A Thinking Person’s Guide to the Bible

The Bible is not an ordinary book. In fact it’s a collection of books, many of which have their origins in a time and a culture very different from ours. This makes reading it with understanding quite difficult. Often it seems as though we are standing in a large forest studying a single leaf. This six week course takes the opposite approach. We will discuss the big picture; current scholarship about how the parts of the Bible came into being, how they interact with one another and how we may read them and understand their relevance for us today.

 Classes start at 6pm and last about 90 minutes in a lecture/discussion format. Coffee and snacks will be provided!

 Sept. 13  Ways of reading and understanding the Bible

 Sept 20  The Pentateuch (Genesis to Deuteronomy)

 Sept 27  History and Prophecy in the Old Testament

 Oct 4   Israel’s Wisdom and Apocalyptic Writings

 Oct 11 The Gospels

Oct 18  Paul and the other New Testament

Writers
The Rev. Caroline Hall, who is the Associate Priest at St Luke’s Episcopal Church, Atascadero and is a PhD Candidate in Theology and Religion will be teaching the course.
For more information about the classes she can be reached at 534-0827, or
accesspnt@aol.com.
The main text for the class is Marcus Borg, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time,  Harper San Francisco, 2002. Participants will gain more if they read this book, but it is not required.
All classes will take place at St Luke’s Episcopal Church, 5318 Palma Ave, Atascadero.
Advance registration can be made by contacting the church office, 466-0379.
Suggested donation for the course is $25 or $5 per week. Everyone is welcome regardless of faith background or ability to donate.