Biblical Perspectives course
Open Educational Resources
This page and the resources linked from it are Open Educational Resources (OER)
This adult studies module gives students an overview of the Bible. We'll see the story that
starts at the beginning of the Old Testament and runs to the end of the New Testament. We'll
consider some of the major issues in Biblical understanding and interpretation. In essence, this
course is "how to understand the Bible for beginners." By the end of the
module, we're writing the entire story of the Bible in one page.
 |
Bound Lamb (Agnus Dei) by Francisco de Zurbaran,
Museo del Prado, Madrid |
Class resources, including assignments and due dates
- News story: Bible literacy
slipping
- Key principles of Bible study
- Handout on 15 key chapters of the Bible
- Would you like to try writing the story of the entire Bible in one page or less?
- Written assignments
- Integrative, end-of-the-module summary/reflection paper
- Need some suggestions to get started writing your
end-of-the-module integrative paper? See the instructions at the bottom of this page.
- Bible at a glance
- Questions raised and answered in the Old Testament
- Need a study break? Pass a few minutes with this a hidden Bible book
names puzzle
- Canaan: historic land bridge
- PowerPoint presentations
- Audio
- Puzzles
- Hidden Bible book names
- Crossword puzzles
- Humor
External Links
Concordances help you find Bible passages when you know at least one word used
in that passage. The three listed below index the King James, New American Standard Version,
Darby, World English and Young's Literal translations in addition to those listed:
- Bible Gateway (Gospel Films —
GospelCom)
— Versions listed above, plus: NIV and RSV
— Other language versions including German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
- Crosswalk
- Versions listed above, plus: New Living Translation, ASV, New King James, NRSV, RSV,
Today's English Version, New American Bible, Douay-Rheims, Bible in Basic English
- Other Bible study tools
- Unbound Bible (Biola)
- Versions listed above, plus: ASV, Basic English, Douay-Rheims, Webster's Bible
- Greek,
Hebrew and 28 other languages
- Easton's Bible dictionary
- Brief histories of several
Bible translations
Other concordances: Bibles.Net
I'm ready to get started!
 | Ready to get started looking at the
Bible? Before you jump in, let's start with some very basic principles. [ more ] |
Tempted to cheat on schoolwork? Before you do, read SNU's academic integrity policy
End-of-module integrative paper for this introduction to the Bible course
From the syllabus: "A 6-8 page reflective paper describing areas of insights from this
course that were new to you, how you respond to those new insights, and possible ways those
new areas of insight might impact your life in future days.
Due: two weeks after final class session"
Need a question to get you started?
- Have you successfully combined new material from the assignments and classroom lectures and discussions with what you already knew?
- Have some of your previously-held ideas and positions been challenged?
- Can you identify some changes in you because of your participation in this learning
experience?
- What new avenues of investigation have you become curious about following up on?
- In what ways are your understandings different now than before the module started?
- At what points were you challenged to think and reflect?
- Did you find yourself discussing material from this module with friends and family during
the five weeks?
- Did you find yourself going beyond the work assigned to read more and to pursue some
question?
- Your paper need not answer all or even any of these questions. They are offered merely as
idea starters.
- Appearance, grammar usage and clearness of writing will help determine the final grade on
this paper.
Ready for some humor? See my writing checklist.
-- Howard Culbertson,
Way to fix
writing problems
Documenting quotes
Scripture index: Bible passages used
on this site Listening to a boring
lecture Want to get good grades?
Starving children appeals: Is your money really going to
feed that child?