"Woke" Amos might change your life: The wealth of Jezreel Valley and Samaria

Send us Fan MailCorrection! Jezreel Valley goes from Haifa to the Jordan River. Kidron Valley is next to Jerusalem. I am sorry for the error!No word is more polarizing than "woke" but the people who get really angry about usually can't define it. To them, it just means anything liberal they don't like. Instead, the term arose in the black community in the mid-20th century and it simply means becoming aware of the systemic injustice in American society. It was used against Jim Crow and racism and the institutions that kept and still keep people of color down. I argue that Amos is the most woke book of the Hebrew Bible because it is a shock to the self-righteous. Old Testament Survey classes are usually the weeder classes in seminaries, in a similar way that Calculus is in universities. Why? I explore how many Christians when faced with a deeper understanding of the Old Testament encounter a crisis of faith. Amos is one of those books for Americans and all western societies. Amos has long been used as a critique by civil rights advocates and liberation theologians. If you don't see yourself in Amos, you just aren't paying attention.  Reference: Gören Eidevall "Amos: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries)#oldtestament #amos #woke #capitalism #liberationtheology #selfrighteousness #edmonds #edmondspres #pcusa