Summer 2017/Fuller Online

BI501

Black

BI501: THE BIBLE, HERMENEUTICS, AND CHRISTIAN MISSION (4 Units: 160 hours). Stephanie L. Black.

DESCRIPTION: This course introduces students to the relationship between biblical interpretation and the theology and practice of Christian mission. Participants will grapple with the importance of mission for reading the Bible and the teaching of the Bible on mission. This will include the missiological orientation of biblical texts, diverse paradigms for missional practice in Scripture, and issues of contextualization as students seek to understand the significance of mission for reading the Bible and for embodying Scripture’s witness in their contexts.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students who successfully complete this course will have demonstrated the ability: (1) to describe the emergence of missional hermeneutics as a development of biblical hermeneutics and biblical theology; (2) to identify and trace themes of the mission of God through the Old and New Testaments; (3) to articulate their own understanding of the mission of God as a unifying theme of Scripture incorporating diverse paradigms of mission; (4) to apply a missional hermeneutic and biblical paradigms of mission to their own ministry context.

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: Approx. 1000 pages of required reading from course textbooks and articles and book chapters on eReserves.

Glasser, Arthur F. Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God's Mission in the Bible. Baker Academic, 2003. ISBN: 978-0801026263, Pub. Price $30.00. [400 pp.]

Goheen, Michael W. A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story. Baker Academic, 2011. ISBN: 978-0801031410, Pub. Price $22.99. [256 pp.]

Articles and book chapters on e-reserves (sources are indicative only and are subject to change): Barram, Bauckham, Bekele, Bosch, Cerny, Choi, Givens, Glasser, Gorman, Hunsberger, Hwang, Jabini, Kaiser, Kostenberger & O’Brien, Magda, McKinzie, Murangiri, Okoye, Peskett & Ramachandra, Redford, Sanneh, Wieland, Wright.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT (Total 160 hours):

  1. Weekly online introductions and ‘micro-lecture’ presentations. [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2, 3, 4]. [7-8 hours].

  2. 1000 pp. of required reading from textbooks and resources on eReserves. Reading report to be submitted at end of course (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2, 3, 4]. [65 hours].

  3. Six threaded online learning activities. Discussion contributions normally include student’s initial 250- to 300-word post, followed by a 100- to 150-word reply to the post of another classmate and a 100- to 150-word summary (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2, 3, 4]. [20 hours].

  4. Four ‘focal texts’, threaded online group discussions of selected biblical texts (from Genesis, Isaiah, Luke-Acts, Revelation) and proposed analyses, focusing on aspects of missional interpretation relative to each. Discussion contributions normally include student’s initial 250- to 300-word post, followed by a 100- to 150-word reply to the post of another classmate and a 100- to 150-word summary (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2, 3]. [25 hours].

  5. Five biweekly online group meetings, approx. 1.5 hours each (or with instructor’s approval, equivalent engagement with asynchronous text-based group), for mutual learning support and peer review working toward the final integrative project (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #3, 4]. [7-8 hours].

  6. A final integrative project requiring students to analyze and reflect on (1) their own missional hermeneutic; (2) their own missional community and its missional situation; (3) specific biblical texts that might inform paradigms and practices of mission for that community; and (4) practical ways of fostering paradigms and practices of mission in that community based on engagement with Scripture (3000-4000 words; 30%). Students will be assigned to groups for mutual learning support for this project, with the opportunity to meet online. [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2, 3, 4]. [30 hours + 5 hours group meeting time].

PREREQUISITES: NT500 or OT500. BI500 recommended.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets a core requirement in the 80 MAICS Program (Fall 2015).

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.

For your convenience, order these texts online through the Archives Bookshop.