Jesus-Shalom
Scripture, Animism, Theology
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We return for more conversation with Mari Joerstad, scholar of the Hebrew Bible, who reads the Old Testament through the lens of an indigenous, animist worldview. This reading creates a space for some fresh theological reflection on whether God might be understood as material (not “spiritual”), as person-like-a-river, rather than (or alongside) a person-like-a-human. It also offers alternative biblical vistas for how we think about personal and corporate identity. The conversation doesn’t arrive at any clear and settled conclusions, but it does introduce some interesting and important reference points for fresh thinking that is both deeply scriptural and potentially contemporary.