RLGN 1301—OLD TESTAMENT
HISTORY
SUMMER TERM
(May 11 to August 9, 2008)
Saturdays, 8:00-12:10 pm, WBU-SA: 11550 I.H. 35
N., Room 102
John M. Andrewartha, Ph.D., Instructor
Phone: (830)
980-2404 Fax: (830) 980-2405
Email addresses: jmandrew@gvtc.com
or John.Andrewartha@wayland.wbu.edu
Website:
http://satx.wbu.edu/john.andrewartha
Office Hours: Saturdays 11:45 am-12:15 pm,
in classroom
(also by email as needed)
I. COURSE DESCRIPTION: An introductory survey of the historical literature with
special attention to the institutions, religion, and national life of the
Hebrew people.
II.
TEXTBOOKS: The Old
Testament, New International Version, The Learning Bible.
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III.
COURSE OUTLINE: Part One: |
Encountering the
Pentateuch |
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Part
Two: |
Encountering the
Historical Books |
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Part Three: |
Encountering the
Poetical Books |
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Part Four: |
Encountering the
Prophets |
IV. COURSE REQUIREMENTS FOR UNDERGRADUATE CREDIT:
1. Class attendance according to the policies of the current WBU
catalog (see appendix)
2. Reading of ALL assigned passages in the Old Testament
3. Alert, active, informed
participation in class activities, taking appropriate notes
4. Four major exams as indicated below
V. GRADING:
Students will be graded on their knowledge of the contents of the Old
Testa-ment, as demonstrated by their performance on exams, quizzes, and class
participation.
1. MAJOR EXAMS: Four
exams will be given, each being "final" over the covered material.
2. CLASS PARTICIPATION: Students will be graded on their attendance
and active, alert, informed participation
in class activities.
3. ASSIGNED
4. EVALUATIONS: WBU GRADE SYSTEM:
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Major
Exams |
80% |
|
A = |
90-100% |
|
Reading Assignments |
10% |
|
B = |
80-89% |
|
Class
Participation |
10% |
|
C = |
70-79% |
|
|
|
|
D = |
60-69% |
|
|
|
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F = |
Below
60% |
VI. CLASS OBJECTIVES / Outcome Competencies: The purpose of
this study is to help the students develop an overall understanding of the Old
Testament as a distinctive body of literature considered sacred by both the
Hebrew people and Christians, appreciate its value for living to both groups,
and begin to develop the ability to think critically and theologically about it,
and to interpret its teachings for themselves. The student should be able to:
1. List in order and spell correctly the names
of the books of the Old Testament
2. Demonstrate a general knowledge of the
content, primary personalities, major
events, and themes of each book
3. Demonstrate a grasp of the basic outline of
Hebrew history, the major covenants, and
the religious and political developments
related to the Hebrew people throughout the
Old Testament historical periods
4. Show competence in recognizing and
understanding Old Testament religious and
social principles that may be applied to
contemporary life
5. These outcome competencies will be
demonstrated by scores of 60 percent or more on major exams and participation in the class
activities.
VII. CLASS PROCEDURE: The major class
activities will be lectures by the instructor, with guided discussion by the students
based upon their reading of the texts and their theological outlook. The class meets four hours each week for
eleven weeks, from 8:00 am to 11:40 pm, with a ten-minute break approximately halfway
through the class.
VIII. CLASS ASSIGNMENTS: Students are expected to have read the text
materials prior to the dates assigned for discussion and to be prepared to
answer questions on the assigned material.
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DATES: |
NIV Bible: Including the Introductions to each book. |
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May 31 |
Introduction to course; Old
Testament introductory essays—pp. 1-36 |
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June 7 |
Genesis; Exodus |
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June 14 |
Leviticus; Numbers; Deuteronomy |
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June 21 |
Joshua; Judges; Ruth; 1 & 2
Samuel |
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June 21 |
Last half of class: FIRST EXAM over
Genesis-Deuteronomy |
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June 28 |
1 & 2 Kings; 1 & 2
Chronicles; Ezra; Nehemiah; Esther |
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July 5 |
Job; Psalms 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 14, 15, 19, 23, 27, 32, 37, 42, 51, 98, 100, 103, 121, 136, 145, 150 |
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July 5 |
Last
half of class: SECOND EXAM over Joshua-Esther |
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July 12 |
Proverbs 1-15, 31; Ecclesiastes;
Song of Songs; Isaiah 1-39 |
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July 19 |
Isaiah 40-66; Jeremiah; Ezekiel |
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July 19 |
Last
half of class: THIRD EXAM over Job-Song of Songs |
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July 26 |
Daniel; Hosea; Joel; Amos |
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Aug. 2 |
Obadiah; Jonah; Micah; Nahum;
Habakkuk; Zephaniah; Haggai; Zechariah; Malachi |
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Aug. 9 |
FINAL EXAM over Isaiah-Malachi |
IX.
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This
syllabus is only a plan, not a contract.
Though there is no current expectation to do so, the Instructor may
modify the plan during the course. The
requirements for the course, assignments, their due dates, criteria for
measuring student progress and performance, and other aspects of the syllabus
may be changed by the Instructor if, in his professional judgment, it becomes
necessary. Please
do not call, email, or come to the office to request your grades. University policy forbids us to give them
out from the office. Official grade
notices by are posted on the IQ Web site as soon as possible after final
grades are turned in (not later than
the Monday after the term ends). It is
University policy that no otherwise qualified disabled person be excluded
from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to
discrimination under any educational program or activity in the University. Any
student who needs special arrangements to meet the course requirements should
inform the Instructor immediately upon entering the course. |
APPENDIX
Class Attendance—External Campuses:
· Students enrolled at one of the University’s external campuses should
make every effort to attend all class meetings.
All absences must be explained to the instructor, who will then
determine whether the omitted work may be made up. When a student reaches that number of
absences considered by the instructor to be excessive, the instructor will so
advise the student and file an Unsatisfactory Progress Report with the campus
dean. Any student who misses 25 percent or more of the regularly scheduled
class meetings may receive a grade of F in the course. Additional attendance policies for each course,
as defined by the instructor in the course syllabus, are considered a part of
the University’s attendance policy. A
student may petition the Academic Counsel for exceptions to the above stated
policies by filing a written request for an appeal to the provost/academic
vice-president.
· If an instructor fails to appear or fails to send notification of his
arrival within the first fifteen minutes of a class period, students may leave
without incurring an absence. (If I
am not in class at 8:00 am, call my cell phone to see what is up—I will be on
the way, but held up somewhere.) Please
do not call my cell phone at other times for other reasons; use the home phone
instead.)
· You do not need to call to tell me
you will not be in class unless you will be absent two or more weeks.
Addendum and Comments:
Please do not assume that you can miss
almost 25%
of the class meetings with no penalty at all.
Very few students can be absent that much and still pass the
course. Almost inevitably, students who
miss class perform less well than they expect, and their grades are lower.
NOTE THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN
“EXCUSED ABSENCE” FROM ANY CLASS. IF YOU ARE NOT IN
CLASS, YOU ARE ABSENT. If you are obviously
ill, especially if your illness may be contagious, for the sake of others’ and
your own health, please stay home until you have recovered. Anyone who is ill 25% of the time probably
needs to drop the course and rest to get well.
If your situation is special, discuss it with the instructor. He will make every effort to be reasonable
and helpful.
The
philosophy behind this policy is twofold: we believe that attendance in class
indicates that you are serious about getting a quality education and that such
attendance greatly increases your chances to succeed. On the other hand, tuition covers only about
three-fourths of the cost of delivering a course to you. Since we have to find the other fourth from
the gifts and offerings of the Baptist people of
So
there will be no doubt, 3 weeks of a
course lasting 11 weeks is more than 25%, and attendance in a class means being present from the time it is called to order until it is dismissed by the
instructor. Being tardy means arriving after the class has been called to order
or leaving before class is dismissed. Three
tardies equal one absence. Leaving at break time means being
absent for half the class. Traffic can
be terrible; allow adequate travel time to accommodate the unexpected. Two half-absences equal one week of absence. Exactly 2.75 weeks is 25% of the course. Two
absences and a tardy is 2.66 weeks—all you can afford to miss!
Principles That Apply in This Class (and most others):
This is a University.
It will be harder and require more commitment of time and effort from
you than high school, technical school, or most community colleges. We are
a Christian University. That doesn’t
mean we require less; it means we expect more.
The average university course expects you to put in two hours of outside work—homework, study, research, writing
projects, etc.—for every hour of class
time. A class that meets four hours
a week thus will require about eight additional hours of preparation time—a
total of twelve hours a week! If you
cannot give this much time, you probably won’t do well in university level
courses.
We will do everything
academically and ethically permissible to help you reach the standards of
excellence we set, but the ultimate
responsibility is yours. We cannot, must not, lower the standards
for someone’s “special circumstances.”
That would reduce the value of a university education for everyone.
Decide upfront that
you are here to get an education, not
just a diploma, and that you will do whatever
it takes to succeed. Winston
Churchill said, “It is no use saying,
“We are doing our best.” You have to got
to succeed in doing what is necessary.”
Come to class prepared to learn and participate. Have your assigned readings, papers, etc.
done before class begins. Listen, read, and take notes. A short pencil will beat a long memory every
time! Focus your thoughts, not just on
the facts, but on what the facts mean. Grasp the “Big Picture,” and the facts
will be more easily remembered. Learn
and understand the concepts, not just
memorize the facts. The details will
change, or you can look them up.
Class attendance is expected, encouraged, and greatly
desired. Students who miss class always
have a more difficult time with the material and fare less well than they would
otherwise (see Appendix Comments).
Please keep in mind that this is a Christian
institution. We endeavor to hold high
standards of character, conduct, and appearance. Therefore, please dress
appropriately for class and remove hats and
caps when
entering the room. This will show
your respect for the school, the course, the instructor, and the other students
in the class as well. To avoid
disturbing the class, turn off all cell phones,
pagers, and PDA timers. If you absolutely
must be on call, place your cell phone on silent ring/vibrator, and if
you receive an emergency call,
please
step outside the classroom before answering.
Academic honesty is expected of all students. All forms of cheating, such as illicit possession of exam materials, forgery, or plagiarism
(presenting the work of others as one’s own work) are subject to penalties
ranging from written reprimand to dismissal from the university. See your student handbook for details.
At any time you have a question, ASK IT. The only “dumb question” is the one you have
but don’t ask. We are all ignorant about
something. Being ignorant is no shame; staying
ignorant is!
Like every other
class, this is a course in communicating—orally
and in writing. Your arguments need to
be logical, make sense, and be clearly understandable. Most of us use language loosely in everyday
life. Theology (and other subjects) uses
language very precisely. Learn to speak (and thus to think) with
precision. Make the dictionary one
of your best friends.
The course content
you learn in most courses will probably be obsolete by the time you graduate,
if it is not already! The real value of a college education
is in the discipline, dedication, and commitment you gain; in learning how to
learn and keep on learning; in finding out how to find out what you need to
know when you need to know it (we call that “research”); in learning how to
read and listen critically and with understanding; and in practicing and
perfecting your “people skills,” cooperating and getting along with
others. These are some of the skills
people expect of a college graduate, and they will help you in whatever career
or endeavor you choose to enter! Thank You!
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A LEARNER'S CREED
I am free to learn. No one can
make me, but it is my right. I am
responsible for my own education. I am in
control. Because
learning so greatly affects my future, I will make
it a priority in my life. Therefore, I
will be a lifelong learner. Nothing can
stand in my way. No one has
the right to hinder my educational pursuit, and I will
respect the same right for others. No longer
are there excuses for not learning. When I need
assistance, my teacher will help me. Problems I
encounter along the way are only
challenges to overcome. If I seek
the truth, the truth will set me free. No longer
will I say I can't, because I can! I will
remember that I am here for one reason— I am here to learn! |