IB BPRE 1101:  INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE

This course introduces the religious education student to such concerns as how we got the Bible, the authority and inspiration of Scriptures, basic Bible content, comparative religious studies, how to understand the Bible, and issues of human origins. The course also provides an introduction to the historical and anthropological contexts from which the biblical writings emerged as well as the internal structure of the Bible.  Attention will be given to the emergence from ancient Hebrew writings of what we call “Judaism” and to the later appropriation of the Hebrew Scriptures by radicalized, Greek-speaking Jews, who called themselves “Christians.”  Themes of the course include the invention of the concept of God, the invention of the related concept of history, the invention of the concept of the city, and archeolgical discoveries.