Syllabus

HB670.07 Bible and Contemporary Issues

Fall Semester, 2010
Wednesdays 1:15pm-4:00pm
Room 305

Professor: Dr. Lisa W. Davison Phone: 918/270-6407

Johnnie Eargle Cadieux Professor of Hebrew Bible E-mail: Lisa.Davison@ptstulsa.edu

A. Description: This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to develop skills
that will be useful in leading their congregations/constituents in the study and discussion of
difficult issues facing the Church in the 21st century. Students will learn about new exegetical
and hermeneutical approaches to the study of the Bible. They will sharpen their exegetical
abilities and develop their own hermeneutical approach for reading/interpreting biblical texts.
This knowledge, along with an understanding of Christian ethics, will be applied to a variety of
contemporary issues (e.g., Creationism/Evolution/Intelligent Design, Stem Cell Research,
Immigration, Human Sexuality, etc.). It does fulfill the HB exegesis requirement.

B. Class Procedures: As an advanced seminar, students will be responsible for contributing to, and
sometimes leading, the discussions during each class meeting. The professor will provide some
content lectures but will primarily act as a facilitator of group discussions. Class discussions will
be open, honest, and respectful; all opinions will be respected and derogatory language toward
another person will not be tolerated. [Behavior or attitudes that are disrespectful of another
person, professor or student, will result in significant lowering of the offender’s grade.] All
participants will covenant together to agree to disagree without hostility

C. Course Goals and Learning Outcomes: At the end of the course, students will
1. Know the purpose and method of the current approaches to exegesis of the Bible
and be able to apply them to any biblical text in order to gain a critical
interpretation.
2. Be familiar with hermeneutical approaches and how their own historical-cultural
context influences their hermeneutic.
3. Develop a hermeneutical method that they can apply to the interpretation of
biblical texts as they relate to ethical issues that present challenges for the Church.
4. Be able to name their approach to making ethical decisions and explain how that
approach fits within the broader field of ethics.
5. Have considered in-depth one difficult issue facing the Church, including the
ethical and biblical implications, and provides for a faithful approach for the
Church to use in addressing the issue.

D. Required texts and readings: All students are expected to purchase the required texts and to
have read the electronic documents provided for the course. Within the Course Schedule, under
“Assignments”, the readings are identified by the word/abbreviation in parentheses, as listed
below. Electronic Documents are identified by “Title” and will be available on the course
Blackboard site at http://fishersnet.blackboard.com.

1. Anderson, Cheryl. Ancient Laws and Contemporary Controversies: The Need for
Inclusive Biblical Interpretation. [Oxford Univ Press, 2009, ISBN 9780195305500]
(Laws)
2. Brown, Marvin T. The Ethical Process: An Approach to Disagree. [Prentice Hall, 2003,
ISBN 9780130988898] (Brown)
 3. Brueggemann, Walter. Journey to the Common Good. [WJK, 2010, ISBN
9780664231217] (Journey)
4. _________________. Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary
Church. [WJK, 2010, ISBN 9780664235161] (Mandate)
5. Harrelson, Walter, ed. The New Interpreter’s Study Bible. [Abingdon, 2003, ISBN
9780687278329] (NISB)
6. Hayes & Holladay. Biblical Exegesis: A Beginner’s Handbook 3rd edition. [WJK, 3rd
Edition, 2007, ISBN 9780664227753] (H&H)
7. Page, Hugh R., ed. The Africana Bible: Reading Israel's Scriptures from Africa and the
African Diaspora. [Fortress, 2009, ISBN 9780800621254] (TAB)

E. Assessments/Assignments: The requirements of the course are listed below, along with their
respective values for the final course grade and the dates on which the assignments are due or
tests will be given. All students are expected to turn in assignments on (or before) the dates
listed. Late assignments will not be accepted, unless prior permission has been granted by the
professor. Such extensions will only be approved for emergency situations.

1. Class Participation: As an advanced seminar, all students are required to provide

leadership for class discussions. To do so, students are required to have read the
assignments for each class and be prepared to discuss critically each assignment. In
addition, students are required to make a minimum of two (2) posts each week to the
active “Discussion Board” topic on the course Blackboard site. More instructions will be
provided in class. [30% of final grade]

2. In-class Presentation: Students are required to present in class their topic for the final
project and share their research findings. Each presentation will be 45-60 minutes in
length, based on class size. More instructions will be provided in class. [15% of final
grade]

3. Final Project: The final project will include a paper on the student’s chosen difficult
issue and a proposal for how to study this issue within the context of their specific
ministry context. The paper will include basic information about the topic and why it is a
controversial issue for the Church. In addition, the paper will identify biblical texts that
are related to the topic (including those texts used in the discussions of the topic and
others that the student deems relevant to the topic) and provide an in-depth exegesis of
one text from the Hebrew Bible. More information will be provided in class. The Final
Project is due to the professor at the beginning of class on December 15, 2010. (Students
who anticipate completing their degree this semester will be required to turn-in the final
project at the beginning of class on December 8, 2010.) [55% of final grade] The final
graded project should be added to the student’s portfolio.

F. Grading: Letter grades will be determined based on the following scale. Students should also
consult their Student Handbook for information on what constitutes “A work”; “B work”; “C
work”; “D work”; and “F work”.

“A” range = 90-100 A+ = 98-100 A = 94-97 A- = 90-93

“B” range = 80-89 B+ = 87-89 B = 84-86 B- = 80-83
“C” range = 70-79 C+ = 77-79 C = 74-76 C- = 70-73
“D” range = 60-69 D+ = 67-69 D = 64-66 D- = 60-63
F = 59 and below
G. Accommodation for Individuals with Disabilities: Phillips Theological Seminary is
committed to providing equal access to its programs of graduate professional education for all
qualified students with learning, physical, medical, and/or psychological disabilities. The
Seminary aims to provide reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with a disability
(based on clinical documentation) to ensure their access and participation in Seminary programs.
For details, see “Disabilities Policies and Procedures” in the 2009-2010 Student Handbook, pp
17-18. (The Student Handbook is located on the PTS website (www.ptstulsa.edu): go to
Worship & Community tab in far left column; select Student Handbook. Policy found on pdf
pages 22-23.) Please contact Belva Brown Jordan, the Associate Dean for Admissions and
Student Services, for consultation.

H. Attendance Policy: “Class attendance and participation are important. Any student who misses
20% or more of the class contact hours for a course, for any reason, cannot pass or successfully
audit that course. The intention of the policy is not to be punitive, but to recognize that students
should retake courses for credit if they miss a significant number of the class contact hours”
(PTS Student Handbook, www.ptstulsa.edu).

I. Academic Honesty: Integrity is a basic principle of academic work. All students are required
to be familiar with the PTS policies regarding “Academic Misconduct”. Dishonesty in student
work (including, but not limited to: cheating and plagiarism) will not be tolerated in this course.
Students who are found guilty of academic misconduct will receive at least a grade of “F” on the
assignment in question and have a letter sent to the Dean explaining the situation. Other, more
serious consequences are possible as described in the Student Handbook (www.ptstulsa.edu).

J. Other Policies: All written work should follow Turabian formatting. Assignments may NOT be
faxed to the seminary. Unless previously arranged with the professor, all assignments (except
online work) are to be turned-in to the professor at the beginning of the class session in which
they are due. Students are required to use “Just Language” (as covered in class) for all written
work. Out of respect for the class, all cell phones must be turned-off during the session. In
emergency situations, phones may be left on vibrate, but students must notify the professor
before class.

Daily class schedule: The professor reserves the right to alter this schedule if student and times needs
necessitate such a change. The professor reserves the right to alter this schedule as she deems necessary.
This includes, but is not limited to: adding/deleting assignments, rearranging topics, and changing due
dates for assignments (only if it is to the students’ benefit).

Date Topic(s) Assignments

9/1 Introduction to the Course H&H (all); NISB, pp 2243-79
Exegesis Review
Hermeneutics

9/8 Broadening the Hermeneutical Circle TAB, pp 3-38; “Reading with Yin
Yang Eyes”; “The Challenge of
Hermeneutics”; “Dancing Around
Life”; “Latin American Reading of
the Bible”; “Multicultural
Evangelical Hermeneutics”

9/15 Church’s Role in Society Mandate (all); Journey (all); “An

Analysis of Church & Society Social
Ethical Writings”
9/22 A Matter of Ethics Brown (all); “Christian Ethics”;
“The Ethicist as a Theologian”;
“Old Testament Ethics”

9/29 Biblical Interpretation & Ethics Laws (all); TAB, pp 39-57; “When
The Text is The Problem”;
“Freedom, the ‘Letter’, and the
‘Spirit’”

10/6 Exegetical Experiment TBA

10/13 & 20 CONCENTRATED COURSE WEEKS – NO CLASS

10/27 Test Case: “2 Cheers for Darwin”; “Courtship

Creationism, Evolution,
& Intelligent Design
“Media
of Darwin”; “Evolution &
Creationism in Science Magazine;
“Flawed Intelligence”; “Intelligent
Design Bad Science”;
Coverage of ID”; “The Science in
the ID Debate”; “Who Designed
That?”

11/3 Test Case: TBA TBA

11/10 A Group Endeavor TBA

11/17 Student Presentations

A. ___________________________
B. ___________________________
C. ___________________________

11/24 THANKSGIVING BREAK – NO CLASS

12/1 Student Presentations

A. ___________________________
B. ___________________________
C. ___________________________

12/8 Student Presentations

A. ___________________________
B. ___________________________
C. ___________________________

12/15 Student Presentations

A. ___________________________
B. ___________________________
C. ___________________________