Sacred Scripture: A Foundation for Pastoral Ministry (BS8601C)

Postgraduate, 16.0 points

Content

This unit offers an introduction to the Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament. It introduces students to the principles of scriptural interpretation within the Catholic tradition and provides a foundation for understanding Scripture in the context of Pastoral Ministry and the life of the Church.

Unit code: BS8601C

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 16.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational

Unit discipline: Biblical Studies

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Demonstrate a basic knowledge of some of the key principles for interpreting Scripture within the Catholic tradition;
2.

Identify some of the different ways of interpreting biblical texts within their social and religious contexts;
3.

Exhibit a basic knowledge of the literature of the Bible and the canon of scripture;
4.

Show how these skills of interpretation may be used and adapted in a classroom setting;
5.

Develop a specific topic of research related to the unit content in a critically rigorous, sustained and self-directed manner.

Pedagogy

Lectures and tutorials

Indicative Bibliography

  • A Bible, including the Deutero-Canonical books (Apocrypha), in a recent and fairly literal translation such as the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). Many students benefit from a study Bible (i.e., a biblical translation with notes and maps), such as the New Oxford Annotated Bible or the HarperCollins Study Bible. (recommended for purchase)
  • Barton, John, and Julia Bowden. The Original Story: God, Israel and the World. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005.
  • Barton, John, and John Muddiman, eds. The Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
  • Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament. Anchor Bible Reference Library. New York: Doubleday, 1997.
  • Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland Edmund Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1990.
  • Brueggemann, Walter, and Tod Linafelt. An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination. 2nd ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012. (recommended for purchase)
  • Collins, John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. 2nd ed. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014.
  • Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
  • Fitzmyer, Joseph A. The Biblical Commission’s Document “The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church”: Text and Commentary. Subsidia Biblica 18. Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1995.
  • Frick, Frank S. A Journey Through the Hebrew Scriptures. 2nd ed. Belmont: Thomson/ Wadsworth, 2003.
  • Moloney, Francis J. A Friendly Guide to the New Testament. Friendly Guides. Mulgrave: John Garratt Publishing, 2010.(recommended for purchase)
  • Perkins, Pheme. Reading the New Testament: An Introduction. 3rd ed. New York: Paulist, 2012.
  • Pontifical Biblical Commission. The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church. 1993.
  • Senior, Donald, Paul J. Achtemeier, and Robert J. Karris. Invitation to the Gospels. Rev. ed. Mahwah: Paulist, 2002. (recommended for purchase)

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

2000 word essay on New Testament topic, including consideration of principles of Catholic interpretation of Scripture, and related to pastoral setting.

 0 50.0
Essay

2000 word essay on Old Testament topic, including consideration of principles of Catholic interpretation of Scripture, and related to pastoral setting.

 0 50.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 19 Oct, 2017

Unit record last updated: 2021-11-07 14:58:50 +1100