The very nature of the Bible as the message of God is communication and thus it must be interpreted. The question is not whether to interpret Scripture but whether it is interpreted well or poorly. The module is designed for believers who are called into a ministry of communicating the Word. The primary context of their ministry is the Church, which is nurtured by the Holy Spirit’s application of Scripture to its life and work. To grow in this, ministry students need to learn the appropriate tools and processes of interpretation and to practice the use of such tools and processes. Beyond knowing, students must become lovers of Scripture, seekers after God, and joyfully committed to adopting the message into their own lives and to their contemporary contexts.
Students should have completed Telling the Old Testament Story of God and Telling the New Testament Story of God (or their equivalent) before beginning this module.
This module contributes to the development of the following abilities as defined in the U.S. Sourcebook for Ministerial Development.
CN 15—Ability to describe how the Bible came into being up to contemporary translations
CN 16—Ability to identify the steps of historical, literary, and theological analysis used in exegesis
CN 17—Ability to exegete a passage of Scripture using the steps listed above