Dr. Brennan Breed lectures at The Institute for GOD
Dr. Breed visited The Institute for GOD from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur Georgia, where he was the favorite professor of our chaplain, Christopher Jones.
Last week, the Institute for G.O.D. was blessed to host Dr. Brennan Breed, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA.
Institute chaplain Chris Jones was a student of Dr. Breed’s when he was in seminary and was highly impacted by his biblical teaching and also friendship. As Chris introduced him Tuesday night, Dr. Breed is a Bible scholar with a pastor’s heart. Breed has written two books, Nomadic Text: A Theory of Biblical Reception History and Daniel: A Commentary with Dr. Carol Newsom. He is currently writing a book on Ecclesiastes, of which Institute students got a taste during our weekly chapel program.
Dr. Breed’s public lecture was attended by over 100 people and raised over $1200 for International scholarships for Bible students.
On Tuesday evening, Dr. Breed gave a public lecture titled Dynamic Torah: The Blessing of Moses’ Covenant.
Breed highlighted the absurdity and audacity of Israel’s God Yhwh to make covenant with his people, not just the king or the leaders, but the people as a whole. He explained how when Israel came up in the Ancient Near East (ANE), other mesopotamian societies had already been existing for millenia. Unlike every other culture, Israel was the first monotheistic religion in the ANE. This was simply unheard of and completely bizarre. And this God of Israel limits himself by giving his people a contract, an ‘if you, then I’ agreement. Breed went on to talk about how equally audacious of God’s people it is that not only were they held to their end of the covenant, but they were allowed, maybe even expected, to hold God to his end (enter the Psalms). He ended by inviting today’s church into this same conversation, working out together how to live within the dynamics of the covenant. Breed’s teaching was authentic, genuine, authoritative–the kind of fresh air you feel when you’re breathing in God’s Spirit. It was a special evening and truly a gift to the individuals and community present.
Dr. Breed, an Old Testament scholar, was happy to find a community of people with him he could speak freely about The Hebrew Scriptures and engage their thoughtful questions.
The following morning, Dr. Breed spoke at the Institute for G.O.D. chapel on the message of Ecclesiastes.
It was equally as insightful, enlightening, and compelling as the previous night’s. He shared about conversations with his 12-year-old son about the brevity of life, a mere 4,000 weeks for most (borrowed from Oliver Burkeman). He interpreted Qohelet’s refrain, “vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Ecc 1:2) as all is breath, highlighting the reality that no breath means no life, life requires breath, life require the constant movement of our chests rising and falling, of the earth turning on its axis, of the wind picking up the soil, of the waves crashing into the shore, of the human being continually moving and changing. It was a powerful reminder of our position as mortal creatures, highly aware of our coming death, yet very, very much alive as we toil today. His sermon was equal parts sobering and life-giving, a timely message for our young adults on campus.
We’re so thankful for Dr. Breed’s visit to our college. It’s such a blessing to be taught by people who love and study God’s Word, and love to share it with God’s people. We ended chapel praying for Dr. Breed and his family, ministry, and life’s work to produce fruit one-hundred fold for God’s kingdom. Many blessings Brennan!
