Reflection : How Alter Has Altered Me

Albert Einstein once said “Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” This is an extremely powerful quote, and I will seek to convey its strength, as applied to our lives as Christians, upon the careful review of Sandra L. Richter’s The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament. Richter designed this text as merely a tool by which we might further our understanding of the Old Testament narrative. With one minor glitch in her system, Richter handled the task as that of an expert in the field would - with patience, attention to central detail, and arresting

Prophecy, poetry, songs, and genealogy lists are just a few of the many genres found in the Pentateuch. However, the two dominant genres include biblical law and biblical narrative. In fact, 40 percent of the Old Testament is narrative (“Lecture 1,” 2015). Key to interpreting different texts within the Bible, it is critical to understand the genres themselves. Each genre possesses unique features that, when understood, assist in the interpretation of the text. Understanding the key features of biblical law and biblical narrative genres will affect how an individual interprets Scripture in the Old Testament.

Bruce Waltke begins his argument by establishing the opponent’s view. Waltke writes that forms of criticism hold “that most of the literature of the Old Testament had a long oral prehistory before being written down” (17). Waltke seeks to refute this claim by establishing that “biblical literature had a short oral prehistory

In the sixth chapter of Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster examines the Bible and its importance throughout stories, poetry and film. The Bible is one of the most commonly known pieces of literature and is even “nonsectarian” in Foster’s eyes (44). Because stories from the Bible are so well known, the Bible is a tremendously easy for authors to reference when constructing a new composition. Especially “prior to sometime in the middle of the twentieth century” writers were “solidly instructed in religion” and could count on the public being very well acquainted with Biblical stories (47). This widespread knowledge of the Bible lead to greater understandings throughout literature, and the recognized allusions helped

Brown and published by Westminster John Know Press is a book that provides basic information

This book review is from the readings of Biblical Inspiration by Howard Marshall. The book is published by Regent College Publishing located in Vancouver, and British Columbia published the book in 2004. The book is braces around the interpretation of the Bible, and the inspiration of the Bible in our lives of today. There are many questions that are brought up the book, and these include: Is the Bible infallible? How do we interpret the Bible today? is its inspiration believable in and biblical criticism believable? All of the different opinions on biblical issues equivalent to these bring up issues and questioning within the community. It is Marshall’s goal to try and produce a statement that is concrete of what the Bible says in our lives today.

When studying the Bible, it is important to understand its origins; for me, I I have become enlightened, but troubled after learning about the subject. I found the unit, as a whole, very important and a positive experience for me. But, with this comes much apprehension and confusion as to the strength of the Bible.

For many, the Hebrew bible is read and accepted without question. It plays a significant role in the practice of many religions and yet not many dare to wonder who wrote such sacred writings that would still be read to this very day. For generations, it was almost unheard of to ask or even fathom the identity of the author. Richard Elliot Friedman, a biblical scholar and graduate from Harvard University, explores, studies, and analyzes the bible to discover who wrote it. Having earned a master degree in theology, B.A degree in Philosophy, and master degree in Hebrew literature, Friedman proves to be a knowledgeable expert in his field of studies. From the years of work he invested into, Friedman aims to provide convincing evidence that the book is written by four persons through historical, archaeological, logical proof.

The history of how the Bible came into existence has been explored for centuries and is an active area of study today. There are many facets to the Bible and each has its own set of unique characteristics and teachings. The Old Testament is considered a contemporary guide for daily living, even though it was composed hundreds of years ago. Where did the Old Testament come from? What are some of the influences that shaped the Old Testament? What are the significant events of the Old Testament? In order to gain a better understanding of the Old Testament and its message to Christians, special consideration is given to its historical and cultural context, and to the major milestones in its development. Personal application of the teachings offered in this section of the Bible should be the aspiration of all Christians today.

In biblical study, Narrative Criticism has been developed against the evolutionary models of historical criticism, which has been mainly focused to reenact the position and thought of the original writer and audience through certain ‘scientific and analysis of biblical material’. This discipline is the study of a narrative text most likely similar to any narrative literature. It is sub discipline of interpretation method under literary criticism, which emphases on ‘the literary form or shape of the text in its final form’ as pointer of what the texts meant. There is general agreement among the various disciplines of literary approach, that they all consider Scripture as a ‘literary document’, rather than a ‘historical’. These various disciplines,

When studying any piece of literature there are many different methods and techniques that can be used. The Bible, in specific, is often referred to as a source of moral code, hope, and answers to social, ethical, and political questions. However, this incredibly influential book can also be read as if it were any other novel. The events, settings, and characters can all be evaluated for what they are, forgetting the notion that they are from a religious text. This approach is called narrative criticism. When regarding to the Bible in this way, we do not need to know any historical information or focus on seeking a deeper theological meaning. Instead, the stories are evaluated in terms of how

The desires we have in life and the circumstances we face to accomplish them greatly differ from person to person. The first point of importance is change happens and everyone will find their cheese with their own tactics. People will already have a predetermined personality that dictates how they respond to life occurrences. Their prior knowledge will indicate how comfortable they are in understanding new topics. Their current relationships could influence whether or not they ask peers for help. There is an entire demographic pool of traits that causes diverse decisions for each road block encountered. Also, forcing ideas on people would result in a cheese not truly theirs. Not all people will choose the same cheese such as getting the next job promotion, house, or graduating college. Even if people do have the same end goals, there will be different stages, paces, and decisions controlling the route taken. With such differences there are only subjective habits that can be shared among each person, not objective measurements, in the pursuit of changing cheeses. However, for any of these influences to occur people must be willing to accept change. There is potential for stagnation, or comfort, in life that prevents the acceptance of change.

I would like to welcome you to the readable journey that can change a life forever. This is a journey through the Holy Bible, of course with some negative and positive sides along the way. In a quest for accuracy, validity, and truth; the Holy Bible is the most sought after book for answers and attack, yet it continues to stand firm through it all. The Holy Bible is the world’s best selling book and will continue to be for decades to come and there is reasoning behind this awesome fact. Validity is searched for after skeptics read the Bible, they ask questions upon questions wanting so badly to disprove the accuracy of the Bible. Our omniscient God knew that His Words would be challenged and not believed to be true by doubters continuously, so God left life changing hints proving his word true, whether they have been discovered or undiscovered yet. God laid it down plain and simple that the Bible is true - His divine words written by His anointed authors.

In my younger years, I had an enormous problem with the Old Testament, for like a myriad of Christian s, I loved the New Testament with all of Christ’s kindness and love; however, when I would try to read the earlier text, the majority of what I extracted from it portrayed an immense quantity of battles, betrayals, and killings. Essentially, early on, I read the Bible quickly a few times, particularly various parts of the OT, scrutinizing assorted books, trying to assemble some sense of it all; yet, I often ended up experiencing additional confusion. Routinely I would ask various people concerning the texts and read numerous books pertaining to its countless meanings; profoundly nothing ever benefited my searching heart.

As a young child I was taught that the Bible was the “Word of God” and therefore, infallible. My childhood denomination accepted every word of the scriptures in a literal fashion (except the ones which contradicted or distorted their message). We studied one version of the Bible, the King James. There was never any mention of other translations of the Bible, or why this particular version was chosen. Nor were there given instructions for researching the original written language for deeper understandings, or being led by the ‘Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation Knowledge’ in search of hidden meanings. Actually, I was never encouraged to question the literal interpretation of church doctrine in any form… this would have been to question God Himself!