DESCRIPTION: This course will consider the character and dynamics of biblical interpretation in relation to the task and function of preaching. Theological, philosophical, sociological, and liturgical issues will be considered.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: The authority of the Bible becomes known through the interpretation of the text. What we know as the Bible is the text as it is both given canonically and received hermeneutically. Every sermon that seeks to focus on the meaning of the Bible is an act of interpreted faith, of mediated and contextualized knowledge claims gained through interaction with Scripture. Interpretation is an inescapable part of reading, and the preacher is one who leads a reading community for the sake of being the embodiment of God's Word in the world. The relevance of this course for ministry is pivotal both for the preacher and for the congregation.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Each student will have the chance to

1. read about and reflect upon the layers of issues involved in reading and interpreting the Bible;

2. read and reflect about significant theological and historical texts on the task of biblical interpretation, especially in relation to the realities of context and proclamation;

3. develop a personal theological and contextual approach to interpreting the Bible as the central key to the content and trajectory of preaching;

4. develop an intellectual framework for the essential and complex task of preaching as a form of committed reading, and of pastoral ministry as a vocation that teaches the committed reading of Scripture for the sake of personal and social transformation and witness.

Adam, A. K. M., Stephen Fowl, Kevin Vanhoozer, and Francis Watson. Reading Scripture with the Church: Toward a Hermeneutic for Theological Interpretation. Baker Academic, 2006. ISBN: 978-0801031731. $20.00 (160 pp.).

Brown, Robert Mcafee. Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes. Westminster John Knox Press, 1984. ISBN: 978-0664245528. $20.00 (168 pp.).

Davis, Ellen F. and Richard B. Hays. The Art of Reading Scripture. Eerdmans, 2003. ISBN: 978-0802812698. $35.00 (354 pp.).

Ekblad, Bob. Reading the Bible with the Damned. Westminster John Knox, 2005. ISBN: 978-0664229177. $20.00 (208 pp.).

Goldingay, John. Models for Interpretation of Scripture. Clements Publishing, 2004. ISBN: 978-1894667401. $35.00 (340 pp.).

Gonzalez, Justo L. Santa Biblia: The Bible through Hispanic Eyes. Abingdon, 1996. ISBN: 978-0687014521. $18.00 (126 pp.).

Kirk, J. R. Daniel. Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? A Narrative Approach to the Problem of Pauline Christianity. Baker Academic, 2012. ISBN: 978-0801039102. $21.99 (224 pp.).

Murphy, Nancey C. Beyond Liberalism and Fundamentalism: How Modern and Postmodern Philosophy Set the Theological Agenda (Rockwell Lecture). Trinity Press International, 1996. ISBN: 978-1563381768. $34.95 (180 pp.).

Newbigin, Leslie. Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt, and Certainty in Christian Discipleship. Eerdmans, 1995. ISBN: 978-0802808561. $14.00 (110 pp.).

_______. Truth to Tell: The Gospel as Public Truth (Osterhaven Lecture). Eerdmans, 1991. ISBN: 978-0802806079. $14.00 (96 pp.).

Scholer, David M. "Feminist Hermeneutics and Evangelical Biblical Interpretation." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 30, no. 4 (1987): 407-20.

Thompson, John L. Reading the Bible with the Dead. Eerdmans, 2007. ISBN: 978-0802807533. $20.00 (324 pp.).

Vanhoozer, Kevin J. Is There a Meaning in This Text?: The Bible, the Reader, and the Morality of Literary Knowledge. Anniversary ed. Zondervan, 2009. ISBN: 978-0310324690. $29.99 (512 pp.).

Volf, Miroslav. Captive to the Word of God: Engaging the Scriptures for Contemporary Theological Reflection. Eerdmans, 2010. ISBN: 978-0802865908. $18.00 (192 pp.).

Volf, Miroslav, Ghazi bin Muhammad, and Melissa Yarrington. A Common Word: Muslims and Christians on Loving God and Neighbor. Eerdmans, 2009. ISBN: 978-0802863805. $14.00 (258 pp.).

Walsh, Brian, and Sylvia C. Keesmaat. Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire. IVP Academic, 2004. ISBN: 978-0830827381. $23.00 (256 pp.).

Wright, N. T. The Original Jesus: The Life and Vision of a Revolutionary. Eerdmans, 1997. ISBN: 978-0802842831. $16.00 (160 pp.).

1. 2500 (for PR833) or 1250 pages (for PR533) of required reading (for PR833).

2. Attendance and participation in class.

3. Preachers as Readers Paper (PR833/20 pages; PR533/15 pages). Choose a biblical text and write a 5-page exegetical summary of the text. Do 3 in-person interviews with 3 preachers who serve in different contexts (the more varied the better) about how they understand and interact with the meaning of this text in their context. What would they tend to focus on? Why? What would they not do with the text that might be done in some other context? Compare and contrast what you learn in your summary and what you learn from these 3 preachers (as readers of the Bible and of their congregation and its mission.) All papers are due on the same day and will be posted online. Each person in class will need to read and interact with 2 other students papers (triads will be assigned by the professor). Two class sessions will be given to in-class presentations and discussions (10 minutes of presentation and 20 minutes of class discussion for each paper).

4. Selected Topic Paper (PR833/20 pages; PR533/15 pages). Choose a biblical text and a relevant hermeneutical topic that is raised in the interpretation of this particular text (submit paper proposal with brief 2-3 paragraph summary to Dr. Labberton for approval). Examine and summarize the central questions, challenges, and meaning of reading and interpreting this biblical text, interacting with the required texts, lectures, and outside material you choose to consider. The research and writing for this paper must focus on a particular biblical text, interact with issues of context to the text (you as a reader and your congregation as a reading community), and be tightly developed and argued.