Dynamic Bible Study Through the Book of Ruth
Have you ever wished your Bible study invited more curiosity, conversation, and discovery?
Catching the Spark is a four-week series that explores engaging, interactive ways of reading the Bible. Together, we'll slow down, ask good questions, pay attention to the details of the text, and discover how context, culture, and literary artistry can deepen our understanding of Scripture.
Using the Book of Ruth as our guide, we'll experiment with approaches that uncover new insights and open fresh perspectives. While our focus will be on Ruth, the practices you'll experience can be used with any passage of Scripture, enriching personal study, group discussion, preaching, and teaching.
Session Schedule
Session 1: Ruth and Naomi's Journey
Session 2: Gleaning in Boaz's Field
Session 3: Ruth at Boaz's Feet
Session 4: Boaz and Ruth's Marriage
Tickets
$20 for all four sessions
Free tickets are available for high school and university students
About Dr. Derek Suderman
Derek Suderman teaches in both the undergraduate Religious Studies and graduate Master of Theological Studies programs. In addition to his textual work as a Hebrew Bible/Old Testament scholar, Suderman explores how diverse cultural and historical contexts inform biblical interpretation and ethical discernment.
Suderman explores the language and cultures of the Bible, often making what students expect to be familiar look quite strange; this in turn provides students with a mirror to see their own settings and beliefs in a new way. He believes that being part of a 'living tradition' involves not simply defending this tradition but recognizing problems and blind spots within it. Suderman proves particularly interested in exploring how the Bible has been used to both justify and oppose violence within the broad history of the Christian tradition.
Suderman has broad research interests, including investigating: the social audience of the Psalms; gendered and other forms of violence in the prophets; wisdom literature as a resource for contemporary interfaith dialogue and cooperation; and the ethical implications of biblical interpretation, focused particularly on violence in the Bible and contemporary issues related to Indigenous peoples. Suderman loves to travel and has taught or made academic presentations on 5 continents.