Assignments

Today marks the beginning of a new feature on Table Stichomythia: Assignments. There are four authors with posting rights for this blog, and they will be posting more frequently on It is a little like a Freshman composition class, but hopefully this will enable our authors to constantly maintain market-fresh content. Our assignments will form under seven categories:

1. Bible
2. Theology
3. Culture
4. The World
5. Current Events
6. History
7. The Internet

Each will be ranked Easy, Medium, or Hard, and each month will hopefully feature at least one assignment from each category. I have already come up with about 90 assignments, and will add to these as needed, but I would like to extend an invitation for any readers to suggest additional topics. If you would like to suggest a topic for us to explore, send me an email or comment on this or another post to let us know. If you have an idea for how your suggested assignment would fit into the foregoing categories and difficulties, please include those in your email or comment.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Directions and Definition

Praise the LORD! Oh Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise? - Psalm 106:1-2

I have been thinking about the poll above these posts, which gives some idea about the form our discussions should take. We seem to be favoring an historical approach to theological issues, about half of the voters have voted that way, but another half have split between topical and book-by-book approaches to Scripture, two options which pull away from theological concerns and instead plunge directly into the Word.
Since there is a 50/50 split between Biblical and Historical-Theological emphases, I am trying to think of a way to pursue both goals together. The reason is that I So, I am thinking about a few different solutions, and wonder if anyone has an opinion on them:

• Talk about history one month, the Bible the next.
• Talk about history one week, the Bible the next.
• Have some historical and some Bible discussion each week, more or less related to each other. Perhaps the discussions could even be led by two different people.
• In an historical survey, use the conflicts and biographical portraits as a means of discussing big issues, diving into the Scriptures to develop our own views on the issues.
• In a book-by-book biblical discussion, emphasize the historical aspects of issues arising from the passage we approach for the week.
• Something else. I am not sure if these really lay out the best ideas for guiding our path.

So, any thoughts about the above or anything else?

Don't Lick the Polls...

So, there is a poll above here.
It is not a totally arbitrary and nonsensical poll right now, rather, I'd really like to know- how would you like to go about studying the Word and life? While this is Table Stichomythia needs to "keep true to its DNA," as Alton Brown said, it still would be nice to have a direction to steer its blogging course (it's like when The Blob jogs...).
So, let me know!

What's in a name?

I just now surprised myself by actually spelling "stichomythia" right on the first try. I was typing in the little box that looks at Webster's Dictionary for me, and got this result:

Greek stichomythia, from stichomythein to speak dialogue in alternate lines...especially of altercation or dispute delivered by two actors in alternating lines (as in classical Greek drama)

As with most fancy words thrown out onto the internet, this one has been yanked far away from its natural habitat. So, what does "Table Stichomythia" mean?

It begins with Martin Luther's Table Talk. This was a publication back in the 16th century of the good things Dr. Luther would say while eating (and drinking!) with friends. Luther's followers organized and published Table Talk as a guide to the practical, Bible-centered approach to everyday Christianity which was so important in the early German Reformation.

Table Stichomythia adds the Table Talk practicality to the open dialog of several voices, or stichomythia. The idea of this is to start with a steady diet of the truth contained in God's Word to show us what Christianity is. That will take the form of a weekly Bible study, led by me (I'm Stephen P. Rodgers, by the way; nice to meet you. You have such interesting eyes, I just wanted to say... oh right). When this is posted, we can start the discussion, the argument, the plans for making our lives line up with God's best, and the whatever else floats our collective boat. We'll wrap up all that at the end of the week and have a new post ready a day or so later!

Well, that there's what is that's in the name, as awkward as it is! 'Til Mercy join our paths again,


Stephen