Unity of the Bible Synthesis Assignment
Each student will submit a 4-5 page paper (no more, no less) analyzing different scholars' approaches to the unity of the Bible. Students will present a critical analysis of three scholars' views on the unity of the Bible and compare/contrast them to John Bright'sKingdom of God.
The purpose of this assignment is to expose the student to differing scholarly views on what constitutes the central, unifying theme of the Bible. The assignment serves as a synthesis of the ideas and concepts that we have studied throughout this semester.
Specific instructions:
1. Read the excerpts from the following three scholars (links provided --*** Blackboard is having issues with creating links--will get links posted as soon as possible! In the meantime, these are posted under Course Resources/Quackenbos files.):
Walter Kaiser,
Toward an Old Testament Theology(Zondervan, 1978) (OTT)
Walter Kaiser,Recovering the Unity of the Bible: One Continuous Story, Plan, and Purpose(Zondervan, 2009) (Unity)
Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum,God's Kingdom Through God's Covenant: A Concise Biblical Theology(Crossway, 2015) (GW)
T. Desmond Alexander,From Eden to the New Jerusalem: An Introduction to Biblical Theology(Kregel Academic, 2008) (Eden)
Note: The reason why you have two excerpts from Walter Kaiser is that he began his work on biblical theology in the area of Old Testament scholarship, then extended his ideas to the whole Bible. While there is a little bit of overlap in the two Kaiser excerpts, it is important to read both so that you get an idea of how his thinking progressed.
2. You paper shouldintegratea discussion of the following. By "integrate," I mean that you should not simply structure your paper based on the below bullets, but rather you should incorporate your responses as you organize your paper in the way that you think is best.
- Provide a brief synopsis of the arguments of each of the three scholars (Kaiser, Gentry/Wellum, Alexander). What is the central theme of the Bible according to each? How do they arrive at these conclusions?
- What strengths and weaknesses do you observe in each presentation?
- Compare/contrast each scholar's approach with John Bright'sKingdom of God. (There is no need to provide a synopsis or overview of Bright.)
- Of the four arguments for the unifying theme of the Bible (Bright and the three others), which do you find most convincing and why?
- Incorporate insights from class readings and videos from this course as appropriate.
In order to address these questions adequately, I expect that you may have to read the excerpts more than once and really digest them. In other words, give this some thought--don't merely slap something together at the last minute! Your paper should illustrate that you understand the main flow of thought of each of these scholars regarding the unity of the Bible.
3. Here is some additional guidance on this assignment.
The body of the paper should be 4-5 pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12-pt font, 1-inch margins. I stress that this should be 4-5 pages,no more, no less. If you find yourself somewhere less than fourfullpages, then you should go back and find substantive material to add to your paper. If you find yourself over five full pages, then go back and edit/cut material until you bring it back to five. A title page is not required, but if you use one, it does not count toward your page total. Thebodyof the paper should be 4-5 pages.
One more note/suggestion on the length of the paper. For this paper, you should not engage in a prolonged introduction. Provide a succinct (i.e. maybe 2-3 sentence) opening paragraph in which you state your thesis, approach, etc., then jump right into your analysis.
No outside sources are required for this assignment. However, if you do use any sources other than the ones mentioned above, cite them using footnotes and bibliography using Turabian format. If you don't use any outside sources, then you do not need footnotes or a bibliography!
When citing the above sources, use parenthetical citations using the abbreviations listed above (they appear after the source) and page number, i.e., (PP, 145), (GW, 263), etc. For Bright, simply use his name and page number, i.e., (Bright, 37). If you refer to a class resource, simply identify it in your writing, i.e., "In Dr. Story's video on Hebrews, he said ..."
Your writing should reflect Masters-level work, i.e. your paper should be free of grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. This includes incomplete sentences, run-on sentences, and improper capitalization. Please spell-check and proofread your paper prior to submitting it. I understand that everyone makes an occasional typo here or there, but if I see excessive writing errors I will make deductions from your grade. I advise that you have a friend or loved one proofread your paper before you submit it.