Presuppositions and Principles of Historical Criticism

Description

Why are there fundamentalist as well as liberal interpretations of the Bible and the Koran? The answer has to do with hermeneutics or the way we interpret holy texts. Most fundamentalist believers read their Bible and their Koran in a literalistic way, while most liberal believers accept modern scientific methods of interpretations (which we commonly refer to as “Historical Criticism”). The course looks at the presuppositions of the two approaches, describes different hermeneutical perspectives, gives a brief history of hermeneutics, and describes the different instruments of the historical-critical method. Examples are drawn from the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Koran.

Curriculum:

• The importance of presuppositions

• A history of interpretation/hermeneutics

• God’s Word or human word?

• A plethora of hermeneutical perspectives

• How the Biblical canon and the Koran came into being

• The instruments of Historical Criticism with examples from the New Testament, the Old Testament, and the Koran

• A modern view on the origin of the Koran and Islam