RS 311 RU - God & Hebrew Bible Historical Books

Minimum Credit(s) Awarded: 4
Maximum Credit(s) Awarded: 4

If you want to meet God there is no better place to start than the Hebrew Bible. This text, which is foundational for much of Western civilization, is also an intimate and compelling report of God’s relationship with God’s people, whom God never deserts. This God is not a theological abstraction but rather the foremost example of the twin virtues of justice and mercy whose goal is to create a people who, like God, see these attributes as complementary rather than antithetical. On one level the Historical Books (Genesis-2 Kings; 1 and 2 Chronicles; Ruth, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah) are a national epic. On another, they are an incisive study of leadership, government, and the challenges and opportunities of a society growing to understand the infinite worth of the human person. The failure of this culture, culminating in the Babylonian Captivity, is in turn a fruitful source of insight into the nature of human evil and the steadfast love of God. Our initial goal is to read selected sections through lenses drawn from historical, theological, and narrative methodologies. Gradually we will expand from straightforward readings to a deeper engagement with the text as it forms human character and informs human communities. But we do not seek, nor will we find, definitive answers, for the inquiries that underlie the Hebrew Bible are the great questions and they are resolved only as they are lived.

Prerequisite(s): T- and W-tags or equivalent.