In the middle of October, I had the privilege of being among a group of about thirty scholars in Lund, Sweden, to present a paper dealing with ancient synagogues—the overall theme of the conference. This is one of the "hot topics" in Biblical Studies right now, since in the mid-nineties, a group of scholars began to question many of the assumptions previously held about the earliest synagogues, some in quite a radical way.

For instance, several researchers have argued forcefully that synagogues did not exist at all in the time of Jesus—that translators were misleading readers when they rendered the Greek term synagoge with our English word synagogue. From their perspective, the Greek word was better translated gatherings. Thus, in their view, when we read NT passages using this word, we should envision Jesus or Paul meeting with pious Jews assembled in someone's home—not in a consecrated place of worship.

From another direction, other scholars have argued that Jews did not engage in prayer in these gatherings—rather, they spent their time strictly studying the Law and the Prophets. Still others have proposed that the class of "God-fearing" Gentiles depicted in Acts as attending synagogue services were actually literary fictions invented by Luke to demonstrate the "failure of Judaism."

My own research, which culminated in the publication of my book, Into the Temple Courts in 1999, discovered that all of these proposals were long on theory, but short on evidence. The ancient archaeological and literary materials presented there and on a companion website (www.pohick.org/sts/) consistently contradict these reconstructions. Indeed, the evidence shows how, during the time of Jesus (and even well before), synagogues were consecrated buildings that served as the religious and civic centers for the local Jewish communities. Not only did they function as places of prayer and Bible study on holy days, but also as schools, courtrooms, banks, museums, boardrooms, and banquet halls—functions we often classify as "secular" in today's more compartmentalized Western civilization.

Fortunately, my work and that of other scholars at this conference appear to have stemmed this revisionist tide. Moreover, the presentations made at Lund, while not always in total agreement, have made a significant contribution toward painting a richer and more accurate portrait of the early synagogues. The volume containing the conference papers will be published in the Spring.

Why is this research so important to Christians today?

First of all, the synagogue was the place where Jesus worshiped throughout his earthly life. It was his "church," if you will. Understanding more about this institution therefore helps us to better understand the words and deeds of our Lord that are presented in the Gospels.

Secondly, the early Christians clearly modeled their churches after the synagogues in many significant ways, such as in the reading and explication of Scripture, in the incorporation of prayer into their services, and in the roles established for their leaders. Obtaining a clearer picture of the synagogues, therefore, brings our vision of the early churches more clearly into focus.

This last point, finally, helps us to better understand the liturgy and mission of our church today, since we gain from this research a greater knowledge of the church's origins.
I will be covering all of these points in more detail in the Biblical Archaeology class on Sunday, November 18th, which will deal with synagogues in the time of Jesus. Do not be surprised, however, if I slip the topic into sermons and talks from time to time. In a sense, it is unavoidable: the synagogues of antiquity, like the churches of today, dealt with all aspects of community life. In order to discuss the life of Jesus and the apostles, sooner or later one must discus the synagogues.

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One of the greatest joys in the life of the early synagogues and churches came from the celebration of new ministries raised up within the local communities. With respect to this, by the time you read this article, God willing, we will have celebrated with Bishop Jones the new ministry that I have been called to assume at Pohick Church. In anticipation of this, I will reflect that we have already had much to rejoice over since we arrived here just a few months ago, though, of course, we have also shared in some great sorrows.

At the start of this new journey, we look forward to joining with this parish in many years of service to the Lord. Please continue the process of praying and of discussing and sharing with each other your vision of Pohick Church—a process that I invited you to enter in my remarks two months ago.

As we come together in the next few weeks to worship and pray, we will also be deciding upon the new lay leadership of the church at our Parish Meeting on December 2nd. We hope to follow up these elections with a series of parish-wide discussions in early January, so that the new vestry can begin to craft from this input a long-term strategic plan for our parish, one that we can implement over the next decade.

Through all of these plans and all of the concerns of our nation swirling around us, may God grant us an inner sense of peace so that we can move ahead in hopeful expectation of the great things he has in store for our parish.

Faithfully,

Donald D. Binder+