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Fall 2023 · Vol. 52 No. 2 · pp. 99–111 

Jonah’s Faith Pedagogy

Douglas B. Miller

Tucked away among the shorter books of prophecy in the Old Testament is the story of Jonah. The Bible’s portrayal of Jonah’s ministry is limited, known elsewhere only by its brief mention in 2 Kings 14:25. The ways in which the book of Jonah is unusual make for an extensive list:

  • Unlike other prophetic books, it comprises a story and includes only a brief oracle.

  • Jonah is never designated a prophet, and the time of his ministry is not indicated.

What is striking about the book of Jonah is that the Lord wants Jonah to be affectively aligned with the God he worships.

  • Jonah is rescued by a giant fish, though the fish is mentioned in only three verses and otherwise ignored.

  • The story is infused with ironies, the greatest of which involves the prophet himself—the only character in the story that does not cooperate with God.

  • The text is traditionally read by Jews during afternoon prayers on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, for its association with repentance. Indeed the people of Nineveh turn from evil (3:10) and even God turns away from plans for judgment (3:9, 10; 4:2). However Jonah, though he accepts God’s second chance to deliver a message, is not yet aligned with God’s purposes. Pagan sailors and Ninevites are {100} delivered, but we have reason to wonder whether Jonah himself will be saved. 1

The message of Jonah’s book is rich and complex. It presents God as one who is the compassionate Creator, eager to deliver sinners, and concerned for Gentiles as well as for the people of Israel. We also learn about the nature of prophecy, notably that God’s warnings to repent are intended to deliver those being addressed. Further, we find that God cares about animals as well as people.

Yet all of this could be communicated through the book’s first three chapters. This essay will target the book’s fourth chapter, a part of the story easily ignored. It contains no dramatic piscine rescue, and the success of the prophet’s warning message is already achieved. But the story is not finished. There is a fourth chapter at all because God is still concerned about his troubled prophet, even though Jonah has fulfilled his assignment. By carrying out his vocation as prophet, Jonah will receive blessings from God, as will those to whom he is sent. We will begin by exploring the three dimensions of Jonah’s faith—what he knows, what he does, and what he feels—followed by reflections on God’s pedagogy and its implications for our own. 2

WHAT JONAH KNOWS

Faith involves a cognitive element, as we see demonstrated throughout the Bible. Important knowledge is received in three significant ways: (1) direct divine encounter (either with God or God’s messenger), (2) indirect divine encounter (such as in the wisdom material), and (3) the passing along of testimony we call tradition down through the generations. Jonah has shared in such a tradition process. The divine encounters in the book bearing his name do not themselves communicate much information. They are essentially instructions to go to Nineveh and deliver a message. To be sure, the initial command includes a reference to the wickedness that motivates God to send Jonah as messenger, but without other information we would not know God’s attitude toward that wickedness. Finally, there is the assumption that God is a supreme authority who has the right to command others.

Yet Jonah has significant additional knowledge about God, which he states on three occasions:

  • 1:9, to the sailors he declares that he worships “the Lord, the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land” (NRSVue passim); cf. Genesis 1:9–10;

  • 2:9, to God, when in the fish, Jonah celebrates by declaring that “Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”; cf. Exodus 15:2; and {101}

  • 4:2, to God again, this time in complaint, that “you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment”; cf. Exodus 34:6–7; Joel 2:13.

Additional important information includes the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone” (Deut 6:4). And Deuteronomy 26:5–9 recounts that “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien . . . . The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand . . . and he brought us into this place.” These declarations about God are at the heart of Israel’s theological understanding, revelation that presents the character of the God whom they love and worship, and truths passed down to their children’s children.

In the New Testament we find the declaration, “Jesus is Lord” (Rom 10:9; 1 Cor 12:3) as well as concise reports like the one found in 1 Timothy 3:16: “He [Jesus] was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.” The conclusion of the Gospel of John states the document’s purpose: “These are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” The most extensive statement about Christ comes from the apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians (2:6–11).

As for Jonah, we see that he has an accurate theology. But this is one of the ironies of the book: Jonah knows who God is, yet runs away when God calls. We might say that the results of that flight were predictable—there is nowhere for Jonah to hide! And God does not put up with resistance. For Jonah, there is a disconnect.

WHAT JONAH DOES

His failure to follow through on the action element of faith, modeled far better by the repentant Ninevites, is an obvious way that Jonah stumbles. He believes the right things, yet his actions (at least initially) do not align with his understanding.

The plot of the book involves a fascinating and ironic back-and-forth between God’s actions and those of the prophet. So Jonah worships the God of heaven (1:9)? But he disobeys God’s call to go to Nineveh. He knows God made the sea as well as the dry land? Yet he buys passage on a boat to flee and is vulnerable when God sends a storm. Strangely, Jonah sleeps through a tempest so violent that the sailors are pitching their cargo overboard in hopes of saving the ship. The lots point to Jonah, and to his credit he admits his culpability and offers to be thrown into the sea for the benefit of the others. {102}

The Lord next provides a large fish to rescue Jonah, about which Jonah prays eloquently and gratefully during the whole of chapter 2. After three days and three nights in the fish’s belly, Jonah is vomited onto dry land. Then God’s word comes to Jonah a second time, with the same instruction: “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you” (3:2).

This time Jonah makes the right decision and goes to the city to deliver his message. Amazingly, though the announcement is brief (in Hebrew, only five words), the people immediately believe God and respond. Even the king humbles himself, proclaiming a fast for people and animals in hopes that God would change “so that we do not perish” (3:9). And God does change and does not bring calamity on the city.

That faith involves action is also emphasized in the Bible. The Ten Commandments (Exod 20 and Deut 5) and the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5–7) are important examples. In English translation, the terms observe and remember are indicators of this dimension, e.g., “Observe what I command you this day” (Exod 34:11); and “So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God” (Num 15:40). Similarly we find Jesus saying, “Blessed . . . are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” (Luke 11:28). Also, among many other examples, he tells a parable illustrating that those who do God’s will will enter God’s kingdom (Matt 21:28–32). Likewise, Paul states that the purpose of his ministry is “to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of [Jesus’] name among all the nations” (Rom 1:5; cf. 16:26), and that “it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil 2:13). James insists that “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). An early catechetical document known as the Didache, parts of which go back to the early second century, details the obedient actions expected of those seeking baptism.

On this element of faith, then, Jonah eventually acts appropriately, but only after surviving significant distress: enduring a violent storm, being saved from drowning by being swallowed by large fish, and spending three days and nights in its belly. Yet he does obey, and his mission is successful. We might expect the story to end at this point, but God is not done with Jonah.

ORTHODOXY AND ORTHOPRAXY

Before proceeding to the third element of faith, I wish to comment briefly on some ways Christians have engaged these first two areas. Over the past two thousand years, followers of Jesus have worked diligently on the knowledge (or belief) aspect. In some portions of the Christian family {103} this is especially true, and orthodoxy (correct belief) is for them the key faith element. This is represented in creeds—statements about God, Jesus, salvation, and other fundamental beliefs—the agreement with which is a requirement of belonging to their particular group. Early examples include the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed, from the second and fourth centuries respectively. 3

Other Christian groups have resisted the creedal approach to belief in favor of confessions of faith. Such confessions include the understandings of the group, sometimes in great detail, but are not themselves “required” beliefs strictly speaking. Rather, they record the common beliefs of the group, or its majority, or its leadership. As such, confessional statements are expected to be revised over time as new issues arise and new ways of thinking about the truths of the faith are articulated. This approach is also quite ancient and can be traced to rules of faith (from the third century on) used for instructional purposes and to correct wrong ideas. Thus, there is a long practice of Christians taking their worldview beliefs very seriously.

The corollary actions or ethics of faith, designated orthopraxy (correct conduct), have also been handled variously. Sometimes behavior expectations are carefully specified, whether in moral dimensions or in other guidelines for faithfulness to the beliefs of the fellowship. Violations of these guidelines may result in the disciplining of a person or group or even expulsion from the main body.

Some followers of Jesus insist that belief (orthodoxy) is the primary faith element, while others argue that practice (orthopraxy) is more essential. However, this is to misunderstand the nature of faith. Both belief and practice are vital but by focusing only on these two elements we risk devaluing or even ignoring the essential third element of faith.

WHAT JONAH FEELS

The third faith area is the realm of experience, feelings, and character. It is where we discover what we really love and value, and where, through self-understanding, we come to appreciate how our knowledge is, or is not, connected happily with the choices we make and their outcomes.

If we pick up the Jonah storyline at the end of chapter 3 and seek to appreciate the situation sympathetically from the prophet’s perspective, we may suspect that he is anxious about the tension between God’s justice and God’s mercy. By experience he knows that God holds people accountable for doing wrong. Yet Jonah also knows that God is generous and merciful, for he has been the recipient of that mercy.

What remains in the unspoken background of this story is the brutality of the Ninevites (recounted by the prophet Nahum in the biblical book with his name) and its connection with the people of Israel. 4 The specific {104} timeframe of Jonah’s story is not specified, but several clues suggest the mid-eighth century BCE. The reign of Jeroboam II, with whom Jonah is connected in 2 Kings 14:25, can be dated to approximately 786–746. We know from elsewhere that Nineveh was an important city of the Assyrian empire and was made the empire’s capital around the year 700. The northern portion of Israel was defeated by the Assyrians in 722. Jonah, from the village of Gath-hepher just a few miles northeast of Nazareth in Galilee, presumably would know of the harsh threat posed by Assyria.

We can imagine the fear Jonah might be experiencing as he begins to fulfill God’s charge to warn the Ninevites of their coming demise. He might be arrested, tortured, and killed for annoying the citizens—the king of Nineveh acknowledges the “evil ways” and “violence” of those in the city (3:8). But according to Jonah, that is not why he resisted going there. And he does not seem in a hurry to leave. Perhaps his greatest fear is that God’s grace could extend to such a judgment-deserving enemy. As he sits looking toward the city at the beginning of chapter 4, he seems to be hoping for an apocalyptic event, a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type obliteration (Gen 19:24-25).

It’s at this point that we find the story’s most intense divine-human engagement. Jonah’s strong emotions are unmistakable. He becomes angry (4:1) and speaks to God in frustration (4:2–4). He is very happy at the shading plant (4:6), though angry when it is removed (4:9), and he despairs of his life (4:3, 8). We should note here that God is likewise presented throughout the Bible as experiencing various emotions, and not only the steadfast love Jonah cites in chapter 4. 5

ORTHOPATHY

The term orthopathy, in a theological sense, has been employed to address the third faith area, notably in the theology of John Wesley. It is meant, by analogy to orthodoxy and orthopraxy, to indicate the affective health of Christian living. It concerns loving God, as well as loving what God loves and hating what God hates. It proposes that there is a right experience of God and the life God gives, just as there are right ways to think and act within the realm of Jesus’ kingdom. Wesley says that the Holy Spirit evokes affections, which then take root in the heart. Mere feelings come and go, but affections that abide become dispositions, which Wesley calls “holy tempers.” 6 The affective faith realm has affinities with the fields of virtue ethics and emotional intelligence. Virtues may be defined as habits of the heart that are cultivated through a cycle of information, experience, and reflection.

The virtue of empathy encouraged in some biblical stories alludes to this faith element. Moses supports the Sabbath command by urging the {105} people to “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt” (Deut 5:15), and thus to provide a day of rest rather than treating themselves, their family, their workers, or their animals harshly. If a poor person’s garment is taken in pledge, it must be returned by sundown so they may sleep in it (Deut 24:12–13). Paul exhorts those at Rome to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Rom 12:15). The letter to the Hebrews counsels readers to “Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them, those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured” (Heb 13:3). Jesus taught the two great values: loving God and loving neighbor as we love ourselves (Matt 22:34–40). The fruit of the Spirit itemized in Galatians 5:22–23 is a list of virtues Paul encourages his readers to cultivate.

The Bible’s book of Proverbs is especially devoted to commending righteous virtues, warning against unrighteous habits, and using instrumental virtues appropriately. As the sages of Proverbs recognize, it is unreasonable to expect persons to acquire virtues simply by making a decision to do so. A process is necessary for their cultivation, which includes a mentor who guides by means of instruction, arranges activities, and models behavior, and who then assesses the outcome of these elements.

GOD’S PEDAGOGY FOR FAITH EDUCATION

Having considered Jonah’s viewpoint, we should also reflect upon the story from God’s perspective and then notice the pedagogy employed with Jonah. I propose that God is seeking to nurture within Jonah—and within us—the deeper, affective dimension of our faith, and then to integrate all three: knowledge, actions, and virtue. 7 At the heart of this third dimension is trust: confident reliance upon God in the midst of sometimes difficult circumstances but also when God hands out heavy assignments.

In the book of Jonah, the Lord offers two parts of a strategy for Jonah’s education that are similar to what we find in Proverbs. To use Parker Palmer’s definition that “to teach is to create a space in which obedience to truth can be practiced,” the two parts of this strategy are two ways in which God creates a space in which Jonah can practice obedience to truth. 8

To initiate the strategy, God—always seeking to involve humans in divine projects—gives Jonah an assignment. 9 But Jonah declines to accept it, so God must now motivate Jonah to stay involved with the mission. A powerful Creator can accomplish that with a threatening downpour and a rescue using a large fish. However, if we look closer, we can see that the fish’s rescue of Jonah accomplishes more than simply keeping Jonah on task. It allows the prophet to experience relief and gratitude (in chap. 2) just as the people (and animals!) of Nineveh do when God compassionately decides not to destroy their city. Jonah also feels intense {106} discomfort (thanks to the hot sun in chap. 4) followed by delightful relief (via the plant) just as God had felt concern for the evil Ninevites and relief at their repentance. Thus, God employs two important experiences by which Jonah learned to appreciate God’s mercy on Nineveh.

The second part of the divine pedagogy is to provide for an assessment conversation. Significantly, God’s confrontation of Jonah offers a model for him to imitate, and in this case the model is God. 10 As Jesus later emphasized, God’s love extends even to enemies, and God wants Jonah to love his Assyrian enemies as well (Matt 5:43–48). So God has arranged for Jonah to experience what the Ninevites experienced, and what God experienced, and then models the appropriate response in this situation.

As a good educator, God uses questions to invite Jonah’s engagement: “Is it right for you to be angry?” (4:4, 9); “And should I not be concerned about Nineveh?” (4:11). God zeroes in on Jonah’s anger, a foolproof indicator that something is wrong somewhere (though not necessarily the angry person’s fault). 11 Jonah must now consider his emotional response and what it tells him about himself. He has an opportunity to unpack deeper layers that have led him to care more about his personal well-being (a shading plant) than about a large city. Jonah’s experience provides him with the opportunity to understand God’s motivations to warn Nineveh and to deliver them and their animals.

CLASSIC CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY

I believe we have much to learn from classic Christian spirituality, which was much more concerned with integrating the three elements of faith than it was focused upon any one individual element. Examples of classic spirituality include The Rule of St. Benedict (sixth century) 12 and Bernard of Clairvaux’s treatises “The Steps of Humility and Pride” and “On Loving God” (twelfth century). 13 These writers engage the teachings of the Bible and of Christians before their own era: pondering with their minds, practicing by their actions, and engaging God about them in prayer—all to grow in virtues of the Spirit and especially in love for God and people. As theologian Helmut Thielicke urges, theology is intended as a conversational process by which we hear God’s word, receive it as being directed toward ourselves, respond to God in prayer, and articulate it for the benefit of others. 14 This reflects well the New Testament call to follow in Jesus’ steps (1 Pet 2:21): we learn certain things, put them into practice, and grow into the character of our Good Shepherd.

In regard to Jonah, we should note that for all his stuttering and stumbling, he actually does theology in the classic way. He has received the revelatory tradition about God’s nature and character and has reflected on it. After his disobedient attempt to flee, he acknowledges and thanks {107} God for his rescue and takes the second opportunity to fulfill his calling. And when his experience does not turn out the way he had hoped, he talks directly to God about it. By the end of the book, we simply have not seen the outcome of his theological process.

Jonah’s story illustrates that knowledge and action, though essential, are not the sum components of faith. If they were, we might expect God, at the end of the book, to challenge Jonah to be a bit more responsive next time, or perhaps God would provide some additional information that Jonah hadn’t known, before moving on to other tasks. But God does not address either of these two areas, and likewise we should hold both orthodoxy and orthopraxy lightly enough for proper perspective. What Jonah most lacks is the third, affective dimension of faith.

Classic Christian spirituality offers two distinctives that align with what we have seen in the book of Jonah. The first is an appreciation for the affective faith area. The second is respecting all three areas of faith and integrating them. That means exploring theological issues, while asking what implications they have for a life of faithful obedience, and never neglecting the impact of both for transformation and growth in Jesus-like character.

The Christian walk is done in community, which means that the group assists one another in all the faith realms and discerns which understandings and practices nurture better followers of Jesus. Christian groups, in their own cultural context, work out together what it means to nurture and integrate the three realms of faith appropriately.

HOW SHALL WE TEACH?

In this essay, I have addressed three dimensions of faith: knowledge, actions, and feelings including virtues. Faith is something we exercise each day in the most routine aspects of our lives. Knowledge of, service for, and love for our Creator is simply the most essential and central faith engagement. 15 The three dimensions of faith are all vital and correspond well with the cognitive, practical, and affective dimensions of education. 16 In addition to strengthening each of these in their students’ lives, educators strive to bring them into greater congruence. I have explored the story of Jonah to show how it informs the educational task.

Education inevitably includes knowledge. Across the disciplines (in college, my main experience as an educator), we typically want to communicate a lot of information to our students, from historical events and historiography to chord progressions in music. Likewise there are diverse skills to impart, from methods for laboratory experiments to those for inductive Bible study. I propose that the affective dimension is just as essential to education and, if ignored, is filled indirectly by such sources {108} as the unacknowledged values of the professor and the institution, not to mention those of the surrounding culture.

For those who believe in virtues that are rooted in something greater than subjective experience, “the task [of education] is to train in the pupil those responses which are in themselves appropriate.” 17 For Christian educators, as with God and Jonah, this affective area and its integration with the other two is perhaps the most challenging. We want to nurture our students so that they have the opportunity to embrace what is good, to hate what is wrong, and to love God most of all. If we do not recognize this third dimension, we may in fact educate inconsistently, or even promote values that are contrary to the faith we profess.

In the affective realm, we can note three prime areas: (1) vocation (our corporate and individual calling or purpose), (2) values (what is important), and (3) virtues (habits of the heart). As examples, here are some affective goals I have included in college Bible and religion courses:

  • Growth in awareness of God’s call upon one’s life (vocation)

  • Developing convictions about the matters addressed by a [specific] biblical text (value)

  • Commitment to a local expression of Jesus’ church (value)

  • Becoming sensitive to those who are suffering (virtue)

Goals such as these are affective because they concern matters beyond the course’s attention to knowledge and skills.

Some affective goals could apply to any course, while others will vary across disciplines and specific classes. In a given course, one would hope to integrate such issues with the knowledge and skills that are its more manifest purposes. Those for English literature could include greater appreciation for literature and pleasure in words well said, as well as for developing virtues related to any of the topics within the assigned reading for the course. Goals for a mathematics course could include esteem for precision and discipline as well as valuing any number of God-honoring tasks for which math might be employed. As Jesus taught us, the great commands are to love God and to love people, so we would do well to consider how our course goals ultimately connect to those values.

Ways of awakening the internal impetus for affective growth and change are available for the traditional college program but not always obvious. Exploratory visits to another locale and culture are among the more time-honored college means of integrating knowledge, analysis, and evaluation with direct experience and practice. Narratives are also a powerful way to engage both the mind and the emotions and can be employed beyond literature courses. This might be as simple as reading a {109} story or showing a film clip. It can also include opportunities for students to share with each other stories that are important to them.

Forum theatre has been used effectively in the classroom to engage students on challenging social issues, including those involving oppression and violence. With assistance from colleagues in the theatre department, forum theatre can engage students’ minds and emotions by involving them in dramatizations of real-life situations. Their visceral reactions are an opportunity to reflect on what they value and why.

James K. A. Smith urges us to discern the secular rituals in our culture to which we are largely blind. 18 He then calls us to develop and practice alternate rituals that help us love God and the things of God so that other matters can be kept in proper perspective. We already do alternate rituals in our church congregations (some include standing or kneeling), reminding us that God deserves ultimate worship, that the Bible is very important, and that we value our brothers and sisters in Christ. Many educators have rituals built into their course policies and practices that draw attention to the values of honesty, respect for fellow students, and the importance of diligence.

Specific requirements and lessons are another opportunity. When we craft assignments that reflect care for the natural world, we reinforce the love that God has for all creation. We can draw attention to those persons who tend to be ignored in our culture and in world history, reinforcing the truth that God values all people. When we emphasize the power of voice and the arts, we can reinforce God’s instruction that we be witnesses rather than overlords. If we make assignments that imply hope that the world can be a better place, we reinforce God’s desire for shalom for all of creation. 19

These are a few examples of ways educators can create spaces that allow students to engage and experience what is of true value according to a Christian worldview. In the process, they have the opportunity to encourage appropriate emotional responses to the challenges of their world.

Assessing affective goals is often difficult. We can invite students to do a before-and-after inventory of certain attitudes, or write a reflective essay that compares their thoughts at the beginning of a course to those at the end. Yet most of these goals can only be achieved over a longer period of time; the desired changes may not be discernible in a semester or less. We hope to awaken a deep (or deeper) desire within our students in such areas that will extend years into the future. But the challenges in doing assessment should not keep us from this vital educational task. {110}

CONCLUSION

Faith, including Christian faith, involves three realms: knowledge, actions, and feelings. A pedagogy for growth in faith will thus need to address head, hand, and heart and their integration. The striking thing about the book of Jonah is that God is not satisfied with Jonah knowing some important things about God and desires more than Jonah merely acting out of obedience, and even wants more than a successful extension of compassion toward Nineveh. The Lord wants Jonah to be affectively aligned with the God he worships.

Jesus taught us “to be perfect . . . as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:48). Perfection is not a condition we must meet before God will accept us; it is a goal for nurturing and training. To that end, God employed a pedagogy that would give Jonah additional opportunities to develop and grow. The pattern of this pedagogy aligns with the primary areas of all good education, particularly highlighting the importance of nurturing affective growth.

NOTES

  1. Douglas B. Miller, “Will Jonah Be Saved?” in Beautiful upon the Mountains: Biblical Essays on Mission, Peace, and the Reign of God, ed. Mary H. Schertz and Ivan Friesen (Elkhart, IN: Institute of Mennonite Studies, 2003), 77–98.
  2. I will bracket any proposal for the historical context of the book’s original intended audience and acknowledge that its message would be a different challenge if that audience was living at the time and in the home base of the prophet Jonah in the eighth century BCE or living in Judah after the destruction of Samaria in 721 BCE, or living in Babylon during the exile, or living in Judah during the latter time. The book invites readers to engage the issues in their own social context.
  3. The Apostles Creed developed over time. It did not originate with the first apostles, and some scholars believe that it began later than the second century.
  4. For helpful introductions to the minor prophets (Book of the Twelve) and the significance of their relationship to one another in the canon, see Rainer Kessler, “The Twelve: Structure, Themes, and Contested Issues,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Prophets, ed. Carolyn J. Sharp (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), 207–23, and Paul L. Redditt, Introduction to the Prophets (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008).
  5. Emotions that are implied or directly stated of God in the Bible include love, hate, jealousy, joy, grief, anger, and compassion. God’s enjoyment is indicated (e.g., at the creation and at the sacrifices offered by Noah, Gen 1:31; 9:20–22) as well as suffering (e.g., Judg 2:18; Isa 1:14; Hos 11:8–9). The Gospels portray Jesus experiencing that same range of emotions and experiences. {111}
  6. John Wesley, “On Zeal,” in A Treasury of Great Preaching (WORDsearch, 2020).
  7. The book is constructed rhetorically so that we who hear Jonah’s story are invited to put ourselves and our experiences in Jonah’s place and to allow God’s pedagogy to apply to us. What command are we resisting? About what aspects of God’s character are we ambivalent? Are we honestly acknowledging our frustrations, anger, and disagreements to God in prayer? Are we open to God’s compassion toward those we struggle to love? As we allow ourselves to gain new self-understanding, God is able to change us and integrate all three faith dimensions.
  8. Parker J. Palmer, To Know as We Are Known (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983), 69; The Courage to Teach (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998), 90.
  9. Jesus likewise sent out his disciples on a mission (Luke 10:1–12).
  10. Jesus modeled everything he asked his disciples to do (Luke 10) and taught that God should be imitated (Matt 5:48). Paul invited those in Corinth to imitate the ways he imitated Christ (1 Cor 4:16; 11:1; cf. Phil 3:17; Eph 5:1–2; 1 Thess 1:6; 2:14; 2 Thess 3:7–9). Imitation is also important to other New Testament writers (Heb 6:12; 13:7; 3 John 11).
  11. Eugene H. Peterson, Under the Unpredictable Plant (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1992), 157.
  12. Patrick Barry, Saint Benedict’s Rule, 2nd ed. (Mahwah, NJ: Hidden Spring, 2004).
  13. Bernard of Clairvaux, Treatises II (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian, 1980).
  14. Helmut Thielicke, A Little Exercise for Young Theologians (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1962), 33–35. Thielicke warns us to beware of the shift from second to third person in regard to God, something first displayed by the serpent in the garden (Gen 3:1).
  15. Douglas B. Miller, “The Nature of Biblical Faith,” Direction 44 (Spring 2015): 72–83, https://directionjournal.org/44/1/nature-of-biblical-faith.html.
  16. This understanding of faith in three realms and its implications for education is discussed by Thomas H. Groome in his classic work, Christian Religious Education (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1980), esp. chaps. 4 and 9.
  17. C. S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man (New York: Macmillan, 1947), 31.
  18. James K. A. Smith, You Are What You Love (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2016), 27–55.
  19. Smith, chapters 3–7.
Douglas B. Miller is Professor Emeritus of Biblical and Religious Studies at Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kansas.

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