Reading Scripture through the Lens of Trauma and Poverty in Brazil (Caio Peres)

Episode Summary

How does our social location affect the way we read the Bible and worship? For the ancient Israelites, who lived in a subsistence-level agrarian society, the Torah, worship in the temple, daily work, and social justice were intimately intertwined. Scripture resists our urge to separate the sacred from the secular, our worship of God from our treatment of those around us.

For Caio Peres, an independent researcher and missionary, the daily realities of trauma and poverty in Brazil provide a lens through which to view Scripture’s concern for social flourishing. Caio holds an MA in Theology and Religious Studies from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and strives not just to work for or with the impoverished in his community, but to share life with them. In this episode, he discusses the culture of ancient Israel, the motifs of sacrifice in the Torah and New Testaments, and the connection the biblical authors draw between worship in the Tabernacle and the structure of the cosmos. He concludes with thoughts on addressing trauma through living alongside people, understanding their experiences, and sharing their embodied reality via Christian rituals.

Chapters

    • 0:00 Ordinary life and worshipping God

    • 3:20 The Torah’s lack of a sacred/secular divide

    • 8:18 Sacrificial motifs in the New Testament

    • 14:00 Practicing biblical theology in Brazil

    • 19:20 Living with people in extreme poverty in Brazil

    • 22:47 How Christians should address trauma

    • 26:41 Our social location and how we read the Bible

Articles Caio has written for The Biblical Mind:

Family Conflicts and the Restoration of the Cosmos, Part I: Morality amid Oppression and Humility (available in Portuguese)

Family Conflicts and the Restoration of the Cosmos, Part II: Kingship and Servanthood within the Elected Family (available in Portuguese)

Transcripts are AI generated and are not guaranteed to correctly reflect the content of the podcast.
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Caio Peres

Caio Peres is an independent researcher and missionary in Brazil, his home country, with his wife and two children. He holds a MA in Theology and Religious Studies from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. His areas of research are mainly on ancient Israel, its material and household culture in relation to its worship rituals, as well as on its creation theology in relation to its sacred spaces. Due to his involvement in social ministries, working and sharing his life with poor and vulnerable people in São Paulo, Brazil, he is eager to do his academic research in Biblical Studies in conversation with their real life experiences.Caio Peres é um pesquisador independente que vive no Brasil, seu país de origem, junto com sua esposa e dois filhos. Ele possui um Mestrado em Teologia e Estudos Religiosos pela Universidade Livre de Amsterdam. Suas áreas de pesquisa, em grande parte, são sobre o antigo Israel, sua cultura material e familiar em relação com seus rituais de adoração, assim como sua teologia da criação em relação com seus espaços sagrados. Devido aos seu envolvimento em ministérios sociais, trabalhando e compartilhando sua vida com pessoas pobres e vulneráveis em São Paulo, Brasil, ele está sempre pronto para fazer suas pesquisas acadêmicas em Estudos Bíblicos em diálogo com a experiência de vida dessas pessoas.

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