Sin and Satan in the Qurʾān and Bible

Satan with Angels and Adam, Bal’ami, Annals of al-Tabari manuscript, 1413-1416, Topkapı Saray Museum, Istanbul, Turkey, This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928.

My term paper is titled “Sin and Satan in the Qurʾān and Bible” for “SARS-1000: The Qur’an: Origin, Application, Interpretations.” This Spring 2022 class was lead by Professor Mahjabeen Dhala, at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. The paper begins:

In this paper, I consider sin and Satan, with a focus on the stories of Joseph and Job, both in the Qurʾān and in the Bible. I chose this topic because, as a jail Chaplain, I find prisoners are very aware of sin and Satan, and I wanted to learn more. The anthropomorphic personification of Satan is a huge topic, so I have concentrated on a limited set of scriptural verses to keep to term paper length, rather than allowing this to grow into a dissertation. There is much more to be said based on the thousands of scholarly and religious works (many with conflicting opinions) written on these topics over many centuries. I assert that ideas of embodied sin and the personification of Satan evolved over at least a thousand years (between 500 BCE and 610 CE), through Biblical and Qurʾānic stories and exegetical understandings that are sometimes not substantiated by sacred texts. Historical evolution presupposes a starting point, and this paper considers alternatives for the first Biblical mention of sin. 

Read the entire paper here. I also prepared a presentation to go with the paper, with illustrations inspired by both Biblical and Qurʾānic sources. See that presentation here.

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Women of Faith in Jail

Katy Dickinson, Zeinab Vessel, Dr. Mahjabeen Dhala, Lisa Calvez at the GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023

I was honored to present on “Women of Faith in Jail” at the GTU Graduate Student Conference: Women and Religion conference held on 28 April 2023 at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Here are the slides I presented. More about my submission is on my 3 April 2023 blog post. About seventy people attended this inspiring all-day event hosted by Women’s Studies in Religion.

GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023

Dr. Valerie Miles-Tribble, GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023

Katy Dickinson, GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023

Dr. Mahjabeen Dhala, GTU Women and Religion Conference, 28 April 2023

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GTU Conference: Women and Religion

I am honored that my submission on “Women of Faith in Jail” was accepted by the GTU Graduate Student Conference: Women and Religion! The conference will be held at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, on 28 April 2023. To attend the one day conference, Register Here. This is the abstract for my talk:

Katy Dickinson
Women of Faith in Jail
This presents a jail chaplain’s view on how women prisoners’s experience, especially their faith experience, is different from that of men in the American justice system. In many ways, the lives of American women and men prisoners are similarly marginalized; however, the systemic social and economic disadvantages of women in our society are reflected in the lives of female inmates. For example, women are usually the primary caretakers for children from whom incarceration separates them, women often enter the carceral system having had more traumatic experiences, and all-too-often women undergo more trauma in jail and prison. As a result, working with women inmates as a chaplain or officer can be more complex and emotionally intense compared to working with male prisoners. While some avoid working with women, others find special satisfaction in supporting female prisoners. A groundbreaking report has just been published about women prisoners and their unique challenges and patterns.

Here is a link to the whole submission, if you want more text (and references). The event will be recorded but not available online in real time.

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Joseph – Yusuf Presentation

Yusuf in Zuleikha’s party. Painting in Takyeh Moaven-ol-Molk, Kermanshah, Iran, By Coffeetalkh at Persian Wikipedia – Transferred from fa.wikipedia to Commons., GFDL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31803000

This semester at the Graduate Theological Union‘s Berkeley School of Theology, I am taking three classes as part of my Doctor of Ministry studies. They are: “The Qur’an: Origin, Application, Interpretations” (Dr. Majabeen Dhala, Center for Islamic Studies), “Introduction to Prison Ministry” (Father George Williams, Jesuit School of Theology), and “Examining the Case for Reparations for African Americans” (Dr. Ronald Burris & Dr. Aidsand Wright-Riggins, BST).

I just gave my first presentation in Dr. Dhala’s class, called “Joseph – Yusuf.” In this presentation, I considered the story of the patriarch / prophet Joseph – Yusuf as presented in the Torah / Hebrew Bible and in the Qur’an, in the context of my ministry as a jail chaplain. The class and I had a good discussion!

You can see the whole presentation here. See the last pages of my presentation for where I found the images and other sources.

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DMin Project & Dissertation Proposal

I revised my Doctor of Ministry “Project and Dissertation Proposal” in a Berkeley School of Theology (BST) class led by Dr. Valerie Miles-Tribble in January 2023. BST is in the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. I have since discussed the proposal with my doctoral committee, Dr. Aidsand F. Wright-Riggins, III and Dr. Ronald D. Burris of Berkeley School of Theology, and the Rev. Liz Milner (Executive Director, Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy). My DMin proposal starts:

“The Problem: As part of changing a life path that repeatedly ends in Santa Clara County jail, many inmates want to learn about and develop their faith and theology but lack resource access and the reading capability or education to move forward. Inmates who are Spanish language speakers, have reading difficulties, and those with mental health challenges are at a particular disadvantage and are often isolated and disempowered. America’s punishment-based, racist and classist carceral system, and the constant population churn inside jails, militate against empowering inmates’s spiritual well-being, success, and change of life. Tailoring educational and faith programs to particularly disadvantaged inmates may help to reduce long-term recidivism.

The Purpose: To support the most invisible of the largely-unseen and severely marginalized population of jail prisoners in Santa Clara County, this project revises existing Bible study and theological reflection program materials to support inmates in three particularly-underserved and vulnerable groups: those whose primary language is Spanish, and/or have mental health challenges, and/or have reading comprehension difficulties. Making materials more accessible may help to encourage their faith walk, sustain their difficult journey, and discourage recidivism after release.”

Read the whole proposal here.

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Busy End of Year

Katy Dickinson, Lee Satterfield, TechWomen 10 Year Honor, 20 October 2022

As 2022 is ending, I have been reflecting on how busy these last few months have been. In October, I mentored the remarkable and inspiring TechWomen Team Tunisia, and was one of the 21 mentors honored by the U.S. State Department – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for ten years’ service to the TechWomen program. (I was the TechWomen Process Architect 2010-2011, and have been a mentor each year since.) Also that month, my husband John Plocher said a fond goodbye to Apple, and started a new job at Ford Greenfield Labs.

Katy Dickinson, TechWomen 10 Year Honor, 20 October 2022

Katy Dickinson, TechWomen Honor, 20 October 2022

Katy Dickinson, Tunisia TechWomen, 16 October 2022

John Plocher with Ford Mach-E

In November, John and I became grandparents with the birth of baby Alex to our daughter, Jessica Dickinson Goodman, and son-in-law, Matthew Holmes.

Jessica, Matthew, Baby Alex, 19 November 2022

I helped our son Paul D. Goodman manage two successful craft sales in December 2022. Yesterday, I turned in the final paper for the Fall term of my Berkeley School of Technology – Doctor of Ministry program. Also yesterday, as part of the Saint Joan’s Chapel and Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy team, I gave holy communion to 92 Elmwood jail inmates. Our team gave communion to 198 prisoners in three visits, starting on Christmas Day. The guys inside were happy to sing and dance with us to the tune of “Feliz Navidad.”

Looking forward to my next adventure!

Paul D. Goodman, 17 Dec 2022

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I Choose to be Incarcerated

CIC stickers and bracelets, Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy, 10 Sep 2022 training

Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy‘s training was held last weekend: Going In, Staying In jail ministry training is for new and returning volunteers and focuses on orientation to chaplaincy and facility updates as well as context specific skill building such as trauma informed ministry and cultural humility. The training is free and open to all over the age of 21. The opening meditation titled “Choosing to Incarcerate Yourself” was presented by CIC Associate Director & Facility Chaplain, Angel Hernandez. Green bracelets saying “I Choose to be Incarcerated – CIC Ministries Jail Chaplains” were distributed.

I was inspired by Chaplain Angel’s talk, especially when he said: “We have these ministry trainings so that as Chaplains, you need to choose incarceration as well. Not like those that are incarcerated, and not like those who have families inside. You choose the surroundings of incarceration in order to be with those inside. We have these ministry trainings so that you can understand what it is like to be inside… We are a ministry that seeks out people that choose incarceration. That know that their rights are left, like their phones, like their smart watches, their rights are left in the car. We look for people that allow the direction of the law inside to have the authority, regardless of the title you have worked so hard to attain on the outside. We look for people who are willing to humble themselves…. As you consider being a chaplain, or if you have been a chaplain for some time, we ask that you understand that you choose incarceration to then be inspiration to those inside. Hebrews 13:3: “Remember those in prison as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.”

Chaplain Angel Hernandez, Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy, 10 Sep 2022 training, Crosswalk Community Church

Chaplains Lidia Jimenez and Ra Amen, Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy, 10 Sep 2022 training, Crosswalk Community Church

Chaplain Lidia Jimenez, Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy, 10 Sep 2022 training, Crosswalk Community Church

Jen Shultz, Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy, 10 Sep 2022 training, Crosswalk Community Church

CIC Executive Director Liz Milner, Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy, 10 Sep 2022 training, Crosswalk Community Church

Liz Milner and Katy Dickinson, Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy, 10 Sep 2022 training, Crosswalk Community Church

Singing during Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy, 10 Sep 2022 training, Crosswalk Community Church

Chaplain Katy Dickinson, Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy, 10 Sep 2022 training, Crosswalk Community Church

Chaplain staff lunch, Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy, 10 Sep 2022 (Chaplains Lidia and Yilmaz not present)

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