Biblical
Essays

Allen (1984), Brown (2007), and Kaiser (1994) are like three points on a unidirectional continuum. Allen (1984) is adamant that the Scripture is the Word is the Scripture, and argues that the Scripture is God preaching. Very little room for interpretation or for tacking toward relevance is indicated by Allen's position. Brown (2007) offers a rigorous cognitive framework for approaching the reading of Scripture, and calls on the reader to meet her exacting intellectual standards and respond in a rigorous manner—a position that seems wholly appropriate given that Brown views Scriptural reading as a conversation with God. Brown's communicative theory is considerably more open than Allen's and more flexible than a structuralistic approach, which would preclude attributing substantive importance to individual components of the Scripture. For Brown, and proponents of speech-act theory, the individual components of Scripture may be the hooks on which understanding rests. Kaiser takes a principled view with regard to understanding the Scriptures in the context of the modern world. To those who would object to his "going beyond the Bible," he has at the ready examples of how the Church does exactly that, at its convenience and unabashedly argues that adjustments are made according to "views it believes God to hold true" (Kaiser, 1994). In this regard, Kaiser's criticism points to the Church's willingness to apply a literary criticism approach to Scripture, citing relevance to contemporary society as the pivot point. The very theological paradigms to which Allen (1984) objects are to Kaiser (1994) a natural outcome of a literary criticism approach to Biblical interpretation. The theological paradigms are needed to make assertions about what is Biblical, that is, what God requires in a given situation. Brown posits a more personal and rigorous approach to Scriptural interpretation—demanding that multiple perspectives be considered, to the degree that the essence of a communicative theory of Biblical interpretation contains aspects of literary criticism, structural criticism, and reader-response criticism.

The story of the attempt to match up the archaeology of ancient Jericho with the account given in the Hebrew Bible has come to be regarded as something of a cautionary tale in the history of Biblical archaeology.

Poetry Explication – Fern Hill (Dylan Thomas) Introduction The "Poetry Explications" handout from UNC states that a poetry explication is a "relatively short analysis which describes the possible meanings and relationship of the words, images, and other small units that make up a poem." Thesis: The speaker in "Fern Hill" dramatically embraces memories from his childhood days at his uncle's farm, when the world was innocent; the second part brings out the speaker's loss of innocence and transition into manhood. This explication will identify and critique Thomas' tone, imagery (including metaphors) and expressive language (as it contributes to the power of the poem). ("Fern Hill" uses 6 verse paragraphs; there are 9 lines in each paragraph.)

¶ … authors employ oral styles to convey the voices of individual characters and their unique jargon. Vocal inflections can be heard in print, imagined in the head as the reader loses him or herself in the novel.

Gerd Theissen and Annette Merz bridge a gap between trade book and scholarly discourse with their 642-page tome The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide. This joint effort by Theissen and Merz explores the subject…

The book, Jesus, God and Man, contributes to the ongoing theological discussion regarding the key issues to Christians and Catholics. If Jesus was God in the flesh, then he is the unique expression of complete divinity,…

Relativist said, 'The world does not exist, England does not exist, Oxford does not exist and I am confident that I do not Exist!' When Lewis was asked to reply, he stood up and said, 'How am I to talk to a man who's…

Philosophers such as Charles Beard and William Appleman stated that history could be understood through economics. Actually, economics is also a hermeneutics that can be used in Biblical interpretation. Right off from the very start, the Garden of Eden was a milieu that worked on the principles of economics. The citizens were supposed to till the garden; in return, they would benefit. The manna in the desert was the first glimmerings of socialism; all received an equal ‘slice'. The manna, too, came with lessons against hoarding. T he Jubilee laws, with land reverting in the 5oth year to the original owner, was a strategy that prevented the few accumulating great mass of possession and power; it also kept the poor from being exploited. There were countless laws like this, including the regulation of paying wages on time and returning the poor man his garb that was his loan at night. The essay is a treatise on biblical economics.

Spirituality, Religion, and Faith -- a (Diverse) Catholic Perspective

Slavery had existed for a very long time. It is still existent; however, the form may have changed. Anti slave laws and abolitionist movement had been there in the past to stop slave trade in Africa. Provisions had been there but there has been no significant impact. This report focuses on Henry's speech in which he has argued how the masters (British) used to control their slaves (American colony). Henry holds the view that British should be thrown away from their executive power and Americans should fight for their freedom.