Academic Catalog 2010-2011 - Union Presbyterian Seminary

Union Presbyterian Seminary Academic Catalog 2010-2011The theological message and contemporary significance of each gospel will be studied with a focus on using soundprinciples of interpretation in educational settings. Seminar sessions designed to enable students to develop theirexegetical and teaching skills complement lectures and assigned readings in which current biblical scholarship ispresented.Fall 2010, 2011.COURSESBIB211 Old Testament I: Pentateuch and Former Prophets. Prerequisite: Elementary Biblical Hebrew orequivalent. This course provides an orientation to historical, critical, and theological study of the literature of theOld Testament. Primary attention is given, in lectures and assigned readings, to foundational texts and themes,and major issues of interpretation in the canonical divisions of the Pentateuch or Torah (the first five books ofthe Bible) and the Former Prophets (the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings). Basic resources and proceduresfor exegesis of the Hebrew text are introduced through work in seminar sections, with emphasis placed on developmentof skills in grammatical analysis, translation, and literary criticism of selected texts.Fall 2010.BIB221 New Testament I: Gospels. Prerequisite: Elementary Biblical Greek or equivalent. On the basis oflectures, readings, class discussion, and other projects undertaken in smaller groups, students are introduced tothe subject matter of the four canonical gospels, the cultural environment in which they arose, and the basicmethodologies for interpreting them. Content and interpretation of the gospels are explored through the Greektext. The emphasis is on mastering methods of contemporary gospel investigation.Fall 2010.BIB260 Old Testament II (M.A.C.E.) Prerequisite: BIB160. This course introduces the prophetic literature ofancient Israel and the later canonical books of the Old Testament in English translation. Attention is given tothe historical contexts, literary history, and theological themes of this literature and its significance for the workof the church today. Seminar sessions designed to enable students to develop their exegetical and teaching skillscomplement lectures and assigned readings in which current biblical scholarship is presented.Spring 2011, 2012.BIB270 New Testament II (M.A.C.E.) Prerequisite: BIB170. This course focuses on the Acts of the Apostles andthe epistles of Paul, but also introduces the general epistles and the Revelation of John. Close reading of the Englishtext will illumine the particular situations reflected in the literature, the cultural contexts of the early church, and thetheological perspectives in these writings. Seminar sessions designed to enable students to develop their exegeticaland teaching skills complement lectures and assigned readings in which current biblical scholarship is presented.Spring 2011, 2012; Fall 2010 (ECP).BIB311 Old Testament II: Old Testament Prophets. Prerequisite: BIB211. This course introduces theprophetic books and provides practice in the exegesis of texts in the Hebrew Bible. Primary concentration is onthe texts of the English and Hebrew Bibles, although secondary literature is used as a resource. Attention is givento the arrangement and content of the prophetic books, the theology of the prophets, and the history ofprophecy and prophetic literature in Israel. A number of texts from one or two prophetic books are studied todevelop a procedure for exegesis that is useful in teaching and preaching.Spring 2011, 2012.BIB321 New Testament II: Acts, Epistles, Apocalypse. Prerequisite: BIB221. This course focuses on Acts andthe letters of Paul, but also introduces the general epistles and Revelation. Close reading of the Acts narrative illuminesLuke’s perspective on early Christian history. Study of the Pauline epistles highlights Paul’s cultural world, theparticular situations that prompted him to write these letters, and his theological vision. Reading of selected generalepistles and the Book of Revelation opens up interpretive issues raised by these writings. Through lectures, seminarand small-group discussion, and papers, students explore the theological message of New Testament texts,strengthen exegetical skills, and draw connections between these first-century texts and the work of the church today.Spring 2011, 2012.3-2