Session 5
How Has the Bible Been Read Over the Years?
Introduction to the Bible
The Bible is different from other books because it is a book that reads us. The materials we find there spring from experiences that other people had with God, but as we share those experiences, we do so against a backdrop of our own. Consequently, all of us read it differently, depending on where we are in our relationship with God. We might prefer different versions or translations. We might have “favorite verses” that serve to establish our most closely-held values and beliefs. We might even find different things that challenge us, or make us want to challenge others. Because of that, it can be very important to understand how we read the Bible for ourselves. This session takes a close look at how people have done so over the years.
Session Video Lecture
Suggested Resources
Please give attention to these suggested materials:
The Bible: from Bob Dylan’s Themetime Radio Hour
Here are some Terms to Review
exegesis, allegorical interpretation, fourfold exegesis, sola Scriptura, biblical criticism, pericope, liberation theology, mainline protestant, evangelical, fundamentalist, lectionary
After the Session: Research, Action, and Reflection
Bible Layers Project Part 5
Contemporary Context
Review all that you have written over the last several weeks. What are the key insights that these investigations have revealed to you? How has this time with this passage impacted the way you think about the character of God? In light of what you have learned, where do you see God in your life and the life of your community? Write a sermon, Bible study, essay, or presentation connecting your research on this passage to what you believe God is calling us to do and to be in this time and place.
Roger Jasper
Original Live Session Instructor – Project Designer
Roger Jasper has served as pastor of Living Faith since July of 2010 and has been in pastoral ministry since 2003. Roger holds a BA (double major in Religion and Philosophy) from Georgetown College, an MDiv from Baptist Seminary of Kentucky, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Baptistic Histories and Theologies from the University of Manchester. Currently, he is working toward a Ph.D. at the International Baptist Study Centre in Amsterdam (formerly in Rüschlikon and Prague). Roger came to know Christ at a young age through the teaching of his grandmother and was later baptized into Slate Branch Baptist Church of Somerset, KY. Slate Branch also ordained him in 2004 during his first pastorate.
Dr. Dalen Jackson
Academic Dean and Professor of Biblical Studies
Dalen C. Jackson came to BSK in the Fall of 2002 and has served since 2007 as Academic Dean and Professor of Biblical Studies. He was ordained to Christian Ministry in 1987 and served churches in Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Indiana, and Georgia as pastor and interim pastor, youth minister, children’s director, recreation assistant and in a variety of lay roles. Prior to coming to BSK, he was chair of the Division of External Studies at Judson College in Marion, Alabama and chair of the Humanities Division and head of the Theology Department at Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, Georgia.
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