Introducing the Bible (BS8602C)

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 Religious Education and the life of the Church. Through the study of selected biblical passages, students engage with various methods of interpretation and learn about how the Bible is understood in the Catholic tradition.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

This is the first unit in CTC’s program of units for the Graduate Certificate in Teaching Religious Education.

Pedagogy

Classes consist of interactive lectures, reading and analysing biblical texts, as well as discussions (in each case, presented in a manner appropriate for intensive, online, or blended delivery modes).

Indicative Bibliography

• The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. Edited by Michael D. Coogan et al. 5^th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.
• Beavis, Mary Ann, and Michael J. Gilmour. Dictionary of the Bible and Western Culture. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2012.
• Collins, John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. 2^nd ed. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014.
• Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. 5^th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.
• 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.
• Moloney, Francis J. A Friendly Guide to the New Testament. Friendly Guides. Mulgrave: John Garratt Publishing, 2010.
• Perkins, Pheme. Reading the New Testament: An Introduction. 3^rd ed. New York: Paulist, 2012.
• Sakenfeld, Katharine D., ed. The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. 5 volumes. Nashville: Abingdon, 2006–2009.
• Senior, Donald, Paul J. Achtemeier, and Robert J. Karris. Invitation to the Gospels. Rev. ed. Mahwah: Paulist, 2002.
• Sumney, Jerry L. The Bible: An Introduction. 2^nd ed. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014.

Assessment