8/31 class: Three Worlds and Campus Tour of my historical worldMPUS TP

THREE WORLDS:
We summarized the "Three Worlds" approach to the Bible that is discussed in the H and Y textbook:
... see especially chapters two and three, and see class notes.
Here  below is how one student summarized the worlds (she has more detail here)


Literary World--The literary world of the Bible is simply the text itself, apart from anything outside the text.  We mean the world (or, better, worlds) created by the text; the words on the page, by the stories, songs, letters and the myriad other types of literature that make up the Bible.  All good literature (and the Bible is, among other things, good literature) creates in readers' minds magnificent, mysterious, and often moving worlds that take on a reality of their own, whether or not they represent anything real outside the pages (Hauer and Young ch 2).

Historical World--The historical world of the Bible is the world "behind the text" or "outside the text".  It is the context in which the Bible came to be written, translated, and interpreted over time, until the present.  In studying the historical world of the Bible, we look for evidence outside the text that helps us answer questions such as, who wrote this text, when was it written, to whom was it written, and why was it written.  We also probe the text itself for evidence that links it to historical times, places, situations, and persons (Hauer and Young 2)..



Contemporary World--The contemporary world is the "world in front of the text" or the "world of the reader."  In one sense, there are as many contemporary worlds of the Bible as there are readers, for each of us brings our own particular concerns and questions to the text.  They inevitably shape our reading experience.  We are all interested in answering the questions of whether the Bible in general, or particular texts, have any relevance to our personal lives (Hauer and Young  ch3).
-Brolin


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CAMPUS TOUR
Well, our literal field trip was 

fun, but it has two serious intentions, deeply related to the class.

1)To model what it was like for Jesus and the disciples to have a common "historical world," common memory, etc, knowing that "geography matters."

2)To let you know more of my story, and how I have come to answer the "Who is Jesus to me?" question

I know which story seemed to be your favorite..(:

But here's a pic that will recall a sadder story:

Here's more pics.