I am starting another year of teaching. Of course, this is now a part-time job, so there’s so much less pressure. I’d like to continue with my blog (on vacation for some time). Maybe for the next few months I can write about the Bible as literature since that was my favorite class to teach. I’d love to have a chance to teach it again, so I want to keep up by blogging on it. Here goes the first of many blogs on the Bible as literature.

Having taught a survey course in Biblical literature at Palomar College for a number of years, I have seen the need for some introductory material to help students understand many things: the culture of Biblical times, geography of the areas discussed, key names/places/events, an historical outline to be able to place the events in perspective, introductions to each book of the Bible, literary terms, and other important elements.  We are in a culture that has become Biblically illiterate, unfortunately.

So, in a series of blog posts, I’d like to share the kind of material I have gone over with my past classes. I will cover several key areas: the importance of the Bible, the history of the Bible itself, the history of the Bible world (very brief!), the geography of the Bible world, how to read the Bible, introductions for each book of the Bible, and literary devices found in the Bible.