DESCRIPTION:

The Old Testament Canon is an integral part of the Christian Bible, the inspired and authoritative word of God. How are we going to do theology with the Old Testament as Christians, that is, as part of the revelation that God completed in Jesus Christ? The issues will be addressed via intensive study of selected representative treatments of this problem, both contemporary and classical. In particular, literary and canonical approaches provide new ways of studying the place of the Old Testament in the completed Bible.

To make good the continued acceptance of the whole Bible as the truth that God himself has given us, we need to learn afresh how to use the Old Testament in a full-orbed Christian theology, and to apply it in practical ways to contemporary ethical and ideological issues, in worship, preaching, and pastoral care.

The class will meet for three hours once a week, mostly in seminar mode. In the latter part of the quarter students will be given opportunity to present their work to the class. Discussion will contain, but will not be limited to the following:

• The continuing debate on how to do Old Testament theology.

• Old Testament theology as part of the theology of the whole Bible.

• "Canonical" approaches to the use of the Old Testament for theology.

• The theological potential of contemporary literary studies applied to the Old Testament.

Childs, B.S. Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993.

Hayes, J.H. and F. Prussner. Old Testament Theology. Atlanta: John Knox, 1985.

Ollenburger, B.C., E.A. Martens, and G. F. Hasel, eds. The Flowering of Old Testament Theology. D.W. Baker, ed. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1992.

Anderson, B.W., ed. The Old Testament and Christian Faith. New York: Harper & Row, 1963.

Auerbach, E. Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature, W.R. Trask, trs. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968.

Baker, D.L. Two Testaments: One Bible. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1975.

Fisch, H. Poetry with a Purpose. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1988.

Hayes, S.R. and S.L. McKenzie, eds. To Each Its Own Meaning: An Introduction to Biblical Criticisms and Their Application. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1993.

Hubbard, R.L., et. al. Studies in Old Testament Theology. Dallas: Word, 1992

Jemielity, T. Satire and the Hebrew Prophets. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1992.

Lieb, M. The Visionary Mode. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1991.

Ruland, V. Horizons of Criticism. Chicago: American Library Association, 1975.

Schwartz, R.M., ed. The Book and the Text. Oxford: Blackwell, 1990.

Sprinkle, J.M. "Literary Approaches to the Old Testament: A Survey of Recent Scholarship." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 32 (1989):299-310

Sternberg, M. The Poetics of Biblical Narrative. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1987.

Westermann, C. Essays on Old Testament Hermeneutics. J.L. Mays, ed. Richmond, VA: John Knox Press, 1963.

1) Reading set literature. 2) Seminar presentation of a paper in progress. 3) A paper of about 30 pages.