Table Conversations On What The Bible Teaches About Just Living

Here are the texts for 45-minute discussions at the November 15 workshop on "Rebirth of Anabaptism: living Just, Joyful and Sustainable Living:

“(The prophet) Amos knew that…there is little value in placing our attention merely on a handful of bad actors. Culture and systems are what create large scale evils such as poverty, war, and ecological devastation. Religion must address collective evil.“      

- Richard Rohr, “The Tears of Things”

“From Genesis to Revelation, Citizens of God’s Empire Are Called To Practice Just Living”

Table Group 1 Just Living is Established and Embedded in the Torah (Genesis 1:20- 2:3, Exodus 20:8-11, Leviticus 23:15-22, Deuteronomy 15, Leviticus 25)

1. What part do God's creatures and the rest of creation play in the Torah vision of a world of shalom, in which “nothing is marred and nothing is missing"?

2. How might Torah Sabbath observances in the Torah affect how we experience shalom justice? 

    a) the 7-day sabbath: weekly respite for workers, alien residents, animals, etc.

    b) the 7-week sabbath: first fruits/Pentecost offerings

    c) the 7-year sabbath: cancellation of debts incurred during times of hardship, rest for the land             

    d) the 7x7 Jubilee sabbath: redistribution of land to original inhabitants

3. How is just living portrayed in the Torah as a shared obligation of all of God’s people, and not simply the obligation of individuals or individual households?

Table Group 2 Just Living is Celebrated and Affirmed in Wisdom Literature (Psalm 12, Psalm 24:1-6, Psalm 37:14-26, Psalm 112, Proverbs 3:27-29, Proverbs 19:17, Proverbs 22:7-9, Proverbs 28:27, Proverbs 30:7-9)

1. What are some clear contrasts between the behaviors and lifestyles of the ungodly and those who wisely choose to honor a just God?

2. How does the affirmation that “the (whole) earth is the Lord’s” affect how we use our time, gifts and money?

3. In what way is investing in those in need a form of “lending to the Lord” or investing in the Treasury of Heaven by giving to the poor (Luke 12:33)?

4. How is God portrayed as responding to people experiencing hardship, oppression and other forms of suffering, and what would it mean to have God’s people respond in the same way?

Table Group 3 Just Living is Reaffirmed Through the Voice of the Prophets

(Isaiah 1:15-20, Isaiah 35, Isaiah 58:6-14, Jeremiah 22:13-17, Ezekiel 16:48-54, Amos 4:1-3, 8:4-11, Micah 6:6–8, Zechariah 7:9-12(

1. Are the prophets’ words addressed primarily to individuals or to a whole people, and how does that matter? 

2. How might some hear the prophets’ words of judgment as good news and some as dreaded news?

3. How do we see our circumstances as similar to, or different from, those addressed by the Biblical prophets?

Table Groups 4&5 Just Living is Commanded and Demonstrated By Messiah Jesus 

(Group 4: Matthew 4:12-17, Matthew 6:19-34, Matthew 7:24-29, Matthew 16:24-28, Matthew 19:13-30, Mark 8:1-9)

1. In what ways does Jesus’s focus on a heaven-ruled empire in which God’s will is being done on earth as in heaven make us different from people governed by earth-bound, nationalistic economies and cultures?

2. How does our being free from worry and having a strong sense of worth radically change the way we spend money?

3. What is the significance of the gospel accounts of a rich young ruler always coming right after the story of Jesus blessing children? How should we become like children in willingly working and learning but not laying claim to personal wealth?

(Group 5: Luke 1:46-55, Luke 6:20-25, Luke 10:25-37, Luke 12:13-34, Luke 16:10-31, Luke 19:15-30.

1. Who are the rich and well fed on whom Jesus pronounces woes? 

2. As God’s children around one worldwide table, where do we find ourselves in the story of the rich man and Lazarus?

3. According to Jesus, is investing in ever more consumer wealth primarily an evil or is it simply foolish?

4. Is the main point of the Zacchaeus story that giving to the poor is an act of charity or is it about practicing justice? 

Table Group 6 Just Living is Exemplified and Taught by the Apostles

(Acts 2:37-47, Acts 4:32-37, II Corinthians 8:1-15, II Corinthians 9:6-15, Hebrews 13:1-6, James 5:1-6)

1. What Spirit-driven lifestyle changes resulted from Peter’s sermon on repentance (an about-face change of mind, heart and direction) on the day of Pentecost?

2. What are some of the reasons Paul gives for Christians giving generous help to people in need nearly 1000 miles away?

3. How are workers around the world affected by our feeling entitled to exotic food, clothing and technology from all over the globe?

Table Group 7 Just Living is Restored Forever In New Testament Prophecy

(Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 2:8-11, 3:14-22, 17:1-6 [with 18:1-20 and 19:1-3], 21-22:1-5)

1. What is the significance of whole nations of people, and not just individuals. being brought before God in the Final Judgement?

2. Do our churches today exhibit more of the wealth of Smyrna or of Laodicea?

3. When Babylon falls, a symbol of global economic exploitation, who celebrates and who weeps and mourns?

4. In what way does the description of God’s new heavens and earth, a restoration of the shalom of Eden, provide a vision for how we are to demonstrate just living today?

HARDTIME VIRGINIA Fall 2025 Vol. 10, No. 3

An occasional newsletter by and for the incarcerated, Thanksgiving edition.

Voting Rights Restored by Virginia's Last Four Governors

Bob McDonnell (R) 2010–2014  10,000 Made rights restoration automatic for nonviolent felons who completed their sentence and any probation or parole.

Terry McAuliffe (D) 2014–2018  173,000  The Virginia Supreme Court blocked his attempt to issue a blanket order, so he began a streamlined, individualized review process for people who had completed their sentences.

Ralph Northam (D) 2018–2022  126,000  Removed the requirement for felons to complete parole or probation before having their rights restored.

Glenn Youngkin (R) 2022–2026  fewer that 4,000  Ended the automatic restoration process and returned to a case-by-case review, which has significantly slowed the pace of restorations.

Parole Board Grants Zero Releases in September

Of nearly 200 cases reviewed members of the Board were unable to find a single person they felt the VDOC had actually “corrected,” not even among those eligible for geriatric release. They did revoke the parole of four persons, however. Meanwhile, some men at Lawrenceville have come up with a 14-point rating scale that would give the Board a more objective way of making their decisions. Our Valley Justice Coalition has submitted these criteria to our local delegate, who is considering drafting it into a bill to be presented in the General Assembly in January. We’re praying for a positive result, and will keep you posted.

From the Mailbag

Regardless of the circumstances and conflicting emotions of our lives, God wants us to practice gratitude, knowing it will remind us of His love and power and enhance the quality of our lives. To Kingsway Prison and Family Outreach, I express my gratitude: Not only are they supplying me with spiritual guidance in the absence of our prison chaplain, they are assisting me in typing my first publication. Thanks! - Minor Junior Smith (legally blind), Deerfield Correctional Center

I proudly told my interviewer I had been in self-imposed sobriety on 3/3/01. I was floored when he told me my record showed I tested positive for opiates in 2019. It took me two years to finally got it cleared from my file. I had received Narco from Medical for radiation burns from throat cancer treatment.” - Daniel Leneave, Lawrenceville Correctional Center

I know good and respectful men here with over 50 years in prison. A friend of mine, Charles Zellers, had Covid and will have to be on oxygen all his life. Another friend, Minor Smith, is blind. Medical costs are going up, with prisons filled with old people. What could they do to hurt anyone?                            - Kenneth Pack Buckingham Correctional Center

Milestones by Friends on my Mail List

Steve Colosi and Thomas Reed-Bey, earned degrees, Greg Widener was granted parole earlier this year, and sadly, Henry Gorham, Jr., 69, died of cancer at the Greensville Correctional Center on July 10, one day after being denied release for health reasons. He had served 30 years.

A Much Appreciated Get Well Card From Friends at LCC

I was humbled and deeply grateful for a card signed by some good men at Lawrenceville Correctional Center. It arrived on the day before my surgery at UVA, where I had a small malignant tumor and a couple of lymph nodes removed from my neck. Nothing appears to have spread, so thanks for your prayers! 

Dear Harvey Yoder, May God's grace and mercy strengthen you every day. You are in our prayers on behalf of the men here. - David Carmichael

My friend, My prayer for you is that God has already healed you!   -Brother A. Parker

Our thoughts and prayers go out to you in hope of a blessed healing. God bless you! -R. Robinson

Dear Harvey Yoder, May Allah continue to bless you in your struggle, and overcome it. I would like to thank you for your help!  - Muwakki S. B. Shabazzz

ou are in our prayers, Mr. Yoder. Hope you are doing okay and God looks obver you and your family and all of us. Take care, and God bless.  - Tim Rankin

Thanks for your love and work for us! God bless.  -Randy Clark

"When Jesus heard that, he said, 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of Man might be glorified through it.'" My dear brother and friend, You are always a shining light on my path and a sweet blessing in this journey of life. I pray daily for your healing. Thank you for being that special person in my life. Amen!  - Jonathan White

Mr. Yoder, May God bless you in all all you do on our behalf.  - Darrell Willis

The LORD is with you, mighty man of God. Be encouraged and know he is by your side. - Brother Lopez

You are in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you for all your labor. By Jesus's stripes you are healed. Be blessed. Carl 😋

"For I will restore health to you, and will heal you of your wounds, says the Lord."

 JEREMIAH 30:17

Praying that the light

of God's presence

will chase away

every shadow of illness.

Wishing You

Health and Happiness!

****************************************

Editor Harvey Yoder co-chairs the Valley Justice Coalition, P.O. Box 434, Harrisonburg, VA 22803. He welcomes letters, and may sometimes quote from them unless you say otherwise.

Untimely Deaths To Mourn On All Souls Day

1  Abel, killed by his brother Cain 

untold numbers perish in Noah's Flood

unknown numbers die in Israelite invasions of Canaan

1000 Philistines killed singlehandedly by Samson 

960 resistance fighters at Masada 73 CE, die by suicide rather than surrender

1 million+ Crusader lives lost over two centuries

2000+ victims of the Spanish Inquisition

2-5000 Anabaptist martyrs in the 16th and 17th century

4 million native North American deaths due to European colonization

15-22 million deaths in World War I

18-50 million victims of flu epidemic of 1918-20

6 million lives lost in the Holocaust

50 million+ casualties of World War II

150-246 thousand deaths from Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings

3 million estimated casualties of the Korean War

1.5 million+ lives lost in Vietnam War

millions are needlessly dying today due to war, famine and disease

O number of people killed by Christians in the first three centuries 

The Lord will mediate between nations

    and will settle international disputes.

They will hammer their swords into plowshares

    and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will no longer fight against nation,

    nor train for war anymore.

Isaiah 2:4 (New Living translation)

Increased Use Of "K-words" Poisons Our Discourse And Threatens Our Future

“You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill."
Matthew 5:21-22 The Message

Our President:

"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?" 

“That’s where I disagreed with Charlie (Kirk). I hate my opponent(s) and I don’t want the best for them.”

“I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.”

"Restoring the name 'Department of War' will sharpen the focus of this department on our national interests and signal to adversaries America's readiness to wage war to secure its interests."

“I’m not going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war, I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them, you know, they’re going to be like, dead.”

Our Secretary of Defense:

"We changed the name after World War II from the Department of War to the Department of Defense and … we haven't won a major war since...You kill people and break things for a living. You are not politically correct and don’t necessarily belong always in polite society.”

Note: Some believe renaming the Pentagon as a Department of War is at least calling it what it is, but  author Tim O'Brien goes further, urging that "war" be eliminated from our vocabulary, and replaced with "killing people, including children."

Our Democratic candidate for Attorney General (expressing his hatred for former House Speaker Todd Gilbert in a private 2022 email):

“Three people, two bullets, Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head....  put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time." In a later phone call he added, “It would take Gilbert’s wife holding their dying children in her arms for him to act on gun safety legislation."

Note: The candidate did recently made the following public statement: “I want to issue my deepest apology to Speaker Gilbert and his family. Reading back those words made me sick to my stomach. I am embarrassed, ashamed, and sorry.”

Examples of recent headlines:

"Gaza ceasefire (?) resumes after airstrikes kill 104"

"U.S. has killed nearly 60 people in strikes on boats."

A counter statement by a Republican senator from Kentucky:

"The Constitution says that when you go to war, Congress has to vote on it... we’ve got no information. I’ve been invited to no briefing...In war there are often lower rules for engagement, and people do sometimes get killed without due process... But the drug war, or the crime war has typically been something we do through law enforcement. And so far, they have alleged that these people are drug dealers. No one said their name. No one said what evidence. No one said whether they’re armed. And we’ve had no evidence presented... So, at this point, I would call them extrajudicial killings. And this is akin to what China does, to what Iran does with drug dealers. They summarily execute people without presenting evidence to the public. So, it’s wrong.”

Some other counter statements:

"When Jesus said 'Love your enemies,' I think he meant 'Don’t kill them.'" 

- bumper sticker

“A modest proposal for peace: let the Christians of the world resolve not to kill one another.” 

- Mennonite Central Committee slogan

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”  

- Proverbs 25:21-22, Romans 12: 20 New Living Bible

I Did My Own Research: Here's What I Learned (Satire Alert)

"Don’t be fooled by the 'fake news' in the mainstream media. 

Do your own research if you really want to know the truth.” 

-Abraham Lincoln, as quoted by Pope Leo XIV       

With tongue firmly in cheek, here is the information I've gained from doing my own online research:

1. The earth is flat after all, not a round ball floating in space like I was taught in school. 

https://www.theflatearthsociety.org/home/index.php/blog/einsteins-relativity-proves-earth-flat

2. The Democratic party is mainly catering to "Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens and violent criminals." This comes straight from the President's press secretary, a high-level source.

3. Childhood vaccinations have caused an untold number of deaths, and pregnant women using Tylenol are to blame for a dramatic increase in children with autism. I got this vital information from our nation's Health and Human Services Secretary.

4. Slavery was as much of a blessing as it was an injustice for African Americans, and slavery had little to do with the American Civil War. The Confederacy was only formed to preserve states' rights and to defend the Constitution.

5. Donald Trump clearly got the most votes in the 2020 election, and Biden became president only because of massive voter fraud.

6. The January 6 uprising was largely a peaceful event except for some Antifa and other bad actors who infiltrated the crowd. 

7. Large numbers of those involved in the most recent No Kings Day demonstrations were agitators paid to take part by wealthy people like George Soros and by others who hate America.

8. Most of the political violence in the US in the past decade has been by people on the fringe left who are out to destroy our country.

9. President Biden supported the most massive surge in human sex trafficking in history, and the Clintons operated a child sex ring in a pizza establishment in the District of Columbia for decades. 

10. Climate scientists from all over the world, unlike researchers in other scientific fields, are being bought off by solar and wind power industries to persuade us that global warming is dangerous and is caused by our increased reliance on fossil fuel.

But don't just take my word for any of the above. If you research hard enough you can find all these alternative facts verified on line. 

Keeping Christ In Our Christianity

This ancient yoke was on display as I gave a sermon at the
Zion Mennonite church on how those yoked to Jesus are
bound to live, love and serve as He did.

We're hearing a lot these days about Americans needing to promote Christian values. But often Christian language is used to promote beliefs and practices that support our personal or political views but which are inconsistent with Jesus's actual teachings.

Here are some examples:

1. Every true Christian should aim to marry, settle down and raise a family.

Jesus, while strongly supporting fidelity in marriage and consistently opposing divorce, was himself never married, a fact few seem to note.. And the New Testament, in sharp contrast to the rest of scripture, offers the names of only two complete families, that of Zechariah, Elizabeth and John, and of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. Jesus clearly elevates the importance of the worldwide kingdom-of-God-family over the nuclear family.

2. It is the patriotic duty of good Christians to pledge allegiance to, and sacrifice their lives for, their country.

Jesus taught that only the worldwide, heaven-governed Empire of God demanded our supreme loyalty, and never aligned himself with either liberal Sadducees, conservative Pharisees, revolutionary Zealots, pro-liberation nationalists, or loyal Roman citizens. One cannot picture him tossing free Make Israel Great Again caps into any of the crowds he addressed.

3. Christians should earn as much as possible, tithe what they earn, but save all they are able for a comfortable retirement and to pass on to their heirs. 

Very few proponents of Christian values ever even mention Jesus's teachings about the impossibility of serving both God and money and the need to avoid hoarding ever more wealth. Nor do they note the fact that the Son of Man, their Supreme Prophet (Teacher), Priest and King never owned a place to lay his head. As North American Christians we tend to justify our sense of entitlement as among the wealthiest people on the planet.

4. Christians should give primary attention to good things in their nation's history and not on  stories that highlight its sins and shortcomings. 

The Bible is one of the most brutally honest texts in the world when it comes to exposing unvarnished and necessary truths from our past. Jesus and the prophets spare no words when it comes to calling for thorough repentance for past wrongs.

5. Christians should support every means necessary to keep desperate foreigners from crossing their borders, and to apprehend those whose visas have expired, even if it means separating families. 

Jesus's Bible, the Pentateuch, has more to say about welcoming foreigners and treating them with respect than it does about the observance of the Sabbath. And Jesus commended both a Roman occupier and a Phoenician outsider for their faith, and showed special regard for despised half-Jews in neighboring Samaria. 

In the words of Richard Rohr, "The only way evil can succeed is to disguise itself as good. And one of the best disguises for evil is religion. Someone can be racist, be against the poor, hate immigrants, and be totally concerned about making money and being a materialist but still go to church each Sunday and be 'justified' in the eyes of religion. "

https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2017/03/a-demonic-trinity-of-evil-nationalism.html

Petitioning For A Model Criminal Justice System

If you are a Virginia resident, please add your name and zip code to the petition below as a message on our FB page or feel free to print copies, gather signatures and mail them to VJC, P.O. Box 434 , Harrisonburg, VA 22803 by November 15.

When I was in college in the sixties, some fellow students and I made regular visits to the former jail at 60 Graham Street, which had a capacity of around 60 men and a small cell for several women. Our experiences with Sheriff Strawderman and his staff, and especially with those in his jail, forever changed my life.

Thirty years later, in 1995, our community opened a new jail at 25 South Liberty Street, designed for 250 inmates. But in less than three decades after it opened, the new facility had been double bunked to hold as many as 400, with up to an additional 200 housed at the Middle River Regional Jail in Verona.

While those numbers have leveled off since COVID, something about that dramatic increase just didn’t seem right to many of us, which led to the formation of the Valley Justice Coalition, a citizens group focused on alternatives to incarceration. 

We wondered why, with our local census numbers increasing only around 55% since 1965 (much of that due to JMU’s rapid growth), our jail numbers skyrocketed by over 600% during that period? Were we really seeing that much more crime? And are Americans in general so much more criminal than other industrialized nations in the world that have far, far lower rates of incarceration?

Much of that increase can be attributed to a rise in drug related sentences, which is why we have fully supported Commonwealth’s Attorney Marsha Garst’s efforts in establishing a Drug Court and a Day Reporting alternative to incarceration for those with substance use disorders. 

We also applaud Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson for supporting mental health services in jail and for providing educational tablets for inmates. The tablets offer music and other entertainment that can be accessed by individuals only after availing themselves of a set number of educational and self-improvement classes on these devices. With over 90% of the jail population being repeat offenders, the sheriff hopes, in the words of Marsha Garst, to operate with more of a greenhouse mentality rather than a warehouse mentality.

We were also pleased to collaborate with Delegate Tony Wilt in his championing legislation to create a Public Defender’s Office for our community last year, through a bill he co-sponsored with Delegate Sam Rasoul, a Democrat. Good representation in court for those unable to afford an attorney can result not only in more just sentences but also in less time and money spent in costly appeals.

In a recent Zoom conversation with Delegate Wilt and Virginia Department of Corrections Director Chadwick Dotson, we were able to share our concerns about the fact that the Virginia Parole Board, whose mission is “to grant parole or conditional release to those inmates whose release is compatible with public safety,” actually released only 30 persons in 2024, many of those due to serious health problems. We noted that for the first time ever, there are more aged and often ailing individuals eligible for geriatric release than for all other current categories combined, creating astronomical healthcare costs for taxpayers in the Commonwealth. And according to the Parole Board’s most recent report, it granted not even one release last month. Has our Department of Corrections failed to correct even a single one of the nearly 200 cases the Board reviewed in September?

We also recently had retired professor Howard Zehr as a guest at one of our recent VJC meetings, someone  known worldwide for his pioneering work in Restorative Justice alternatives to typically adversarial court processes. Our local Fairfield Center is ready and able to facilitate this kind of process, one in which offenders meet with their victims to work out plans for making satisfactory restitution to repair harms rather than simply being prescribed a punishment and denied the right--and the responsibility--to make things right.

None of these alternatives represent being “soft on crime,” but rather our becoming more “smart on crime,” and more effective in actually correcting wrongdoers, which is what a Department of Corrections should be all about.

So in the interest of promoting a model criminal justice system in the Commonwealth, the Valley Justice Coalition is launching a petition in support of policies we believe are in every citizen’s best interest, regardless of their political leanings, as follows:

We favor the creation of an ever more just and effective criminal justice system, one that supports:

• Rehabilitation over mere punishment.
• Restorative justice alternatives that give high priority to victims' needs for reparation and restitution by offenders.
• Supervised release for aging and thoroughly rehabilitated persons behind bars.

In the spirit of the prophet Micah, we believe we are all required to not only do justice, but  to love mercy and together walk humbly with our just and merciful God.