What They Don't Tell You: A Survivor's Guide to Biblical Studies

by Brown, Michael Joseph

• ISBN13: 9780664222208
• ISBN10: 066422220X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-08-01
• Publisher: Presbyterian Pub Corp

Summary

Michael Brown wants to help students understand the mind-set and presuppositions behind the academic discipline of biblical studies. He uses his experiences as both a student and a teacher to offer wise advice about what to expect if you want to be an astute reader of the Bible. Brown provides basic information about the Bible and biblical criticism. He defines the jargon and and presents the variety of perspectives students will encounter in the classroom. He also clarifies the difference between biblical studies and Bible study, gives a brief history of scholarship, and furnishes an overview of the methods of biblical interpretation.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Prolegomena	xi
The Aims of Bible Study and the Aims of Biblical Scholarship	1	(40)
Why Biblical Scholarship Is Not Sunday School	1	(16)
Methods of Biblical Interpretation	17	(15)
A Primer on Biblical Basics	32	(4)
How Can I Prepare for the Process of Academic Biblical Study?	36	(5)
Rules of Thumb for Reading and Interpreting Biblical Texts	41	(68)
A Basic Approach	41	(28)
When you read the Bible, approach it as you would any other book.	41	(3)
Be careful not to read your modern assumptions into ancient texts.	44	(4)
The more you try to do, the less you'll really understand.	48	(1)
A translation is only as good as its translator.	49	(8)
When reading a text, don't ask and it won't tell.	57	(1)
All other things being equal, people today are not different from people 2,000 years ago.	58	(2)
An overactive imagination can get you into trouble.	60	(2)
Get a map.	62	(1)
Don't stereotype people without a really good reason.	63	(3)
The Bible means what it says, and says what it means. Except when it doesn't.	66	(3)
The Advanced Approach	69	(40)
Don't ask jon to tell you what Suzy meant.	69	(6)
If somebody in the Bible is upset about something, it's because someone else is doing it.	75	(4)
Everybody has skeletons in the closet.	79	(2)
If the story sounds simple, then you can bet that the meaning isn't.	81	(5)
Everybody has an ax to grind.	86	(5)
Cultures mix.	91	(4)
Always go for the more difficult reading.	95	(3)
The ``accidents of history'' don't necessarily prove anything.	98	(3)
Don't argue what you can't prove.	101	(8)
Rules of Thumb for Understanding Biblical Scholarship	109	(22)
Most biblical scholars can't agree on lunch, much less the precise meaning of a text.	109	(6)
Where you start often determines where you end.	115	(4)
In the commentary game, older is not always better.	119	(3)
Although articles are at the cutting edge of biblical scholarship, they are not always a scholar's most mature thoughts.	122	(3)
While a scholar may be correct on some matters, this does not mean that the scholar is correct on all matters.	125	(6)
Rules of Thumb for Surviving Biblical Scholarship	131	(20)
Tradition is important, but it's not everything.	131	(8)
When it comes to asking questions, God is a ``big boy,'' God can handle it.	139	(2)
If your faith can't stand a little shaking, perhaps there wasn't much of a foundation there in the first place.	141	(3)
Faith is not like dominoes. When one part falls, it doesn't mean that all of it will fall.	144	(7)
Concluding Remarks	151	(6)
Notes	157