8/30: First Class

Later this semester, a real rabbi will join us.  Maybe he'll bring us coffee..

Enjoyed our first class!

You'll soon get used to this class website,a nd it will grow throughout the semester as I add resources.
After every class session, I will post a summary of class,  links to any videos or articles we used
and at the bottom of each post a blue section called "homework help."  These posts are linked and archived at the right side of page under "class sessions," and in typical blog format, the latest post will always be at the top pf page (reverse chronological order, newest on top, older posts below.

>>Today we reviewed/summarized "three worlds theory," the basic model of Bible study at FPU:
"Three Worlds"
The course  studies the biblical books of Exodus and Deuteronomy through the lens of what Hauer and Young call the "Three Worlds" of the Bible.  A quick introduction below, and click here for more helpful detail (both from Tessa Brolin website):

Literary World--The literary world of the Bible is simply the text itself, apart from anything outside the text.  We mean the world (or, better, worlds) created by the text; the words on the page, by the stories, songs, letters and the myriad other types of literature that make up the Bible.  All good literature (and the Bible is, among other things, good literature) creates in readers' minds magnificent, mysterious, and often moving worlds that take on a reality of their own, whether or not they represent anything real outside the pages (Hauer and Young ch 2).

Historical World--The historical world of the Bible is the world "behind the text" or "outside the text".  It is the context in which the Bible came to be written, translated, and interpreted over time, until the present.  In studying the historical world of the Bible, we look for evidence outside the text that helps us answer questions such as, who wrote this text, when was it written, to whom was it written, and why was it written.  We also probe the text itself for evidence that links it to historical times, places, situations, and persons (Hauer and Young 2)..



Contemporary World--The contemporary world is the "world in front of the text" or the "world of the reader."  In one sense, there are as many contemporary worlds of the Bible as there are readers, for each of us brings our own particular concerns and questions to the text.  They inevitably shape our reading experience.  We are all interested in answering the questions of whether the Bible in general, or particular texts, have any relevance to our personal lives (Hauer and Young  ch3).
-Brolin
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TEXTS:

what's a text?  "any message, through any medium, designed to communicate" 
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Homework Help:

For next class, have read (or listened to, see several audio downloads at the top of the page.

Breeze through, skim the book.  Think "forrest," not "trees."   Don't worry about making sense of it or understanding background, difficult terms etc.

Make note of:

-feel, emotions

-atmosphere

-basic story, idead

-flow

-repeated words, phrases, ideas, concsepts

-shifts: thematic, geographic

-"rough splices": any place where the theme, flow or story seems to shift suddenly or unexpectedly.

Make a brief general outline of the book (major sections only), either traditional outline form, or chart, diagram.