The Blue Collar Scholar

This episode examines the Scriptures from Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John which involve female characters in the narrative. Note: The Virgin Mary is the focus of a separate episode, and is only mentioned in passing in this episode.

In this episode, we will look at the last acts of the Congress under the Articles of Confederation, the great debate between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists which was carried out mostly via letters/editorials in newspapers and journals, the timeline of ratification of the Constitution done by ratification conventions in the 13 states (plus Vermont), and - as always - we chase bunny trails!

Mary the Mother of Jesus is almost certainly the most recognized, significant, and important female character in Scripture. There are many misunderstandings concerning this person, too. In this episode, we will look at the Scriptural passage where Mary's story is told.

Previous episodes brought us to the point where the Constitutional Convention presented a final draft of the Constitution to the states for ratification. We will discuss the ratification process next week. In the meantime, let us go through the original Constitution (pre-Amendments) line-by-line and discuss it. Join us in this episode as we analyze the USA's most important state document.

In this sermon, I break down the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). Some of the Beatitudes have instant, obvious application: Make Peace. Be merciful. Seek righteousness. But some of the Beatitudes - Blessed are those who mourn, or the poor in spirit - are directed at those who are hurting. Through Jesus Christ, even the downtrodden are living the good life, despite their hardships.

Solomon is the likely author of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. In those books, Solomon is unafraid to use female imagery to make his points. And he is unafraid to use female imagery in an unflattering light, such as a dangerous adulterous or the personification of folly. But he also gave us Proverbs 31, and he uses a woman as the personification of wisdom itself. And compared to his contemporaries, Solomon's treatment of women in his writings is strikingly positive.

The United States government under the Articles of Confederation was toothless and broke, unable to raise money, and with little to no international clout. Something had the change. And Shays' Rebellion in Massachusetts was the final straw. So James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and other advocates for a more robust federal government began taking steps that would result in a convention in Philadelphia in 1787 which hammered out a Constitution that still exists today as the most important state document of the United States of America.

The Bible is full of villains, like Satan, Haman, Pilate, etc. Four of those villains are women, and therefore are the purview of this class. So in this episode we will look at the stories of Delilah, Jezebel, Athaliah, and Herodias.

The United States of America has existed for 236 years under the same government, perpetuated by the United States Constitution. But the Constitution is a strong document that establishes a rather strong central government, and the American citizens of the late 1770s and early 1780s would never have adopted such a document. First, we had to go through the weeds and suffer the slings and arrows of a national government founded on a much weaker document, one that allows only a toothless and perpetually broke national government. Only after the failure of that document would the United States be ready to try something else. That original document was the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly known as Articles of Confederation. In this episode we go through that document and see just where it failed. Also, *bunny trail warning*, this class and its professor chase several bunny trails in this lecture.

The story of Esther is one of the most well-written, gripping, cinematic stories found in the Bible. It has a good hero, a compelling villain, high stakes (an attempted genocide), and such great story telling devices as irony and poetic justice. This episode looks at the characters of Vashti & Esther and each woman's relationship with the Persian Emperor Xerxes I.