I have always taught that the psalmists were people who were besotted (strongly infatuated, obsessed) with God. As I study more, I believe that all of the writers and editors and traditioners of the Bible were besotted, with God certainly, but also with community, with life as it ought and can be lived. I join them in their besottedness and I hope that you, too, will be enamored as we wrestle with how to approach, appreciate and apprehend these sometimes perplexing, sometimes delightful, sometimes maddening, and always incisive texts that have endured and thrived for millennia.
ORGANIZATION OF COURSE
WEEK 0: Expectations and Commitment
WEEK 1: Introduction and Overview
LIVE SESSION
WEEK 2: The Hebrew Bible
WEEK 3: Early Christian Scriptures
WEEK 4: Highlighting Some Neglected Pieces: Prophets and Paul
REQUIRED TEXTS
During this course, you will read all of Michael Joseph Brown’s What They Don’t Tell You: A Survivor’s Guide to Biblical Studies and selections from the rest of these required texts. These are time-tested resources that will be a valuable addition to your library.
- The Bible. NRSV [an annotated version is preferred, e.g., one of the Oxford editions]
- Bird, Jennifer Grace. Permission Granted: Take the Bible into Your Own Hands (Westminster John Knox, 2015).
- Boadt, Lawrence. Reading the Old Testament, an Introduction (Paulist, 2012).
- Borg, Marcus J. Reading the Bible again for the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously, but Not Literally. (HarperSanFranciso, 2001)
- Brown, Michael Joseph. What They Don’t Tell You: A Survivor’s Guide to Biblical Studies (Westminster John Knox, 2000).
- Powell, Mark Allan Introducing the New Testament (Baker, 2018).