The Bible TI251 Fall 2020

When reading “Back Door intro to the Bible,” I appreciated the authors pointing out the common misconceptions when reading the Bible. I already had knowledge of some of these due to my previous courses, but the new ones were interesting. One thing that stuck out to me is how the Bible discusses human beings in daily life. I had never read that part of the Bible. I was pleasantly surprised when it discusses real people doing real things. The other important misconceptions are that the Bible is not a history book and that it is actually not a single book but a collection of different works.

One thing that stuck out to me when reading “Depatriarchalizing the Bible” is the discussion of gender-neutral deities. I had never read nor heard of this before today. I also found it ironic how the contrast between woman and man fades after disobedience. I feel like this is an example of why we are so misogynistic and sexist. It also says that man fails to be responsible which I find funny and to be very true in real life!

Our class discussions of what type of things are found in the Bible really expanded my knowledge. I did not know letters, poetry, proverbs, parables, gospels, songs, and prophecy are all found in the Bible. This is another reason why it should not be called a single book, but rather a collection of works.

I would consider Michael W. Holmes to be a very successful and credible source when it comes to biblical studies. As a current professor at Bethel University and former Chair of the Department of Biblical and Theological Studies. it is clear to see that he is well-sourced and informed regarding this subject area. He has a Ph.D in Theological seminary from Princeton University and specializes in the New Testament. “His primary research interests are New Testament textual criticism and the Apostolic Fathers (a collection of early Christian writings)” (Bethel University). Holmes has had a very extensive career and has plenty of publications to back up his work.

Another Credible source I have found is John Barton. He is a priest but also the former Chair of Theology also know as “The Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture” at Oxford University. He has been involved in many publications has many other credible sources backing him and travels to different universities to give his speeches on Biblical studies.

This lesson has taught me that many sources are available but until you research the authors they have no credibility. The credibility that you might be searching for is that of these men. However, it is also good to play devil’s advocate in order to interperate the whole idea.

When I searched “bible scholar” I saw a lot of information about biblical studies and about bible scholars.

I looked at the “view history” tab of the Wikipedia page about the galaxy. There was information about who updated the page and when they did it.

I can’t think of a situation where you would turn to a source where the author is anonymous besides wanting to read the Bible.

The author is a professor, and he has a PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary. He definitely has knowledge of theology. However, his degree was in 1984, so some of this knowledge could be outdated. He has special interests in New Testament textual criticism and the apostolic fathers. He went to two religious schools and teaches at another religious school, so he definitely has biases that an agnostic or atheist would not have.

The book was published in 2008 by OUP Oxford. Susan Ashbrook Harvey is a Professor of History and Religion at Brown University. David G. Hunter is a Chair of Catholic Studies and University of Kentucky. This gives me confidence that the book is legitimate because both of these people have a history and expertise in the subject.

It was fairly simple in order to find information about Michael W. Holmes, and decide whether or not he is a reliable author about the subject of the Bible Canon. Holmes began teaching Biblical and Theological Studies at Bethel College in 1982, and has received many awards and recognition for his work. He is described as a world-renowned scholar in the area of biblical studies, and has a Ph.D. in Theological Seminary from Princeton and an M.A. in New Testament from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Because of all of this information, Holmes seems to be a credible and reliable source of the Bible. One area where he may not be completely reliable, however, would be the Old Testament, since his specialization is in the New Testament. Also, he teaches currently at Bethel University, which is a Christian institution, and this might show some biases in his teachings. 

It was fairly easy to find other New Testament scholars on the internet. I found Richard B. Hays, a professor at Duke Divinity School. He is recognized worldwide for his work on the New Testament, letters of Paul, and the Gospels. He also has many books and lectures all around of world. Hays is also an ordained United Methodist minister and preaches in many different cities. This might be a source for bias.

The Oxford University Press, the largest university press in the world, published this book that includes Michael Holme’s work. I have confidence that this is a reliable source of information, because Oxford is a very reputable press and has the widest global presence.

In this lesson, I learned the importance of questioning credibility not only of the author, but of the publisher of works, too. It is critical to gain an understanding of where the information is coming from, and how certain biases may affect it. There is probably no such thing as a completely unbiased person; human beings are not perfect. It is important, however, to take into consideration how the biases will affect the information you are getting. 

Michael Holmes appears to be a reliable author. A quick Google search can help you uncover his credentials and his other works, as well as what he is involved in. He’s published a many reputable works in books and journals. In this specific chapter, it is well researched with all of its individual citations, bibliography, and footnotes. However, like most of us, his biases may show in this work. Because of his seminary studies, he obviously comes from a religious focused background. This paves the way for possible missing information, or information that comes from other biased sources. It may be an accurate picture, but it might not be a complete picture of all of the facts.

The book was published by Oxford University Press, and includes many contributors. At a quick first glance these contributors are scholars and professors, obviously experts in their field. Some of them come from religious backgrounds and others do not. It gives the book a lot of credibility, because the inclusion of different writers should help to balance out some of the biases that some of the authors have.

In The Oxford Handbook to Early Christian Studies, Michael W. Holmes discusses the difference between canon and scripture and proceeds to dive into the history.  I believe that Michael W. Holmes is very reliable when it comes to Scriptural studies.  Holmes has been a professor at Bethel University for thirty eight years, and has attained the title of Department Chair of the Biblical and Theological studies within his time there. He also continues to work on some extensive research projects as well.  It is very clear from Professor Holmes’ background that he is a very credible and reliable source.  Holmes’s specializations include the New Testament and the Founding Fathers.

Another reliable source that could be used is Professor Gary A. Anderson from the University of Notre Dame.  He received his Ph. D. from Harvard University in Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity, however much of his research is on the Tabernacle.  His specialization is actually the Old Testament, but he has many published works on early Christianity as well.  His continued interest and dedication to learning more about the Bible, along with his past studies and expertise both show that he is a credible source to be used.

After going through this lesson, I feel more informed on how to identify a reliable source.  In the past, it has never really been made clear the best way to find credible sources, and I was often told to look for the “.org” or the “.com.”  However, now I know that it is important to check the credibility of the author of the source you are using, and do a check on their credentials.  If the subject they are writing on is not within their realm of their expertise, then they are probably not reliable discussing that topic.

Hello, my name is Ensley Circle. I am from West Lafayette, IN (basically on the campus of Purdue if you know where that is), and am a Theater Major. I chose to take this course this year for a couple of reasons. First, because I was raised Catholic and have been taught about this kind of stuff for a good majority of my life. Second, I find the stories of the Bible so incredibly interesting. And third, I really want to learn more.

To me, the Bible is a collection of writings whether they might be different perspectives or stories. I have always been partial to the Old Testament because I enjoy these stories that have been collected. It is really amazing how people are able to throw themselves into the Bible and find their faith, and I am really looking forward to being able to learn more about the Bible and faith.

When you look up “What is the Bible?” a myriad of things will pop up. I find it really interesting how there are so many sources over something that has varying opinions. I think that if you were to ask a bunch of people on the street “What is the Bible?” you would get many different answers. Some people might say the Wikipedia definition that the Bible is a collection of religious texts, but to others it can be so much more. That is why it is so incredibly interesting.

I consider Michael W. Holmes to be a very reliable source. His credentials were easy to find because he is a professor and universities usually provide background information on their prominent faculty. He has a Ph.D in Theological seminary from Princeton University with an area of specialization in the New Testament. I would definitely trust the information he provides on Bible related studies because of his education and expertise.

Another search of Google provided me with information on a biblical scholar named Richard Bauckham. He specializes in New Testament Christology, Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature, and many other areas. He shares the specialization on the New Testament with Holmes.

Through this lesson, I learned more about finding reliability in the sources I use by searching for information on the background of the author. Their education and specialization provide more clarity to how you should interpret the information they’re providing. It’s important to know that while there is a bias in nearly everything you find, if you can clearly identify the bias and where it comes from, the source still can be reliable.

I would consider Michael W. Holmes to be a very credible source when it comes to biblical studies. As a current professor over the topic at Bethel University, it is clear to see that he is well-sourced in information regarding the subject. Holmes has also acquired and Ph.D. at Princeton Theological Seminary, and M.A. at the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a B.A. with the University of California at Santa Barbra. Holmes has many years of professional experience in teaching about biblical studies, and has written many books and chapters in alignment to his studies.

Another great and reliable source for Old Testament information would be Dr. Katherine Dell. In my research over Dell, I have found that she is a professor of Theology and Religious Studies at St. Catherine’s University. Dell has a Ph.D. and has had many publications regarding her work. She is a specialist in Proverbs, Job Ecclesiastes, wisdom literature, creation, ecological readings of texts, and musical interpretations of biblical texts among other things. She is a very respectable scholar, and that is why she is a trusted source in the biblical studies field.

I have found, through this research, that it is very important to do a background check for any source that you use. It might be simple to go online and use the first source you find, but that source is most likely not going to be the most reliable. There are plenty of people in respectable positions that know a lot more on a subject than most, and those are the people who we want to use in our endeavors.

Michael W. Holmes is a very reliable author. He has a Ph.D from Princeton in Theological seminary and has been involved in the biblical studies department at Better University for many years. It was fairly easy to find his background and education since he is a professor because that means that that information is on the universities website. Professor Holmes has an area of specialization in the New Testament. He does teach at an Evangelical school, which could provide room for biases, since not all beliefs are the same throughout christianity.

Another scholar I found was Scot McKnight. He has a Ph.D from the University of Nottingham and he is also a New Testament scholar. I looked for “New Testament Scholar” on google scholar. His information that I found kind of lines up with Holmes’ but the topic was not as narrow. McKnight talks about how people have reduced the Bible to solely salvation Scriptures, which is similar to what Holmes’ claims is happening with the canon, that its becoming too broad.

Oxford University Press Published Michael Holmes’ work. This proves that it obviously went through a lot of scrutiny to get approved and pushed through to be published.

Overall, I learned more about finding the background to authors to help prove reliability. I also learned about biases. I always thought to avoid biases but I learned that it is inevitable and that we, as readers, just have to realize these by looking into their backgrounds and keeping that in mind.