Episode 23: Questioning God with Barb Parnet, Part 1
In this episode, Kerry + David speak with Barb Parnet, who has a fascinating story of faith. "It was in Jerusalem in 1969 when i began to question the old testament God. I was on pilgrimage with forty 16 year olds from the Jewish community in Kansas City. Among us were those with various levels of religious observance. Some kept Kosher, others were more reform. We came from different synagogues and temples . We were there to visit holy sites as well as the Dead Sea, Kibbutzim, archeological sites, the souk in the old city, the beach at Eilat. We even met David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel at Sde Boker in the desert. One day, we were listening to a Rabbi talk to us about the 613 commandments in the Torah, the old testament. I asked the Rabbi “if I do not keep every one of the 613 commandments, does that mean I am not a good Jew?”, and he said YES.
"Something happened to me at that moment. My body was telling me in my gut that he was wrong. I knew I was a good person. I did not know what that meant as far as God was concerned. I still recited the Shema which is a declaration of faith to God that you declare on the door post of your house and upon your gates. Mostly I felt rejected. There was no room for discussion, but something in me knew he was wrong. I was a good girl and I knew better than to try and argue."
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS
David is a University of California Santa Barbara alum and leads Santa Barbara’s Beloved Community Church, and also Jesus Collective, an online community which exists to foster wholeness and equity by healing relationships and cultural divides, honoring the dignity of all peoples, and protecting the biodiversity of our planet, through actively listening, understanding, partnering, and serving. He is the author of Making America Great Again: Fairy Tale? Horror Story? Dream Come True? Learn more at www.davidnmoore.com
Kerry Connelly, (she / her) MDiv, CCLC is the author of Good White Racist? Confronting Your Role in Racial Injustice and Wait, Is This Racist? A Guide to Becoming an Antiracist Church. Kerry holds her Master of Divinity from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, where she is currently pursuing her Doctorate of Ministry. She is a Certified Coach with additional certifications in DISC personality styles, conflict resolution (Cornell University), + she is a NYC Leadership Fellow. Passionate about all things spiritual, she is also trained in a number of intuitive energy healing modalities, including traditional Usui Reiki and Angel Reiki. When she is not consulting with predominantly White churches to help them deconstruct White pseudosupremacy in their daily operations, she is working 1:1 with clients to help them connect with their own higher guidance and to live deeply intuitive lives. You can learn more about Kerry at www.kerryconnelly.com.
