions receive all of this second-hand. It may or may not become the means by which and through which one has a first-hand religious experience. But, it is also obvious that the great religious traditions each had a beginning in some founding, first-hand experience, which then eventuated in the tradition, regularized and routinized. Where does the religious experience arise, an experience that is universally human? In his study, Enduring Issues in Religion, John Lyden writes, ... human experience seems to contain a religious dimension, however we may define that dimension. We cannot ignore the human desire to question our origins and our goals, the meaning and purpose of our existence, the reason for our lives. We strive for something more, even when we are unsure what it is. A mystery pervades our existence - a mystery we can approach through means such as faith, hope and courage. Some have said that no answer can be found to the mystery, for humans have created it and no suprahuman or supranatural answer exists. Perhaps we long for a purpose to our existence, hidden in some other plan of reality and flinch at the idea that there may be no such transcendent purpose. But, even if one chooses to see no purpose, one still acknowledges that the desire to find a purpose is part of human life. For better or worse, we almost instinctively seek meaning, and this is when we enter the religious realm. (p. 12f) Lyden points to what has been perhaps the critical issue regarding the phenomenon of religion: Is it the consequence of God, or the Sacred, or the Holy impressing itself upon the human consciousness, or is it a humanly created, humanly generated phenomenon having no counterpoint, no objective reality beyond the human who would then be simply projecting outward from inward consciousness a Being or Reality of its own creation? This question will need to be faced more in depth in the following lectures when we deal with the idea of revelation or manifestation. I point to it here, however, because this critical issue was raised by the German philosopher/theologian Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) who published in 1841 his The Essence of Christianity, in which he claimed religion was the result of human projection of an infinite, transcendent Being on the screen of reality. In an introductory essay to the Harper Torchbook edition (1957), Karl Barth wrote, © Grand Valley State University �The Nature and Function of Religion Richard A. Rhem Page 4   He [Feuerbach] only wants the honest confession that the alleged mystery of religion is of man: that man is dreaming when he imagines that a Something Other, objectively confronting him, is that ground, that whence, that necessity and that law; is the source from which his wishes and ideals flow, and is the sea of fulfillment toward which they tend. Man is dreaming instead of recognizing that it is his own being, his desire and duty to live as a man, which he, as a religious man, quite rightly equates with God. (p.xvi) Barth quotes Feuerbach thus: In religion man frees himself from the limitations of life; here he throws off what oppresses, impedes, or adversely affects him; God is man’s selfawareness, emancipated from all actuality; man feels himself free, happy, blessed only in his religion, because here only does he live in his true genius, here he celebrates his Sunday. In the opening chapter, “The Essential Nature of Man,” Feuerbach writes, Religion, being identical with the distinctive characteristic of man, is then identical with self-consciousness - with the consciousness which man has of his nature. But religion, expressed generally, is consciousness of the infinite, thus it is and can be nothing else than the consciousness which man has of his own - not finite and limited, but infinite nature. (p. 2) Under a section entitled “The Essence of Religion Considered Generally,” Feuerbach claims without qualification, Consciousness of God is self-consciousness; knowledge of God is selfknowledge. (p. 12) And further: Hence the historical progress of religion consists in this: that what by an earlier religion was regarded as objective, is now recognized as subjective; that is, what was formerly contemplated and worshiped as God is now perceived to be something human. (p. 13) One readily recognizes that these claims will have to be dealt with in the following lecture theme on revelation, scripture and tradition, but I set Feuerbach’s claims here in the discussion of the nature and function of religion because we are focusing on this human phenomenon and no one has pointed as clearly or described so acutely the human element in religion as Feuerbach. In his Does God Exist? (1978), Hans Küng gave extensive treatment to Feuerbach from whom he traced the whole development of modern atheism through Marx, Freud, and finally the nihilism of Nietzsche. He writes. © Grand Valley State University �The Nature and Function of Religion Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Even today - it is scarcely necessary to stress the fact - Feuerbach is anything but passé. From that time onward there has been no form of atheism that did not draw on Feuerbach’s arguments. Even today, then, we must ask seriously if Feuerbach’s critique of religion is not really justified. (p. 204) Feuerbach’s claim must be taken seriously, but Küng’s critique is certainly valid. Even if we grant that there is a good deal of projection in the practice of religion and if we grant that religion is a human phenomenon, that does not establish the non-existence of God. Küng grants the possibility of Feuerbach’s contention: For why should it not be possible for our consciousness, knowledge, aspiration to be oriented to nothing, to a sham and not to a real infinite? Certainly the intention and infinity of our consciousness is still no proof of the existence of an infinite reality independent of our consciousness? (p. 205) However, Küng continues, though this was Feuerbach’s claim, he never proved it. The question must in fact remain open. The only conclusion that logically follows from Feuerbach’s argument is that the orientation of human consciousness toward an infinite does not provide any evidence of the existence or non-existence of an infinite reality independent of our consciousness. (p. 206) I find it fascinating to trace the course of this question from Feuerbach through Karl Barth to the present represented in the work of Gordon Kaufman, recently retired from Harvard. Barth claimed the roots of Feuerbach can be traced to Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834), who published in 1799 his famous lectures On Religion- Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers. In the Forward to a 1994 edition, Jack Forstman wrote of this work that, in it, Schleiermacher had …presented an utterly fresh understanding of religion. It was, of course, not without points of contact in the past, but Schleiermacher’s presentation stood in bold contrast with the views that were prevalent in that time (dogmatic orthodoxy, speculative neology, enlightened “natural religion,” and Pietism). Second, he set forth a view of religion that was in principle free from reliance on authority. Third, he described religion as belonging essentially to the human sphere and thus as essentially limited. Truly religious people are never able to claim that they possess the truth as such, and in its entirety. Fourth, his approach to religion was descriptive and analytical... he tried to “display” what actually constitutes religion. Finally, he tried to show that religion is inevitably social and thus always has a definite form... (p. ix,f) © Grand Valley State University �The Nature and Function of Religion Richard A. Rhem Page 6   In the highly educated, highly cultured Berlin society, Schleiermacher was attempting to make the case for the reality and authenticity of religion and religious observance. The “climate of opinion” disallowed appeal to an authoritarian base or dogmatic formulations of the past. His only alternative in that context was to find a new foundation for religion and he found that new foundation in human nature itself in the “feeling of absolute dependence.” The common element in all howsoever diverse expressions of piety, by which there are conjointly distinguished from all other feelings, or, in other words, the self-identical essence of piety, is this: The consciousness of being absolutely dependent, or, which is the same thing, of being in relation with God. In attributing religion to the feeling of absolute dependence, Schleiermacher was rooting religious life in the human subject, although he was in no sense denying the reality of God. It was God who created the feeling within the human that pointed him or her to such dependence. In placing the root of religion in the human, however, Barth claimed Schleiermacher transformed theology into anthropology. Küng following Barth raised the question: Was Feuerbach not right to see his philosophy as the end phase of a Protestant theology that -as he thought- long before his time had become an anthropology so that he needed only to understand and appropriate its real intentions? Does not the danger become apparent at this point of a theology in Schleiermacher’s style which makes the reality of God dependent on the religious experience and emotional needs of the devout human subject? But is not the danger also evident of a contemporary “political theology” which reduces theology to a “critical theory of history” or of “society”? Is it not clear at this point how close we are to atheism if we do not distinguish between theological and anthropological propositions, if we identify man’s interest with God’s, if we one-sidedly stress God’s nonobjectivity, almost see God as absorbed in our neighbor and the mystery of being, simply as the mystery of love? (p. 214) Küng quotes Feuerbach as declaring unambiguously, My atheism [is] merely the unconscious and actual atheism of modern humanity and science, made conscious, untwisted and openly declared. (p. 211) Karl Barth had respect for Feuerbach, for his passion, his clarity of understanding what he was doing. Barth saw him and his views as the inevitable end to which beginning to talk of God by talking about humanity must lead. Barth’s great reversal of 19th century liberalism, which had been fathered by Schleiermacher and had developed throughout the 19th century in Continental theology, especially in Germany, was the total rejection of beginning with the human © Grand Valley State University �The Nature and Function of Religion Richard A. Rhem Page 7   subject. Barth begins with God, the “Wholly Other” who encounters the human in the Word, a word of judgment and grace. I cannot go into this further except to say that Barth’s strong emphasis on God’s revelation - the word that came “vertically from above” and contradicts humanity was the needed proclamation in post-World War I Europe as the demonic National Socialism was on the rise in Germany. Eventually, however, even his younger admirer and colleague, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, criticized Barth’s theology as marked by “the positivism of revelation.” References: Ludwig Feuerbach. The Essence of Religion. Prometheus Books, 2004. William James. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study of Human Nature. (First published 1902) Create Space Indep. Publishers, 2009. Hans Küng. Does God Exist?: An Answer for Today. (Originally published 1978) Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2006. John Lyden. Enduring Issues in Religion: Opposing Viewpoints. Greenhaven Press, 1994. Friedrich Schleiermacher. On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers. (originally published 1797); Nabu Press, 2010. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/51fac5a1a31b44cdfb78dbf02e610fb4.mp3 b5c128296a32aba34019c52cfadcc852 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Series Summer Lecture Series: How My Mind Has Changed, #2 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References William James. The Varieties of Religious Experience, 1902, 2009, Ludwig Feuerbach. The Essence of Religion, 2004, Hans Hans Küng. Does God Exist?, 1978,2006, John Lyden. Enduring Issues in Religion,1994 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RA-3-19990713 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-07-13 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Title A name given to the resource The Nature and Function of Religion Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource Talk created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 13, 1999 entitled "The Nature and Function of Religion", as part of the series "Summer Lecture Series: How My Mind Has Changed, #2", at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Tags: Nature of Religion, Reimagining the Faith, Spiritual Quest. Scripture references: William James. The Varieties of Religious Experience, 1902, 2009, Ludwig Feuerbach. The Essence of Religion, 2004, Hans Hans Küng. Does God Exist?, 1978,2006, John Lyden. Enduring Issues in Religion,1994 Nature of Religion Reimagining the Faith Spiritual Quest https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9e42f5af5a740c78b9b9238a41e16b0f.pdf 6ecb36735f6544910fb93c29aa0a5100 PDF Text Text Prof. Baum & Prof. deYoung HP 231 Fall, 1990 "Conflict and Cooperation in Society" THE NAZI HOLOCAUST AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES Books required for the course: Raul Hilberg, The Destruction of the European Jews Eli Wiesel, Night Philip Hallie, Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed Joel Dimsdale, Survivors, Victims and Perpetrators (Syllabus revised by William Baum, August 1990.) Because this course is so unusual, some comments are called for at the beginning. This course came about as a result of work begun several years ago by a committee working to develop a high quality and highly interdisciplinary course in the social sciences. We hereby acknowledge our gratitude to Dean Tony Travis for his moral and financial support of this endeavor. Professor Baum originally assumed the task of organizing the course and continues to do so. In the five years that this course has been offered, he has been helped in many ways by many people. Above all, special gratitude is expressed to Professors Joanisse and deYoung and the guests who serve as witness to the Nazi Holocaust and suffer unbelievable memories and pain in doing so. These guests, colleagues and a growing literature remind us that all social phenomena is lived and interpreted at the 'level of daily life.' The ability to generalize is a hallmark of any science, and it is possible to make some 1 �valid generalizations about human behavior during the Holocaust. However, we must guard against excessive generalization. As the works of Allen, Henry, Levi, Peukert and the many diaries cited below indicate so clearly, every life has its own story to tell and the story is almost always one of the fragility and malleability of most every human and most every human situation. He [man] has the capacity to veer with every wind, or, stubbornly, to insert himself into some fantastically elaborated and irrational social institution only to perish with it. [For man] is a fickle, erratic, dangerous creature [whose] restless mind would try all paths, all horrors, all betrayals ... believe all things and believe nothing ... kill for shadowy ideas more ferociously than other creatures kill for food, then, in a generation or less, forget what bloody dream had so oppressed him. Loren Eiseley The subject matter of this course deserves special comment. The committee established in 1985 to develop a high quality interdisciplinary course in the social sciences needed a good case study in order to hold it together. Inevitably (at least it now seems so), we came to focus on the Holocaust - the systematic murder of European Jews and certain other groups by the Nazis during World War II. As horrible as this catastrophe is to study and contemplate, it does provide an e x cellent opportunity to consider human 2 �behavior i n a wide range of contexts. We are forced to confront the following basic set of questions. How could the people of Germany - the nation of Bach and Kant - become deeply involved in the extermination of some 6 million Jews and Gypsies (and others) whose alleged crime was that they belonged to an "inferior race"? How could Germans beat and kick old women, even young children and babies and then gas them before throwing them into the large ovens of the infamous death camps? How could the "Nazi doctors" deliberately break the bones of little children so that they could "study" the healing process? confront the question: In short, we must how and why could humans do these things to other humans? If you are thinking as you read this that only very sick humans are capable of doing these things and that everyone involved in the killing process was psychopathic, you will confront some shocking evidence in this course. A great deal of evidence in the social sciences points to the fact that many or most of us would have been obedient Nazis if we had been there. One of the goals of the course is for you to learn how the structure and organization of modern bureaucracy and certain other groups can "assist" in the process of human destruction. We will also see the enormous role in this process played by such normal human behavior as denial, repression and "distancing". Another goal of the course is to stimulate an examination of ones' ownself. I think that it is virtually 3 �impossible to go through this course and not ask serious questions a b out who you are and what you are and what your ancestors have passed on to you in the way of religious beliefs - including prejudice and hatred. In case you are wondering, I am not Jewish. Christian. Nor am I (And I don't know enough to be an atheist). I am merely an American, of German-Irish-Scottish ancestry, who is both curious and troubled by what humans can do to other humans. (By the way, Professor deYoung is almost none of the above). Another very important goal of this course may be described as the hope that it may make you a more responsible citizen. What happened in Germany was due, in part, to the fact that not very many Germans did anything to oppose the Nazis. Even though we tend to think of Hitler as a crazed demon, there is much evidence that suggests that Nazi programs would have been abandoned or modified if Hitler had received more public opposition. Indeed, the so-called Euthanasia program - actually mass murder of persons physically or mentally disabled - which began in 1939 was at least officially modified when public reaction reached a high level by 1941. Although we haven't had a Holocaust in this country, we have many unsavory chapters in our history, including the systematic slavery of Blacks, the long standing mistreatment of Native Americans and the widespread prejudice toward Hispanic and Asian Americans (to name but some of the 4 �examples). Most of the examples of human destruction of other humans (herewith defining destruction to include enslaving and the denial of full legal rights) involves a racial component. Social scientists have come to recognize identifiable steps in a process from mere prejudice (I say "mere" because I accept the premise that prejudice cannot be eliminated) to legal discrimination, to segregation, to isolation, to concentration and subsequent destruction. Details will vary, but there is a recognizable process, whether in Nazi Germany or contemporary America. Recent outbreaks of hostility against Blacks and Asians on American campuses should be a clear warning to us all. We must never forget that there is more to education than merely acquiring knowledge. Knowledge by and of itself is not enough. Haim Ginott's challenge states it eloquently: On the first day in the new school year all the teachers in one private school received the following note from the principal: Dear Teachers: I am a survivor of a concentration camp. saw what no man should witness: My eyes Gas chambers built by learned engineers. Children poisoned by educated physicians. Infants killed by trained nurses. Women and babies shot and burned by high school and college graduates. So, I am suspicious of education. My request is that teachers help students become human. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, educated Eichmanns. Reading, writing, arithmetic are important only if 5 �they serve to make our children more humane. It is trying on us all to have such a grim subject matter. One can only hope that we learn and gain an understanding of the processes involved in human destruction . These processes, furthermore, are not unique to the Nazi Holocaust. It is estimated that in 1914, Turks killed or deported to the desert 2/3 of the estimated 1,800,000 Armenians of the Ottoman Empire. During the early l930's, Stalin embarked on a policy to totally collectivize Soviet peasant holdings. Moving against the peasants as a class which must c ollectivize, become urban workers or be exterminated, it is estimated that 15 to 22 million Russian peasants were killed through intentional mass starvation and other means. (In Marxist literature, belonging to a "wrong" class is tantamount to being a member of an inferior race). Instances of genocide in Asia are also documented. In such a morbid context, any relief is most welcome. The course is titled "conflict and cooperation" and we will deal with genuine instances of compassion and heroism ("cooperation" is hardly adequate here). In October we will consider the case of the French village - Le Chambon sur Lignon - and how goodness happened there. With great courage, the villagers saved as many as thousands of Jewish children and adults from certain death. Later in the month, you will be able to meet some people who risked their own lives and those of their children to save Jews. 6 �Finally, we come to the principle of "lest we forget". Many echo the words of Karl Jaspers who wrote of the Holocaust: "That which has happened is a warning. it is guilt. It must be continually remembered. To forget It was possible for this to happen, and it remains possible for it to happen again ... Only in knowledge can it be prevented." I do not share Jasper's implied optimism because people caught up in a chain of events seldom comprehend what is going on. For example, many Germans who profited from the closing of Jewish businesses and the expulsion of Jews from the professions in the l930's would have nevertheless insisted that they didn't want any killing going on. They would have been shocked beyond belief if anyone had pointed out to them what would follow within a few years. As we shall see throughout this course, humans are frequently caught up in a series of events that are really out of control - only they don't realize it at the time. The more I read and think about the contents of this course, the more I agree with Freud in his contention that the unconscious is more powerful than the conscious. We aren't in control as much as we would like to believe. But don't conclude that the Nazis are blameless. Furthermore, our heroic guests and the village of Le Chambon prove what human will and consciousness can produce. But it is important to honor the spirit of Jaspers and recognize the danger signs which indicate when a nation, or culture, has become sick and is on the road to destruction. 7 �A primary objective of this course is to indicate what these danger signs look like in real life. Grading Policies 1) Due to the unique nature of this course, including special guests and films, attendance is required. 2) A term paper of approximately 15 to 18 pages is required. The term paper will be worth approximately 1/3 of your grade. (See the section following this for more information about the term paper). 3) A final exam will count for approximately 1/3 of your grade. The remainder of your grade is to be made up of an early exam and a daily journal. In a course like this, a so-called "objective" exam is a poor measuring device. One can name dates and names but fail to understand the Nazi Holocaust. We do acknowledge that there are "levels" or degrees of understanding that tend to accumulate and can be assessed in a diary or journal. From t i me to time in the smaller discussion sections, we will exchange and discuss our insights. The journal is to be handed in near the end of the course. 4) There is a Holocaust Memorial Center in West Bloomfield, Michigan which you may want to visit. hours wi ll be announced). go there. (The fall visiting I strongly recommend that you You should reserve two hours for the visit. Go slowly and soak it up. It is an impressive museum! From Grand Rapids take I-96 east to I-696. 8 Exit at �Telegraph Road and go north to Maple Road. Turn left on Maple Road and head west to Drake Road (past Orchard Lake Road and Farmington Road). The museum is at the corner of Maple and Drake, 6602 W. Maple. earned by visiting the museum. Extra credit can be The museum also has a library which you may want to use in connection with your term paper. They have many rare and special books there. Before going there you are advised to call the center at (313) 6 6 1-0840 for information. You may also earn additional credit by seeing an important movie/documentary like Shoah. Please comment on such special events in your journal. The Term Paper Each student is expected to write a term paper. The term paper is to be written after consultation with the appropriate faculty member and handed in before the Thanksgiving break. The professors may select the best term papers from each section and invite the students to present them to the larger group late in the semester. Last fall we learned that writing a good term paper is one thing, while writing a good term paper in social science is quite another. the SS. For example, one student wrote a paper en The paper was well-written, reflected careful research and told a great deal about the origin and evolution of the ss. But it wasn't a good social science term paper because it told us little about human behavior. 9 It would �have been both important and interesting to know the class origins of SS recruits, personality traits of the recruits, what the training program was designed to accomplish - and how it alte r ed behavior. It also would have been important to study the organization of the ss and show how the organization affected the behavior of its members. The significance of these points is clarified when one considers the evidence which suggests that SS members came from "normal" backgrounds and led "normal" lives after the war. Yet, they we re active participants in the murder of millions of people ov er several years. A good paper would account for how the behavior of these men was altered so significantl y in such a short period of time. What makes Robert Litton's book on the Nazi doctors so interesting and potentially important lies in his attempt to explain the phenomenon of "biological soldiering", or how these Nazi doctors could come to regard killing as healing. The student who authored the paper mentioned above received an "A" because it was a good paper. That it wasn't a good social science term paper was due, in part, to the tender age of the writer and to the difficulty in communicating to an undergraduate the necessary information involved. It is our hope that we will do a better job this time around. One of our major tasks as instructors is to communicate what good social science looks like. This task is not made easier by the fact that so much that is passed off as social science is no more than bilge. 10 (See attached �bibliography for examples of good social science). I PART ONE - WHAT HAPPENED The Nazi Program for the destruction of the Jews of Europe As we begin this course, we will focus on what happened in the incredible years between 1933-1945. Even so, it will be necessary to bring in some historical materials, particularly on the long-standing anti-Semitism in Europe. Wednesday, August 2 9_ Distribution of syllabi and discussion of course content, assignments and grading. Friday, August 31 Carefully read Night before class today. It is incredible that our special guest was in Auschwitz at the same time as Wiesel - and has a similar story to tell. David Mandel, Grand Rapids businessman, is our guest today. Wednesday, Sept.~ Today Professor Baum will examine and discuss some of the major issues associated with courses on the Nazi Holocaust. Friday, Sept. ']_ Why the Jew? The Holocaust is inconceivable unless "the Jew" is widely and 11 �deeply seen as something less than human. Today Professor Baum will comment on some historical components of the wide spread hatred of Jews. Assignment: Hilberg, pp. 1-24. Dimsdale, chapter 2. Monday, Sept. 10 The topic today will focus on how modern German science defined the Jews and the phenomenon of "biocracy". Assignment: Hilberg, pp. 27-63. Dimsdale, chapter 3. Wednesday, Sept. 12 The Holocaust is also inconceivable without the "takeover" of Germany by Adolf Hitler. Today we will see a few minutes of a documentary film clip so that you may get an idea of how effective Hitler was as an orator. After the brief film, Professor Baum will compare a well-known historical treatment of Hitler with a more recent "psychohistory" and indicate some problems with interpreting Hitler. Friday, Sept. 14 Hitler's coming to power was done in a context of a Germany suffering from unemployment, a recent raging inflation and resentment over the Versailles Treaty. Today Professor Baum will survey this area and comment on how Hitler exploited the German misery. Monday, Sept. 17 Who were the top Nazis? Today Professor Baum will comment on 12 �the most important men around Hitler. Yes, I said men. Women were not considered for anything important. Our guest one week from today will comment on this. Assignment: Dimsdale, pp. 284-328. Wednesday, sept. 19 The phenomenon of Hitler involved strong and widespread support among the German people. Professor Baum will explore the "tie" between Hitler and the German people and indicate the socio-economic nature of his most active followers. Friday, Sept. 21 Today Professor Baum will discuss the debate among historians and social scientists regarding the start of the Holocaust. Was the extermination of the European Jews the result of long-range planning (traceable to Mein Kampf) or did the Nazis "stumble" into it when other measures to rid central Europe of Jews failed? Monday, Sept. li We have, a very special guest with us today: Claudia Koonz is a Professor of History at Duke University and one of the leading Nazi Holocaust scholars in the country. Her book: Mothers in the Fatherland has been widely acclaimed. Today she will comment on the role of women in Nazi Germany . Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, sept. £h 27 and 28 These dates are reserved for discussions of the term papers with the appropriate professor. sheets. Sign up on the schedule Two may sign up for each time slot (there is 13 �something to be learned by seeing what others are doing and the troubles they are dealing with). We are using class time to insure that everyone will be able to schedule a meeting. Please bring with you a topic title, a paragraph statement of a hypothesis or thesis, and a bibliography of no fewer than five items. You may also bring a towel to cry on. If you aren't fully prepared, you will be asked to withdraw from the course. This will be enforced! This would be a good time for you in t he SS 260 section to be working on your extra credit project. Monday, Oct._! Among the questions raised are how men praised for their "honesty" and "gentleness of character" could kill women, children and babies. Professor Baum will discuss how the SS transformed "ordinary" men into killers of enemy soldiers and countless civilians. Assignment: Hilberg, pp. 100-153. Wednesday, Oct.~ More on the SS. Professor Baum will explore, among other things, the argument that the SS was "the alibi of Nazi Germany." Friday, Oct . ~ Hitler's program of euthanasia began in September, 1939 and was toned down in August, 1941, due to public pressure. 14 �Hitler apparently had 70,000-80,000 "feeble-minded" and "incurably insane" exterminated because they were useless to the state. Furthermore, it gave certain scientists and medical people a chance to "perfect" ways of exterminating large numbe r s of people. If the German people wee sick and horrified over the extermination of their own "feeble-minded", doesn't this vividly underscore the perception of Jews held by many - if not most - Germans? The Germans apparently regarded the feeble-minded as humans, but not the Jews. What did American soldiers in "Nam" call the enemy soldiers? Is the killing and mistreat ment of other humans only possible after a process of self-delusion - even collective self-delusion -has taken place? Haven't many of the worst crimes in human history been committed by people who first robbed their victims of t heir humanity? "easy"? After this, isn't everything else Not e the many instances of delusion and dehumanization, and how it even affected the prisoners. One question keeps coming back as I write this syllabus: Why did Himmler and his fellow merchants in death find it possible to build their concrete and steel monuments to death and yet never submit their "final solution" to paper? will discuss these and related questions today. We We will also see an interview with Raul Hilberg relevant to these matters. 15 �Assignment : Hilberg, chapters 5 and 6. Monday, Oct.~ We need to consider several matters as we conclude this portion of the course. 1) Why would anyone exterminate a group of people when one could enslave them? 2) Also ve r y disturbing is the matter of the attitude towards the Jews in countries at war with Germany. Did anti- semitism world-wide really contribute to the 'final solutions'? 1943? Did Goebbles speak the truth on this in May, "What will be the solution of the Jewish question? (He asked.) Whether a Jewish state will one day be created in some territory remains to be seen. But it is curious to note that the countries where public opinion is rising in favor of the Jews refuse to accept them from US• II 3) Finally, we confront one of the most disturbing issues of all: the historic contributions of Christianity to anti- semitism and the Holocaust. We will specifically consider the statements of Thomas Acquinas and Martin Luther concerning t~e Jews. Is the long history of Christian hatred of the Jews based on a misunderstanding? Does it matter that Jesus was a Jew - or that Jews allegedly killed Jesus? Why are the Gospels so ambiguious concerning the death of Jesus? 16 (In Mark 15:15 and Matthew �27:26, " Pilate delivered Jesus to be crucified; in Luke 2 3:24, Pilate "decided that their (the Jews) demand should be granted," in John 19:16, we are told that Pilate "handed him over to them (the Jews) to be cruicified. John 19:23 says that Roman soldiers carried out the crucifix ion. One cannot avoid thinking about this long history of anti-Semitism in psychological terms: perhaps the Christians used the Jews as a convienient symbol by which Christianity is measured. Christian rites and rituals became the sacred, Jewish rites and rituals represent the profane. In-group solidarity is enhanced by having an out-group devil. It is not surprising, in my opinion, that massacres of Jews can be found at many points of western history. Once again, doesn't this follow when one group considers another sub-human? In other words, anti-Semitism is not strictly or exclusively a religious phenomenon, but is a phenomenon of group behavior. In the rise of Christianity, the Jews were a convenient foil: they had a different Sabbath, circumcised males and dressed differently. Moreover, the separation of the Christian from the Jew clarified the identity of those who refuse to accept Christianity. With the rise of the modern nationstate and the decline of religious belief, "blood" or "race" replaced belief or piousness as a sign of who was marked for salvation or condemned to death. In November, 1 938, Goering acknowledged the importance of creating ghettos in all cities. 17 "They will have to be �created," he said. In either case, the Jews were a convenient scapegoat. It should be noted that France went through a crisis in the l890's which involved nationalism and anti-Semitism. Some of the patterns there were repeated in Nazi Germany. Members of the class may wish to consult a recent work by David A. Rausch,~ Legacy of Hatred: Forget the Holocaust. Why Christians Must Not Rausch examines the long history of Christian intolerance of the Jews. perhaps, is Martin Luther's role: Most disturbing of all, he asked, "What shall we Christians do with the rejected and condemned people the Jews? I shall give you my sincere advice. First, to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord ... Second, I advise that houses all be razed and destroyed .. Fourth, I advise that rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb ... Fifth, I advise that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews ... " Small wonder that Julius Streicher, a Hitler propagandist, would cite Luther in his defense of his actions at the Nuremberg trial. In his last years, Luther gave up on the Jews because they failed to convert to Christianity. 18 What do you think of his �comment that if he had been a Jew, he certainly would have converted! Today we shall have a class discussion on some of these matters. Professor Baum will comment on the indifference shown by the U. S. during this period of destruction. Assignment: Hilberg, chapter 8. Wednesday, Oct 10 Mid-term Exam. Friday, Oct. 12 Our "two weeks of sunshine." The story of the Holocaust is not entirely a story of horror and atrocity. Almost, but not quite. In this section of the course, we are going to read about and discuss the story of the Protestant village in southern France, Le Chambon, where a modern miracle took place during WWII. Read Prelude and Parts I and II of Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed. Here we confront the author of the book and the central characters, Pastor Andre and Magda Trocme. Have you ever experience what the author described as 'going through him like a spear' when he read about the village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, and their act of moral nobility? 19 �As for the remarkable Pastor Trocme, your author identifies certain events in his life as shaping his character. How do you assess these events - or do you think that Trocme would have done as he did simply because that was the kind of man he was? Why did Vichy France tolerate so much insubordination from the Chambonnais and Trocme? Shouldn't they have shot him? Does the evidence of warning and other help for the Jews from the Police show how difficult it is for totalitarian regimes to really be totalitarian? Magda Trocme found it difficult to lie even though it was necessary to do so in order to obtain the counterfeit cards to save people's lives. moral codes? Is it sometimes necessary to breach Under what circumstances and why? In a different vein, why did the Chambonnais both admit to the authorities that they harbored Jews but lied about many things associated with this at the same time? Monday, Oct. 15 Read parts III and IV of Hallie. One of the most important themes in the book is the nonviolent philosophy of Andre Trocme and the Chambonnais. The author claims that nonviolence was crucial if the village wa s 20 �to resist the Nazis and avoid a massacre. The theory of nonviolent resistance was practiced and made famous by the late leader of India, M. Gandhi. It has been said that Gandhi could only have gotten away with this because the British were so civilized. Was this true? What about the Nazis? Inasmuch as this is a course in the social sciences, the subject at hand is most relevant - besides being interesting. Gandhi perceived that non-violent behavior of resistance would force the armed adversary to re-consider and then alter his own behavior. Did this happen in Le Chambon? When Yolanda King was here in April, 1986, she spoke of an incident during the 1960 1 s civil rights movement when Police Chief Bull Conners, his men armed with fire hoses and dogs confronted unarmed, but resolute civil right marchers. marches were ordered to halt, but they didn't. moved ahead. The Instead, they Suddenly, the situation dramatically changed, the police and dogs acted as though paralyzed, while the marchers advanced. How can this be explained? By the way, non-violent resistance would be a very good term paper topic. As we leave Le Chambon, aren't you moved by the work of the Trocme's and the villagers? Does this case study demonstrate what a strong-willed, respected, man and wife can do to 21 �influence the moral climate of a community? Weren't the Chambonnais practically intimidated into having to do good by the very presence of Andre? Meanwhile, only a few hundred miles away, Germans were intimidated by force and threats of force to help identify and round up Jews in the process of their destruction. Do these events suggest to you anything about the relative strength of social forces for good and evil? There are many things in these chapters to think about, but two standou t to me in a course about the Holocaust: perhaps more than anything else, the tragic death of his sons, JeanPierre and Daniel caused Andre Trocme to questions the meaning of life. Are only the very young potentially free of the burden of seeing life as a dark, useless hole in a pointless world? thoughts. Andre Trocme had to do battle with these Yet, he went on to work for world peace for the rest of his life. Compare this with the passage in Night when Wiesel speaks of the nocturnal silence "which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live." As we are about to meet people who did as the Chambonnais did, we might ask what is there about Andre and Magda Torcme that prompted them to do what they did? the same? How could we know? Wednesday, Oct. 17 22 Would we have done �Today we will see some film footage of a survivors trip back to Le Chambon. well.) (We may see some of this on October 15 as We will also meet some remarkable people in the film "Courage to Care." Friday, Oc t . 19 Today Professor Baum will discuss recent research in the social science literature which attempts to understand and explain why it is some people will risk life, limb, and all their possessions in order to shelter and save total strangers. Monday, Oc t . ~ = Wednesday, Oct. 24 The "Dutch Holocaust" Many people in West Michigan are of Dutch descent. It isn't surprising therefore that some of these people were involved in the Holocaust in some way. With a Jewish population of approx imately 140,000-150,000 and a special relationship to the Nazis, Netherlands have bitter memories of the Holocaust. Except for Norway, the Netherlands was occupied by the Germans for a longer period of time than any other country. The special relationship includes the relative small size and terrain which made the country easy to dominate. Most important was the special treatment accorded the Dutch. Goering complained: "The Dutch are unique as the nation of traitors to our cause." The Nazis had great hopes for the Dutch to go along with them because of "racial similarities," but the Dutch resistance prompted retaliation. 23 In April, �1941, Hitler ordered the deportation of all Jews to the Government General, with some exceptions. As a result, approximately 110,000 Dutch Jews - 80% of the total Dutch Jewish population was deported for extermination. This was the highest rate in western Europe. It is estimated that 20,000 Jews were "hiding out" in the Netherlands - half of whom were discovered and presumably exterminated. During part of this course, we will have special guests who will tell us about their own personal experience during WWII in the Netherlands. Today our special guests will be Jean and Peter Termaat. Their story is exceptional: for five years they resisted the Nazis by hiding Jews, allied flyers, and others. As you will find out, they put themselves at great risk by doing this. Friday, Oct. _g__§_ Our guest on Friday is Mandy Evans, who was a Jewish girl who spent years hiding from the Nazis. Her ordeal wasn't helped by the fact of 100,000 Nazi collaborators in the Netherlands. As she told me, "I think about it every day." Monday, Oct. li One of the most controversial issues in interpreting the Nazi Holocaust concerns the amount of resistance the European Jews put up against the Nazis. Did they go to slaughter like sheep - as some contend? Professor Baum will survey this 24 �controversy today. Wednesday, Oct. 31 Today a special guest will pay a visit. Joe Stevens was a member of the partisan resistance in eastern Europe. He will tell us some of his stories. II PART I I - HOW IT COULD HAPPEN Up to this point, we have emphasized what happened during the final years of the Third Reich when 6 million Jews were murdered. The enormity of this crime of genocide is so horrible that it causes a certain degree of disbelief even today. How could one man - a "madman" at that - gain so much power over so many? Why didn't the German people understand 25 �what he was doing and stop him? How could doctors and scientists become involved in the extermination of millions? How can anyone function and continue to have a life that is anything but a nightmare? Why was there widespread disbelief as survivors of death camps went out to tell their stories of what was going on? These and hundreds of other questions rush to mind. Answers to these questions have been offered, by many, including novelists, playwrights, survivors, participants , such as Albert Speer, filmmakers, poets, painters and an almost end l ess list of sources. To cite but one example, George Orwell warned us in many of his writing of the dangers of the abuse and debasement of language by government officials. This was certainly the case in Nazi Germany where leaders coined deceptive phrases like "final solution" and the "Jewish question" to hide their plan from everyone including themselves. But there was much more to it than language abuse; may victims didn't believe it could happen (even when they had been warned with evidence), some Nazi officials could apparently convince themselves and the tribunal at Nuremberg that they didn't know Jews were being exterminated. It is in this general area that the social sciences have something to contribute to our understanding of the Holocaust. There is a fairly extensive literature in social psychology which deals with the mechanics of repression and self-delusion. Sometimes it was quite unsubtle: 26 SS troops �would get drunk before shooting their many victims. was often far more complicated. But it How could sober, highly- educated bureaucrats keep themselves deluded for years? The first essay in the Dimsdale book by Raul Hilberg will help us with this matter. Likewise, a literature in sociology, public administration, and political science stemming from Max Weber will help us understand bureaucratic behavior and how a functionary working on train schedules from Berlin to Auschwitz would be able to see himself as a professional scheduler rather than as an agent of death. There were many similar examples. This doesn't mean that the Holocaust is something we will ever completely understand. comprehension. It may be beyond Furthermore, as Freud reminded us, human behavior is certainly irrational at times. Our unconscious mind is not completely - or even greatly - understood by our consciousness. This condemns even our conscious, scientific selves to have less than full understanding of our social being. Or so it seems to the writer of this syllabus. In any case, the Holocaust is a good test for the social sciences inasmuch as many of the questions raised about this event ar8 of major concern to social scientists. You may judge for yourself just how well social scientists deal with these questions as we now turn to what social science may be able to contribute to our understanding of the Holocaust. 27 �Friday, Nov.~= Monday, Nov.~ Read chapter 7 of The Destruction of the Assignment: European Jews. Hilberg begins with a discussion of the Nazi bureaucracy. This is most appropriate because an understanding of modern bureaucracy is essential if one is to understand the Holocaust. To begin, t h e bureaucracy of the state was created, in part, to make the management of the state more efficient and rational. For example, the Michigan legislature passes laws governing the right to drive in Michigan. The day to day operation of this large bureau is entrusted to the office of the Secretary of State. Here clerks sell license plates, record points made against on one's license and give road and eye tests to prospective drivers. All of this seems sensible enough. But consider the "irrational" or unintentional (at least) results of bureaucracy: that each member of the organization is isolated and cut apart from the goals of the organization. Imagine what would have happened had the following order been issued to every bnreaucrat in Nazi Germany in 1942. "Attention: everyone is ordered to the Extermination Trains. At 0800 tomorrow, we will proceed to Death Camps in Poland. Each person is to bring a revolver. one Jew or Gypsy. You must kill at least Some of you will be asked to shove women 28 �and children into mass graves. Before we return, liquidate all the Jews of eastern Europe. horrified. we will Prepare to be The stench will be awful - but it must be done." How many bureaucrats would have fled, committed suicide or otherwise have tried to escape from this situation? I'll bet that many would have gone to extreme lengths to escape. the bureaucracy shielded them from much of this. But Instead, in the compartmentalized world of the bureaucracy, Nazi workers worked away like busy drones. In his writings, Hilberg describes i n detail how hundreds of bureaucrats worked for years on the problems associated with defining "Jewness" in legal and operational terms. they missed the forest. Embroiled in counting trees, To an unimaginative civil servant, it may have seemed innocent enough to figure out the definition of half-Jews, quarter-Jews, etc. It was decided that all Mischlinge - i.e., half-Jews who did not belong to the Jewish religion and not married to a Jewish person were to be sterilized. This plan was temporarily abandoned when a bureaucrat calculated that it would cost too much because sterilization for 70,000 Mischlinge would require the equivalent of 700,000 hospital days. But the bureaucratic mentality was still hard at work to crank out production and the suggest i on was made that all Jews in mixed marriages be deported. Again an objection was raised. A functionary suggested that spouses would object strenuously and, ghoulishly, that spouses would overburden the courts with 29 �their demand for death certificates for those sent away. solutions? The Before Jews in mixed marriages were sent away, the state would simply decree the "marriage as dissolved". A huge bureaucratic squabble ensued and the proposal was finally abandoned because of departmental in-fighting and calculations of the amount of time the process would take. One can only wonder at the human ability to lose oneself in his work. But this doesn't mean that bureaucracies are necessarily harmful. They often are not because their design insures that things will go slowly, if at all. in his essay "The Government Experts" Christopher Browning, tells how Wilhelm Melchers, of the Foreign Office Middle East desk, saved thousands of Turkish Jews by cleverly using bureaucratic methods to prevent their deportation to the east. Melchers wouldn't initial deportation orders and other bureaucrats were too busy to confront him. That bureaucracies do little or nothing is a very sore point with many people concerning the failure of the United States to assist the Jews. One version of this is told by Henry Feingold in "The Government Response;", Holocaust ... ). (also available in The In this version, Henry Morganthou, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury and close friend of Roosevelt strongly advocated a rescue effort in behalf of the Jews, but was strenuously opposed by Breckinridge Long, Director of the 30 �State Depart ment's Special Problems Division. Long apparently r esented the many "city college" Jewish young men who were coming into FDR's administration and replacing the old boy network of Ivy League connections. according to Long. Or so it seemed, In any case, there were many pressures on Roosevelt from many sides, which often accounts for bureaucratic inactivity. Among the concerns was the fear that admitting large numbers of European Jews would present difficult security problems, as spies and saboteurs might try to slip into the country. Roosevelt was also aware that public opinion was not favorable for any large rescue effort. As a result, little was done. Students of bureaucracy and the Holocaust might also find it interesting that the British response was much like our own. To return to Hilberg: we should focus on his fascinating investigation of the psychology involved within the bureaucracy of mass murder. Do you agree with him that the destruction of evidence was done, in part, by the Nazis to deceive themselves? In his analysis of "the blood kit" comparable to Poliakov's assertion that the Holocaust was finally ordered by leaders who were determined to force all Germans into the situation where they, too, were criminals and would therefore have to fight to the end? 31 �Finally, does Nazi Germany demonstrate that people will behave very differently in a group than individually? In your experience, do you find that people in large organizations behave differently because there is something peculiar about organized humans? Professor Baum will comment today and on Monday about some of the work that has been done which helps us understand the bureaucratic behavior relevant to the Holocaust. Also read chapter 16 of Dimsdale. I think of Germany in the night, and all of sleep is put to flight . I cannot get my eyes to close, the stream of burning teardrops flows. Heinrich Heine Although He i ne wrote these lines more than a century before Hitler came to power, they are appropriate to the Germany of this century . The essay for today was written by John Steiner, survivor of several Naz i death camps. In his study of former members of the SS, Ste i ner traces the Prussian tradition which is supposedly a part of the Nazi legacy. One is tempted to quote Heine again: A stink of hounds and bitches, a stink of lap-dogs whose pious loyalty would lick the spittle of Power, and die for Alter and Royalty. One of the more interesting and perplexing problems for social scientists is the possible connection between culture 32 �and personality. me say this : Before you come to a rapid conclusion, let Hitler and Franz Stangl (the latter was commander o f Treblinka) were both Austrians. As I write this syllabus, I have been listening to the music of Franz Shupert and Mozart. They, too, were Austrian and composed some of the most sublime music ever written. My American Heritage Dictionary offers the following first two definitions of sublime: characterized by nobility; majestic. spiritual, moral or intellectual worth. Of high Can you think of words less fitting to describe Nazi Germany? The Perpetrator We now begin what is probably the most controversial and 33 �disturbing part of the course. throughout this section: One question will appear is almost any one of us capable of being a perpetrator? Wednesday, Nov. 2 Assignment: Read (or re-read) chapteYs 11 and 12 containing excerpts written by Rudolf Hoess and Joseph Goebbels. Is there anything about Hoess' youth that strikes you as significant? Did his father demonstrate a quality that helps explain Hitler's success: that Germans put a higher premium on obedience than on conscience? Hoess wrote: Shortly before his death "Unknowingly I was a cog in the wheel of the great extermination machine of the Third Reich." What is your understanding of this, in particular his use of the word "unknowingly"? Goebbels ra i ses some disturbing questions as well: 1) He tells us that news is a weapon and should be used as such by government. Doesn't recent history indicate that government officials all over the world understand this and carefully manage what they want to tell us? Is there anything we can do about it? Today we will see the movie on the Milgram obedience experiments. Friday, Nov.~ We will discuss the movie seen on Monday. 34 �Monday, Nov. 12 Today Professor Baum will discuss another famous and relevant experiment to this course: the so-called "Zimbardo experiment." Wednesday, Nov. 14 Assignment: Read chapter 14. a Clear Conscience: "Destroying the Innocent with a Sociopsychology of the Holocaust". Doesn't the history of the Holocaust demonstrate how vulnerable humans are to the "slippery slope" of morality? In 1930, most Germans would have been horrified if someone could have outlined events of the next 15 years. Yet, step- by-step, the Nazis and the German nation passed statutes and performed acts which, in retrospect, seemed increasingly bizarre. But once set in motion, how can one stop? Was the fate of European Jews sealed on January 1, 1930 when Stormtroopers killed 8 Jews - the first victims of the Nazi era? (Three year later, on January 30, 1933, Hitler was appointed Ch ancellor. A ten-year-old Jewish boy, Leslie Frankel, later recalled: "When I got home that day, I learned that Hitler had become Chancellor. Everyone shook. As kids of ten we shook.") Today Professor Baum will comment on the evolution of the Nazi death camps. 35 �Note: Almost all accounts of the Holocaust cast males almost exclusively as perpetrators. Most of them were. But we do know of female SS members - the Aufscherinnen - who were brutal as camp guards. When the Nazi were forced to leave Hungary in December, 1944, the local Hungarian Arrow Cross continued the extermination of the Jews. One of the members, a Mrs. Vilmos Salzer, sported a riding-habit, brown boots and a Thomson sub-machine gun. She reportedly tortured her victims by burning them with candles before shooting them. She was hanged by the peoples' court soon after. Probably no female was more infamous than Ilse Koch - "The Bitch of Buchenwald" - as she became known. Among her grotesque habits was collecting tattooed skin for lampshades. She committed suicide while in prison on 9-1-67. One document ed case of female participation was in the Einsatzgruppen - a special action group of the SS. When Hitler invaded Russia in June, 1941, the Einsatzgruppen were sent in as mobile killing units. States listed personnel as: ss, 172 motorcycle riders, Group A, assigned to Baltic 340 militarized formations of 133 Order Police, 89 State Police ... 41 Criminal Police, 18 Administrators, 13 female employees, 8 radio operators and 3 teletype operators. There is no evidence known to me of what the females did, but we do know that the Einsatzgruppen killed approximately 2 million Jews in western Russian. Group C claims the efficiency 36 �record: On September 29-30, 1941, they killed 33,771 Jews - a record even the extermination camps could never match. We shouldn't leave this subject without noting the degradation of women in Nazi Germany. See the chapter "German Wife and Mother" in Joachim C. Fest, The Face of the Third Reich. Also see Claudia Koonz, Mothers in the Fatherland. One major reason for the relatively few documented examples of female brutality was that Hitler wasn't an equal opportunity terrorist. They Nazi concept of a "good" woman (Aryan, to be sure!) was to be a baby machine. This general topic should interest some of you for a term paper. Friday, Nov. 16 We will now turn to the subject of victims and how some managed to cope. Read pp. 106-111 and chapter 4 of Dimsdale," The Social Systems in the Death Camps". Some commentators have conveyed the idea that the prisoners in the Nazi death camps were engaged in relentless war with one another for survival. While in some instances this was true, it tends to cloak the much larger truth that there was a very complex social system, in some ways put there by the Nazis themselves. Professor Baum will outline some of the major features of "society" in the death camps. 37 �Monday, Nov . 19 The assignment for today and Friday are chapters 6 and 7 of Dimsdale. (Chapters 8 and 9 are also useful and can be consulted for term paper topics). Today we shall see a movie, March of the Living, which features a journey to major death camps by children of survivors. This will enable us to see how the holocaust affects the families of the victims. Wednesday, Nov. 21 Today we will see the film "Night and Fog." You may find this relevan t on the day before Thanksgiving. Monday, Nov . ~ Assignment: Jerusalem. Read chapter 13. Excerpts from Eichman in The late Ms. Arendt was a brilliant and controversial writer who wrote extensively about the human condition in general and modern totalitarianism in particular. Her writings on Adolph Eichmann are controversial in the extreme, as Jacob Robinson's book, And the Crooked Shall Be Made Straight, makes quite clear. Rather than becoming embroiled in details over her account of Eichmann, let us consider some of the issues she raises: The sub- t itle of Ms. Arendt's book on Eichmann is: 38 6 Report �on the Banality of Evil. You can get her point by reading the first several pages of the section. One of the major points of dispute is her contention that Eichmann was a powerless product of a totalitarian system which could corrupt any average person with an innate repugnance toward crime. How well does this describe Eichmann, Goebbels, or Hoess? Even if you disagree with Ms. Arendt, what do you think of her claim that it is the nature of every bureaucracy to make "functionaries" and "mere cogs" out of men? We now take up a most difficult problem which we have not considered before: the question of sovereignty, legality and the apparent lack of any clear international authority. I realize the enormity of the horror of the Holocaust raises the question of taste and propriety here. Nevertheless, let us consider the following: Inasmuch as Hitler held his political position legally and Eichmann had been appointed to his post, why couldn't we regard this as a legally valid, however horrible, action by officials of sovereign state? The scale of the Nazi horror shocks many of us, but governments the world over kill, torture, arid imprison political and other undesirable "enemies". As we shall consider later, Americans practiced a variation of genocide with our native Indians. The Russians are rather well known for their treatment of their domestic enemies. Whether we like it or not, we generally acknowledge 39 �the sovereignty of nations, especially within their own Borders. To the objection that Hitler was at war with much of the world and "out of control" outside of the borders of Germany, we can only ask: isn't the old adage still true, that all is fair in love and war? Isn't it simply a matter of raw power? What international standard do we have to tell us what is right or wrong? Eichmann was tried and hanged in Jerusalem only because Germany lost the war and he was caught. Right? One of the most troublesome points raise by Ms. Arendt is this: We like to think that rule by law is preferable to rule by caprice and whim. If true, then Eichmann was behaving within the boundaries of German law while in the Eichmann trial the court was "confronted with a crime it couldn't find in the lawbooks". It's a crazy world, isn't it, when the laws in many jurisdictions clearly proscribe sodomy (even in the privacy of a marital bedroom), but there is nothing to prohibit the mass murder of men, women and children? So much for national and international rationality. Professor Baum will comment briefly on the legal problems facing the Nuremberg Tribunal. Wednesday, Nov. 28 40 �Today we will see selected portions of the Nuremberg and Eichmann trials. A rare chance to see some of the top Nazis. Friday, Nov.~ Professor Jerry Markle of WMU will be with us today. teaches a Nazi Holocaust course there. important but subtle topic: of the Nazi Holocaust? He He will speak on an How to interpret the interpreters (Everyone has an agenda.) Monday, Dec.~ A few student term papers may be presented. Wednesday, Dec.~ Professor Irv Berkowitz will be our guest today. His mother survived Auschwitz and his father fought with partisans in Eastern Europe. Interesting. Friday, Dec. 2 Course conclusion and evaluation. 41 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Termaat, Adriana B. (Schuurman) Termaat, Peter N. Description An account of the resource Collection contains genealogical, personal, and family papers and photographs documenting the lives and interests of Adriana and Peter Termaat. The bulk of the materials are related to family history and genealogical research carried out by the Termaats, including research notes and materials about places in the Netherlands that were significant to the Termaat and Schuurman families, such as the city of Alkmaar. Other materials in the collection are related to the Termaats' experiences on the eve of and during the Second World War, especially the German occupation of the Netherlands and the Termaats' participation in organized resistance to the Nazis. Also included are materials that document the family's post-war life in the United States, including their public efforts to recognize, commemorate, and honor people and events significant to World War II. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1869 - 2012 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/719">Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection, RHC-144</a> Subject The topic of the resource Netherlands Netherlands--History--German occupation, 1940-1945 World War, 1939-1945 World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Netherlands Dutch Dutch Americans Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-144 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text Image Type The nature or genre of the resource application/pdf image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng nl Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-144_Termaat_WRI_Lectures-Notes-GVSU-Syllabus-1990-Baum-The-Holocaust-and-the-Social-Sciences Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baum, William Title A name given to the resource The Nazi Holocaust and the Social Sciences syllabus Description An account of the resource Syllabus written for HP 231 The Holocaust and the Social Sciences, Fall 1990, including an annotated bibliography on literature on the Holocaust. Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945 Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/719">Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection (RHC-144)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/021903aceda2861eb734eae6f2aead6b.jpg 06aaae82a6d0743f960cc1032c1a047c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PS3537.P347 N47 1902 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0265 Title A name given to the resource The Nerve of Foley Description An account of the resource Binding of The Nerve of Foley, by Frank H. Spearman, published by Grosset and Dunlap, 1902. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1902 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b22a845102759d38267120221e971c66.jpg b62d4ded9900fb395d7ba45eb4658018 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PR6029.R25 N4 1909 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0180 Title A name given to the resource The Nest of the Sparrowhawk Description An account of the resource Binding of The Nest of the Sparrowhawk, by the Baroness Orczy, published by Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1909. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e26fb6cd3f26cdf468303ee9913f691d.pdf 6fad45b0921610a2ff29537fad06614f PDF Text Text The Good News is Too Good Not to Tell From the series: I Do Believe Text: Isaiah 49:6, John 9:5, 25 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Eastertide, April 21, 1996 Transcription of the spoken sermon During the season of Lent, it became almost spooky to me each week that I would take up the text and the theme that I had determined in early January, because it seemed as though I might have picked it precisely that week for the situation through which I was living. There was really no connection, humanly speaking, between the text and the theme selected and the situation of my own life, and your life, too. But that is not true during Eastertide, because it was while I was in the middle of the cauldron that I was having to determine the text and the theme for the Eastertide series. And so, this series is reflective of our situation. And the thing that came to me was the fact that, with all of the sound bytes and press coverage, Christ Community and myself personally have been characterized by what we do not believe more often than by what we believe. And that really is quite unfair, because we do believe some things. And so, I thought it would be good for us to hear some of the great affirmations of our faith lifted up in this Eastertide season, and I entitled the series, therefore, I Do Believe. I do believe, certainly as a personal witness, but not simply myself isolated from you. I use the first person pronoun because I want to speak about personal conviction. And finally, all of us have a core of beliefs that we believe passionately with all our heart. And then, I do believe, the emphasis there indicating that belief is held with passion. I believe. I do believe! A personal, passionate conviction of faith - these things that are more than just a body of beliefs to which one can point, to which one assents intellectually. No – out of the core of one's being – these things, these things I passionately believe: last week, that "The End is Life." And this week, that the News of the Grace of God in Jesus Christ Is Too Good Not to Share. You see, institutional religion, when it gets regularized, always runs into the problem that there is a certain body of doctrine or belief that defines an institution or a religion. You could write a book about what Christians believe and © Grand Valley State University   �News Too Good Not to Share Richard A. Rhem Page 2   you could go through the various creedal statements and so forth. You could write a book about the essence of Judaism or whatever. There does come to be a sort of corpus of belief, a body of belief that is identified with a certain movement or religion. And when that religion gets established and regularized, then it becomes identified with that body of beliefs and it takes people into itself, whether or not there is that personal, passionate conviction. Now, don't kid me. There are some things that belong to the Christian creed about which you've never been passionate. But, there are other things that you believe so strongly, you'd die for it. We all have that, don't we? It's on the basis, probably, of our nurture or of our experience, but we all have a kind of selective, personal creed to which we passionately confess. And, the problem with institutional religion is that sometimes the defined body of belief no longer connects with human experience. Or, to say it another way, someone has an experience which is undeniable, but it can't be slotted into that body of belief. And so, there comes to be a tension between what one has experienced and knows to be true and what one is supposed to believe or confess because one belongs to this group or to that group. And, this particular message, The News Is Too Good Not To Share, comes from the fact that it is claimed (I'll just speak personally) that what I believe cuts the heart out of the evangelical faith. Now, you've read that. You've heard that. "If Dick Rhem is right, then the heart of the evangelical faith is lost." Well, let's walk around that for a moment. I do not think one making such a statement has thought very deeply about that claim. What does the claim mean? I take it to mean that, if I have an experience of God – of grace, of peace, of healing, of joy and delight full of hope that has come to me as I have looked to Jesus, and through Jesus have experienced the love of God – as wonderful as that might be, as life-transforming as that might have been for me, there is no reason to share it, to point to its source, to speak of the blessing my life has received, unless such experience comes exclusively through Jesus Christ and no other way; and further, unless those without the blessing of grace through Jesus are eternally lost, there is no reason to proclaim the Gospel of God's grace as it has been manifested in Jesus. In other words, unless my way is the only way, my truth the only truth, there will be no reason to witness to it, no motivation to tell others. I doubt those condemning my views have really thought about what they are maintaining. Is not such an attitude suspect; does it not at least hint that I want my claim to grace to be a source of pride: Look at what I have, or, I have the only truth? Not only subtle pride but triumphalism - one of the worst faults of the Christian Church. It is so difficult not to become proud and domineering when one possesses exclusive truth, or power or authority. © Grand Valley State University �News Too Good Not to Share Richard A. Rhem Page 3   No. The experience of God's grace in Jesus is transforming quite apart from the question of its exclusivity. I maintain The News is Too Good Not to Tell. Have we not experienced something of the goodness and the grace of God that we find ourselves spontaneously wanting to share the good news? If you get a bargain, don't you tell everybody about it? If you pull some coup in your life, don't you tell everybody about it? The only good thing I was always told I couldn't share was when I caught a fish. When I was a little kid, I'd go with my Dad and catch a fish. And I'd squeal. He'd say, "Be still. Before long, they'll all be pulling up their anchors and coming over here." Another rule of my father - if you catch it on a cricket, if somebody asks you, tell him it was a worm. Now, when you're fishing, you've got to keep good news to yourself. But, that's about the only area in life. Otherwise, if you've got a good experience, if you have a joy, a delight, if something's turned you on, if it's set your tongue to singing and your feet to dancing, don't you spontaneously tell everybody about it? Don't you want to share it? Isn't the news too good not to share? Now, I would claim, with personal and passionate conviction, that the grace of God that we have experienced in Jesus Christ is such a wonderful experience and the life and community in the Christian community – where there is compassion and mercy and love, where there is embrace, where there is worship before the majesty and the mystery of God, where there is this wonderful ethereal experience full of Alleluias and Hallelujahs and all of the wonder of our life together, where there is that personal solitude in moments of contemplation where I know that I am at peace with God, where I have experienced the grace of God to such an extent that I know that there is nothing in all of creation that could ever separate me from the love of God, where I live with my family and my children and my grandchildren; when I think about all that is mine and all of that which I have received because of the nurture, because of the tradition, that is mine that has shaped me, when I think of all of that, then I think – Good Grief! Isn't that news too good not to tell? Of course, I'm going to tell that good news! How can I help but express it? But, people are funny. This isn't a Protestant or a Catholic problem or a Jewish problem. It's a human problem. It is somehow or other a desire to gain power and to control, to define who is in and who is out, that has been a great disrupter of religious experience down through the centuries. For example, the story of the man born blind. What a marvelous story it is. Remember, now, that the one who put this Gospel together was writing for a specific community just as concretely © Grand Valley State University �News Too Good Not to Share Richard A. Rhem Page 4   as this sermon is prepared for you. This sermon is not for any other congregation. This sermon is for you. This preacher has you on his heart. This preacher has you in his head! This preacher can't say a word without you being the focus. No different with this fourth Gospel. And now we're in the last decade of the first century, as I mentioned last week. It's been sixty-some years since Jesus died and rose again. The Jesus Jews, the Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah, are finding it more and more difficult to hold on in faith. They were expecting him to return. Jesus thought it would soon be over. Paul thought it would soon be over. They all thought it would soon be over, and it wasn't soon over. Nothing was happening. Now, about 60 years later, these are Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah. But, something had happened about 20 years prior; the Temple had been destroyed by Rome. The cultic center of Jerusalem was no more. What would Judaism of the future look like? Would it be the Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah who would come to the ascendency? They were a strong movement. Or, would it be the Rabbis, the teachers of the Law, the scribes, the Pharisees? Well, as a matter of fact, it became that branch of Judaism that consolidated power, that gave to the Judaism of the future its identity, that determined what it was to be a Jew. That group. And what happens in a group like that? Again, it's not a Jewish problem, although this was an intra-Jewish squabble. It's not a Jewish problem; it's a human problem. If I get in control, it feels good. And I like to consolidate my power, and so I like to draw the lines so that I determine who is in and who is out. And, as the Rabbinic Jewish movement emerged as the ascendant Jewish party, it defined Judaism, and when you define, you define who is in and who is out. Three times in this Gospel the words "put out of the synagogue" are used. Specifically in the lesson I read a moment ago, when the Pharisees come to the parents to verify that this, indeed, was their son and he was, yes, indeed, born blind, they say, "What happened?" The father was all ready to give the answer and his wife yanked at his sleeve and said, "Don't say anything, already!" She got him aside and said, "If you acknowledge that Jesus did this, then it's the same as saying that Jesus is the Messiah and if you confess Jesus as the Messiah, we're out of the synagogue, and where do we go for potlucks on Friday night? So, be still, already." So, he said, "He's of age. Ask him. I should know? I don't know. Ask him." Of course, they knew, but they weren't stupid. What's going on there? It's obvious what's going on there. They do not confess what they believe because the consequence would be they'd lose the only spiritual home they'd ever known, the synagogue, their observant Jewish status. So, the Pharisees have to go back to the gentleman with whom they had spoken earlier. Earlier he was a little fuzzy about © Grand Valley State University �News Too Good Not to Share Richard A. Rhem Page 5   things. He had said, "I don't know where he's from. His name is Jesus. He put clay on my eyes and I see." They said that's impossible. "I don't know, he put clay on my eyes and I see." Well, what do you think he is? "Well, he's a prophet." The Pharisees then go to the parents, but now the parents put them off, and now they're back with him again, and they say, "Tell us now, under oath, give God glory. Under oath, tell us what happened." He said, "I already told you. You want to hear it again? You want to be his disciple?" Then they got nasty. The Greek word behind that revile is a nasty word. They began to abuse them. Now, they're really angry. They're not looking at this gentleman who now has sight, who had been blind, whose experience cannot fit into their preconceived idea of what is true. They can't step back a moment and, face-to-face with a blind man seeing, they cannot say in the light of that experience, let's go back and read our tradition again. Rather, they get angry because now it's a control problem, it's a power issue, it's who has authority. And so, they revile him and they say, "You follow Jesus, but we follow Moses!" He just looks at them and says, "I don't know. I only know one thing - I was blind and now I see." They cast him out. Because when you have a tradition or a set of beliefs, a paradigm of understanding, and then you have concrete human experience, and when you cannot put the two together any longer, and you are in authority and in power supervising the established and received paradigm, the last thing in the world that you will allow is the experience that says your paradigm doesn't work anymore. So, they cast him out. John's little community of Jews that believed Jesus was the Messiah - they were starting to give up, they were starting to lose faith; Jesus didn't come, and authoritative voices were saying they were wrong. They saw the possibility of being alienated from their spiritual roots and tradition. They were starting to waver. And so, this preacher in the community says "I want to write a story of Jesus for you, because I want you to know that what's happening to you 60 years down the line isn't any different than what happened to Jesus." If you'll go to John 16, you will find Jesus saying they will put you out of the synagogue. John writes the story of Jesus in light of that little community just as © Grand Valley State University �News Too Good Not to Share Richard A. Rhem Page 6   much as I'm crafting this sermon in light of this community, and John is saying to that community of people who believed that Jesus is the Messiah, "Jesus is the Messiah. I've gathered these things together; I've written this story. I could have gathered other things; I could have put in other details. I put these things together, I painted this picture in order that you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah and, believing, have life in his name! I'm telling you the story of Jesus again because you're about to let it go! You're about to be hammered into submission! Don't you do it! Don't you forget Jesus! This was the Word of God made flesh; this was the embodiment of the love of God in human flesh! This one, this one is the Way! This one is the Truth! This one is the Life! This One is the way to God! Don't you let go of Jesus! Don't you let go of Jesus for anybody! Don't you deny your experience! We were blind and now we see! Jesus is the Light of the world! Now, don't you give up!" That news was too good not to tell, and I want to say that my favorite meetings in all the year are the three or four or five Elders' Meetings we have around here, because I look into your faces, I've seen most of you come through, one time or another, I've heard your stories, I've seen your tears, I've heard your voice crack. I've seen you throw your head back and laugh. I've heard you tell about the grace of God. I've heard you tell about the love of God that's touched you in this community. I've heard your singing; I've seen your dancing. I have lived with you long enough to know that there is some reality here, there is some joy here, there is some goodness here, there is some truth here. I know this - there's good news here and it's too good not to tell! There was a time in my experience when I was blind, but now I see. There was a time in my experience when my religion was a burden, but now it's a joy. There was a time in my life when it weighed me down, but it has set me free. There is a grace of God, a wonder of the love of God, there is a concreteness of a community of compassion – My God, people, the news is simply too good not to tell! Do we have a story? DO WE HAVE A STORY! © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fd5bfb3717cb1079d4d29f3ae96983bb.mp3 02dd049e56b50d743c3430438e8fc178 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Eastertide III Series I Do Believe Scripture Text Isaiah 49:6, John 9:5, 25 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19960421 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996-04-21 Title A name given to the resource The News Is Too Good Not To Tell Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on April 21, 1996 entitled "The News Is Too Good Not To Tell", as part of the series "I Do Believe", on the occasion of Eastertide III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 49:6, John 9:5, 25. Community Compassion Followers of Jesus Grace Revelation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/90fa340e493f9ccbcc15f4abf284dfd2.jpg 6f2b291de8a18191a98030441f050b3a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. S411 .R87 no.13 1920 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0197 Title A name given to the resource The Nursery Manual Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource C.S. (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of The Nursery Manual, by L.H. Bailey, published by The Macmillan Company, 1920. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1920 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/13bf8a1513fe4a9237eb0827b648f16a.jpg 804f498e7659fd1405dc0fc29e235899 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PS2514 .O4 1900 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0145 Title A name given to the resource The Old Gentleman of the Black Stock Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Armstrong, Margaret (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of The Old Gentleman of the Black Stock, by Thomas Nelson Page, published by C. Scribner, 1900. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1900 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bd56f6609e438949d1ad167d5fb0cd89.jpg 5263e578d2050d5f1413148034035b41 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0099 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Title A name given to the resource The Old Harbor Description An account of the resource Photograph depicts a sapphire blue Old Harbor and the remnants of the old pier from the Kalamazoo River. Circa 1950s Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Lake Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1950 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/21ae07b0da5cd63c267ff75f26c5665a.jpg 0297cb44ca034fb7fee094dd3c28b6bb https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1e8ff8dd2926a1996a91caca21f8654d.jpg f00123e23600024c60ce6727f4d5f169 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Walsh-J_0079 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Walsh, Jerri Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1967-03-22 Title A name given to the resource The Old Lighthouse Cottage Description An account of the resource Photograph of the old lighthouse cottage located among the snow-covered dunes between Lake Michigan and Oxbow Lagoon. It was previously the site of the original Kalamazoo River Light and was rebuilt as a "lighthouse-style" summer home for the Deam family following an extensive restoration of the building and property. The image shows the house in the distance and appears to be bleak, as the sky is gray, the grass is overgrown, and the trees are barren. Handwriting reads: "Wed., March 22, '67. Easter, Saugatuck. 'The Old Light-Housekeeper's House' where he hung himself. Jerry Kelly." Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Sand dunes Lighthouses Cottages Snow Easter Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by Jerri Walsh as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/50d316a986449ac84cf494d9fcd0c8eb.jpg 7c77f06554adafd978d7a82cee6fd2d6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0093 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Title A name given to the resource The Old School House Description An account of the resource Photograph of the Old School House in Douglas. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e7ca3560e05a3241f0a4b24309029741.pdf 66162dd6e8ba24367b8ffee05df7d86c PDF Text Text The Old Story Ever New: Formation and Freedom Richard A. Rhem Park Church Grand Rapids, Michigan November 23, 2014 Transcription of the written talk I created this title, “The Old Story Ever New: Formation and Freedom,” from what Max wrote in the “advertisement” about my “talk:” Rev. Richard A. Rhem will facilitate a discussion on faith, life, heaven, and the human experience. We will talk about classical interpretations of scripture, the progressive perspective, and whatever else comes to mind. Please join us! I was greatly relieved to read that he promised that I would “facilitate a discussion” rather than promise that I would lay bare all the mysteries of our faith and human experience. I was further relieved when our facilitator this morning, Camille, who has long known me from our Spring Lake days, wrote me, “I don’t expect you to formally speechify.” You see, she knows me well; I’ve been known to “speechify” although I had not heard that term before. So I promise I won’t speechify! Camille gave me a brief account of the first two discussions in this series and I’m sure you have had a meaningful time together. From my assignment I sense, when the series was conceived, your leaders were thinking that after two discussions on near death experiences, you might be ready to step back and reflect on human experience in the larger picture – Is this all there is? Is there more beyond death’s pale? What do our classic creeds affirm? How do we interpret the biblical message? How do we reconcile ancient creeds and ever-emerging human knowledge? If I have sensed correctly that these are questions your leaders anticipated in the wake of the first two sessions, then it will not be so much answers we seek today but clarifying the questions with which we live, even as we rest in a fundamental trust. © Grand Valley State University   �The Old Story Ever New: Formation & Freedom Richard A. Rhem Page 2   As I invite you to reflect with me on these questions and the meaning of our human journey, let me say a word about how I approach these ultimate concerns. I see such questions as calling one to serious engagement with the meaning of life – not questions that have answers. That was not always the case for me for I was nurtured and formed within a strong orthodox Reformed dogmatic system. Dogma is such a familiar term in religious parlance that I can probably take for granted that everyone knows the meaning of the term. Yet precisely such familiarity sometimes misses a term’s nuance and depth. I went to the dictionary. Dogma comes from the Greek – “that which one thinks true, an opinion, decree, from dokein, to think, seem.” Meanings listed: 1. a doctrine; tenet; belief (also collectively); 2. a positive, arrogant assertion of opinion; dogmatic utterance; 3. in theology, a doctrine or body of doctrines formally and authoritatively affirmed. Under “dogmatic” – “asserted a priori or without proof; asserting opinion in a positive or arrogant manner.” Checking the synonyms sheds light on the danger of dogma: “imperious, dictatorial, authoritative, arrogant, magisterial, self-opinionated, positive.” While I hope I was not authoritative, magisterial, arrogant, etc., I did believe there were clear answers to ultimate questions and they were to be found in the inerrant, infallible Word of God. Although that may sound like I was confident, assured and certain of the Christian faith I professed and preached, as a matter of fact I was afraid, unsure and defensive. Every new emerging insight, from growing knowledge of historical development, from exploding data about biblical formation, from breakthroughs in the sciences, threatened my neatly formed faith structure. It has been a long and painful journey for me – so deeply formed, so seriously threatened. When the carefully crafted structure of orthodox Reformed faith collapsed in the pursuit of a faith I could rest in, I found there was something deeper than I had ever known – a fundamental trust that God is Love and Love is the grain of the universe. I found it to be true for me what the early 20th century German scholar Rudolph Otto wrote in his book The Holy, where he attempts to analyze “the feeling that remains when the concept fails.” I sense that is what you are about in this discussion group – plumbing the deep questions of meaning in our human pilgrimage. There was a time I would have felt compelled to have answers. Thank God I now know I can only help clarify the questions as together we wonder about this amazing human journey. © Grand Valley State University �The Old Story Ever New: Formation & Freedom Richard A. Rhem Page 3   On further reflection, that early deep formation I experienced was not in vain. The rational system, the dogma – that, I have learned, was a futile effort to define the Mystery of Reality – the Sacred, the Holy. But the community, the symbols, the rituals, the liturgy – the whole religious drama – in my case, the Christian story – moves me still and points me to the Sacred Mystery of the ongoing cosmic journey. In her beautiful book Physics and Faith: The Luminous Web, Barbara Brown Taylor writes, When I am dreaming quantum dreams, the picture I see is more like that web of relationships – an infinite web, flung across the vastness of space like a luminous net. It is made of energy, not thread. As I look, I can see light moving through it like a pulse moving through veins. I know the light is an illusion, since what I am seeing moves faster than light, but what I see out there is no different from what I feel inside. There is a living hum that might be coming from my neurons but might just as well be coming from the furnace of the stars. When I look up at them there is a small commotion in my bones, as the ashes of dead stars that house my marrow rise up like metal filings toward the magnet of their living kin. Where is God in this picture? All over the place. Up there. Inside my skin and out. God is the web, the energy, the space, the light – not captured in them, as if any of those concepts were more real than what unites them, but revealed in that singular, vast net of relationship that animates everything that is. Marvelous imagery! The whole of reality saturated with the Spirit, the Breath, that is the energy of the Sacred Mystery we call God, a Sacred Mystery we describe as Love because, at one moment in the luminous web that enlivens all that is, a face appeared – the Logos (Word) became flesh, and God, the X factor, that abstract Ground, Source and Goal of all there is, became concrete. Now there was a clue as to the nature of the originating, everything-permeating, infinite Mystery that takes our breath away and gives us breathing room. Resting there, I readily recognize I have not “proven” anything rationally. But, of course, that is what I have come to understand – the ultimate mystery of the cosmic web into which our lives are woven is not available to rational analysis but rather only to supra-rational or trans-rational, deeply intuitive fundamental trust before the presence of Mystery. Brilliant scholars in various fields deny this and conclude quite differently. For example, the Nobel Prize winning biologist Jacque Monod writes in his work Chance and Necessity: If he accepts this (negative) message in its full significance, man must at last wake out of his millenary dreams and discover his total solitude, his fundamental isolation. He must realize that like a gypsy, he lives on the © Grand Valley State University �The Old Story Ever New: Formation & Freedom Richard A. Rhem Page 4   boundary of an alien world; a world that is deaf to his music, and as indifferent to his hopes as it is to his suffering and his crimes. Similarly, Erich Fromm, one of the world’s leading psychoanalysts, wrote in Man for Himself, There is only one solution to his problem: to face the truth, to acknowledge his fundamental aloneness in a universe indifferent to his fate, to recognize that there is no power transcending him which can solve his problems for him. If we humans are defined by our reason alone and have to do only with rational argument – Monod and Fromm define our human situation with clarity – we are alone and this is all there is. But there are other thoughtful persons who deny our humanity can be delineated by reason alone. In his major early work, the Catholic scholar Hans Küng describes the advent and development of modern atheism in the thinking of Feuerbach, Marx, Freud and Nietzsche, ending with Nietzsche’s nihilism. A section on nihilism concludes: “Nihilism – possible, irrefutable, but unproved.” From that point, Küng’s next major heading is “Yes to Reality – Alternative to Nihilism.” Within this heading is a subsection he entitles “Fundamental Mistrust or Fundamental Trust? Küng obviously will build a case for religious faith building on fundamental trust. In another work he affirms, To believe in an eternal life means, in reasonable trust, in enlightened faith, in tried and tested hope – to rely on the fact that I shall one day be fully understood, freed from guilt and definitively accepted and can be myself without fear; that my impenetrable and ambivalent existence, like the profoundly discordant history of humanity as a whole, will one day become finally transparent and the question of the meaning of history one day be finally answered. (Eternal Life, p. 231) The late Dag Hammarskjold, a General Secretary of the United Nations, wrote in his spiritual diary, Markings, I don’t know who or what put the question. I don’t know when it was put. I don’t even remember answering, but at that moment I did answer “Yes” to someone or something and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful, and that, therefore, my life in self-surrender has had a goal. I love that expression – far beyond the limits of rational control – a deeply felt intuition of the Presence of the Sacred Mystery we call God. © Grand Valley State University �The Old Story Ever New: Formation & Freedom Richard A. Rhem Page 5   In his Opinion column in The New York Times, David Brooks cites the poet Christian Wiman who, in his My Bright Abyss, points to the contemporary sense of cosmic connectedness in reference to the movie “Interstellar”: But in the era of quantum entanglement and relativity, everything looks emergent and interconnected. Life looks less like a machine and more like endlessly complex patterns of waves and particles. Vast social engineering projects look less promising, because of the complexity, but webs of loving and meaningful relationships can do amazing good. As the poet Christian Wiman wrote in his masterpiece, My Bright Abyss, “If quantum entanglement is true, if related particles react in similar or opposite ways even when separated by tremendous distances, then it is obvious that the whole world is alive and communicating in ways we do not fully understand. And we are part of that life, part of that communication….” I suspect “Interstellar” will leave many people with a radical openness to strange truth just below and above the realm of the everyday. That makes it something of a cultural event. (David Brooks, NYT, 11/21/14) As one who began in a serious orthodox understanding of Christian faith which was defensively reacting to the overpowering movement of Enlightenment Rationality – thus entering an arena in which it could never prevail, I’ve come to rest deeply in the fundamental trust in which I was nurtured. With the contemporary sense of an interconnected cosmic dance of Being, I find great peace and rest in a conviction that Heaven is here, heaven is now and the best is yet to be! References: David Brooks, “Love and Gravity,” New York Times, Nov. 20, 2014 Hans Küng. Eternal Life: Life After Death as a Medical, Philosophical, and Theological Problem, p. 231. Wipf & Stock Pub., 2003 Barbara Brown Taylor. Physics and Faith: The Luminous Web. Cowley Publications, 2000. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Park Street Discussion Group Location The location of the interview Park Church, Grand Rapids, MI References David Brooks, "Love and Gravity," NYT, Nov. 20, 2014, Hans K Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20141123 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-11-23 Title A name given to the resource The Old Story Ever New: Formation and Freedom Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 23, 2014 entitled "The Old Story Ever New: Formation and Freedom", on the occasion of Park Street Discussion Group, at Park Church, Grand Rapids, MI. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Dogma Enlightenment Faith Journey Love at Core of the Universe Sacred Mystery Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f1882e641a22636117196e8ab4f4075a.jpg f2cb93e290c200df8f2ed0f99dbb33fb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PR9199.2.F74 O54 1908 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0287 Title A name given to the resource The One and I Description An account of the resource Binding of The One and I, by Elizabeth Freemantle, published by George W. Jacobs & Co., 1908. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1908 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2bea7da39419fbfb0ea6cadbcbdf1140.pdf b3f21e76ca7eca4cd0f86f13e8794639 PDF Text Text The One We Proclaim Text: II Corinthians 4:5, Matthew 16:16 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan June 30, 1996 Transcription of the spoken sermon This is the 30th of June. On the thirtieth of June, 1960, I was ordained to the Ministry of the Word and Sacraments in this congregation, coming here following my graduation from Western Theological Seminary. I was ordained to the ministry within the Reformed Church in America by the Classis of Muskegon. It was not a Sunday in 1960, but a Thursday evening. And it was hot and the sermon preached by the pastor of my home church in Kalamazoo was very long. My inaugural sermon had as its text the text of this morning - II Corinthians 4:5. It was a text a pastor I much admired had printed on his calling card. I had it printed on my cards, too. And I chose it as the text of my first sermon as an ordained pastor because it summed up concisely my understanding of the pastoral office. Now, thirty-six years later, the same Classis is about to depose me from ordination in the Reformed Church. Since today is the anniversary of my ordination, I thought I would re-visit my inaugural text. Part of the process of preparation for this message was painful; I took out the file of that first sermon and read it. I did recognize one similarity with my present preaching - the sermon was long. But, thank God, there are some things that have changed. I received a card a couple months ago from an old friend from a congregation I served the summer before my ordination year - the summer of 1959. She had read the news reports about me and was quite upset. Her question to me was, "Have you changed?" To that question, I would have to answer, "Yes, thank God. Thirtysix years of serious engagement with the word of God, with human experience, with my own maturation, with history's changing landscape has changed me." To be alive is to change, is it not? Karl Barth, the great Swiss theologian, the greatest of the 20th century, in an introduction to one of his volumes of Dogmatics, addresses the charge that he has changed his theological position. To that he responded, "If it appears I have changed my thinking, it is because I am a pilgrim and I keep moving and as I move, the landscape through which I move changes." © Grand Valley State University   �The One We Proclaim Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Yes, on this anniversary of my ordination thirty-six years ago, I acknowledge I have changed. And if I had taken along the sermon I preached on the text of the morning thirty-six years ago, you would be very happy indeed that I've changed. Not that I should be too hard on myself. I had worked at the sermon responsibly. There was an honest exposition of the text and the application was not inappropriate for one beginning ministry in a congregation. But, as I re-read the sermon yesterday, I reflected on what it was that was missing. And I suppose, not surprisingly, I concluded that there was nothing in the message that really came to grips with the human situation of the congregation; there was no vital connection to human experience. I think I understand that. I would have been typed as a very conservative Christian minister. I had been richly nurtured in the Christian faith and I had applied myself to the study of Scripture and Reformed theology. But I had little knowledge of the human person and very little human experience. That is not a criticism; I was young. One so young has not a very large store of experience from which to speak. I will make a criticism however; it is this: one so young with so little human experience ought not to be so certain he had the answer to the multiple human dilemmas simply because he preached Jesus Christ. I've admitted this fault many times - I had the answers; I simply had not yet learned the questions. And the right answer to the wrong question is always wrong. As I said, I had learned and I preached Reformed theology and I now see that that was why my preaching failed to reach to the heart of the human situation - I was preaching Reformed theology. The problem with that struck me this week when I read a letter from the Muskegon Classis Minister, Rick Veenstra, to the Christian members of the Jewish Christian Dialogue Committee who had written Classis on my behalf. It was not a very gracious letter and lacked class. In it, Veenstra said, "The Reformation tradition is reformed according to the Word of God." The words jumped out at me; I recognized the misunderstanding he expressed. It was the same problem with my early preaching, indeed, with my first sermon to this congregation. Reformed has become a noun or an adjective, as in "Reformed theology." But in its origin in the 16th century, when it is operating according to the originating vision, it is a verb. The genius of the 16th century Reformation of the Church was that the Church was re-formed according to the word of God and always being re-formed. As soon as one claims a Reformed theology, the renewal is over. The burst of spiritual vision and energy has again been mastered and managed and packaged. Now there is a new system rather than a biblical faith that is being redefined, newly translated and bringing illumination to the ongoing human story. © Grand Valley State University �The One We Proclaim Richard A. Rhem Page 3   In a word, I came here thirty-six years ago with a packaged theology to preach and teach. I had a system of doctrine to inculcate into this congregation quite apart from the fact that it was 1960 or quite apart from the particular people who made up this congregation. Have I changed? Yes, indeed; thank God! Changed in my understanding of the place of theological formulation - seeing it now, not as a closed system of truths, a set of propositions to be assented to, but as a living, moving interpretation of human experience from the perspective of faith in the God revealed in Scripture. But, in another sense, I've not changed. I take my text of thirty-six years ago and set it before you this morning - Paul's words which I appropriate still for a statement of my ministry. For we proclaim not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. (II Corinthians 4:5) Christ Jesus or Messiah Jesus - that is, Jesus the one anointed with Spirit, is the One I proclaim. How much more I believe in him now than then. Then he was Savior; my almost total concentration was on his death for sin, removing our guilt, opening up the possibility of heaven for those who professed his name. But now I stand in awe of his life. Now I see in him such openness to people, so full of grace. Now I see him as the window into the heart of God. His life challenges me. I sense his claim on my life - how I live here and now. Then I thought he came to die; now I believe he came to live and to call his people to such living. Then I saw him as God/human - other than I; now I see him as my flesh and blood brother who calls me and inspires me to follow in his steps. I love him more. He moves me more. I believe in him and I believe God brought him out of death into God's Presence. Christ Jesus is Lord, says Paul. Lord - as opposed to Caesar as Lord. Jesus is Lord - relativizing all my allegiances, political, economic, social. Jesus is Lord. He is the one I proclaim because I believe, as Paul went on to say, that God, the Creator, the one who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. In other words, I believe Jesus was the embodiment of God in human flesh. Why did Paul make this clear declaration? Because some had come into this Corinthian congregation which he had founded and criticized him and accused him of unfaithful proclamation of the Gospel. The Second Letter to the Corinthians is probably an amalgam of several letters, but it is obvious Paul's apostleship was under fire. Note how chapter 3 begins: Are we beginning to commend ourselves again: Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation ... © Grand Valley State University �The One We Proclaim Richard A. Rhem Page 4   And in 2:17, he writes, For we are not peddlers of God's word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons sent from God and standing in God's presence. In 4:2, he asserts, We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or falsify God's word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. What was going on? It is difficult to determine exactly the circumstances, but it may well have been that Paul's breakthrough vision - that God was embracing the Gentiles by grace through faith, not requiring that they follow the Mosaic ritual law - was seen by his opponents as heretical. Therefore, they came into the congregation and stirred up trouble creating tension between Paul and some of the people. That brings me back to the weakness of my inaugural sermon on this text - I had a theological understanding of Jesus Christ but I had no sense of the question Bonhoeffer asked in his Letters and Papers from Prison: The thing that keeps coming back to me is, what is Christianity, and indeed what is Christ, for us today? It is that question that drives my ministry after all these years. I proclaim not another - the one I proclaim is Jesus Christ - The word made flesh in whose face we see into the heart of God. But to put flesh and blood on that proclamation, to say more than the name, to say what it means for our lives here and now - that is the challenge of preaching. To say some meaningful, helpful word to people trying to negotiate this baffling, frightening, fascinating world - that is the task. To connect Jesus Christ to present human experience: that is the calling of the preacher. Let me extend to you the grace of God as Jesus revealed it by assuring you, whoever you are, whatever your history, whatever your present circumstance, God's grace already embraces you, you are valued, you are loved. And if that reality ever breaks fully over you, your life will change and little by little by the Spirit of God you will take on the likeness of Jesus and in your life image him who is the image of God. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/065ff71aba70dc3afb889d8e75e5e946.mp3 7d0dd98c38715ff9082ef23650349658 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost V Scripture Text II Corinthians 4:5, Matthew 16:16 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19960630 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996-06-30 Title A name given to the resource The One We Proclaim Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on June 30, 1996 entitled "The One We Proclaim", on the occasion of Pentecost V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: II Corinthians 4:5, Matthew 16:16. Grace of God Nature of Religion Re-imagining the Faith Reformation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5528ae40c67a515d592b1353c08925d9.jpg c93b248c287daccf8a8e6cdbba3d8b7e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Oxbow-18-34 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists' Residency Title A name given to the resource The Ox-Bow Inn Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of the nineteenth century landmark building known as "The Ox-Bow Inn" located at the center of the Ox-Bow grounds in Saugatuck, Michigan. The historic inn is known as the heart of the campus and is nestled among the trees at the edge of Tallmadge Woods. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Art school Buildings Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by Mike Van Ark for the Stories of Summer Project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bd2b50f9d752d8a3880fbcb12e349832.pdf 32bca5a6b3a1b52a522140933fa85501 PDF Text Text The Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of life, locally and globally. The dilemma of closing the schools, colleges, and universities has interrupted teaching and student’s success. Classes have shifted to online learning, leading to changes in students’ schedules, lifestyles, and health. At this time, I have received numerous e-mails from my academic advisors, teachers, and the counseling center. As this is a particularly challenging time across our world, it is normal to experience stress, anxiety, and fear. The staff at Grand Valley State University has still been able to remain connected with their students. More specifically, even in the midst of uncertain times, GVSU offers enormous support and management tools to help students finish the rest of the semester. I have an apartment near the Grand Valley campus; although, I decided to come home for a couple of weeks. I did not get to have the proper goodbye to some of my close friends and it all felt so surreal. I should have had two months left of my sophomore year, instead I had to pick up everything and leave. Everything feels like it is changing so fast and I have no control. I can only control how I spend my time and having a positive outlook. I quickly packed my bags, not knowing what to bring home or how long I would be gone. I have been home for about a month now and I am still filled with uncertainty on when I will go back to my apartment. I am unable to do things that I would normally do, like visiting my grandma. Also, my cousin had to do have their baby gender reveal over a Zoom meeting. I am unable to do all the fun things that I had planned for the summer. Instead of my usual schedule, I spend most of my time catching up on schoolwork and going for walks with my parents. My older sister lives in Arizona, and my parents thought it would be safer if she stayed there. We facetime her almost every day and try to play fun family games over the phone. I have been trying to keep myself entertained, for example, I have been reading books and want to learn how to sew. On another note, my parents had me when they were older, they are now 63 and 73 years old. This makes me nervous because older adults are at a higher risk of developing the virus. Also, my dad’s elective surgery has been postponed and he experiences daily pain. �We try to limit going to the grocery store and out in public as much as we can; but when we need too, we wear gloves and masks. One day, my dad went to three stores and could not find toilet paper. This time of uncertainty and fear has people doing crazy things. It is hard for everyone at this time; however, we have to think that every single person is in the same situation. That should bring us comfort that we are not alone. Even though this is a scary and terrible time, we should always be looking at the bright side. People are using their creativity much more to think of fun things to keep them busy, and one of the most important is we are connecting and bonding with our family much more then what we would have if this pandemic would not have happened. To keep our spirits high, it is important to think in a positive light and try and cheer ourselves up rather than looking at the bad in this whole situation. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Pandemic Description An account of the resource Journal of an anonymous GVSU student's experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Anonymous Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-04-27 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-04-27_ANON_028 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6fff68cf35fb1d9442e663c1dec787f7.pdf d7b65408c49bc3679d7de926cbdb9f9f PDF Text Text The pandemic diary by windoworks I know what you’re thinking: Wait! What? Why would she use a word like that? Is she trying to scare me? Well maybe yes and maybe no. What I am trying to do is raise awareness. As a friend of mine said: its time to think about our lives in a completely different way - and in a way thats what its all about, our lives. Everyone doing their best to not put themselves, their families and their friends in harms way. Well what does that entail? It’s hard for me to say what that might mean for you, so I’ll just describe what it means for CB and me. Yesterday Grand Valley State University closed and CB considers this means he is home for the summer. So in line with this it means making sure we have adequate supplies of non perishable foods, necessary medications and household supplies. No, not panic buying, just enough for 2-3 weeks. And by the way, I buy my toilet paper, tissues and paper towels online and they only sell it in bulk so I probably already had enough to last some months. It means not attending any meetings, concerts, events etc until at least the end of March. We are able to take walks outside in the fresh air and if you see us we are happy to converse from 3-6 feet apart. All other activities in the community we will consider as the days go by. So here we are at my Day One. I’ll keep you updated. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-03-12_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-03-12 Title A name given to the resource The pandemic diary Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c6f4dfb01f6850a4dd016cb750d03404.mp3 af74006ab262521afcb1df5812ef4979 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Christmas Eve Scripture Text Luke 2:1-4, 1Cor.2:23-26 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20011224 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001-12-24 Title A name given to the resource The Paradox of Christmas Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on December 24, 2001 entitled "The Paradox of Christmas", on the occasion of Christmas Eve, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 2:1-4, 1Cor.2:23-26. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives