Inver Hills Community College Half a Millennium of Re Forming Christianity Questions

PART ONE:

• For one of the theologians, you may pick any one of the Christians that you read in the Global Perspectives part of the course.
• For the second theologian, I want you to read a short article by Donavon Riley short article by Donavon Riley – Alternative Formats .
• You will select one of these “well-loved texts” as the focus for your project.

• Genesis 8:13-22
• Ruth 1:6-17
• Psalm 27:1-14
• Isaiah 25:6-10
• Matthew 6:5-15
• Luke 15:11-24
• John 15:1-11
• Romans 8:31-39

Your Signature Project will have the following sections:

• Introduction to the Project including a thesis statement (a one -sentence summary of how you will answer the question in the conclusion).
• Discussion of the text itself showing your ability to state its historical/cultural and literary contexts. You will answer the question: what did this text say to its first hearers?
• Discussion of your chosen Christian perspective. You will answer the question: how would your writer interpret/read this text in his/her context?
• Discussion of the Lutheran perspective. You will answer the question: How does a Lutheran perspective shape the reading of this text? How is the text all about Jesus? How doe the text “translate” the reader?
• Conclusion. You will answer the question: What have I learned about the process of interpreting the Bible through this exercise.
• A list of sources cited.

You should write this paper using standard academic English and follow the MLA style guide. It will likely take you five to eight pages to do so.

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PART TWO:

Answer the following questions. At least two paragraphs.

• God said to Samuel, “it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king” (1 Samuel 8:7). How was the adoption of a king by Israel a rejection of God? How did God turn Israel’s rejection of God onto a promise by God?
• Prophets are chosen by God. Would you want to be one? Then and/or now? Why or why not?
• Pick a message of hope from Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel and summarize it. How might one of the two global writers relate to you text (Be sure to quote something specific from their work in support of your analysis.)? Discuss the broader applicability of the text to something you have experienced or observed in a situation of loss.