BT501 Hermeneutics: Syllabus Thorsten Moritz

BT501 Hermeneutics: Syllabus Thorsten Moritz InMinistry (Fall 2008) Bethel Seminary Phone: 651.635.8638 E-mail: [email protected] Office location: A202 Research Fellow: [email protected]

Welcome to the world of hermeneutics! Make sure to read the entire syllabus carefully. Feel free to contact my RF with important issues that are not (or not sufficiently) addressed in this syllabus. Please don't expect him either to rehearse the contents of this syllabus or to answer queries that relate immediately to our class sessions. When you contact him, he may respond to you directly, or pass on your request to me.

Course Description

This course examines the whole range of issues that determine and are affected by the interpretation of texts, in this case biblical texts. Some of these issues are epistemological (how do we know things?), linguistics (how does language work?), genres (what types of literature are there? - even within the bible!), manuscripts (what to do when different manuscripts say different things), cultural anthropology and historical background (what difference does such added knowledge make in interpretation?) and application/relevance (how to bridge the gap between the text and us). The course is foundational for all study of the bible and theology. Its main objective is to help students become better and more faithful interpreters.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course the student should have acquired the following:

 a thorough understanding of the major exegetical issues listed above (Course Description)  ability to apply sound hermeneutical thinking to biblical texts  hand-on experience of good and bad practice in interpretation  appreciation of how to move from text to transformation (incl. application and homiletics)  a broad foundation on which subsequently to develop more specific exegetical skills (such as the use of biblical languages, theological synthesis etc.)  familiarity with some major tools for biblical exegesis

Required Texts/Materials

1 Jeannine Brown - Scripture as Communication (2007)

John Austin - How to Do Things with Words (1975)

Digital course content (made available on Blackboard)

Multi-cultural bibliography

General indicative cross-cultural bibliography. Again, no wholesale endorsement, just a courtesy FYI (to show that scholarship is more global than people are often aware).

Bach, Alice, ed. The Pleasure of Her Text: Feminist Readings of Biblical and Historical Texts. Philadelphia: Trinity, 1990.

Bacote, Vincent, Laura C. Miguelez, and Dennis L. Okholm, eds. Evangelicals & Scripture: Tradition, Authority, and Hermeneutics. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2004. BS480 .E825 2004

De la Torre, Miguel A. Reading the Bible from the Margins. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 2002.

De Wit, Hans, Louis Jonker, Marleen Kool, Daniel Schipani, ed. Through the Eyes of Another: Intercultural Reading of the Bible. Amsterdam: Institute of Mennonite Studies, 2004.

Dube, Musa W, ed. Other Ways of Reading: African Women and the Bible. Atlanta: SBL, 2001.

Fee, Gordon D. The Act of Bible Reading: a Multidisciplinary Approach to Biblical Interpretation. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1996. BS476 .A315 1996

Felder, Cain Hope, ed. Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1991.

Fiorenza, Elisabeth Schüssler. Sharing Her Word: Feminist Biblical Interpretation in Context. Boston: Beacon, 1998.

Getui, Mary N., Tinyiko Maluleke and Justin Ukpong, ed. Interpreting the New Testament in Africa. Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 2001.

Khiok-khng. Yeo. What has Jerusalem to do with Beijing? Biblical Interpretation from a Chinese Perspective. Harrisburg, PA.: Trinity, 1998.

Larkin, William J. Culture and Biblical Hermeneutics: Interpreting and Applying the Authoritative Word in a Relativistic Age. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1993. BS480 .L35 1993

2 Manus, Ukachukwu Chris. Intercultural Hermeneutics in Africa: Methods and Approaches. Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 2003.

Mbiti, John S. New Testament Eschatology in and African Background: A Study of the Encounter between New Testament Theology and African Traditional Concepts. London: Oxford U. Press, 1971.

Räisänen, Heikki, and others. Reading the Bible in the Global Village: Helsinki. SBL Global Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship. Atlanta: SBL, 2000.

Segovia, Fernando F. Decolonizing Biblical Studies: A View from the Margins. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 2000.

Sugirtharajah, R.S. The Bible and the Third World: Precolonial, Colonial and Postcolonial Encounters. Cambridge: Cambridge U. Press, 2001.

---. Asian Biblical Hermeneutics and Postcolonialism: Contesting the Interpretations. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1998.

Ukpong, Justin S., and others. Reading the Bible in the Global Village: Cape Town. SBL Global Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship, Number 3. Atlanta: SBL, 2002.

Vaage, Leif E, ed and trans. Subversive Scriptures: Revolutionary Readings of the Christian Bible in Latin America. Valley Forge, PA.: Trinity, 1997.

Course Requirements:

There are three equally weighted assessments (two papers of 1500 words each - incl. footnotes, excl. bibliography in the second paper) plus one 60 min. quiz at the end of the Intensive. See the 'Class Schedule' below for the submission dates and times. Please read the next sentence carefully and trust me that I'm not trying to be mean, but I do mean it: N o extensions will be given and no late submissions will be accepted. Aim to have each paper ready about five days early so that no extension will become necessary. The reason for this policy is that requests for extensions have become so pervasive that they have become very difficult to administer fairly. Beat those last minute disasters, and give yourself a de facto extension by aiming for an early completion of the assessments.

The first paper is about your personal reflections on hermeneutics. In it I'm not looking for research interaction with other literature The second paper, on the other hand, needs to be fully referenced (footnotes and bibliography). In addition to the text books mentioned below ('Paper Topics'), make sure to use an intelligent selection of seven to ten other works in support of your second paper. Make sure also to interact with the chosen literature intelligently and fairly.

3 See below ('Class Schedule') for the submission dates and times. Again, no extensions will be given and no late submissions will be accepted.

Grading:

You will be given a letter grade for each assessment point. At the end of the course we will calculate the final letter grade. As mentioned, each individual grade contributes equally to the final grade. However, the exception to this occurs when a student receives an F grade for an assessed piece. For instance, in the final calculation, an F based on late or non-submission of the paper or the quiz will weigh more heavily than an F for low quality. Generally, you can expect an average grade (i.e. for a good quality contribution) to be in B to B- range. B+ and higher are strictly reserved for work that is clearly above average.

Grading and submission:

All projects to be weighted equally. The papers are due (mode of submission to be advised) by Sunday midnight (Central Time) in the week(s) indicated in the course schedule below. Excuse the repitition, but NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. I am happy to explain the reasoning behind this policy in class if so desired. The quiz will be administered (and details offered) during Intensive week.

Assessment criteria and course policy:

Grades will be assigned using the full range of letter grades (A-F), representing the following levels of performance. In addition to the general criteria below, any specific advice given in class/on Blackboard (as applicable) will also count as assessment criteria. Notice that a really good effort warrants a ‘B’, not an ‘A’. ‘A’ and "A-" are strictly for outstanding.

The grade ‘Incomplete’ is temporary and will be granted only in unusual circumstances (such as serious illness or critical emergencies) and will not be considered for a student who is simply behind in the assignments.

A First rate work submitted; outstanding evidence of ability to synthesize and utilize course knowledge; initiative expressed in preparing and completing assignments; creativity and originality manifested in assignment process and outcomes; and consistency and thoroughness of work submitted. Consistently high level of analysis. B Really good work submitted; substantial evidence of ability to analyze and utilize course knowledge; and consistency and thoroughness of work submitted. Mix of analytical and descriptive thinking. C Satisfactory performance and thoroughness of work submitted and moderate evidence of ability to utilize knowledge of the subject. Largely descriptive.

4 D Poor performance in comprehension of work submitted; and meets minimal credit standard for the course. F Inadequacy of work submitted. Also applies to LATE SUBMISSIONS. I Incomplete.

(Academic Course Policy, pp88-9): “Written material submitted must be the original work of the student. Academic dishonesty constitutes a serous violation of scholarship standards at Bethel and can result in denial of credit and possible dismissal from the school. Any act that involves misrepresentation regarding the student’s academic work is forbidden. Academic dishonesty in- cludes cheating on assignments or exams, plagiarism, fabrication of research, multiple submissions of work in different courses, misrepresentation of academic records, the facilitation of academic dishonesty, and depriving others of necessary academic resources.” Syndication (unautho- rized collaboration in an assignment) is equally unacceptable.

(Academic Course Policy, p93): “Bethel Seminary is committed to providing a Christ-centered community where students, faculty, and staff can work together in an atmosphere free from all forms of harassment, exploitation, or intimidation, including racial and sexual harassment. All members of the Bethel community are expected to educate themselves about sexual and racial harassment.”

Accessibility: Please contact the instructor as soon as possible if disability-related accommodations are needed. Accommodations for students with documented disabilities are set up through the office of Disability Services. Contact Kathy McGillivray, director of Disability Services, at (651) 635-8759.

Course Schedule and Reading

The topics indicated for weeks 1 - 4 serve also as the outline for our Intensive. In other words, we will use Blackboard during the first four weeks to immerse ourselves in these eight topics. Following that, we will delve more deeply into these issues during the Intensive week. At the end of that week we will decide how to use the remaining four weeks following the Intensive week. At the very least, the final four weeks will involve practical application of prior learning. Meanwhile make sure to listen to the entire digital course content once in weeks 1 and 2, and again in weeks 3 and 4.

Please read Brown's book and listen to the digital course content in weeks 1 and 2. Then read Austin's book in weeks 3 and 4. Spend the rest of the course revisiting both books and the digital course content on a need basis.

Week 1:

Why we need epistemology. And Critical Realism.

5 To live is to be 'storied'

Week 2:

The biblical understanding of metanarrative The role of history

Week 3:

How does language not work? (Fallacies) How does it work? (Implied vs. Empirical)

Week 4:

How does it work? (Speech Act Theory) How does it work? (Metaphor and analogy)

Paper 1 - Reflective (1500 words - due Oct 19th): "To what extent does philosophical thinking matter for interpreting the Bible and why?"

Week 5:

Intensive week one - no other work scheduled week

Week 6: 60 min. quiz towards the end of the Intensive week for this course (either week five or six, whichever is 'your' intensive for this course). The quiz will be about the course so far and the reading.

Intensive week one - no other work scheduled week

Week 7:

Use this week to 'de-compress' from the Intensive on the discussion board (without my intrusion) and to suggest topics for further online discussions in the remaining weeks.

Week 8:

(Discussion topic as per suggestions from week 7)

Paper 2 - Exegetical (1500 words – due Nov 16th (more details/advice below): Each of you will shortly be assigned a biblical text for this paper.

Week 9:

6 Week 10:

Week 11:

Advice for the second paper (exegetical):

Notice that the main focus of this paper is on the biblical text itself. Generally speaking, in the exegetical project you are expected to…..

- apply some of the practical lessons from the text book and the digital course content to a biblical text selected by you from a list posted on Blackboard.

- be selective and demonstrate your acquired skills as best you can. Comment on relevant historical, literary and theological issues.

- use your awareness of these issues and check some scholarly literature (about 7-10 SCHOLARLY works) about your text. The library will with this during your Intensives. Make photocopies while at Bethel. What do they have to say about the issues you identified as most important?

More specifically, the task in the exegesis paper is to do the following (not necessarily in that order):

- Identify the main interpretive issues in your text - be selective and go for the MAIN ones. Be aware of the triangle (theology, literature and history). If applicable, you may want to choose interpretive issues in your bible text that represent each of these three aspects.

- Check which genre your text falls into. Use Brown and the digital course content (and our class discussion if you wish) for some general advice on how interpret that genre.

- Interpret the main issues that you identified in the text in line with the advice given in Brown and the digital course content. Show that you can remain focused on the most profitable interpretive issues in the text as opposed to little asides that don't matter so much.