Coursework

Course Description:

The purpose of this course is to provide a preliminary introduction to major geographical and cultural features of the Bible. The stories in the Bible took place or came to exist not in a vacuum but in the physical world and among real people in antiquity. Many stories and poetries contain those aspects and have been developed from their specific historical/geography contexts. Therefore, understanding the geopolitical situations and history and cultures of ancient Israel is quintessential to having a better understanding of the Christian Scriptures. This course is designed to help this process by offering a wide view of the contexts of ancient Israel, the second Temple period, and the first century of the Bible. Through this course, students will learn physical geographical features of the land of the Bible and its history so that they can relate biblical stories with their geographical and historical contexts. They will also learn ancient Israelite cultures and their neighbors so that they can have better contextual understanding of certain stories.

Learning Outcomes:

1. (I-1) Students will recognize historical, cultural, and geographical specificities, which are the bases of the interpretation of the Bible.
2. (I-1) Students will also understand social, cultural, and hermeneutical gaps that lie between us and the biblical times.
3. (SO-2) Students will establish a ground for constructive dialogue and mutual understanding across religious traditions by looking at the ancient Israelite’s interactions with others.
4. (SO-1) Students will understand the Bible that contains a variety of historical, cultural, and social changes and be able to reinterpret those situations for Christianity in multicultural and global contexts.

Course Description:

I-HB511 is a course designed to serve as an introduction to a critical study of the Hebrew Bible. In order to understand the Hebrew Bible, this course introduces briefly each book’s background, text, and content so as to understand it with a big picture of the Hebrew Bible as a whole and to understand how each book relates to the major divisions (e.g. the Pentateuch, Historical Books, Prophetic Books, and Poetic/Wisdom Books). This course also helps students to have necessary knowledge for not only courses of the hermeneutic history and methodologies, but also actual interpretation of the Hebrew Bible.

Learning Outcomes:

1. (I-1)  Students will understand the distance between them and the biblical text by studying literary, archaeological, and cultural contexts.
2. (I-2) Students will learn to overcome the hermeneutical gaps by knowing important historical events and overall themes of each book in the Hebrew Bible.
3. (I-3) Students will be able to read the Hebrew Bible critically and criticize the biblical texts.
4. (PH-1; SO-1) Students will confirm their calling and establish a hermeneutical and biblical exegetical foundation in multicultural and global situations by learning many different biblical characters (including their calls and works), events, various propensities of God, and different theological topics.

Course Description:

I-HB512 builds on I-HB511 and further develops deeper discussions of the biblical texts and theological issues so as to gain proficiency in Hebrew Bible exegesis. The initial focus of the course is to deal with general hermeneutic history of the biblical texts and their current scholarship. Students will not only become familiar with certain biblical texts but also be exposed to various interpretational methodologies. Through these studies, this course intends for students to develop skills for critical engagement of the biblical texts and abilities for creative exegesis of the Hebrew Bible for the purposes of religious education and Christian theology.

Course Outcomes:

1. (I-2) Students will understand hermeneutic history of the texts and learn to overcome hermeneutic gaps by learning temporal, spatial and cultural differences.
2. (I-3; PH-3; SO-2; JU-1) Students will find a variety of hermeneutic approaches for constructive biblical, theological, and ethical responses appropriate to today’s situation and environment in which diversity is emphasized and learn to do creative commentary work.
3. (JU-2) Students will learn to live life as a Christian steward in the world by the understanding of various issues such as the environmental concern raised in the modern society.
4. (I-4) Students will gain how to properly and effectively communicate their interpretations of the Hebrew Bible to other people or specific communities through other courses, such as a preaching class that they will take later, with the basic knowledge of biblical interpretation.

Course Description:

This course is designed to introduce backgrounds and methodologies of biblical texts of New Testament. The course examines important theological issues of Four Gospels and Acts. However, the main focus will be on Synoptic Gospels.

Learning Outcomes:

1. (I-1, I-2) Students have a basic understanding of hermeneuticalsituatedness of their and their community by examining history of interpretation of Four Gospels.
2. (I-1, I-2) Students acquire various hermeneutical distance and traditions by surveying introductory issues, backgrounds, theology, criticism, and important problems of Gospels and Acts.
3. (I-1, I-2, PH-4) Understand overall history of historical Jesus and its current discussion.
4. (PH-4) Have a deeper understanding of Kingdom of God and learn how it is expressed in each Gospel (and Acts).
5. **(SO-1, PH-4)** Understand and interpret Christianity in multicultural and global categories from the perspective of God’s reign and discipleship of Jesus Christ.

Course Description:

This course is to survey Pauline epistles, General epistles, and the book of Revelation. It examines social, cultural, literary, and theological aspects as well as important academic issues. The course focuses on the location of epistles in context of church and the world.

Learning Outcomes:

1. (I-4) Students have proper understanding of hermeneutical situatedness of their and their community by examining history of interpretation of Pauline epistles, General epistles, and the book of Revelation.
2. Students acquire various hermeneutical distance and traditions by surveying introductory issues, backgrounds, theology, criticism, and important problems of Pauline epistles, General epistles, and the book of Revelation.
3. (I-4, SO-3) Students convey their own hermeneutical or interpretive position by examining “Gospel and Law” issue in Paulin epistles.
4. (SO-3) Students discerns practical and missional strategy for transforming everyday life and community through study of Pauline epistles, General epistles, and the book of Revelation.