Welcome to Theo 250A at The King's University. This course is an introduction to the Bible and an invitation to the story it tells. It is for all students at King's, whether they are familiar with the Bible or have never opened a Bible before. Its goal is to challenge students to see the story of their lives in terms of the biblical story, and to allow that story to transform their understanding of the world.
This syllabus will introduce the course and the instructor (see the videos below), take you through a typical unit (equivalent to a week in the in-person course) and its lessons (equivalent to classes in the in-personal course). It will tell you what you will learn in the course, give you an idea of the kind of work you will do, and advise you on how to succeed. Finally, it will present what is expected of you as a participant in the course and what you can expect of the instructor.
A video introduction to the course
A video introduction to the instructor
A video tutorial
You will need to purchase the following:
Michael Coogan, et al, Editors. The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Fifth Edition
Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen, The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story.
The course is divided into fourteen units. Each unit has three lessons, each roughly 50 minutes in duration. This does not include preparation before and reflection after the completion of each unit. You should allow at least four hours per unit for the course.
1. You will prepare for each unit by doing the following exercises:
a. You will watch an introductory video, giving you an overview of the topic.
b. After watching the introductory video, you will read a set of passages from the Bible and the textbooks.
c. After you complete the reading, you will take a timed quiz on the content of the reading.
d. After you have taken the quiz, you will write a paragraph (300-400 words) on a question corresponding to the topic for the unit.
2. You will work-through the lessons for the unit. Each lesson will alternate between a brief lecture portion you will watch and a learning activity you will complete. You should track your questions and reflections. There will be a forum for these, and you are expected to contribute your questions and reflections and respond to those of other members of the class.
3. You will review and reflect on your learning by taking a brief quiz on the content of the unit and revisiting the question for the unit. You will submit a brief report on your learning (200-300 words)
Educators often talk about learning in terms of content (the things you will be able to repeat) and outcomes (the things you will be able to do). In Theo 250 you will learn things about the Bible but also acquire and hone the ability do things with the Bible. Many of these skills will also be applicable to other life-situations where the skill of interpretation is required.
You will learn about where the Bible came from and how it was handed down to us
You will learn about the shape of the Bible and how that shape helps us understand and interpret it
You will learn the important themes that give the Bible its unity
You will learn how the story of the Bible in turn shapes and transforms university life--and life beyond university.
You will be able to discuss and explain the story of scripture unfolding as an all-encompassing drama reaching its climax in Jesus
You will be able to discern and demonstrate the broad, cross-cutting themes of the biblical drama such as torah and temple, kingdom and covenant, and people and mission.
You will be able to locate and articulate in your own words your vocation (what you will do with your life) inside the drama of scripture.
Each unit of the course will feature a set of readings from the Bible and the textbooks. After completing the readings you will take a brief, 10-minute quiz. The purpose of the quiz is to ensure you have read with sufficient care, and to reinforce important ideas for the unit. You may have your Bible and / or textbook open, but you may not use a searchable text as this would be unfair to members of the class using physical books.
Each unit of the course begins with a reflection question that builds on previous knowledge and raises questions of meaning and vocation to be thought about in the lessons that follow. After completing the lessons you will revisit your paragraph and write notes addressing it in terms of what you have learned in the lessons.
Each unit of the course has a forum to which you will post questions of clarification and comments on the lesson material. You will also comment on other posts. Please observe the expectations for these in the next section. You will receive one mark for a relevant, substantive contribution or response (100 words or more) and half a mark for a more modest contribution or question. The maximum number of marks per unit is 3, though you may post more than this.
Each unit will have a brief, 5-minute review quiz. This is to reinforce the most important points of content in the lessons.
There will be a final, cumulative assignment given at the end of the course. This assignment will evaluate both content learned and skills developed. More information will be available later in the course.
Courtesy: You will be addressed respectfully as a co-learner, using appropriate language and correct pronouns.
Clarity: I will communicate the course requirements to you clearly and concisely.
Availability: I will be available to you during regularly scheduled times, and by appointment. I will respond to emails and messages within one day.
Fairness: I will grade your work without prejudice, and will be willing to explain grades when asked.
To be scholarly: The study of the Bible is deeply personal to many people. The Bible can be wielded as a weapon to cut people down or dismissed as irrelevant and its readers as backward. Neither are appropriate. The attitude to take in this course should be one of scholarly curiosity and openness to learning new ways of seeing the Bible, both in its original settings and in its contemporary application.
To be respectful: There are many views about the Bible and its content. These views may seem perfectly reasonable to those who hold them, while they may seem entirely unreasonable to those who do not. While it is appropriate to ask questions of the views of others, they should not be phrased in a way to dismiss, disprove, or refute but rather to understand and engage. "Help me to understand your point here..." is far better than, "I think you're crazy to say that."
To be professional: This course invites you to share personally at times, especially in the reflective assignments. At the same time, this is a form of academic writing. While it is permissible to use the first person ("In my view, this is a good way of putting things...") it is not permissible to use slang or swearing ("IMO this totally rocks..."). Under no circumstances is profanity to be used. You are also expected to use proper English (spelling, grammar, punctuation), and marks will be deducted for carelessness in this regard.
To be polite: We live in a world where language has been stripped-down to blurbs and memes, and often without regard for its effect on the other person. Theo 250 resists this trend by using the old-fashioned imperative, "be polite." To be polite means to address others in an appropriate tone by their name, to respond to their statements with clarity and sincerity, and to eschew sarcasm, ambiguity, and double meaning.
Time management is crucial for all university courses, but especially for online courses. You should make sure you have set aside at least two hours for the introductory activities at the beginning of each unit (including reading, quiz, and reflection) and one hour for each lesson within the unit. The summary and reflection activities at the end of each unit will also need one hour to complete. In total, that is, typically, six hours per week (as people work at different speeds). A schedule that you adhere to [ahem] "religiously" is an absolute must! If you struggle with time management, there are resources available through King's. I would also suggest at least one hour per week for reflection (see below).
Space management is also crucial. The nature of an online course means you will typically be working in shared space (a library, your home) rather than a classroom. Within this shared space you need to have a place that is dedicated to schoolwork, where good wifi is present and your resources (textbooks, for example) are available as needed. As someone who understands the power of distraction, I find headphones essential, especially those with noise cancellation. If you cannot find a distraction-free space, there are study areas that can be booked on campus.
Computer management is essential. By "computer management," I mean the way you manage and structure your primary device (laptop, desktop, tablet) for learning. This is a challenge since these devices also serve, typically, as entertainment and communication hubs. While you are doing your work, there should be no other tabs or windows open. Some people find music or white noise helps them focus. If so, fine. But the second it becomes a distraction, turn it off. "Computer management" also means ensuring that you have the proper equipment at hand, including a microphone and speaker for interacting with the course instructor and, as already stated, reliable wifi. Finally, you should make sure you have a regime for saving and retrieving your work and -- please, for goodness sake -- backing it up.
Reflection. The fancy term is "meta-cognition," but that just means being aware of what you are learning and how it connects to other things you have learned, whether in this course or in other courses. You are going to be doing some of this at the end of each unit as you look back on your original reflection done at the beginning of the unit. But this is a good practice to build upon: What have I learned today? What am I struggling to understand? What help do I need to seek? How am I feeling about this course? Speaking personally, while I was writing my PhD I kept learning journals -- and still have them -- and wrote in them regularly, usually at the end of a day's classes or reading or writing. Sometimes I wrote frankly about my frustrations trying to grasp a particular idea. Other times I wrote enthusiastically about ideas or concepts that were especially helpful for my project. Other times I sketched diagrams connecting this idea to that author. You get the picture, I hope.
Perhaps above all, self-care is absolutely vital. Make sure you are exercising regularly, eating properly, and sleeping soundly. Schedule daily and weekly "sabbath" time for rest away from the demands of schoolwork. Make time for friends. And please avail yourself of the resources at King's offered by Student Life.
I am here for you! If you are struggling to get things done or are overwhelmed by the new ideas you are learning, please get in touch. My office hours for the course are daily from 11:00-11:50AM in A236. If you are off-campus, a Zoom meeting can be set up. If you want to do a Talk is Cheap in the Level Coffeehouse I'm always open.
King's also has a number of resources! USE THEM. You should go to the Student Life office, or to the Student Services website if you feel you need more help than I can give, or if you are struggling with a personal problem. I also regularly recommend students to the many resources academic and personal there.