Biblical Hermeneutics & Interpretation: A Comprehensive Course by Dr. Philip Satterthwaite, Lecture notes of Communication

Download Biblical Hermeneutics & Interpretation: A Comprehensive Course by Dr. Philip Satterthwaite and more Lecture notes Communication in PDF only on Docsity! HE101 Biblical Hermeneutics & Interpretation Dr Philip Satterthwaite | 3 CR About the Course ‘Inspired’; ‘infallible’; ‘authoritative’; ‘the Word of God’. Many Christians in Singapore would be happy to describe the Bible in those terms. But the Bible has to be interpreted and applied by men and women who are usually far from inspired, and who are all too prone to error (though they may still claim the authority of Scripture for what they say). The result can be that falsehood is propagated in God’s name, and that the Bible is turned from being the saving and healing revelation of God into something harmful and even destructive. It is not enough to have a ‘high’ doctrine of Scripture: we must also interpret Scripture accurately. The main theme of this course is the interpretation and application of Scripture. It aims to help you reflect seriously on what is involved in reading, interpreting and applying the biblical text. During the course several necessary aspects of biblical interpretation (e.g., word studies, the relevance of the historical context) will be considered. The course falls into two parts. Part I (Lectures 1–6), covered in three sessions, deals with general principles of biblical interpretation. It also considers the topics of word studies and Bible translations. Part II (Lectures 7−14), also covered in three sessions, moves on to consider the different types of text found in the Bible: the NT letters, the Gospels and Acts; OT narrative, law, poetry, prophecy and wisdom. All of these texts have their own distinctive features, and care must be taken to interpret each of them in appropriate ways. The textbook for the course is J.S. Duvall & J.D. Hays, Grasping God’s Word. A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible (3rd edition; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012). Credits 3CR Class Format Online Fees* S$450(Credit) S$240 (Audit) * Alumni are entitled to 10% discount on audit course(s) 2 As the subtitle of the text-book implies, there will be a ‘hands-on’ element to the teaching method followed in this course. The aim is to help students develop skills that will be useful to them in their own Bible study and Bible teaching About the Lecturer Dr Philip E. Satterthwaite has been Lecturer in Old Testament and Biblical Hebrew at BGST since 1998. Before that he was Research Fellow in Hebrew & Aramaic at Tyndale House, Cambridge. His main research areas are the Old Testament Historical books and the Septuagint. In 2007 his book Exploring the Old Testament 2: The Histories (written with J.G. McConville) was published by SPCK/IVP. Philip has preached and taught in a number of churches in Singapore. He is a member of Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church. He is married to Eileen. Since 2011 he has been Principal of BGST. 5 Course Requirements The grade point for HE 101 will be based on the following: 1. Short responses to the recorded lectures: six multiple-choice assignments and six short- question assignments. Details of these assignments are pp. 3–4 of this Synopsis. (In total these twelve short responses are worth 12% of the final Grade Point.) 2. Six 1000-word practical assignments taken from Duvall & Hays. Details of these assignments are pp. 3– 4 of this Synopsis. (In total these six assignments are worth 48% of the final Grade Point.) 3. Either an exegesis paper on a biblical text, or a review essay. Details of this assignment are given below. (This assignment is worth 40% of the final Grade Point.) Exegesis Paper/Essay Exegesis paper If you write an exegesis paper, you must write it on one of the following biblical texts: Exodus 22:1–15; Deuteronomy 12:1–28; 1 Samuel 26; 1 Kings 12; Jeremiah 22:10–19; Hosea 14; Psalm 67; Proverbs 26:1–12; Ecclesiastes 5:10–20; Matthew 8:23–34; Luke 1:67–80; Ephesians 4:1–6; 1 Peter 1:1–9; Revelation 4–5 Instructions for completing the exegetical paper are given on pp. 455–57 of Duvall & Hays. Essay Write a review (3000–3500 words) of one of the following: R.J. Bauckham The Bible in Politics: How to Read the Bible Politically (2nd ed.; London: SPCK, 2010) J.K. Brown Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007) M.S. Northcott A Moral Climate: The Ethics of Global Warming (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2007) C. Smith The Bible Made Impossible. Why Biblicism is not a Truly Evangelical Reading of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2011) C.J.H. Wright The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative (Nottingham/Downers Grove, 2006) You should spend half the review setting out the book’s arguments, and showing how the arguments fit together, and half giving your own response. You should pay particular attention where appropriate to the way in which the author interprets biblical texts 6 COURSE ASSIGNMENT POLICIES 1. For style and formatting of assignments, please refer to the section on “General Formatting for all Assignments” available on the BGST Online Student Manual. 2. ALL assignments are to be submitted by uploading via Moodle. Alternatively, assignments can be sent via email to [email protected] without the need to cc. the lecturer (unless requested by the lecturer). 3. Students must submit all their assignments 6 months after the course registration date Students are advised that BGST strongly discourages plagiarism. For more information on this point (what plagiarism is, how BGST penalises it), please consult the BGST ‘Guidelines for Academic Papers’. Your Course Tutor (Credit Students Only) - You will be appointed a course tutor (who will also be your grader) upon course registration. - Please feel free to interact with your tutor using BGST’s Moodle online learning system if you have any questions related to the course content, or your assignments. Course Bibliography Further Reading J.T. Billings The Word of God for the People of God: an entryway to the theological interpretation of scripture (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010) J.K. Brown Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007) D.B. Deppe All Roads Lead to the Text. Eight Methods of Inquiry into the Bible (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011) G.D. Fee & D. Stuart How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009) J. Goldingay Key Questions about Biblical Interpretation: Old Testament Answers (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011) I.H. Marshall Beyond the Bible. Moving from Scripture to Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004) S.E. Porter & J.C. Robinson Hermeneutics. An Introduction to Interpretive Theory (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011) E.R. Richards & B.J. O’Brien Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes. Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understanding the Bible (Downers Grove: IVP, 2012) C. Smith The Bible Made Impossible. Why Biblicism is not a Truly Evangelical Reading of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2011) R.H. Stein Playing by the Rules: A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker, 7 1994) W.R. Tate Biblical Interpretation: An Integrated Approach (3rd ed.; Peabody, MA; Hendrickson, 2008) K.J. Vanhoozer Is There a Meaning in This Text? The Bible, the Reader and the Morality of Literary Knowledge (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998) K.J. Vanhoozer First Theology: God, Scripture & Hermeneutics (Downers Grove: IVP, 2002) M. Volf Captive to the Word of God. Engaging the Scriptures for Contemporary Theological Reflection (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010)