Regent Classes
Interpreting Scripture
IS Syllabus (pdf)
The importance and scope of this course rests on the recognition that interpretive presuppositions and methodologies are related to the perceived nature and function of Scripture in scholarly and ecclesiological endeavors. During this course, students are encouraged to explore the following aspects of the interpretation of Scripture: interpretation in light of the post-modern challenge, including the shifting paradigms of textuality and deconstructed historiography; the possibility and practice of responsible biblical interpretation for a Renewal community of faith through exploring methods of interpretation as well as undertaking interpretative case studies of texts from, for example, the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings of the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as from the Gospels, Acts and the Epistles of the New Testament; and the impact of presupposition and pre-understandings on the interpretation of Scripture.
In this class students learn to identify and evaluate different scholarly methods of interpreting the Bible and to articulate some of the key problems in contemporary interpretations of the Bible. They gain a well-nuanced understanding of the problems of responsible biblical interpretation in the context of a Renewal community of faith and are expected to integrate this with their lifestyle and ministry practices, showing that they are able to communicate the results of responsible biblical interpretation within a ministry setting. Through this process they are enabled to identify their own set of presuppositions and pre-understandings and how they influence their interpretation of the Bible in order that they might be able to articulate how the nature and funtion of the Bible relates to their scholarly and ecclesiological activities.
Related Reading
VANHOOZER, Kevin J. ed., Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2005).
BARTON, John, Reading the Old Testament: Method in Biblical Study (revised and enlarged; Louisville, Ky.: WKJ, 1996).
COGGINS, R. J., and J. L. HOULDEN, eds., A Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation (London: SCM, 1990).
FREEDMAN, David Noel, The Anchor Bible Dictionary, six vols., (New York: Doubleday, 1992).
GREEN, Joel B., ed., Hearing the New Testament: Strategies for Interpretation (Grand Rapids, Ill.: Eerdmans and Carlisle, UK: Paternoster, 1993).
HAYES, John H., ed., Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation 2 vols., (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1999).
HOSTETTER, Edwin C., Old Testament Introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995).
PORTER, Stanley E. and Lee Martin McDonald, New Testament Introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995).
ZANONI, Arthur E., The Old Testament: A Bibliography (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1992).