RELS 101-01, Introduction to the Biblical Tradition, Fall 2004

Abstract

Religious Studies 101 is designed as the introductory course to the “Life: Then and Now” sequence. As such, it has several aims: • to introduce you to the academic study of the Bible (this differs from a “confessional” approach that is often offered by the church). • to introduce you to the contexts -- historical, religious, literary, and social -- in which the various texts of the Bible arose. • to introduce the study of the idea of canon and the processes by which the Jewish and Christian biblical canons were formed. • to introduce you to hermeneutics, the method of biblical interpretation over history and within various cultural contexts. • to introduce you to the major questions involved in the study of religion in general and especially in the traditions known as “Abrahamic,” “Western,” or “Judaeo-Christian.”