Biblical Interpretation A Christian Educator Certification Course Date: April 5-7, 2016, beginning at 1:30 p.m. on April 5 and ending at noon on April 7. This is a hybrid class; most work will be done at home prior to coming on campus. At-home work begins on March 7; you must be available to do group work during this time at home. Leader: Dr. E. Carson Brisson Event location: Union Presbyterian Seminary: Paisley Hall, 1204 Palmyra Avenue, Richmond, VA 23227 Registration: $295 includes lunch on Wednesday, April 6, refreshments, and breakfast for those staying on campus CEUs: 3.0 For: Church educators and members involved in Christian education. Note: You do NOT need to be seeking certification to enroll in this course. This course is designed to address the calling of Christian educators to interpret and teach the Bible, this course features a historical overview and practical examples of an array of approaches to biblical interpretation, including and emphasizing the "location" and key elements of interpretation within the Reformed tradition. This course is designed to meet the requirement of a course in biblical interpretation for Christian educators seeking certification in the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), but is open to all. To register for Biblical Interpretation online, click here. Log in information will be sent on March 7 to those registered.
GOALS OF THE COURSE: Essential goals of the course are demonstrated recognition and knowledge of the major types ("schools") of biblical interpretation in their historical settings and demonstrated (by combination of assigned readings and assigned exegesis paper and drills) understanding by the student of her or his own interpretive model and where that model "fits" with respect to the major characteristics of other approaches studied. COURSE METHODS: Essential goals will be facilitated by required readings, on-line postings and reviews of required readings, class attendance, class activities including exegetical drills, lectures, seminar-style discussions, and one assigned exegesis paper. To be certified as having successfully completed the course, a student must complete in a timely and complete way all assignments, and must attend and participate in all of all four class sessions of the course in a manner consonant with the essential goals of the class. REQUIRED TEXTS: History of Biblical Interpretation: A Reader by William Yarchin, Baker Academic, 2011. Elements of Biblical Exegesis: A Basic Guide for Students and Ministers by Michael J. Gorman, Baker Academic, 2010.
Biblical Interpretation A Christian Educator Certification Course About the Leader: E. Carson Brisson, Ph.D., is associate professor of biblical languages at Union Presbyterian Seminary, serving on the Charlotte campus. He earned his M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. degrees at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, with emphases on church history, New Testament, Hebrew, and Theology. Carson has pastured two churches (rural Kentucky and rural North Carolina) and served as Minister of Education in two churches in North Carolina. After having served at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC, Carson joined the faculty of then-union Theological Seminary in 1991. At Union, he has taught Hebrews, Greek, Old Testament, Minor Prophets, Wisdom Literature, Survey of the Bible and Its Theologies, Writing the Faith, and countless directed studies. He was Associate Dean for Academic Programs at UPSem for 10 years, directing the Extended Campus Program. Carson has served for 21 years as Associate Editor of Interpretation, and for 12 years has written the faculty essay for editions of the UPSem alumni/ae magazine, FOCUS. Having been brought up and educated in the Baptist tradition, Carson and his wife are now members at Wake Forest Presbyterian Church in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
COURSE OVERVIEW: PHASE ONE (At-home) Week One (March 7-14, 2016): Each student will do a close reading of the Yarchin text and post her or his first-person book review of the Yarchin by the end of the first week of course (March 14, 2016); Week Two (March 15-21, 2016): Each student will do a close reading of the Gorman text and post her or his first-person book review of Gorman by the end of the second week of course (March 21, 2016); Weeks Three and Four (March 22-March 31, 2016): Each student will, based on the readings above, and selecting from a list of passages provided by the teacher and mutually approved in consultation with the teacher, complete and email to the teacher only her or his exegesis of a biblical passage by the end of the fourth week of the course (March 31, 2016); At-Home Weeks One - Four: Within three days after each deadline for posting a book review noted above, each student in the class must post an assessment of the book review of one of her or his classmates. That is, each student must post an assessment of one classmate's book review for the Yarchin text and an assessment of one classmate's book review for the Gorman text. PHASE TWO (On-Campus Hours/Days): Methods: Required attendance, lectures, seminar-style discussions, "case" practice in exegetical skills in small groups, and a concluding, very brief, worship service. Each of the following segments for each class will be roughly equal in time with each other, except that the last segment of the last class, a worship service, will, in an attempt to re-create the values of its original historical setting (second century), be quite brief compared to the other segments of the class.
Tuesday, April 5 Biblical Interpretation On-campus Schedule of Events Union Presbyterian Seminary, Paisley Hall, 1204 Palmyra Ave., Richmond 1:30 4:30 p.m.: First Lecture: "Calling, Art, 'Science', and Hope of Biblical Exegesis: Historical Overview" Wednesday, April 6 8:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m.: Second Lecture: "Old Testament Exegesis and Theologies of the Hebrew Scriptures" 11:45 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Chapel (optional) and Lunch 1:30 4:30 p.m.: Third Lecture: "New Testament Exegesis and Theologies of the New Testament" Thursday, April 7 8:30 noon: Individual Oral Presentations of At-Home Exegeses: "The 'WORD' in/as/through Words" Class Questions for and Observations concerning Individual Exegeses Fourth Lecture: "Heirs and Heralds: Midnight Messengers of a Perfect Dawn" Concluding Worship (based on oldest known non-canonical description of Christian worship)