Winter 2021/Fuller Online

BI500

Goldingay

BI500: INTERPRETIVE PRACTICES (4 Units: 160 hours). John E. Goldingay.

DESCRIPTION: This course introduces interpretive approaches and practices for students of the Bible. Students will consider the aims and assumptions of biblical interpretation, become familiar with major resources for study of the Bible, interpret a variety of biblical texts in both testaments, and reflect upon the manner in which the varied contexts (e.g., social, cultural, theological) of the biblical world and contemporary readers inform interpretation.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students successfully completing this course will have demonstrated (1) the capacity to engage in close study of a variety of passages in the Bible prior to engaging in conversation with various scholarly resources; (2) judicious use of critical tools and resources for the study of biblical texts; (3) critical reflection on the theory of interpretation; (4) practice with interpreting a variety of biblical texts from both testaments, with consideration of the varied contexts of both the biblical materials and contemporary readers; and (5) skill in developing interpretations that engage contemporary concerns, and that encourage and challenge the church to remain faithful to its mission.

RELATIONSHIP TO PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES: This course will provide students with further practice in interpreting a variety of texts from the Bible, from a variety of perspectives, which is consistent with the SOT PLO “Students will have demonstrated competence in the practice of biblical interpretation for faithful use of Scripture in their own lives and ministries”(MDiv, MAT, MATM).

COURSE FORMAT: This course will be conducted online on a ten-week schedule aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar for a total of 40 instructional hours. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning.

REQUIRED READING: 1090 total pages required

Ruth, Esther, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Amos, Matthew, Romans, Philemon (CEB, TNIV, or NRSV) [120 double column pp. = 200 pages].

Green, Joel B. (ed.). Hearing the New Testament: Strategies for Interpretation. 2nd Edition. Eerdmans, 2010. ISBN: 978-0802864208, Pub. Price $30.00. [200 pp. assigned].

The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 1. Abingdon Press, 1994. ISBN: 9780687278145, Pub. Price $84.10. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [100 double column pp. = 200 regular pp. assigned].

Chu, Julie L. C. “Returning Home: The Inspiration of the Role Differentiation in the Book of Ruth for Taiwanese Women.” Semeia 78 (1997): [pp. 47-53.] Available as an e-resource from the library

Davies, Margaret. “Work and Slavery in the New Testament.” In John W. Rogerson and others (eds.), The Bible in Ethics. Sheffield Academic Press, 1995. [Pp. 315-47] Available as an e-resource from the library

Seow, Cheon-Leong. “Theology When Everything Is Out of Control.” Interpretation 55 (2001): [pp. 237-49]. Available as an e-resource from the library

Tamez, Elsa. “Ecclesiastes.” Interpretation 55 (2001): [pp. 250-59]. Available as an e-resource from the library

van Wolde, Ellen. “Texts in Dialogue with Texts.” Biblical Interpretation 5 (1997): [pp. 1-28]. Available as an e-resource from the library

Printed lectures [100 pp. = 200 regular pp. assigned].

Bornkamm, G. “The Stilling of the Storm in Matthew.” In Bornkamm, G. Barth, and H.-J. Held, Tradition and Interpretation in Matthew. Westminster/SCM, 1963. [pp. 52-57].

Childs, B. S. “Proverbs, Chapter 7, and a Biblical Approach to Sex.” In Biblical Theology in Crisis. Westminster, 1970. [pp. 184-200, 244-45].

Lewis, Lloyd A. “An African American Appraisal of the Philemon-Paul-Onesimus Triangle.” In Cain Hope Felder (ed.), Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation. Fortress, 1991. [pp. 232-46].

Lindsey, Hal. The Late Great Planet Earth. Zondervan, 1970/Lakeland, 1971. [Pp. 42-80].

Lorgunpai, Seree. “The Book of Ecclesiastes and Thai Buddhism.” Asia Journal of Theology 8 (1994): [pp. 155-62].

Miranda, José Porfirio. Marx and the Bible. Orbis, 1974/SCM, 1977. [pp. 109-28.].

Nayap-Pot, Dalila. “Life in the Midst of Death: Naomi, Ruth and the Plight of Indigenous Women.” In R. S. Sugirtharajah (ed.), Vernacular Hermeneutics. Sheffield Academic Press, 1999. [pp. 52-65.].

Trible, P. “Love’s Lyrics Redeemed.” In God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality. Fortress, 1978. [pp. 144-65].

Vischer. Wilhelm, “The Book of Esther.” Evangelical Quarterly 11 (1939): [3-21].

RECOMMENDED READING:

Collins, John J. The Bible after Babel. Eerdmans, 2005. ISBN: 978-0802828927, Pub. Price $24.50.

Day, L., and C. Pressler (ed.). Engaging the Bible in a Gendered World. WJK, 2006. ISBN: 978-0664229108, Pub. Price $35.00.

Goldingay, J. Do We Need the New Testament? IVP, 2015. ISBN 978-0830824694, Pub. price. $22.00.

_________. Models for Scripture. Eerdmans, 1994. ISBN: 978-1894667418, Pub. Price $45.00.

_________. Models for Interpretation of Scripture. Eerdmans, 1995. ISBN: 978-1894667401, Pub. Price $35.00.

Gunn, D. and D. Nolan Fewell. Narrative in the Hebrew Bible. OUP, 1993. ISBN: 978-0192132451, Pub. Price $55.00.

Hayes, John (ed.) Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation, 2 vols. Abingdon. 1998. ISBN: 978-0687055319, Pub. Price $199.99.

Perdue, Leo G. Reconstructing Old Testament Theology. 2nd ed. Fortress, 2005. ISBN: 978-0800637163, Pub. Price $26.00.

Thiselton, A. C. Hermeneutics. Eerdmans, 2009. ISBN: 978-0802864109, Pub. Price $38.00.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. Instruction hours: reading in the biblical text and close study of the text, with note-taking and reflection. [This assignment is related to Learning Outcomes #1, 2, 4, 5] [25 hours].
2. Forum postings related to the reading in the biblical text (usually 150-250 words each week) (graded, but pass-fail for the final grade) [This assignment is related to Learning Outcomes #1, 2, 4, 5] [5 hours].
3. Instruction hours: reading in secondary sources and reading lectures, with note-taking and reflection. [This assignment is related to Learning Outcomes #2, 3] [65 hours].
4. Forum postings related to the reading in secondary sources (usually 3-5 one-sentence comments each week) (600 pages; graded, but pass-fail for the final grade) [This assignment is related to Learning Outcomes #2, 3] [5 hours].
5. Instruction time online: 10 hours forum discussion on postings (usually 100-200 words each week) (graded, but pass-fail for the final grade) [This assignment is related to Learning Outcomes #2, 3, 4, 5] [10 hours].
6. Two papers each of 1500-2000 words on particular biblical texts, one OT, one NT, with feedback on one before they write the second (which counts as the interpretive signature assignment): (33⅓% each) [This assignment is related to Learning Outcomes #1, 2, 4, 5] [30 hours].
7. Final reflection paper of 1500-2000 words: (33⅓%) [This assignment is related to Learning Outcomes #2, 3, 5] [20 hours].

PREREQUISITES: OT500 or NT500.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets a core requirement in the 120 MDiv and the 80 MAT, 80 MATM, 80 MAICS Programs (Fall 2015). Meets the HERM requirement in the 144 MDiv Program.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.

NOTE: This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. Textbook prices are set by publishers and are subject to change. Copyright 2019 Fuller Theological Seminary.