RELS 101-02, The Bible: Texts and Contexts, Fall 2006

Abstract

This course is the first in the “Life: Then and Now” program, a three-course sequence by which students may fulfill the college’s basic humanities requirement. The primary aim is to introduce students to the academic study of the Bible. This includes the study of the various historical, cultural, and social contexts in which it was written as well as a consideration of the different methods for interpreting it. A few basic questions will guide our reading in the course: What is the author trying to say? How is he or she trying to say it? And what understandings of God and the world does one encounter in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament? In trying to answer these questions, we not only want to examine the specific themes and arguments finding expression in these writings; we also want to cultivate skills and strategies for interpreting these and other texts. Objectives for the course include: (1) gaining factual knowledge and becoming familiar with terminology, methods, and trends in the critical study of the Bible; (2) developing skills in oral and written expression; and (3) learning to analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments, and points of view.