UCBP 101-05 Biblical Perspectives Fall 2001

This Course examines the historical context and religious teachings of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. It also explores their interpretation, and application to human life. This course builds upon Cultural Perspectives I & II and is typically taken in the second year.

Students will:

• develop an understanding of the historical context in which the Bible took shape
• appreciate the development of religious thought within the biblical period
• explore concepts of God and God's dynamic relationship with humanity
• examine how biblical teachings have been and are interpreted and applied

Required Textbooks (available at the Samford University Bookstore):

1. The HarperCollins Study Bible : New Revised Standard Version With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1997.

You will be assigned some of the introductions and commentaries contained in only this edition of the Bible.
2. J. Bradley Chance, and Milton P. Horne. Rereading the Bible: An Introduction to the Biblical Story. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000.
3. Gutierrez, Gustavo. On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent. Translated by Matthew J. O'Connell. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1987.
4. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Cost of Discipleship. New York: Touchstone, 1959.

Attendance and Grading / Department of Religion and Philosophy:

The attendance policy of the Department of Religion and Philosophy will be enforced.

Roll will be taken each day. In a TR class a student may miss four classes without penalty. After the fifth absence your final grade will be reduced one letter grade. After the sixth absence the student will receive an FA for the course.

Three tardies count as one absence. If you come in after your name is called, you will need to notify your professor at the end of the class period, or else the tardy will become an absence

The Religion and Philosophy department grading scale is used in all sections of UCBP:
 

A = 95-100%	C+ = 78-81%
A- = 92-94%	C = 74-77%
B+ = 88-91%	C- = 70-73%
B = 85-87%	D+ = 66-69%
B- = 82-84%	D = 62-65%
	D- = 60-62%

Papers that are turned in after the set due date will be penalized one full letter grade for each week that they are late.

Samford University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students with disabilities who seek accommodations must make

their request through Kathleen Troiano in Disability Support Services. This office is located in Counseling Services on the lower level of Pittman Hall, or can

be reached by calling 726-4078 or 726-2105. A faculty member will grant reasonable accommodations only upon notification from the Disability Support Services.

Requirements:

Basic Requirements: Carefully complete all reading and writing assignments. Bring the Bible, textbook, and any other readings being discussed to class each day. Take notes during lecture and discussion. Study your notes.

Mid-term and Final Exam. (mid-term 20%, final 25%) The midterm will be during class on the day listed on the schedule. The final will be at the time and place announced by the university. Preliminary study guides are available online. These are based on last year's course and many things will be different. They will help you understand the sorts of material you are expected to know. Up-to-date study guides will be provided about one week before the test.

Field Visit (10%): Due Wednesday, Oct 3. You are required to attend a Christian or Jewish service in a tradition different from your own. (For example, if you are Baptist consider a Episcopal or Lutheran service. If you are Methodist, a Catholic or Pentecostal one. If you have no ties to a Christian or Jewish tradition, you can choose any tradition you like). You write a 5-page essay in which you briefly introduce the congregation and discuss how the Bible was "reread" in this service. Specific guidelines will be provided in early September.

Homework exercises and one-to-two page papers (15%) on assigned topics related to the reading. At the beginning of term several assignments are required of the whole class. For the balance of the term, the class will be divided into groups and these papers assigned on a rotating basis. Each student will have three of these additional assignments. Most assignments will be graded on a limited scale: (A+, A, B, C, F). Failing papers may be redone and submitted for a higher grade.

Essay on New Testament topic (15%) Due Wednesday, Nov. 30. You will have a choice of topics. These papers will be closely related to one of the issues we discuss in the second half of the course.

Quizzes and Participation (15%) Students should come to class having studied the assigned texts and prepared to participate in classroom discussion. Periodic in-class quizzes or other writing assignments will also be given. Some of these may be unannounced.

Academic Integrity:

Students are expected to observe high standards of intellectual integrity. (See page 96 in the Student Handbook.) While study groups are only not permitted but encouraged, all work submitted in this class must be your own. Suspected lapses in academic integrity will be investigated and adjudicated in accordance with the university's values policy.

In all essays and papers you must follow a recognized system for citation of quotes and ideas. Since religion is an interdisciplinary field you may follow whatever system you prefer (e.g., MLA, Chicago, etc.) For short papers in this class, you do not need to provide full bibliographic information for the assigned books, but you do need to cite the page numbers, documents, or book, chapter, and verse of the Bible. Other guidelines for essays will be provided.
 
 

Schedule:

The readings, key words, and homework question for each day are listed below.

Key words are provided to guide your study of the readings and the lectures. Most of the terms will be found in the readings. A few, however, will be introduced during the lecture.

Use the "Learning Goals" and "Guiding Study Exercises" at the beginning of each section in the text book to guide your reading. Quiz yourself with them after you read each section.

The question or assignment is only required of all students on a few days (marked below). On all other days, a small portion of the class will have to answer the question for that day, this will be according to a rotation schedule to be provided later.

Reserve readings (RR) are available at the circulation desk in Davis Library. Most reserve readings are also available online (OL) as pdf files. If there are multiple readings for a given day, they are all in the same pdf file. To access these readings go to the online version of this schedule at http://faculty.samford.edu/~drbains/ucbp101/ and click on the hyperlinks. You must have Adobe Acrobat reader to read these files. If you do not have this program you can download it for free.

1. Aug. 28 Introduction to Biblical Studies: the Process of the Bible

Luke 1:1-4, Hosea 11:1-11; Matthew 2:13-15
Psalm 23 comparison chart. Handout
2. Aug. 30 Rereading and the Formation of the Biblical Canon

Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" (1963) OL & RR
Chance and Horne, 2-24
Hosea 11:1-11; Matthew 2:13-15; (I Corinthians 10:1-16)
Key words: literary text, social text, micro-level intertextuality, macro-level intertextuality, interpretive (hermenutical) triangle, chain of tradition, Septuagint (LXX), Torah, Pentateuch, Nebiim, Kethubim.
Assignment (all students): In the margin of your copy of "I Have a Dream, list all the references to the Bible, American history, and American culture that you can identify. Be as specific as possible. Choose one or two and write a paragraph explaining how King interprets from his social text.
3. Sept. 4 Israel's Developing Story

Chance and Horne, 26-39, 48-49
Deuteronomy 10:12-22, 12:2-7, 13-14, 18:9-22 II Kings 17:1-22,
Key terms: Deuteronomic History, Hellenistic, Tetrateuch, Chronicler's History
Assignment 1.) #3, p.27 or 2.) Describe three (3) specific examples of how II Kings 17 draws on the theology expressed in Deuteronomy to explain the exile of Israel.
4. Sept. 6 Retelling the story -- Quiz on key terms and chronology to date

Chance and Horne, 40-47
Nehemiah 9:6-37, Sirach 44-50, Psalm 78
Exultet from Easter Vigil, Roman Catholic Church,
Eucharistic Prayer C, Book of Common Prayer, (1979) Both OL and RR
Key terms: Sirach, Priestly, Eucharistic
Assignment (all students, choose one): Draw up a detailed outline similar to that on page 44 for one of the other assigned texts. Then, write a paragraph summarizing the theological perspective of the text and identifying how this text's retelling is similar and different from Nehemiah's.
5. Sept. 11 History as Theology: Ezra-Nehemiah's story of the return

Chance and Horne, 52-73 (Refer to Ezra and Nehemiah as the text guides you through it).
Key terms: Ezra, Nehemiah, Persia, Cyrus, Artarxerxes I
Question: 1.) p. 53,#1 and p. 60 #4
6. Sept. 13 Prophets (ca. 515 BCE): Haggai and Zechariah

Haggai, Zechariah 1-3, 6-8
Chance and Horne 103-107, 111-121
Key terms: oracle, Joshua (in Haggai), Zerubbabel, prophetic eschatology, post-exilic prophet
Question: p. 104 # 3 or Compare Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" to the messages ascribed to Haggai and Zechariah. Can we describe King as a prophet? Why or Why not? Support your answer with specific evidence.
7. Sept. 18 Prophets (ca. 780-740BCE): Amos and Hosea

Introductions to Amos and Hosea in HarperCollins Study Bible (13-29-1331, 1355-1357)
Amos 3-7, Hosea 1-4
Key Terms: pre-exilic prophet, Gilgal, Bethel, Baal, Israel, Judah, Samaria, Zion
Question: (1) If the prophet Amos were to appear in Alabama today, what do you think he would say? To whom would be address his message? You may write in the first-person. Be sure that your answer demonstrates your understanding of the prophet's message in eighth-century Israel. or (2) Why does God command Hosea to marry a "wife of whoredom"? How does this relate to his message for Israel? Be sure to support your answer with evidence from Hosea.
8. Sept. 20 Conventional and Skeptical Wisdom: Job and Proverbs

Proverbs 1-2, 8, 13; Job 1-7, 39:26-42
Introduction to Job and Proverbs in Harper Collins Study Bible (938-940, 749-750)
Key Terms: wisdom tradition, disinterestedness
Question: What is wisdom, what is its relationship to God?
9. Sept. 25 Gutiérrez on Job

Gutiérrez, On Job, xi-xix, 1-49 (Refer to Job as you read Gutiérrez)
Key Terms: "theologizing is a second act," preferential option for the poor, Elihu, language of prophecy
Question: TBA
10. Sept. 27 Gutiérrez on Job

Gutiérrez, On Job, 53-103, Refer to Job as you read Gutiérrez, especially 9:25-35, 16: 18-22, 19:23-29,
Key Terms: Gö'ël, contemplation, gratuitiousness
Question: TBA
11. Oct. 2 King and Temple: The Davidic Covenant

1 Samuel 8:1-22; 2 Samuel 7:4-17; I Chronicles. 17:3-15; Ps. 2, 110, 45
Chance and Horne, 159-175
Key terms: sacred kingship, king, adoption, Deuteronomist, Chronicler, Philistines, ways of a king
Question: p. 168 #2 (one example, only), #3 and #4
12. Oct. 4 King and Messiah

Isaiah 7:1-17; 9:1-7; 11:1-16; Daniel 7
Chance and Horne, 176-185 151-153
Key terms: Aram, Israel, Ephraim, oracle, Son of Man, Immanuel, Qumran, Dead Sea Scrolls, messiah of Aaron, Messiah of Israel, pseudonymous authorship
Assignment: Working as a group, prepare a skit to present to the class acting out Isaiah 7:1-17. Be sure to stick closely to the text.
13. Oct. 9 Apocalypticism

Isaiah 59, 65; Daniel 7-12
Chance and Horne, 122-129
Key terms: apocalypticism, eschatology, Hellenism, ex eventu prophesy, "abomination that desolates" or "abomination of desolation," premillennial, postmillennial
Question: p. 122 #1 and #2
14. Oct. 11 MID TERM

 

 
 
 
 
 

Oct. 16 Fall Break -- No Classes

15. Oct. 18 The World of Jesus and Paul

Acts 17-19, cf. 4 Maccabees 1; John 1:1-18, Proverbs 8:1-31
Chance and Horne, 214-221, 227-240, 272
Key terms: Hellenism, Fate, Stoicism, Epicurianism, logos
Question: #3, p. 227 or In John 1, the NRSV translates "logos" as "Word." Given what you have learned about "logos" in Chance and Horne, explain what the author of John is saying about Jesus.
16. Oct. 23 Jesus and the Gospels

Gospel Parallels: Cleansing of Temple, Jesus at Galilee, others, TBA
Chance and Horne, 241-245, 252-263; 269-273; (skim 246-252)
Key terms: Synoptic Gospel, Two-Gospel Hypothesis, Two-Source Hypothesis, Q
Question: #4, p. 252 or #4, p. 263 (answer this question of the basis of the assigned pages of the chapter, especially 269-273)
17. Oct. 25 Unexpected Kingdom: Mustard Seed and Martyrdom

Matt 13, Mark 4, Mark 8:27-9:8, 14:1-15:49
Chance and Horne, 279-297
Key terms: kingdom, parable, Gospel of Thomas, Pentecost, gentiles, the circumcised
Question: p. 279 #4, #5 or p. 288 #4
18. Oct. 30 Victor and New Adam

Chance and Horne, 298-307 and CL 299, 301
I Corinthians. 1-4, 15
Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies (selection) RR & OL
Images on WebCT course page
Question: p. 298 #2 & #4 or How does Ireneaus of Lyon build on the theme of Christ as New Adam used by Paul in I Cor. 15.
19. Nov. 1 Paul's View on the Law

Galatians 1:1-5:12; James 2
Intro. to James in HarperCollins Study Bible
Chance and Horne, 339-347; CL 343, 346
Question: p. 340 #3 or #4
20. Nov. 6 Matthew's View on the Law

Matthew 5-7
Chance and Horne, 348-362
Question: p. 348 #3 and #6
21. Nov. 8 Bonhoeffer

G. Leibholz, "Memoir," 1-33, Bonhoeffer, 43-85
Key Terms: confessing church, pecca fortiter, cheap grace, costly grace, justification of sin and the world, justification of the sinner in the world, discipleship, simple obedience, single-minded obedience
Question: (1) What does Bonhoeffer mean by "cheap grace"? Why is it cheap? What does Bonhoeffer think of it? Substantiate your argument with examples drawn from the text and contemporary life. or (2) Explain Bonhoeffer's distinction between simple obedience and single-minded obedience.
22. Nov. 13 Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer, 86-139
Key Terms: extraordinary
Question: TBA
23. Nov. 15 Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer, 140-197
Key Terms: "hiddeness of Christian life"
Question: TBA
24. Nov. 20 Prophecy and Order among Early Christians

I Corinthians. 11-14; I Tim 2:8-15; Titus 1:5-9; Galatians 3:28
Chance and Horne, 372-385
Question: p. 372 #1 and 2, or #4 or #6

Nov. 22: Thanksgiving -- No Classes

25. Nov. 27 Prophecy and Order among Later Christians

"The Life and Religious Experience of Janera Lee" in William L. Andrews, Sisters of the Spirit: Three Black Women's Autobiographies of the Nineteenth Century (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986), 22-41, RR
Question: Is Janera Lee opposed to the teachings of I Corinthians, I Timothy, and Titus on the role of women in the church? If so, explain the authority upon which she justifies her views. If not, explain how her views do not contradict these biblical books.
26. Nov. 29 Topics continued
27. Dec. 4 Paul's Christian view of the Jews

Romans 9:1-11:36; 15:7-13
Chance and Horne, 387-399
Question: p. 388 #1 and #5
28. Dec. 6 Johannine Christianity and its view of the Jews

John 14-17; John 8:31-39
Chance and Horne, 399-409
Question: p. 399 #5

One distinctive asset of Samford University are the conferences and lectureships that bring outstanding scholars in Christianity to speak at Beeson Divinity School. There are two sets of events this year that students can earn extra credit by attending and writing about.

Pilgrims on the Sawdust Trail: Evangelical Conversations October 2 - 3, 2001

Students may attend one of the plenary sessions of this conference. The first plenary session is at 8:30am on Tuesday, the last beings at 1pm on Wedneday.

Reformation Heritage Lectures (Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, 2001)
Carl Braaten, Executive Director, The Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology
will preach in the Divnity Chapel service Tuesday at 11am and lecture at 11am on Wednesday and Thursday. The title of his lectures is "Christ and Culture Revisited"

To receive extra credit, attend one of these events and submit a two-page taped paper within one week of the event discussing one of the speakers' main points and your reaction to it.

For more information on these lectures visit http://beeson.samford.edu/